Lectures on the Quadripartitum given by Philipp Melanchthon at the University of Wittenberg in the academic years 1544-1545 and 1545-1546 (and perhaps already in 1543-1544). These lectures are extant in the manuscript of a student, where they appear in the following order: Book III (f. 1r-20v), Book IV (f. 22r-43r), Book I (f. 44r-71v) and Book II (f. 72r-77v). The beginning of the lectures on Book I is dated to 7 November 1544 (cf. f. 44r: ‘Inchoant 7 Novembris anno 1544’) and beginning of the lectures on Book II to 16 November 1545 (f. 72r: ‘Postea die S. Elisabetae 1545’). No date is given for Books III and IV, but their order of appearance in the manuscript may suggest that they were read before 1544. We know that Melanchthon lectured on the Quadripartitum at Wittenberg in the years 1535-1537 and 1543-1545 (K. Hartfelder, Philipp Melanchthon als Praeceptor Germaniae, Berlin, 1889, 560-61) and, in particular, that he began lecturing on Book II on 16 November 1545 (ibid, 561), which matches the date given in the manuscript. The source text is Melanchthon’s translation (A.2.11), which shows that, by 1544 at the latest, Melanchthon had already completed his translation of the Tetrabiblos, which he did not publish until 1553. The lectures cover the whole text of the Quadripartitum (with gaps, for which the student was at least partly responsible, see MS description) and are accompanied by Melanchthon’s ‘expositio’ in smaller script, typically in the margin. See also C.2.20.

Text ‘(Munich, BSB, Clm 27002) (1r) In Ptolomei Almagestum (!). [introduction] Satis in multis visae partibus prodesse… (1r-20v) [book iii] De qualitatibus animae. De corporum accidentibus haec sit doctrina compendio tradita, sed qualitates animae, quae propriae sunt mentis et ratiocinationis — alias mulieres familiares tanquam coniuges habeant. (22r-43r) [book iv] Liber quartus de eventuum significationibus. Exposui quae ante aeditionem partus spectantur, quaeque partu aedito statim insunt, et quae postea sequuntur — sed prona est ad mixturam bonorum et malorum. (44r-71v) [book i] Claudii Ptolomaei Quadripartiti liber I. Hic non est disputatio de illo fato a…o (?) sed de fato physico… (44v) Duo sunt, Syre, per quae praedictiones astrologicae extruuntur praecipua et maxima — aut alio loco aspiciente eum (ut 3 et 5). Sed cum prorsus non aspiciunt (ut in 6, 12, 8), omnino languidi sunt et imbecilles. Finis II libri. (72r-77v) [book ii] Liber II Cl<audii> Ptol<emaei>. Praecipuam doctrinam breviter expositam, ut in tabella, necessariam ad praedictiones eventuum singularium — aliam sumunt naturam, quam qualem habet totus quadrans ad totam orbem collatus.’

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