BEFORE THE REVOLUTIONARY, sun-centered ideas of Copernicus, the traditional earth-centered universe was usually depicted by concentric circles. In this popular German work on natural history, medicine, and science, Konrad von Megenberg (1309–1374) depicted the universe in a most unusual but effective manner. The seven known planets are contained within straight horizontal bands, which separate the Earth below from Heaven, populated by the saints, above.
Konrad von Megenberg. Buch der Natur (Book of Nature). Augsberg: Johannes Bämler, 1481. Rosenwald Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
