It consists of 201 folios on thick but well-prepared parchment, as would be expected from the product of a royal scriptorium. The codex has all of the characteristics of the books produced by King Alfonso's scriptorium. Scholars believe, however, that at the time the work was composed, in 1276-79, the Alphonsine scriptorium was based in Seville. Toledo, Burgos, and Seville are mentioned in the codex, suggesting that these cities were places where the work might have been made. The work is divided into three broad thematic sections: astronomy (covered in Treatise 1, which describes the celestial spheres and the signs of the zodiac, constellation by constellation) the operation and manufacturing of various instruments for astronomical observations (covered in Treatises 2 through 10 as well as 16) and instruments for measuring time (Treatises 11 through 15). The translators, from the Toledo school, included Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
The work contains translations from the Aramaic and the Arabic made by various people, including Yehuda ben Moshe Hakohen (also seen as Jehuda ben Moses Cohen) and Rabiçag de Toledo (also seen as Rabbi Zag and Isaac ben Sid), always with the direct input from King Alfonso X of Castile and Leon (1221-84, called Alfonso the Wise) so as to guarantee the use of the most correct Castilian. The manuscript Libros del saber de astronomía (The books of the wisdom of astronomy) comprises 16 treatises on the science of the heavenly bodies and the instruments used in their study.
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