He aimed to give to his colleagues and fellows the means to judge the state of the patient based not on the urine flask, but on the configuration of the sky at the time of consultation.
Medical Prognosis in the Middle Ages: William the Englishman’s De urina non visa and its fortune
October 5, 2014 By
From Sin to Science: Astrological Explanations for the Black Death, 1347-1350
August 16, 2014 By
Few survivors of the plague’s horrors could have remained indifferent to debates over its ultimate cause. The frequent evocation of astrology in these debates helped to increase the circulation of astrological ideas in the later fourteenth century, and contributed to the wider vogue they enjoyed during the early modern period
Apocalyptic Calculators of the Later Middle Ages
May 1, 2014 By
The purpose of my talk today is to explore why and how astrology became an accepted tool for apocalyptic calculation in the later Middle Ages.
Chaucer’s Solar Pageant: an Astrological Reading of the Canterbury Tales
November 3, 2013 By
This thesis proposes a correlation between the twenty-four Canterbury Tales and an external ordered system, namely the twelve signs of the zodiac, from which one might infer Chaucer’s intended ordering of the Tales.
Medieval Astrology and The Buke of the Sevyne Sagis
April 20, 2013 By
It is useful to begin by comparing the way the sages are initially described to the Emperor in the Latin, Middle English, and Middle Scots texts. Although the Middle Scots text is not connected to the English ones, they serve as a useful backdrop to illustrate the singular nature of the Scottish version of the story.
“Vir sapiens dominabitur astris”. Astrological knowledge and practices in the Portuguese medieval court (King João I to King Afonso V)
March 10, 2013 By
Offers a brief explanation on the foundations of medieval astrology. Astrology reveals itself as a complex body of knowledge, with specific rules and methods. Its principles were based on the natural movement of the celestial bodies: the rising and setting of the Sun, the sequence of the seasons, the phases of the Moon.
The teaching of astronomy in medieval universities, principally at Paris in the fourteenth century
February 10, 2013 By
Obviously, however, learned men of antiquity and the Middle Ages showed the greatest interest in such genuinely astronomical activities as the observation of the skies, of the heavenly bodies and of their movements, positions, orbits, and anomalies.
The Eternity of the World and Renaissance Historical Thought
January 27, 2013 By
Medieval and Renaissance controversies over the Aristotelian doctrine of “the eternity of the world” have hitherto been treated as disputes restricted to natural philosophers and theologians.
Reading Health in the Stars: Politics and Medical Astrology in Renaissance Milan
December 27, 2012 By
Horary astrology was skillfully exploited in political circles and suggests that, far from being irrelevant to our understanding of Renaissance Italy, astrology played an important role in shaping its history.
Hebrew Astrology in Byzantine Southern Italy
December 23, 2012 By
It is a commonplace that our modern, tidy distinction between astronomy and astrology does not apply to the Middle Ages.
‘The Flood’ of 1524: The First Mass-media Event in European History
November 1, 2012 By
The next very important ‘Grand Conjunction’ after 1484 took place in 1524 in the sign of Pisces. All seven planets joined together in February of that year to a kind of super conjunction – and that did not augur well!
“The King’s Library: Construction, Representation and Reception of the Ideal Kingship in the Late French Middle Ages”
October 6, 2012 By
This paper on Charles V of France and his contribution to education was given on October 5th, 2012 as part of a workshop between Freiburg and the University of Toronto.
Martin Bylica at the Court of Matthias Corvinus: Astrology and Politics in Renaissance Hungary
July 22, 2012 By
Late in the spring 1468, Matthias Corvinus convened the Hungarian diet in the city of Pozsony. Holding the diet in Pozsony enabled him to impress the Hungarian nobles with the local intellectual community that had begun to form at his fledgling Academia Istropolitana, which he had founded the previous year.
Instruments and demonstrations in the astrological curriculum: evidence from the University of Vienna, 1500–1530
July 8, 2012 By
The University of Vienna presents something of a puzzle for his- torians of astronomy and astrology. During the fifteenth century the university was alma mater to Johannes de Gmunden, Georg von Peuerbach, and Johannes Regiomontanus, who were central to developments in astronomy and astrology throughout Europe. Yet there is little evidence of advanced instruction in astronomy or astrology by any of these masters.
The Magic of Image: Astrological, Alchemical and Magical Symbolism at the Court of Wenceslas IV
May 22, 2012 By
The Czech Renaissance man of letters Vaclav Hajek of Libocany explained the representations of kingfishers and half naked bathmaidens that he saw painted on some Prague buildings, as records of saucy affairs from the life of the King Bohemia Wenceslas IV.
Contributions of contemporary science to Chaucer’s work
May 3, 2012 By
The thesis shows that the Medieval Sciences made a significant contribution to Chaucer’s mind and art, and that Chaucer shared the attitude of great scholars before and after him
Magic
January 16, 2012 By
No one knew the risks and rewards of magic better than Agrippa. His notorious handbook, De occulta philosophia, circulated in manuscript by 1510, though it was printed only in 1533, over the complaints of Dominican inquisitors.
The Planetary Portent of 1524 in China and Europe
December 19, 2011 By
Events of 1524 in China and Europe in response to the planetary phenomenon offer insights into the divergent Chinese and Western responses to such “millennial” events.
Magical Letters, Mystical Planets: Magic, Theosophy, and Astrology in the Sefer Yetsirah and two of its Tenth-century Commentaries
December 9, 2011 By
Examines the effective power of symbols, and of the Hebrew letterform specifically, and theosophy, the belief that the created world can be used to learn about the divine.
Manuel I Komnenos and Michael Glycas: A Twelfth-Century Defense and Refutation of Astrology
May 7, 2011 By
Manuel I Komnenos and Michael Glycas: A Twelfth-Century Defense and Refutation ofAstrology George, Demetra Culture and Cosmos, Vol. 5 no 1 (2001) Abstract Manuel Komnenos I, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire composed a defense of astrology to the Church Fathers, in which he asserted that this discipline was compatible with Christian doctrine. Theologian Michael Glykas, possibly imprisoned […]
Maximilian and Astrology
April 28, 2011 By
Maximilian and Astrology By Darin Hayton Published Online – Draft chapter for the forthcoming book Nature, Knowledge, and Politics in the Holy Roman Empire (2009) Introduction: From the earliest years of his life Emperor Maximilian I was surrounded by astrologers and their interpretations of the natural world. Shortly after Maximilian’s birth on 22 March 1459, Emperor […]
Interreligious Transfers in the Middle Ages: The Case of Astrology
January 20, 2009 By
This article describes the discipline of astrology as an example of manifold interreligious contacts and transfers in the Middle Ages.
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