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Book Cover
E-book
Author Ryan, Michael A.

Title A kingdom of stargazers : astrology and authority in the late medieval crown of Aragon / Michael A. Ryan
Published Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2011

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Description 1 online resource (xiv, 214 pages)
Contents Prophecy, knowledge, and authority : divining the future and expecting the end of days -- For youths and simpletons : the folly of elite astrology -- The Iberian Peninsula : land of astral magic -- Kings and their heavens : the ceremonious and the negligent -- To condemn a king : the inquisitor and the notary -- A return to orthodoxy : the ascension of Martí I and the end of an era -- Epilogue : an unfortunate claimant : Jaume el Dissortat, the rise of the Trastámaras, and beyond the Closing of the Ecumene
Summary Astrology in the Middle Ages was considered a branch of the magical arts, one informed by Jewish and Muslim scientific knowledge in Muslim Spain. As such it was deeply troubling to some Church authorities. Using the stars and planets to divine the future ran counter to the orthodox Christian notion that human beings have free will, and some clerical authorities argued that it almost certainly entailed the summoning of spiritual forces considered diabolical. We know that occult beliefs and practices became widespread in the later Middle Ages, but there is much about the phenomenon that we do not understand. For instance, how deeply did occult beliefs penetrate courtly culture and what exactly did those in positions of power hope to gain by interacting with the occult? In A Kingdom of Stargazers, Michael A. Ryan examines the interest in astrology in the Iberian kingdom of Aragon, where ideas about magic and the occult were deeply intertwined with notions of power, authority, and providence. -- Book jacket
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes In English
Subject Astrology, Spanish -- History -- To 1500
Divination -- Spain -- Aragon -- History -- To 1500
Prophecies (Occultism) -- Spain -- Aragon -- History -- To 1500
Astrology and politics -- History -- To 1500
HISTORY -- Medieval.
BODY, MIND & SPIRIT -- Parapsychology -- General.
Astrology and politics
Astrology, Spanish
Divination
Kings and rulers
Prophecies (Occultism)
Astrologie
Astrologie.
Wahrsagen.
Politik.
Astrologi -- historia -- Spanien -- före 1500.
Politik -- historia -- Spanien -- före 1500.
Profetior -- historia -- Spanien -- före 1500.
SUBJECT Aragon (Spain) -- Kings and rulers
Subject Spain -- Aragon
Aragonien
Aragonien.
Genre/Form Electronic books
History
Electronic resource.
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2021699384
ISBN 0801463157
9780801463150
9780801463167
0801463165