A kingdom of stargazers : astrology and authority in the late medieval crown of Aragon / Michael A. Ryan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ryan, Michael A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Astrology, Spanish--History--To 1500.

Astrology, Spanish.

Divination--Spain--Aragon--History--To 1500.

Divination.

Prophecies (Occultism)--Spain--Aragon--History--To 1500.

Prophecies (Occultism).

Astrology and politics--History--To 1500.

Astrology and politics.

History.

Aragon (Spain)--Kings and rulers.

Aragon (Spain).

Spain--Aragon.

Physical Description:

xiv, 214 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2011.

Summary:

During the later Middle Ages, says Ryan (history, U. of New Mexico), attitudes about the legitimacy of occult practices, especially involving astronomy and astrology, were never stable or fixed. He focuses on the Crown of Aragon, on the Mediterranean coast of Iberia, which many considered the center of magic, during the late 14th and 15th centuries. His topics include divining the future and expecting the end of days, the Iberian Peninsula as a land of astral magic, the inquisitor and the notary condemn a king, and a return to orthodoxy and end of an era with the ascension of Marti I. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780801449840

0801449847

OCLC:

697612835