Astrologers and their Clients in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
September 29–30, 2011
While the history of European astrology has received a great deal of scholarly attention over the past twenty years, very little is known about astrological practices themselves. The aim of the conference is to explore the various forms of interaction between astrologers and their clients, and more generally between astrology and society, in Western Europe from c. 1200 to 1700. Questions to be addressed include:
- Who are the astrologers and what do they do? What are their role and status –at court, university and any other relevant place? What services do they offer? What are their sources and methods of working? How do they interpret horoscopes? Is there any limitation, whether technical or philosophical, in the range of questions they can answer?
- Who are the clients? What are their motivations, expectations and concerns? To what extent did astrological counseling affect their personal and public life?
- What is the reputation of astrology and astrologers among the general public? Why was astrology (apparently) more popular than other counseling practices? What is it that distinguishes a "good" from a "bad" astrologer?
The conference will end with a round table where the above-mentioned issues will be discussed.
Programme
| Thursday, September, 2011 | |
|---|---|
| 09:30 a.m. | Welcome Address |
| 10:00 a.m. | Astrology in the Court and the University in Italy in the 13th Century Charles Burnett (Warburg Institute, London) |
| 10:45 a.m. | Practice and counsel in Guido Bonatti Benjamin Dykes (Independent Scholar, Minnesota, USA) |
| 11:30 a.m. | Coffee Break |
| 12:00 p.m. | The Archbishop and the Astrologers: A Robert de Mauvoisin's questio in 1316 Jean-Patrice Boudet (Université d’Orléans) |
| 12:45 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| 2:45 p.m. | Giovanni Villani and the Great Conjunction of 1345 Robert Hand (Catholic University of America, Washington DC) |
| 3:30 p.m. | Johannes Lichtenberger. Divination between Prophecy and Astrology Wiebke Deimann (IKGF Erlangen) |
| 4:15 p.m. | Coffee Break |
| 4:45 p.m. | Astrology at Italian Renaissance Courts: Locating Clients, Investigating Practices, ca. 1450-1550 Monica Azzolini (University of Edinburgh) |
| 5:30 p.m. | The Life and Afterlife of Medieval English Booklets of Astrological Medicine László Sándor Chardonnens (Universiteit Nijmegen) |
| 6:15 p.m. | End |
| Friday, September 30, 2011 | |
|---|---|
| 09:30 a.m. | Paul of Middelburg's use of the 'Mathesis' of Firmicus Maternus Stephan Heilen (Universität Osnabrück) |
| 10:15 a.m. | Astrology and Politics in 16th-century Florence: Giuliano Ristori’s Extensive Judgment on Cosimo I's Nativity (1537) Darrel Rutkin (Stanford University) |
| 11:00 a.m. | Coffee Break |
| 11:30 a.m. | The Judgement on the Nativity of Joannes Sillyers by Wilhelmus Misocacus (1566) David Juste (University of Sydney; IKGF Visiting Fellow) |
| 12:15 p.m. | Johannes Kepler between two Emperors Katrin Bauer (IKGF Erlangen) |
| 1:00 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| 3:00 p.m. | Round Table |
| 4:30 p.m. | End |
Location
Volkshochschule Erlangen: Historischer Saal
Friedrichstr. 19, 91054 Erlangen
Download
Conference Flyer with programme (233 KB)