Astrology · Guide
Medieval astrology: translations, tables and schools
Medieval astrology and the movement of texts through Arabic, Persian, Greek and Latin settings. Explore translation, tables and interpretation.
Editorial illustration.
In this lesson
Transmitting and reworking knowledge
Medieval history is not merely a pause between antiquity and the Renaissance. Authors and translators in different linguistic settings preserved, debated and reworked texts. “Arabic astrology” often describes a language of scholarship rather than a shared origin of every author.
Tables and interpretations do different work
Astronomical tables help calculate celestial positions. An astrological treatise proposes how to interpret them. A more accurate table improves the first task without by itself confirming the second claim.
Follow the chain of translation
When two books use different names for a technique, examine intermediate languages, editions and commentaries. A note identifying the edition used for a translation is part of the evidence rather than a minor bibliographic detail.
Astrology · Guide
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Renaissance astrology and its separation from astronomy
Manuscripts, printing and celestial calculation: why astronomers’ involvement does not validate astrology as science.Astrology in ancient Rome: practice and public life
The Roman setting of Greek-language astrology and the distinction between personal readings and political prediction.Hellenistic astrology and the language of horoscopes
How Hellenistic astrology took shape through earlier traditions and Greek-language authors.