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In the midst of the religious ferment, foreign invasions, and internal political strife that beset Italy before the full effects of the Counter-Reformation, the powerful and humble alike turned to popular prophecy for guidance and solace. Ottavia Niccoli examines here the forms of these prophecies--including interpretations of natural disasters, abnormal births, floods, and planetary conjunctions--and gives examples of how they were transmitted from the lower classes to the elite through street singers, apocalyptic preachers, astrologers, and printers. By tracing the ongoing revision of the prophecies, Niccoli reveals them as an indication of how various levels of society viewed events of th...
This is a case study of astrology's changing status as an academic discipline in the sixteenth century. It provides fascinating new insights in the practice of Renaissance astrology, its social position, and its profound impact on the changes in early modern European science.
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A multidecadal cooling is known to have occurred in Europe in the final decades of the sixteenth-century. It is still open to debate as to what might have caused the underlying shifts in atmospheric circulation and how these changes affected societies. This book is the fruit of interdisciplinary cooperation among 37 scientists including climatologists, hydrologists, glaciologists, dendroclimatologists, and economic and cultural historians. The known documentary climatic evidence from six European countries is compared to results of tree-ring studies. Seasonal temperature and precipitation are estimated from this data and monthly mean surface pressure patterns in the European area are reconstructed for outstanding anomalies. Results are compared to fluctuations of Alpine glaciers and to changes in the frequency of severe floods and coastal storms. Moreover, the impact of climate change on grain prices and wine production is assessed. Finally, it is convincingly argued that witches at that time were burnt as scapegoats for climatic change.
In The Reformation of Historical Thought, Mark Lotito re-examines the development of Western historiography by concentrating on Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560) and his universal history, Carion’s Chronicle (1532). With the Chronicle, Melanchthon overturned the medieval papal view of history, and he offered a distinctly Wittenberg perspective on the foundations of the “modern” European world. Through its immense popularity, the Chronicle assumed extraordinary significance across the divides of language, geography and confession. Indeed, Melanchthon’s intervention would become the point of departure for theologians, historians and jurists to debate the past, present and future of the Holy Roman Empire. Through the Chronicle, the Wittenberg reformation of historical thought became an integral aspect of European intellectual culture for the centuries that followed.
This volume looks at the ancient heritage of Greek philosophy and Mesopotamian astronomy and examines the history of map-making, coastal and celestial navigation and astronomy from 1487-1727.
Offers biographical information about the more than 1900 people mentioned in the correspondence and works of Erasmus who died after 1450 and were thus approximately his contemporaries.
Under a Sacred Sky is a treasure trove of essays by the author on the ancient art of astrology. This far-reaching collection is drawn from articles and interviews ranging from discussions of its use in our personal lives to its value for understanding historical cycles and patterns. It also includes a fascinating chapter on planetary stations, a topic rarely covered in other astrological literature. Along the way Ray Grasse interjects with some of his ownpersonal experiences in the discipline, while exploring its broader implications for subjects like synchronicity, spirituality, and the yogic concept of the chakras. This book includes interviewswith Rick Tarnas and Laurence Hillman and is suitable for both beginner and advanced students of the subject.