History of Medieval Astrology
Product details
- ISBN 9789048568185
- Weight: 740g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 19 May 2026
- Publisher: Pallas Publications
- Publication City/Country: NL
- Product Form: Hardback
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A History of Medieval Astrology analyses the contributions of the Kraków Astronomy and Astrology School, part of the University of Kraków – one of the fastest growing universities in 15th-century Europe.
Astrology was a science practised by the most prominent representatives of the most important medieval universities. Astrology was an ‘inseparable life companion’ of the then contemporary society, and it explained both the surrounding reality as well as what was difficult to understand. The two departments of the Faculty of Liberal Arts – astronomy, founded in at the beginning of the 15th century, and astrology, established in the mid-15th century – were the first such departments in contemporary Central Europe. Between the mid-15th and mid-16th centuries, Polish scholars wrote a number of excellent works on astronomical and astrological issues. These were not only texts for astrology students, but also prognostics, almanacs, calendars, short notes and longer astrological treatises. Discussing this rich source material, the book shows the importance of the Kraków cathedral of astrology and its masters in medieval Europe.
The book is an important contribution to the history of knowledge, the study of astrology and astronomy, Central European history and medieval studies.
Sylwia Konarska-Zimnicka is Lecturer in the Institute of History at the Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce. Her research interests include history of medieval and early modern science (especially astrology and astronomy, medicine and herbalism), history of culture, various forms of entertainment and editing of historical sources, and she is the author of numerous monographs, articles and critical editions.
