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Vir Sapiens Dominabitur Astris VIR SAPIENS DOMINABITUR ASTRIS ASTROLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN THE PORTUGUESE MEDIEVAL COURT (KING JOÃO I TO KING AFONSO V) Helena Cristina Ferreira Avelar de Carvalho Dissertação de Mestrado em História Medieval tulo, ano) í - rmica é o t ã ç lombada (nome, t Setembro 2011 : Nota encaderna - VIR SAPIENS DOMINABITUR ASTRIS ASTROLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN THE PORTUGUESE MEDIEVAL COURT (KING JOÃO I TO KING AFONSO V) Helena Cristina Ferreira Avelar de Carvalho ___________________________________________________ Dissertação de Mestrado em História Medieval SETEMBRO 2011 Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em História Medieval, realizada sob a orientação científica da Professora Drª. Maria de Lurdes Rosa e Professor Dr. Kocku von Stuckrad ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To my thesis director, Prof. Drª Maria de Lurdes Rosa, for the constant support, encouragement, kindness, patience and sense of humor. This work has benefited extensively from her lucid insights and from her ability to find order and logical conections within the most intricate concepts. To my thesis director, Prof. Dr. Kocku von Stuckrad who, in spite of the distance, managed to always be present at the crucial moments of the process. His experience in the field of the history of astrology, and his encompassing vision of the topic, contributed immensely to improve this work. To my MA teachers, Prof. Dr. Bernardo Vasconcelos e Sousa and Prof. Dr. Maria João Branco, who generously offered their support, their sugestions and – most importantly – their time and professional experience to this project. The other professors of the Department of History of FCSH, namely professor Drª Ana Isabel Buescu, professor Dr. Mário de Gouveia and professor Dr. Mário Farelo. To Drª Maria João Mateus, for correcting my English in such a short notice, and for offering precious suggestions. To Luís, my life partner, whose support has been so extensive that I cannot even start to acknowledge it. So I will only thank him for being the extraordinary human he always was. Finally, to the Muses who inspired this work: Clio and Urania. ABSTRACT VIR SAPIENS DOMINABITUR ASTRIS ASTROLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN THE PORTUGUESE MEDIEVAL COURT (KING JOÃO I TO KING AFONSO V) The present study addresses the practice of astrology and its cultural repercussions in the 14th and 15th centuries’ Portuguese court. The research is based in the comparative study of three sets of sources: 1) the astrology books from the royal libraries, which reveal the dominant concepts of astrology; 2) the writings of kings João I and Duarte, and prince Pedro, as examples of the practical application of these concepts; 3) the royal chronicles of Fernão Lopes, Gomes Eanes de Zurara and Rui de Pina, as examples of its presence in political discourse. The astrological references occur in three main contexts: the validation of power, the explanation of manners and the debate about determinism-versus-free will. The latter stands as the main fracturing topic in medieval astrology. In any case, the validity of astrology by itself was never in question; the debate revolved only around its limits and its legitimacy in face of Christian faith. Astrology was seen as a sophisticated art, practiced by learned men. Its foundation was the scientific understanding of the natural laws and its practitioners tried to demarcate themselves from common divination and superstition. Due to its pervasiveness in this period, it can be concluded that astrology is an essential factor for the understanding of Portuguese medieval life. The study of the astrological practice, from the perspective of the History of Culture and Mentalities, offers new insights to the understanding of the medieval period. KEYWORDS: medieval history, medieval astrology, medieval culture, medieval society, 14th century, 15th century, intercultural exchanges, interreligious exchanges VIR SAPIENS DOMINABITUR ASTRIS CONHECIMENTO E PRÁTICAS ASTROLÓGICAS NA CORTE PORTUGUESA MEDIEVAL (D. JOÃO I A D. AFONSO V) O presente estudo aborda a prática da Astrologia e suas repercussões culturais na corte portuguesa dos séculos XIV e XV. A pesquisa baseia-se no estudo comparativo de três fontes distintas: 1) os livros astrológicos presentes nas livrarias reais; 2) os escritos dos reis D. João I e D. Duarte, e do Infante D. Pedro, como exemplos da aplicação prática destes conceitos; 3) as crónicas de Fernão Lopes, Gomes Eanes de Zurara e Rui de Pina, como exemplos da sua presença no discurso político. As referências astrológicas ocorrem em três contextos principais: a validação de poder, a justificação de modos e comportamentos, e no debate do determinismo versus livre- arbítrio. Este último torna-se o principal factor de clivagem na astrologia medieval. Em todo o caso, a validade da astrologia em si nunca é posta em causa; o debate desenrola-se principalmente em torno da questão dos limites e da legitimidade da astrologia perante a fé cristã. A astrologia era encarada como uma arte sofisticada, praticada por homens cultos. A sua base era a compreensão científica das leis naturais, e os seus praticantes tentavam demarcar-se da divinação comum e da superstição. Devido à sua presença nos mais diversos sectores da sociedade desta época, pode concluir-se que a astrologia se constitui como um factor essencial para o entendimento da vida medieval portuguesa. O estudo da prática astrológica, na óptica da História Cultural e das Mentalidades, oferece novas perspectivas para a compreensão do período medieval. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: história medieval, astrologia medieval, cultura medieval, sociedade medieval, século IV, século V, trocas inter-culturais, trocas inter-religiosas TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction..............................................................................................................................1 Part I – State of the art: a summary ......................................................................................5 Part II – Astrology and medieval thought ...........................................................................10 Chapter 1 – The Cosmos according to medieval astrology......................................................... 11 Branches of astrology................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2 – Medieval astrology: what it is and how it worked.................................................. 17 The principles of analogy............................................................................................................. 17 Prediction ..................................................................................................................................... 19 Astrology and astronomy ............................................................................................................. 19 Three main concepts: ................................................................................................................... 20 The astrological chart ................................................................................................................... 27 Astrological rules ......................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3 – The astrological practice at the royal court ............................................................ 29 Astrology applied to Medicine..................................................................................................... 30 The astrologers ............................................................................................................................. 34 The Negro family – a case study.................................................................................................. 34 Part III – The astrological knowledge of the portuguese kings and princes ....................40 Chapter 4 – A brief survey on the astrological culture of the House of Avis, from João I to Afonso V (1383 to 1481) ................................................................................................................. 42 Chapter 5 – The books on astrology in the royal libraries ......................................................... 48 Tetrabiblos, Claudius Ptolemy..................................................................................................... 48 El libro conplido en los iudizios de las estrellas, Ali ben Ragel .................................................. 50 Tratactus de sphaera, John of Hollywood (Johannes Sacrobosco) ............................................. 52 Livro de Magika, Juan Gil............................................................................................................ 54 Segredo dos segredos, Pseudo-Aristotle ...................................................................................... 54 Several works by Abraham Zacuto .............................................................................................. 56 1. Almanach perpetuum celestium motuum.............................................................................................57 2. Tratado breve en las ynfluencias del cielo..........................................................................................57 3. De los eclipses del Sol y la Luna.........................................................................................................58 Other books of astrological relevance:........................................................................................
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