Interreligious Transfers in the Middle Ages: The Case of Astrology

Author: von Stuckrad, Kocku

Source: Journal of Religion in Europe, Volume 1, Number 1, 2008 , pp. 34-59(26)

Publisher: BRILL

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Abstract:

This article describes the discipline of astrology as an example of manifold interreligious contacts and transfers in the Middle Ages. Over against an image of the Middle Ages as being predominantly Christian and striving to violently suppress science, philosophy, and astrology, it is shown that in fact Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities shared common interests and participated in an ongoing communication, even if in polemical differentiation. The case of astrology also illuminates the intellectual ties between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, which are much stronger than traditional historiography would like to portray them as.

Keywords: ASTROLOGY; MIDDLE AGES; SCIENCE; RELIGION; EUROPE; SPAIN; INTERRELIGIOUS TRANSFERS; PLURALISM

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/187489208X285468

Publication date: 2008-03-01