1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910797752103321

Autore

Hayton Darin

Titolo

The crown and the cosmos : astrology and the politics of Maximilian I / / Darin Hayton

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania : , : University of Pittsburgh Press, , 2015

©2015

ISBN

0-8229-8113-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (329 p.)

Classificazione

SCI034000

Disciplina

133.50943/09031

Soggetti

Astrology - History - 16th century

Astrology and politics

Vienna (Austria) Civilization 16th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction -- Astrology and Maximilian's autobiography -- Astrology as imperial propaganda -- Teaching astrology -- Instruments and authority -- Wall calendars and practica -- Ephemerides and their uses -- Prognostications -- Conclusion : astrology and Maximilian's legacy.

Sommario/riassunto

"Despite its popular association today with magic, astrology was once a complex and sophisticated practice, grounded in technical training provided by a university education. The Crown and the Cosmos examines the complex ways that political practice and astrological discourse interacted at the Habsburg court, a key center of political and cultural power in early modern Europe. Like other monarchs, Maximilian I used astrology to help guide political actions, turning to astrologers and their predictions to find the most propitious times to sign treaties or arrange marriage contracts. Perhaps more significantly, the emperor employed astrology as a political tool to gain support for his reforms and to reinforce his own legitimacy as well as that of the Habsburg dynasty. Darin Hayton analyzes the various rhetorical tools astrologers used to argue for the nobility, antiquity, and utility of their discipline, and how they strove to justify their 'science' on the grounds that through its rigorous interpretation of the natural world, astrology could offer more reliable predictions. This book draws on extensive



printed and manuscript sources from archives across northern and central Europe, including Poland, Germany, France, and England"--