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From Hutton Webster's, Early European History (1917); edited for this on-line publication, by ELLOPOS
XXI. MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION
» Contents of this Chapter
Page 24
ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY
Astronomy in the Middle Ages was the most advanced of any natural science, though the telescope and the Copernican theory were as yet in the future. Astronomy, the wise mother, had a foolish daughter, astrology, the origin of which can be traced back to Babylonia. Medieval students no longer regarded the stars as divine, but they believed that the natural world and the life of men were controlled by celestial influences. Hence astrologers professed to predict the fate of a person from the position of the planets at the time of his birth. Astrological rules were also drawn from the signs of the zodiac. A child born under the sign of the Lion will be courageous; one born under the Crab will not go forward well in life; one born under the Waterman will probably be drowned, and so forth. Such fancies seem absurd enough, but in the Middle Ages educated people entertained them.
MEDIEVAL CREDULITY
Alchemy and astrology were not the only instances of medieval credulity. The most improbable stories found ready acceptance. Roger Bacon, for instance, thought that "flying dragons" still existed in Europe and that eating their flesh lengthened human life. Works on natural history soberly described the lizard-like salamander, which dwelt in fire, and the phoenix, a bird which, after living for five hundred years, burned itself to death and then rose again full grown from the ashes. Another fabulous creature was the unicorn, with the head and body of a horse, the hind legs of an antelope, the beard of a goat, and a long, sharp horn set in the middle of the forehead. Various plants and minerals were also credited with marvelous powers. Thus, the nasturtium, used as a liniment, would keep one's hair from falling out, and the sapphire, when powdered and mixed with milk, would heal ulcers and cure headache. Such quaint beliefs linger to-day among uneducated people, even in civilized lands.
MAGICIANS
Magicians of every sort flourished in the Middle Ages. Oneiromancers [28] took omens from dreams. Palmists read fortunes in the lines and irregularities of the hand. Necromancers [29] professed to reveal the future by pretended communications with departed spirits. Other magicians made talismans or lucky objects to be worn on the person, mirrors in which the images of the dead or the absent were reflected, and various powders which, when mixed with food or drink, would inspire hatred or affection in the one consuming them. Indeed, it would be easy to draw up a long list of the devices by which practitioners of magic made a living at the expense of the ignorant and the superstitious.
[28] Greek oneiros, "dream."
[29] Greek nekros, "corpse."
THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY: Table of Contents
url: www.ellopos.net/politics/european-history/default.asp
Cf. The Ancient Greece * The Ancient Rome
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) * Western Medieval Europe * Renaissance in Italy
