Numerology and Astrology in Medieval and Early Modern Catalonia

243 Pages·2003·3.35 MB·English

ASTROLOGY AND NUMEROLOGY IN MEDIEVAL AND
EARLY MODERN CATALONIA
THE MEDIEVAL
AND EARLY MODERN
IBERIAN WORLD
EDITORS
LarryJ. Simon(WesternMichiganUniversity)
IsidroJ. Rivera(University ofKansas)
DonnaM. Rogers(MiddleburyCollege)
Arie Schippers(University ofAmsterdam)
GerardWiegers(LeidenUniversity)
VOLUME 18
ASTROLOGY AND
NUMEROLOGY IN
MEDIEVAL AND
EARLY MODERN CATALONIA
The Tractat de prenostication de la vida natural dels hòmens
BY
JOHN SCOTT LUCAS
BRILL
LEIDEN •BOSTON
2003
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lucas, John Scott, 1970-
Astrology and numerology in medieval and early modern Catalonia : the Tractat de
prenostication de la vida natural dels hòmens / by John Scott Lucas
p. cm. — (The medieval and early modern Iberian world ; v. 18)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 90-04-13242-2
1. Astrology—Early works to 1800. 2. Numerology—Spain—Catalonia. 3.
Numerology—Early works to 1800. 4. Catalonia (Spain)—Intellectual life. 5. Civilization,
Medieval. I. Tractat de prenostication de la vida natural dels hòmens. English & Catalan.
II. Title. III. Series.
BF1685.L83 2003
133.5—dc21
2003050219
ISSN 1569-1934
ISBN 90 04 13242 2
© Copyright 2003 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written
permission from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal
use is granted by Brill provided that
the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright
Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910
Danvers MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
I dedicate this book to my grandmother, Leona Lucas, whose ninety-two
years of wisdom were a constant source of inspiration.
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CONTENTS
List of Figure and Tables ........................................................ ix
Foreword by David J. Viera .................................................. xi
Preface ...................................................................................... xxix
Acknowledgments ...................................................................... xxxi
Abbreviations ............................................................................ xxxiii
Chapter One Prognostication at the Dawn of the
Renaissance .......................................................................... 3
A. Changing World Views .................................................. 5
B. The Catalan Context ...................................................... 19
C. Catalan Material in Relationship to Other
European Traditions ...................................................... 26
Chapter Two Genres of Prognostic Material in the
Catalan Language ................................................................ 31
A. Astrology and Astrological Magic ................................ 32
B. Geomancy ........................................................................ 43
C. Numerology and Astro-numerology .............................. 47
D. Gematria ........................................................................ 56
Chapter Three The Present Edition .................................... 59
A. Known Editions of the Tractat ...................................... 59
B. Physical Description of “B” .......................................... 60
C. Contents, Divisions, and Sources .................................. 61
D. Linguistic Features and Orthography .......................... 73
E. Provenance ...................................................................... 77
F. The Tractat in the Catalan Printing Tradition ............ 89
G. The Present Edition ...................................................... 90
Tractat de prenostication de la vida natural dels hòmens segons
los signes, planetas celestials, e proprietats lurs demonstren
with English Translation ...................................................... 93
Apparatus criticus ............................................................ 140
Note on the Translation .................................................. 141
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Appendix A. Paleographic Transcription ................................ 143
Appendix B. Facsimile Reproduction ...................................... 161
Glossary: Catalan—English ........................................................ 183
References .................................................................................... 197
Index ............................................................................................ 203
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ix
LIST OF FIGURE AND TABLES
Figure 1. Houses of the Zodiac ................................................ 33
Table 1. Melothesia in Two Catalan Texts ............................ 41
Table 2. Melothesia in Two Classical Authorities .................. 42
Table 3. Topics of Inquiry in a Popular Catalan
Geomancy .................................................................. 46
Table 4. Alphanumeric Correspondences in the
Tractat de prenostication .................................................. 62