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Astrology as Political Propaganda: Humanist Responses to the Turkish Threat in Early-Sixteenth-Century Vienna

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2010

Darin Hayton
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Extract

Emperor Maximilian I spared no expense or eff ort to ensure that he would be remembered the way that he wanted to be remembered. Th roughout his reign he concentrated on his image, crafting it to suit his political and dynastic goals. He justifi ed his efforts by claiming that, “Whoever prepares no memorial for himself during his lifetime has none after his death, and that same person will be forgotten along with the sound of the bell that tolls his passing. And so the money I spend on my memorial is not lost; rather, to spare expense on my memorial is to suppress my future reputation. For what I do not produce toward my own memorial during my lifetime will not be celebrated after my death by you or anybody else.” A key aspect of the emperor's memorial was his patronage of and skill in astrology. The image of Maximilian as patron and student of astrology was one of his own making. In his autobiographical writings, Maximilian emphasized his efforts to learn and practice astrology. His personal secretary and adviser, Joseph Grünpeck, who worked on early draft s of the emperor's autobiography and wrote a biography of Maximilian, consistently portrayed the emperor as an avid and gift ed student of astrology. In the biography, which he dedicated to Emperor Charles V, Grünpeck recounted Maximilian's enjoyment in reading astrological and astronomical literature, especially Ptolemy. Not long after Maximilian died, Johannes Schöner praised the emperor for his efforts in astrology and numbered him among the most important patrons of astrology. Toward the end of the sixteenThcentury, Henry Ranzovius, in his history of great patrons of astrology, singled out Maximilian and labeled him a lover of the art.

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Articles
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Austrian History Yearbook , Volume 38 , January 2007 , pp. 61 - 91
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Copyright © Center for Austrian Studies, University of Minnesota 2007

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References

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2 Joseph Grünpeck, “Lebensbeschreibung Kayser Friederichs des III. und Maximilians I.,” Österreichische Nationalbibliothek codex latinus (hereaft er cited as cod. lat.) 7149, fols. 37v–38r.

3 Schöner, Johannes, De iudiciis nativitatum. Libri tres [Three books on nativities] (Nuremberg, 1545), a4vGoogle Scholar; Ranzovius, Henry, Catalogus, Imperatorum, regum, ac virorum illustrium, qui artem astrologicam amarunt, ornarunt & exercuerunt [A catalog of emperors, kings and illustrious men who have delighted in, promoted and practiced the art of astrology] (Leipzig, 1584), 67Google Scholar.

4 Wade, Marjorie Dale, “The Education of the Prince: A Mirror of Reality and Romance in Maximilian's Weisskunig” (PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1974), esp. 174–242Google Scholar.

5 Maximilian, Weisskunig, 62.

6 Barton, Tamsyn, Ancient Astrology (London, 1994), 38–49CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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9 Grünpeck, Historia Friderici IV. et Maximiliani I., 81–82.

10 Maximilian's genealogical and historical projects have received prolonged scholarly attention. Most recently, see Wood, Christopher S., “Maximilian I as Archeologist,” Renaissance Quarterly 58, no. 4 (2005): 1128–74CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

11 Maximilian convened the diet at Worms but later moved it to Freiburg. He complained that the princes were resisting his eff orts to secure support and hoped that he would have greater influence if the diet were relocated to a city under his control. See Wiesflecker, Hermann, Maximilian I: Das Reich, Österreich und Europa an der Wende zur Neuzeit, 5 vols. (Munich, 1971–85), 2:271–301Google Scholar.

12 The world turned upside down was a common theme in medieval literature and was frequently associated with the return of the Antichrist. In the late fifteenth century, it became a common tool used by social and religious reformers. See Curtius, Ernst Roberts, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages (Princeton, 1988), 94–98Google Scholar; Scribner, R. W., For the Sake of Simple Folk: Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation (Oxford, 1994), 148–89Google Scholar.

13 Sebastian Brant, “De corrupto ordine vivendi pereuntibus,” lines 29–194.

14 Ibid., lines 290–304.

15 Ibid., lines 305–22.

16 Ibid., lines 325–40, 349–98, 449–78.

17 There is no tension between Brant's use of astrology here and his apparent rejection of astrology and false prophets found elsewhere in his Ship of Fools. See, Wuttke, Dieter, “Sebastian Brants Verhältnis zu Wunderdeutung und Astrologie,” in Studien zur deutschen Literatur und Sprache des Mittelalters, ed. Besch, Werner et al. (Berlin, 1974), 272–86Google Scholar.

18 Modern critical editions and translations of Albumasar's works include editions of the medieval Latin translations. See Ma‘sar, Abū, The Abbreviation of the Introduction to Astrology: Together wiThthe Medieval Latin Translation of Adelard of Bath, ed. Burnett, Charles, Yamamoto, Keiji, and Yano, Michio (Leiden, 1994)Google Scholar; Ma‘sar, Abū, Liber introductorii maioris ad scientiam judiciorum astrorum [Book of the great introduction to the science of judicial astrology], ed. Lemay, Richard, 9 vols. (Naples, 1995)Google Scholar; Ma‘sar, Abū, On Historical Astrology: The Book of Religions and Dynasties (On the Great Conjunctions), ed. Yammamoto, Keiji and Burnett, Charles, 2 vols. (Leiden, 2000)Google Scholar. On Alcabitius, see: Alcabitius, , Al-Qabīsī (Alcabitius): The Introduction to Astrology, ed. Burnett, Charles, Yamamoto, Keiji, and Yano, Michio (London, 2004)Google Scholar.

19 Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 5318 contains Arnold of Friburg's translation, which was checked and corrected by Burkharten Kechk of Salzburg in 1474. Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 5318, fol. 128v.

20 For the manuscript tradition and printed editions of Albumasar's Conjunctio magnis, see Abū Ma‘sar, On Historical Astrology, 2:xi–xxx. For Alcabitius's Introductorius, see Alcabitius, Al-Qabīsī, 156–98.

21 The best introduction to this theory is North, J. D., “Astrology and the Fortune of Churches,” in North, Stars, Minds and Fate: Essays in Ancient and Medieval Cosmology (London, 1989), 59–89Google Scholar.

22 Alcabitius, Liber isagogicus Alchabitii de planetarum conjunctionibus [Alcabitius's introduction to planetary conjunctions] (Venice, 1485), cc8r.

23 An excellent example of this eclectic tradition is found in an early-sixteenth-century copy of Alcabitius. Throughout this text, a reader has added marginalia to indicate where Alcabitius's text agrees with or is in tension with Albumasar, Haly Abenragel, Leopold of Austria, Abubacher, Ptolemy, and Almansor. The text itself cites Messahalah and Dorotheus of Sidon. See Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 5275, fols. 221r–254r.

24 On d'Ailly, see Smoller, Laura Ackerman, History, Prophecy, and the Stars (Princeton, 1994)Google Scholar.

25 On the errors in d'Ailly's text, see Ibid., 67. On Grünpeck's use of them, see Hayton, Darin, “Joseph Grünpeck's Astrological Explanation of the French Disease,” in Sins of the Flesh: Responding to the Sexual Disease in Early Modern Europe, ed. Siena, Kevin (Toronto, 2005), 250–52Google Scholar.

26 For example, d'Ailly's texts were bound between a copy of “Liber de locis stellarum fixarum cum ymaginibus” and Arnold of Friburg's translation of Alcabitius. See Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 5318, fols. 38r–105v.

27 On Lichtenberger, see Kurze, Dietrich, Johannes Lichtenberger (†1503): Eine Studie zur Geschichte der Prophetie und Astrologie (Lübeck, 1960)Google Scholar.

28 Steven vanden Broecke has argued that Pico della Mirandola's famous critique of astrology, which included an attack on conjunctionist astrology, had a considerable impact by the early sixteenth century. with in the Viennese context, the first clear evidence of any direct engagement with Pico's critique does not occur until 1517, when Georg Tannstetter dismissed easily Pico's attack on astrology in his judicium for that year. See Broecke, Steven vanden, The Limits of influence: Pico, Louvain, and the Crisis of Renaissance Astrology (Leiden, 2003)Google Scholar. For Tannstetter's comment, see Tannstetter, Georg, Judicium Astronomicum Viennense. anni M.CCCCC.xvij. [Astrological judgement for Vienna for AD 1517] (Vienna, 1516), A2vGoogle Scholar.

29 See Ineichen-Eder, Christine E., “A Computus Notebook by Sebastian Brant (Clm 26618),” Scriptorium 35, no. 1 (1981): 91–95CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

30 Although later scholars would claim that the 1484 conjunction signaled Luther's advent, this was not a part of the texts during the fifteenth century. Only in the sixteenth century, after Luther's rise in fame, did people look back and consider Lichtenberger's ambiguous statement about a “little prophet” a reference to Luther. Kurze, Johannes Lichtenberger, 57–58.

31 Johannes Hispalensis, “Tractatus de signis coelestibus eorumque effectibus,” Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 5463, fol. 155r–v, 157v. John of Seville's ambiguity is understandable, as the Arab sources themselves were not clear on which method to employ. For example, Latin translations of Albumasar often included variations in the chorography. See Albumasar, “Liber magnarum conjunctionum,” Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 2436, fols. 250v–256r. The editors of the modern editions of Albumasar's On Great Conjunctions have highlighted the ambiguities in the chorographic tradition. See the editors' discussion in Abū Ma‘sar, On Historical Astrology, 1:513–19, and the table on 606.

32 In the fifteenth century d'Ailly drew attention to the diffi culty in determining the correct chorography. In his “De concordantia et disconcordantia astronomorum,” he summarized Albumasar's chorography, compared it to those of Guido Bonatti, Alcabitius, and Johannes de Muris before acknowledging that the discrepancies made it difficult to decide which system to use. See the late-fifteenth-century copy: Pierre d'Ailly, “De concordantia discordantium astronomorum” [On the agreement and disagreement amongst astronomers], Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 5318, fols. 104r–105v. For a contemporary association between Vienna and Mars, see Regiomontanus's astrological miscellany in Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 10534, fol. 171v. D'Ailly's “De concordantia” cited above, dated 1474, claims that Mars rules over Germany. D'Ailly, “De concordantia,” f. 104r. A contemporary printed example of this association is Joseph Grünpeck, Tractatus de pestilentiali Scorra sive mala de Franzos. Originem. Remediaque eiusdem continens [Treatise on the pestilential scourge or French evil, containing its origin and remedies] (Augsburg, 1496), C3r–v.

33 See, for example, Ptolemy, Quadripartitum, in Julius Firmicus Maternus, Astronomicon Lib. VIII. per Nicolaum Prucknerum Astrologum nuper ab innumeris mendis vindicati. His accesserun. CLAVDII PTOLEMAEI ποτɛλɛςμτων, quod Quadripartitum vocant, Lib. IIII [The Astronomicon in eight books, recently purged of innumerable errors by Nicolaus Pruckner. To this is added Claudius Ptolemy's ποτɛλɛςμτων, which is called the Quadripartitum, in four books] (Basel, 1533), 11. Arab astrologers adopted this division of signs, see Alcabitius, “Isagoge in astrorum iudicia ab Arnoldo de Friburgo in geranicam linquam translata,” Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 5318, fol. 108r.

34 Albumasar, , De magnis coniunctionibus [On the great conjunctions] (Venice, 1515), C1r, C1v–C2rGoogle Scholar.

35 Brant, “De currupto,” lines 309–24, 419–448.

36 Ibid., lines 455–82, 505–24.

37 Ibid., lines 505–12.

38 Ibid., line 580. On the emendation to the text to read “Alcathoe,” see Harrison, E. L., “Virgil, Sebastian Brant, and Maximilian I,” Modern Language Review 76, no. 1 (1981): 99–115CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Gottschalk, H. B., “The Conclusion of Brant's ‘De corrupto ordine vivendi pereuntibus,” Modern Language Review 77, no. 2 (1982): 348–50CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

39 Wiesflecker, Kaiser Maximilian I., 2:217–49.

40 Ibid, 5:344; Mertens, Dieter, “Maximilian I. und das Elsass,” in Die Humanisten in ihrer politischen und sozialen Umwelt, ed. Herding, Otto and Stupperich, Robert (Boppard, 1976), 177–201Google Scholar.

41 See Harrision, “Virgil, Sebastian Brant, and Maximilian I,” esp. 100.

42 Dieter Wuttke, “Sebastian Brant und Maximilian I. Eine Studie zu Brants Donnerstein-Flugblatt des Jahres 1492,” in Die Humanisten, ed. Herding and Stupperich, 154–55; Harrison, “Virgil, Sebastian Brant, and Maximilian I,” 103–5.

43 Wuttke, “Sebastian Brant und Maximilian I.,” 158–60.

44 Müller, Jan-Dirk, “Poet, Prophet, Politiker: Sebastian Brant als Publizist und die Rolle der laikalen Intelligenz um 1500,” Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik 10 (1980): 108–11Google Scholar; Wuttke, Dieter, “Erzaugur des heiligen Römischen Reiches deutscher Nation: Sebastian Brant deutet siamesische Tiergeburten,” Humanistica Lovaniensia 43 (1994): 110Google Scholar.

45 Dieter Wuttke, “Sebastian Brants Verhältnis zu Wunderdeutung und Astrologie,” in Studien zur deutschen Literatur, ed. Besch et al., 281.

46 In her analysis of prognostic pamphlets of the 1520s, Helga Robinson Hammerstein defi nes a pamphlet as “an independent imprint consisting of more than one sheet, addressed to the general public with the aim of agitation (i.e. influencing people's actions) and/or propaganda (i.e. influencing people's convictions).” This definition seems to impose a problematic distinction between actions and convictions that would be difficult to evaluate. See Hammerstein, Helga Robinson, “The Battle of the Booklets: Prognostic Tradition and Proclamation of the Word in Early Sixteenth-Century Germany” in ‘Astrologi hallucinati’-Stars and the End of the World in Luther's Time, ed. Zambelli, Paola (Berlin, 1986), 129–51, esp. 130Google Scholar. On pamphlets in general, see the work of Köhler, Hans-Joachim, especially “Die Flugschriften: Versuch der Präzisierung eines geläufi gen Begriffs,” in Festgabe für Ernst Walter Zeeden zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. Rabe, Horst, Molitor, H., and Rublack, H.-C. (Munich, 1976), 36–61Google Scholar; and Köhler, “The Flugschriften and their Importance in Religious Debate: A Quantitative Approach,” in “Astrologi hallucinatirdquo;, ed. Zambelli, 153–75. On Maximilian's use of pamphlets during the Hebrew debate around Reuchlin and Pfefferkorn, see Oberman, Heiko A., “Zwischen Agitation und Reformation: Die Flugschrift en als ‘Judenspiegel’,” in Flugschrift en als Massenmedium der Reformationszeit: Beiträge zum Tübinger Symposium 1980, ed. Köhler, (Stuttgart, 1981), 269–89Google Scholar. Schwitalla, Johannes, “Deutsche Flugschrift en im ersten Viertel des 16. Jahrhunderts,” Freiburger Universitätsblätter 76 (1982): 37–58Google Scholar.

47 Niccoli, Ottavia, Profeti e popolo nell'Italia del Rinascimento [People and prophecy in Renaissance Italy] (Rome, 1987)Google Scholar; Kagan, Richard L., Lucretia's Dreams: Politics and Prophecy in Sixteenth-Century Spain (Berkeley, 1990)Google Scholar; Germana Ernst, “Astrology, Religion and Politics in Counter-Reformation Rome,” and Curry, Patrick, “Astrology in Early Modern England: The Making of a Vulgar Knowledge,” both in Science, Culture and Popular Belief in Renaissance Europe, ed. Pumphrey, Stephen, Rossi, Paolo L., and Slawinski, Maurice (Manchester, 1991), 249–73 and 274–91, respectivelyGoogle Scholar; Curry, Patrick, Prophecy and Power: Astrology in Early Modern England (Princeton, 1989)Google Scholar; Capp, Bernard, English Almanacs, 1500–1800: Astrology and the Popular Press (Ithaca, 1979), esp. 67–101Google Scholar.

48 Veenstra, Jan R., Magic and Divination at the Courts of Burgundy (Leiden, 1998)Google Scholar; Carey, Hilary, Courting Disaster: Astrology at the English Court and University in the Later Middle Ages (New York, 1992)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Smoller, History, Prophecy, and the Stars. Girolamo Cardano illustrates how authors accommodated their works to diff erent audiences. See Graft, Anthony on, Cardano's Cosmos: The Worlds and Works of a Renaissance Astrologer (Cambridge, 1999), esp. 109–27Google Scholar.

49 For the distinction between inductive and subjective divination, see Potter, David, Prophets and Emperors: Human and Divine Authority from Augustus to Theodosius (Cambridge, 1994), 15–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

50 Simon de Phares dismissed subjective prognostication in his Recueil des plus célèbres astrologues. Jean-Patrice Boudet has analyzed de Phares's text and has argued that prophecy was not respected at courts and amongst educated astrologers. Although de Phares rejected one form of prophecy—subjective divination and its reliance on an inspired individual—he was a proponent of astrology and other forms of inductive divination. Boudet recognizes, however, that de Phares's rejection of popular prophecy might not have been universal. Gabriella Zarri fi nds prophets at a number of Italian courts. See Jean-Patrice Boudet, “Simon de Phares et les rapports entre astrologie et prophétie à la fi n du Moyen Âge” [Simon de Phares and the relationship between astrology and prophecy at the end of the middle ages], and Zarri, Gabriella, “Les Prophètes de cour dans l'Italie de la Renaissance” [Prophets at court in Renaissance Italy], both in Les Textes prophétiques et la prophétie en occident (XIIe–XVIe siècle) [Prophetic texts and prophecy in the West (12th–16th centuries)], ed. Vauchez, André (Rome, 1990), 327–52, esp. n39, and 359–85, respectivelyGoogle Scholar.

51 For the relationship between prophecy, astrology, and politics in antiquity, see Barton, Ancient Astrology; Potter, Prophets and Emperors. For the failure of learned astrology in the popular literature, see Niccoli, Profeti e popolo nell'Italia del Rinascimento.

52 See Wuttke, “Sebastian Brant und Maximilian I."; Wuttke, “Sebastian Brants Verhältnis zu Wunderdeutung und Astrologie.” See also, Müller, “Poet, Prophet, Politiker.”

53 Recent monographs on Celtis include: Luh, Peter, Die unvollendete Werkausgabe des Conrad Celtis und ihre Holzschnitte (Frankfurt am Main, 2001)Google Scholar; and Müller, Gernot Michael, Die ‘Germania generalis’ des Conrad Celtis: Studien mit Edition, Übersetzung und Kommentar (Tübingen, 2001)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. For Celtis's relationship to Stabius and Stiborius in the context of the Vienna court, see Grössing, Humanistische Naturwissenschaft, 147–70. The older literature remains useful: Spitz, Lewis, Conrad Celtis. The German Arch-Humanist (Cambridge, 1957)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Gingerick, Virginia, “The Ludus Diane of Conrad Celtis,” Germanic Review 15, no. 3 (1940): 159–80CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Gustav Bauch has studied Celtis in his various university contexts: Bauch, Gustav, Deutsche Scholaren in Krakau in der Zeit der Renaissance, 1460 bis 1520 (Breslau, 1901)Google Scholar; Bauch, , Die Anfänge des Humanismus in Ingolstadt (Munich, 1901)Google Scholar; and Bauch, , Die Rezeption des Humanismus in Wien (Breslau, 1903)Google Scholar.

54 Aschbach, Joseph, Die Wiener Universität und ihre Humanisten im Zeitalter Kaiser Maximilians I. (Vienna, 1877), 41–60Google Scholar.

55 In the history of the University of Vienna, Celtis's college is usually considered an institutional expression of Maximilian's efforts to introduce humanism into the curriculum. The tension between humanism and scholasticism is, in fact, the framework with in which all histories of the university have been written. Although humanism was important, I have argued elsewhere that it is not the only lens through which to view the university and the activities of its masters. See Hayton, Darin, “Astrologers and Astrology in Vienna During the Era of Emperor Maximilian I (1493–1519),” (PhD diss., University of Notre Dame, 2004)Google Scholar. On the history of Vienna as seen through the history of humanism, see: Kink, Rudolf, Geschichte der kaiserlichen Universität zu Wien, 2 vols. (Vienna, 1854), 1:184–230Google Scholar; Aschbach, Wiener Universität, 41–122; Bauch, Rezeption des Humanismus in Wien, 55–170; Großmann, Karl, “Die Frühzeit des Humanismus in Wien bis zu Celtis Berufung 1497,” Jahrbuch für Landeskunde von Niederösterreich 22 (1929): 152–325, esp. 220–34 and 309–23Google Scholar; Grössing, , Humanistische Naturwissenschaft; Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer, Humanismus zwischen Hof und Universität: Georg Tannstetter (Collimitius) und sein wissenschaftliches Umfeld im Wien des frühen 16. Jahrhunderts (Vienna, 1996)Google Scholar; Mühlberger, Kurt, “Die Gemeinde der Lehrer und Schüler-Alma Mater Rudolphina,” in Wien: Geschichte einer Stadt, vol. 1, Von den Anfängen bis zur ersten Wiener Türkenbelagerung (1529), ed. Csendes, Peter and Opll, Ferdinand (Vienna, 2000), 319–410, esp. 395–98Google Scholar.

56 Traditionally, scholars have referred to this period as the “second Viennese mathematical school.” See Grössing, Humanistische Naturwissenschaft, 145–47.

57 See Grössing, Helmut, “Johannes Stabius. Ein Oberösterreicher im Kreis der Humanisten um Kaiser Maximilian I.,” Mitteilungen des Oberösterreichischen Landesarchivs 9 (1968): 239–64Google Scholar; and Grössing, Humanistische Naturwissenschaft, 170–74. See also Schöner, Christoph, Mathematik und Astronomie an der Universität Ingolstadt im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert (Berlin, 1994)Google Scholar.

58 See Graf-Stuhlhofer, Humanismus zwischen Hof und Universität, 44–47; Bauch, Rezeption des Humanismus in Wien, 117–56; Aschbach, Wiener Universität, 61–122.

59 See the founding charter in Aschbach, Wiener Universität, 440–41. There is some disagreement about whether or not Celtis actually crowned Stabius. See Schmid, Alois, “‘Poeta et orator a Caesare laureatus’: Die Dichterkrönungen Kaiser Maximilians I.,” Historisches Jahrbuch 109 (1989): 75Google Scholar; and Bauch, Rezeption des Humanismus in Wien, 151–52.

60 Schmid, “‘Poeta et Orator a Caesare laureatus‘,” esp. 65–83. Hermann Wiesflecker makes much the same point: Wiesflecker, Maximilian I., 5:452–66. See also Diederichs, Peter, Kaiser Maximilian I. als politischer Publizist (Jena, 1933)Google Scholar; and Hönig, Edeltraud, “Kaiser Maximilian I als politischer Publizist,” (PhD diss., University of Graz, 1970)Google Scholar.

61 On Stabius's activities at Ingolstadt, see Schöner, Mathematik und Astronomie, esp. 272–84.

62 On Celtis's Ludus Diane, see Spitz, Conrad Celtis, 72–76, and Gingerick, “The Ludus Diane of Conrad Celtis.” Conrad Celtis, Ludus Diane in modum Comedie coram Maximiliano Rhomanorum Rege Kalendis Martijs et Ludis saturnalibus in arce Linsiana danubij actus [Diane, a comedy, and Saturnalian plays performed before Maximilian, King of the Romans, on the first of March, in the castle at Linz] (Nuremberg, 1501).

63 Johannes Stabius, “Carmen Saphicum: ad Max. Ro. re.” [Sapphic Prophecy, dedicated to Maximilian, King of the Romans], in Celtis, Ludus Diane, A5v–A6v.

64 Judicia and practica were annual astrological pamphlets that contained predictions for the coming year, including the fortunes of cities, countries, and groups of people, such as businessmen or academics; the likelihood of diseases, war, or famine; propitious times to bloodlet or take medicines; and weather predictions. Practica were the vernacular counterpart to judicia. Prognostica were generally produced in response to a prodigious or unusual event, such as a comet or a planetary conjunction. Hammerstein's claim that these texts do not qualify as pamphlets “since the material was presented with out any intention of influencing conviction or stimulating agitation” is problematic. Stabius's poem, which was produced in quarto format as well as a broadsheet, is clearly intended to influence conviction and action. See Hammerstein, “The Battle of the Booklets,” 130. Judicia and practica still await a careful analysis. For a start, see Hayton, “Astrologers and Astrology in Vienna,” esp. 292–370.

65 Stabius had probably adopted a similar tone in his 1499 judicium and defi nitely did so in his 1501 practica. See Hayton, “Astrologers and Astrology in Vienna,” 332–34.

66 For Brant's use of Virgil, see Harrison, “Virgil, Sebastian Brant, and Maximilian I.”

67 In his poem, Stabius borrowed liberally from epic poets such as Virgil, Lucan, and Ovid, as well as from Pliny and Macrobius.

68 On the combination of astrology and prophecy, see Reeves, Marjorie, The influence of Prophecy in the Later Middle Ages: A Study of Joachimism, 2nd ed. (Notre Dame, 1993)Google Scholar; Kurze, Johannes Lichtenberger; Kurze, “Popular Astrology and Prophecy in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries: Johannes Lichtenberger,” in ‘Astrologi hallucinati,’ ed. Zambelli, 177–93.

69 Johannes Stabius, Prognosticon Ioann: Stabii: Au: vatis: & Poe. Lau. ad annos domini: M:D:iii: & iiii: [Prognostication for the years 1503–04, by Johannes Stabius, prophet of Austria and poet laureate] (Nuremberg, [1503]), lines 4–6.

70 Ibid., lines 11–13.

71 Stabius had studied astronomy, astrology, and mathematics at the University of Ingolstadt before becoming a master there. In this context, it is reasonable to expect that he had studied and perhaps lectured on the more sophisticated texts of Albumasar and Alcabitius. On Stabius's time at Ingolstadt, see Schöner, Mathematik und Astronomie.

72 Stabius, Prognosticon, lines 14–21.

73 Ibid., lines 49–58.

74 According to modern calculations, the planets would have the following conjunction patterns: Saturn and Jupiter would conjoin two times between 30 August 1503 and 25 June 1504, for a total of seven months; Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars would conjoin twice between 9 October 1503 and 12 March 1504. See Tuckerman, Bryant, Planetary, Lunar, and Solar Positions A.D. 2 to A.D 1649 at Five-Day and Ten-Day Intervals (Philadelphia, 1964), 769–770Google Scholar.

75 Stabius, Prognosticon, lines 59–62.

76 The best introduction to this tradition remains Reeves, influence of Prophecy, esp. 295–392. See also Tanner, Marie, The Last Descendant of Aeneas: The Habsburgs and the Mythic Image of the Emperor (New Haven, 1993), esp. 119–30Google Scholar. For this specific context, see Shank, “Academic Consulting in Fifteenth-Century Vienna.”

77 In the late fifteenth century, the most famous attempt to find a different Last World Emperor was the anonymous Tractatus de Turcis, which proposed Mathias Corvinus. The Tractatus de Turcis enjoyed a wide readership in both manuscript and printed editions. A typical, late-fifteenth-century manuscript, annotated in the 1480s and 1490s, is Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. lat. 4224, esp. fols. 348r–364r. A contemporary printed edition is Tractatus quidam de Turcis [A treatise on the Turks] (Nuremberg, 1481).

78 Kurze's studies remain the fundamental work on Lichtenberger. See Kurze, Johannes Lichtenberger; Kurze, “Popular Astrology and Prophecy.”

79 Lichtenberger points to these two events in the complete title of his work: Prognosticatio Ioannis Liechtenbergers, Quam olim scripsit super magna illa Saturni ac Iovis coniunctione, quae fuit Anno M.CCCC.LXXXIIII. praeterea ad eclipsim Solis anni sequentis videlicet LXXXV. [Johannes Lichtenberger's prognostication, which he wrote recently about the great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter that occurred in the year 1484 as well as about the eclipse of the sun in the following year, namely 1485] (Heidelberg, 1488).

80 Kurze characterizes Lichtenberger's astrology as simplistic. See Kurze, “Popular Astrology and Prophecy,” 184–85. Further, Kurze has argued that Lichtenberger was interested in astrology only in so far as it lent credibility to his prophetic interpretations. See Kurze, Johannes Lichtenberger, 40–43.

81 Reeves characterizes Lichtenberger's position as “Joachimist” because of this focus on the nova reformatio rather than on the Antichrist. Reeves, influence of Prophecy, 349. This needs to be nuanced in light of Joachim of Fiore's emphasis on antichrists and the Antichrist. See Lerner, Robert, “Antichrists and Antichrist in Joachim of Fiore,” Speculum 60, no. 3 (1985): 553–70CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

82 Late fifteenth-century Methodian prophecies also looked to Maximilian as the Last World Emperor. See the 1498 edition: Opusculum divinarum revelationum sancti Methodij [A short text of the divine revelations of Saint Methodius] (Basel, 1498).

83 On Planetenkinder, see Rehder, Helmut, “Planetenkinder: Some Problems of Character Portrayal in Literature,” The Graduate Journal 8, no. 1 (1968): 69–97Google Scholar; Strauss, Heinz Artur, “Zur Sinndeutung der Planetenkinderbilder,” Münchener Jahrbücher der bildenden Kunst, new series, 2 (1925): 44–49Google Scholar.

84 Stabius, Prognosticon, lines 76–85.

85 Some of these prophecies were printed in a modern edition in the late nineteenThcentury. See Sackur, Ernst, Sibyllinische Texte und Forschungen: Pseudomethodius, Adso und tiburtinische Sibylle (Halle, 1898)Google Scholar.

86 Stabius, Prognosticon, line 86.

87 Ibid., lines 90–100.

88 Sackur, Sibyllinische Texte, 92.

89 Ibid., 74–75.

90 Ibid., 91–92. On the tradition of Alexander's Gates, see Anderson, Andrew Runni, Alexander's Gate, Gog and Magog, and the Enclosed Nations (Cambridge, 1938), esp. 44–48Google Scholar. See also Gow, Andrew, “Gog and Magog on Mappaemundi and Early Printed World Maps: Orientalizing Ehtnography in the Apocalyptic Tradition,” Journal of Early Modern History 2, no. 1 (1998): 61–88CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

91 Stabius, Prognosticon, lines 99–112.

92 Ibid., lines 125–40.

93 Ibid., lines 141–46.

94 Ibid., lines 147–48.

95 Ibid., lines 149–60.

96 Diederichs, Kaiser Maximilian I., 43–44; Wiesflecker, Maximilian I., 3:144–63.

97 Diederichs, Kaiser Maximilian I., 44.

98 On Stabius's title of nobility, see Grössing, “Johannes Stabius,” 248–49. On Stabius's yearly stipend, see the letter from Maximilian dated September 1514, in Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses 1 (1883): #332.

99 Stuhlhofer, Franz, “Andrej Perlach kot ucenec jurija Tannstetterja na dunaju” [Andreas Perlach as student of Georg Tannstetter in Vienna], Casopis za zgodovino in narodopisje [Review for history and ethnography] 27, no. 2 (1991): 280–83Google Scholar.

100 In calling his work an ephemerides, Perlach was trying to merge the earlier practica-judicia literature with the almanac or wall calendar literature. For a discussion of his efforts, see Hayton, “Astrologers and Astrology in Vienna,“215–91. Although Hammerstein does not consider astrological texts of this type to be pamphlets, her definition of a pamphlet-influencing conviction or action-applies to this text.

101 Perlach, Andreas, Ephemerides Andree Perlachij Stiri ex Witscheyn, Artium & Philosophiae magistri magnificae Urbis Viennensis collegae, pro Anno domini & Saluatoris nostri Iesu christi M.D.XXIX. [Ephemerides for the year of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, 1529, by Andreas Perlach from Witschein in Styria, master of the arts and philosophy at the renowned college in the city of Vienna] (Vienna, [1528]), A1vGoogle Scholar.

102 On Ferdinand's reforms at the University of Vienna, see Mühlberger, “Die Gemeinde der Lehrer und Schüler,” 395–96; Kink, Geschichte der kaiserlichen Universität zu Wien, 1:252–57.

103 On the use of patrons in the history of science, see Biagioli, Mario, Galileo Courtier: The Practice of Science in the Culture of Absolutism (Chicago, 1994)Google Scholar.

104 Perlach, Ephemerides … M.D.XXIX., A1v.

105 Ibid., M2r.

106 Ibid., M2v.

107 Ibid., M4r.

108 A brief account of the siege of Vienna is found in Peter Csendes and Ferdinand Opll, “Geschichte Wiens im Mittelalter,” in Wien, ed. Csendes and Opll, 187–90. See also Fichtner, Paula Sutter, Ferdinand I of Austria: The Politics of Dynasticism in the Age of the Reformation (New York, 1982), 84Google Scholar; Parker, Geoffrey, “The Political World of Charles V,” in Charles V and His Time: 1500–1558, ed. Soly, Hugo (Antwerp, 1999), 155–56Google Scholar.

109 Hellmann, Gustav, “Versuch einer Geschichte der Wettervorhersage im XVI. Jahrhundert,” in Abhandlungen der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft: Physikalisch-Mathematische Klasse 1, no. 1 (1924): 26Google Scholar. On Carion, see Reisiniger, Reiner, Historische Horoskopie. Das iudicium magnum des Johannes Carion für Albrecht Dürers Patenkind (Wiesbaden, 1997)Google Scholar; Fürst, Dietmar and Hamel, Jürgen, Johann Carion (1499–1537): Der erste Berliner Astronom (Berlin, 1988)Google Scholar.

110 Carion, Johannes, Bedeutnuss und Off enbarung (Berlin, 1526), B2vGoogle Scholar.

111 Ibid., B3r.

112 This exchange took place in the preface to Perlach's 1531 tract on the signifi cance of a recent comet. See Andreas Perlach, Des Cometen und ander erscheinung in den lüfften / Im XXXI. Jar gesehenn bedütung Durch Andreen Perlach von Witschein / der sibenn freyen / und natürlichen kunst maister / Diser zeyt auff der löblichen hohen schül zü Wien / in der Astronomey / was die himlischen leüff würckung / und / jre einflüß betreffen ist / verordenter Läser (n.p., 1531), A4r.

113 Perlach, Ephemerides … M.D.XXIX., M4v.

114 The solstitial signs are Cancer and Capricorn. The equinoctial are Aries and Libra. The solid signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. The bicorporeal are Gemini, Virgo, Sagitarius, and Pisces. On the division of signs, see Ptolemy, Quadripartiti (Venice, 1519), fols. 15v–16r.

115 Perlach, Ephemerides … M.D.XXIX., M4v.

116 Ibid., M5r.

117 Ibid., M5r.

118 Ptolemy, Quadripartiti, fols. 32r–33r. On regions aff ected, the duration, and the general character, see Ibid., 33r–39 v.

119 Perlach, Ephemerides … M.D.XXIX., M5r.

120 Ibid., M5r.

121 Ibid., M5v.

122 Ibid.

123 Ibid.

124 He was not wrong in his assumption. At least one reader was particularly concerned with this aspect of his work, underlining the relevant lines in the preface where Perlach attacked Carion. See the Boston Public Library's copy of Ibid., A1v.

125 The section “De eff ectumm [sic] deliquiorum luminarium qualitate” is a long list of ills that were caused by the lunar and solar eclipses. Andreas Perlach, Ephemerides Andreae Perlachii Stiri ex Witschein, Artium & Philosophiae magistri, Mathematicarum disciplinarum studij Viennesis professoris ordinarij, pro Anno domini & Saluatoris nostri Iesu Christi M.D.XXXI. [Ephemerides for the year of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, 1531, by Andreas Perlach from Witschein in Styria, master of arts and philosophy, professor ordinarius of the mathematical subjects at the University of Vienna] (Vienna, 1530), A3v–A4v.

126 Fichtner, Ferdinand I of Austria, 79–91.

127 Geoff rey Parker, “The Political World of Charles V,” 155–61. See also Kohler, Alfred, Karl V. 1500–1558 (Munich, 1999), 208–18, esp. 213–14Google Scholar.

128 Perlach dated the dedicatory letter “12 Decembris Anno 1530.” Perlach, Ephemerides … M.D.XXXI., A1r.

129 Ibid.

130 Ibid., A4r.

131 Perlach employed Ptolemy's doctrine of prorogation, which was used to determine the lengThof a person's life, to estimate the duration of a religion or kingdom. Ptolemy had noted that the theory was analogous, whether applied to a person, a city, or a kingdom. Albumasar had developed this application in his work on great conjunctions. See Ptolemy, Quadripartiti, III, 10; Albumasar, De magnis coniunctionibus.

132 Perlach, Ephemerides … M.D.XXXI., A4r.

133 Ibid.

134 Ibid.

135 Fichtner, Ferdinand I of Austria, 88.

136 On Tycho's use of Vogelin's text, see Christianson, J. R., “Tycho Brahe's German Treatise on the Comet of 1577: A Study in Science and Politics,” Isis 70, no. 1 (1979): 110–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

137 Shank, “Academic Consulting in Fift eenth-Century Vienna.”

138 Maximilian's use of the printing press has long been recognized. Here, I am pointing to the importance of astrology in his printed propaganda campaigns, especially as it was a tool in pro-Habsburg pamphlets. On Maximilian's use of print, see Diederichs, Kaiser Maximilian I. als politischer Publizist; and Hönig, “Kaiser Maximilian I als politischer Publizist.”