Previous articleNext article FreeDarin Hayton. The Crown and the Cosmos: Astrology and the Politics of Maximilian I. xiii + 312 pp., figs., bibl., index. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015. $45 (cloth).David JusteDavid Juste Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreThe relationships between astrology and politics in medieval and Renaissance Europe have been the subject of increasing scholarly interest over the past twenty-five years, notably in the work of Jean-Patrice Boudet (France), Hilary Carey (England), Michael Ryan (Aragon), and Monica Azzolini (Milan). The book under review is the first to deal systematically with a German ruler—namely, Maximilian I of the house of Habsburg, King of the Romans from 1486 and de facto Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death in 1519. As Darin Hayton states at the outset, “what distinguished Maximilian’s reliance on astrology from that of his predecessors and contemporaries was his consistent and public use of astrologers and astrology to advance his political programs” (p. 3), yet “little effort has been made, in any language, to investigate the scientific culture, specifically the astrological culture, at Maximilian’s court” (p. 8).The book can be divided into two broad sections. The first two chapters (pp. 14–67) examine Maximilian’s biography and political propaganda on the basis of various literary and astrological sources, including a vast autobiographical corpus (Weisskunig and Theuerdank, among others) depicting Maximilian’s idealized court, where astrology and astrologers feature prominently. Chapters 3–7 (pp. 68–195) analyze the works and achievements of a group of astrologers associated with the Habsburg court and the University of Vienna and, in particular, with the Collegium Poetarum et Mathematicorum established at the university by Maximilian in 1497: Andreas Stiborius, Georg Tannstetter, Andreas Perlach, and Johannes Stabius. The reader is introduced to the astronomical and astrological teaching at the University of Vienna (Ch. 3; pp. 68–97); to two original instruments specifically designed for the emperor’s use, Stiborius’s Clipeus Austrie and Stabius’s Horoscopion (Ch. 4; pp. 98–117); to Tannstetter’s wall calendars and annual prognostications (Ch. 5; pp. 118–144); to Perlach’s ephemerides (Ch. 6; pp. 145–169); and to three texts on the great conjunctions of 1504 and 1524 and on comets, in which these authors combine political predictions and eschatological interpretations to the emperor’s glory and in support of his political action (Ch. 7; pp. 145–169).Hayton has built his book on thorough research in original documents, in both Latin and German, including early prints and manuscripts preserved in Vienna, Munich, and other European libraries. He provides a clear and informed account of the multifaceted activities of Maximilian’s astrologers and does an excellent job of placing them in their proper social and intellectual contexts. Maximilian’s involvement in astrological matters and close relationships with his astrologers are continually stressed throughout the book. These, however, appear at times exaggerated, even made up. Claims such as “The emperor imagined a much broader and more public role for astrology and astrologers in politics than any of his contemporaries” (p. 8) or the one quoted in the opening paragraph of this review are hard to appreciate, as no attempt is made to compare Maximilian with other European rulers. The mutual relationships between Maximilian and his astrologers hardly extend beyond the obvious: on the one hand, Maximilian supported his astrologers through funding and promotion, and, on the other, these astrologers acknowledged the emperor’s support in their prefaces and dedications. This had been common practice since antiquity and tells us little about the emperor’s exact involvement with astrology. Particularly striking at Maximilian’s court, when compared to other European courts, is the (apparently) complete absence of documented practical uses of astrology. Hayton reports no consultations, no questions put by the emperor to his astrologers, and no interpretations of horoscopes during Maximilian’s reign. The unique example presented in the book is Stiborius’s Clipeus Austrie, which, according to Hayton, Maximilian employed in Vienna in July 1506 “to guide his peace negotiations with the Hungarian King Ladislaus” (pp. 102–103, 198). This, however, appears to be Hayton’s invention. The Clipeus Austrie is known from a single manuscript (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliotheek, Clm 19689, fols. 286r–292r), where it is said that Stiborius dedicated and presented the instrument to the emperor in 1506 (fol. 288r), but nowhere do we find evidence that Maximilian made any use of it.In spite of these reservations, The Crown and the Cosmos represents a valuable addition to our knowledge of a group of little-studied astrologers and their works, as well as of a little-known aspect of Maximilian’s reign—namely, his passion for and continued support of astrology. Notes David Juste is Research Leader of the project Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus at the Bavarian Academy of Science in Munich. Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Isis Volume 108, Number 1March 2017 Publication of the History of Science Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/690793 © 2017 by The History of Science Society. 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