The Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula
Land of Astral Magic
This chapter considers a larger medieval perception of the Iberian Peninsula: that to other medieval Europeans, Spain was a shadowy land of magic. A supposedly nefarious region no good Christian should visit, lest they be tempted in acquiring secret knowledge aided by demonic agency, the Iberian Peninsula represented, in some medieval writers' understanding, a domain of occult and dark knowledge. The presence there of Jewish and Muslim communities, whose knowledge, culture, languages, and religious practices seemed to some Christians alien, at best, and abhorrent, at worst, contributed to this understanding of Iberia. Another reason why some medieval people may have perceived Spain as a land of prognosticators might be a theory ascribed to the ancient astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus. Better known as Ptolemy, his Tetrabiblos systematized various ancient astrological theories that incorporated Babylonian, Egyptian, and Indian knowledge. Because of his sidereal works, medieval scholars considered Ptolemy one of the foremost ancient authorities in astronomy and astrology, and used his authoritative writings to legitimize their own contemporary views of astrology and astronomy.
Keywords: Spain, Iberian Peninsula, magic, occult, Middle Ages, ancient astronomer, Claudius Ptolemaeus, astronomy, astrology, Ptolemy
Cornell Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
