THE FIRST COPERNICAN ASTROLOGER: ANDREAS AURIFABER'S PRACTICA FOR 1541

摘要

One of the perennial products of German printing presses from the 1470s into the seventeenth century were 'practicas', small quarto booklets typically consisting of no more than 8 or 12 leaves, in which astrologers of lesser or greater renown and ability rendered their judgement on the configuration of the heavens in the upcoming year and the effect of cosmic influences on the weather, agricultural productivity, and human fortunes. Practicas often appeared together with a broadside almanac or calendar, but where the almanacs primarily presented factual information, practicas were more interpretive, argumentative, and persuasive in nature. While practicas appeared throughout Europe, they were particularly popular and common in the German-speaking lands.