Political Astrology in Italy
Astrology as a subject can be divided into a variety of different types. There are three of particular importance: elections, nativities and interrogations. Elections refer to astrology with the goal of determining when, precisely, to undertake a task. Nativities refer to making astrological predictions based on the time of a person's birth. Finally, interrogations refer to determining the answer to a question based on the astrological condition present when the question was asked.
The value of information provided by these methods is self-evident. It would be reasonable to assume that the nobility and private persons of standing would request the services of astrologers en masse; however this did not occur immediately. Technical knowledge of astrology developed in Europe starting in the tenth century with translations of Arabic and Hellenistic texts that described how instruments could be used to accurately measure the heavens. However, even after the process of assimilating Arabic language writings was more or less complete, evidence for widespread client-based astrology is scarce before the fifteenth century, when it became widely practiced and well-documented especially in Italy.
Once client based astrology was established and politicians began asking for astrological information, one of the most common requests was a prognostication on time of death. Astrologers commonly accomplished these predictions through a combination of nativity and interrogation. They enjoyed a substantial clientele, particularly among northern Italian nobles. Requests of this nature did not only regard one’s own lifespan but the lifespans of others as well. For example, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, duke of Milan, once requested information regarding the outcome of an illness afflicting Ferdinand, king of Naples, his political enemy. Upon receiving a prediction of death, the duke quickly mobilized his forces, positioning them to take action in support of Alfonso, Ferdinand’s son and Galeazzo's nephew. Ferdinand would live another nineteen years, but Galeazzo’s response shows the political weight astrological intelligence could hold.
There are further examples of astrology’s political weight in Florence, this time in regard to astrological elections as they relate to military matters. There is, for example, an account of Florentine soldiers breaking ranks in 1362 in order to cross city walls at an astrologically fortuitous time.
The most frequent and public example of Florentine reliance on elections involves the ceremony of the baton. This ceremony was a military ritual in which the high magistrate of the Florentine republic delivered a baton and banner to the republic’s captain general as a sign of their command: its timing was deeply tied to astrology. Before the event took place, Florentine officials would consult astrologers on the ideal moment for pointing their citizens' loyalty towards the office of the captain general with astrologers responding down to the specific hour. In 1453, the ceremony was delayed after having already been set and an order rescined that had already been received in the field at the behest of the astrologers, once again demonstrating the influence of astrology on political decisions.
Sources and Further Reading:
Azzolini, Monica. “The Political Uses of Astrology: Predicting the Illness and Death of Princes, Kings and Popes in the Italian Renaissance.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. 41, no. 2 (2010): 135–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.04.009.
Carey, Hilary M. “Judicial Astrology in Theory and Practice in Later Medieval Europe.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. 41, no. 2 (2010): 90–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.04.004.
Rutkin, H Darrel. Astrology in Society, Politics and Culture. Sapientia Astrologica: Astrology, Magic and Natural Knowledge, ca. 1250-1800 : I. Medieval Structures (1250-1500): Conceptual, Institutional, Socio-Political, Theologico-Religious and Cultural /. Vol. 55. Cham : Springer International Publishing :, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10779-6_11.