Culture and Cosmos is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the history of
astrology and cultural astronomy published by the
Sophia Centre Press in
partnership with the Sophia
Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, Faculty of Humanitiies and the
Performing Arts, at the University
of Wales Trinity Saint David
We are currently seeking submissions for future volumes of Culture and Cosmos.
We are currently seeking submissions for future volumes of Culture and Cosmos.
Volume 3, No. 2
An Astrological Prognostication to Duke Cosimo de' Medici of Florence
Claudia Rousseau.
Abstract
The Italian High Renaissance saw the high point of the use of astrology in the timing of both military and political events. It is known that Cosimo I de' Medici, Duke of Florence, delayed the decisive battle in his war against Siena in 1554, against the advice of his commanders in the field. A previously unpublished astrological prognostic may have influenced his military strategy which, in fact, led to his eventual victory at Marciano on 2 August 1554. This paper presents a discussion of the circumstances surrounding the campaign, and a translation and analysis of the prognostic sent to Duke Cosimo in March 1554 by the astrologer Francesco Formiconi.
