Comparing Latin and Islamic Contexts of Teaching and Learning Astrology in the Medieval Period

What was the role of astronomical tables as pedagogical tools for the teaching of astrology in the medieval period? In considering the genres of texts used for teaching astrology in Islamic contexts, the introductory text (mudkhal) was a central component of study. Oftentimes these introductions make reference to a table of planetary motion (zīj), where one may find explanations for performing technical calculations of mathematical astrology. Similarly, in the medieval Latin tradition, planetary tables included sets of instructions or canons (canones) which provide details on astrological calculations. European students would also read Latin renditions of the Arabic introductions. This paper examines John of Saxony’s canons to the Alfonsine Tables and his commentary to Alcabitius’s Introduction to Astrology in order to reconstruct how astrological techniques were taught in the fourteenth-century at the University of Paris. By comparing this analysis with the relationship between introductory texts and tables in the Islamic world, we may better assess the importance of astronomical tables in the teaching and learning of technical astrology in both cultures. Furthermore, this comparison also raises the question of the impact of the institutional setting of universities on the formalization of some aspects of astrological pedagogy.