Medieval people had a working, observation-based theory of the structure and working of the cosmos. As a result, they also had a science of magic. You may be asking: A science of magic? Isn't that a contradiction? I hope that by the end of the episode, you'll see that it isn't. We'll briefly cover astrology, magic, and alchemy, and along the way, we may find an answer to that age-old question: magnets, how do they work?
Further Reading
Kieckhefer, Richard. Magic in the Middle Ages. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
This little book of about 200 pages has just about everything you need to know about the history, theory, and practice of magic in the Middle Ages. It's very accessibly written for both the student and general-interest reader alike. I borrowed liberally from his chapter on astrology and natural magic.
Collins, David J., ed. The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
This is an in-depth history of magic in the Western Tradition. It's written by some of the leading experts in the history of medieval magic, and is an excellent combination of accessibility and "crunch."
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