Ps-Ptolemy’s Ὁ Καρπός and Byzantine Astrological Practice

Detail of the first page of a 15/16th-century copy of the Ὁ Καρπός. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Pal.gr. 270, fol. 107r.

Date: Apr 1, 2021 Time: 4:00 PM–5:00 PM Location: Zoom

Darin Hayton explores ps-Ptolemy’s Ὁ Καρπός to elucidate the culture of astrology in the later Byzantine empire.

About the Speaker

Darin Hayton, Haverford College

Darin Hayton is the Associate Professor of History of Science at Haverford College. He studied History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Notre Dame. He has held fellowships in Vienna, Munich, London, and Wolfenbüttel. He was also Research Officer at the History of Science Museum (Oxford), where he worked extensively with their collection of astrolabes. His research focuses on the various rhetorical and material ways scientific knowledge is recognized, articulated, and rendered authoritative. In particular, he studies the interplay between astrological practices and political authority in premodern Europe. His first book explored the place of astrology at the Holy Roman Court under Emperor Maximilian I. He is currently working on a series of case studies on the sciences of the stars that will illuminate the nature and practice of astrology in the later Byzantine Empire.