The Tractat de prenostication de la vida natural dels Hòmens : a fifteenth century Catalan astro-numerological treatise, textual study, critical edition, and paleographic transcription [thesis]

The present work is an edition of the Tractat de prenostication de la vida natural dels homens, a iate fifteenth century Catalan incunable. The Tractat exemplifies medieval syncretism, the tendency to pull together various strands of philosophy into one system. The text is a practical manual for predicting an individual's future that draws on a rich tradition including astrological magic, geomancy, Pythagorean numerology, and Hebrew gematria. The method of determining the birth sign is based upon calculations performed on the subject's name and his or her mother's name. There is clear evidence that an editorial hand has attempted to frame the source materials in a manner acceptable to the Christian theology of the time.
Astro-numerological works similar to the Tractat exist in other European languages. There are few studies of prognostication as a genre, however, and still fewer editions of primary sources in the vernacular languages. Unless and until scholars uncover other material, the Tractat remains sui generis in the Catalan and Spanish traditions. As such, the text provides valuable data for Hispanists interested in the history of magic, experimental science, and prognostication.