Document Type
Article
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publication Title
Journal of the History of Ideas
Volume
73
Publication Date
2012
Abstract
The legend of Gerbert of Aurillac’s oracular head reveals significant information about contemporary medieval attitudes toward foreign knowledge from outside of the Latin Christian West, and in particular about the quadrivium, astral science, and celestial divination. In particular, William of Malmesbury’s account—the most well-known in the medieval period—demonstrates the extent to which scientific knowledge from the Arabic tradition had penetrated the intellectual climate of England in the early twelfth century.
Publisher's Statement
Copyright © 2012 by the Journal of the History of Ideas. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of scholarly citation, none of this work may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher. For information address the University of Pennsylvania Press, 3905 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112.
Citation
Truitt, Elly R. "Celestial Divination and Arabic Science in Twelfth-Century England: The History of Gerbert of Aurillac’s Talking Head." Journal of the History of Ideas 73, no. 2 (2012): 201-222.
DOI
10.1353/jhi.2012.0016