Plague and Astrology in the Fourteenth Century: The Plague Tractate by Augustine of Trento

The 14th-century plague tractate by Augustine of Trento addresses the matter of plague before the Black Death. The text aims both to predict plague epidemics and to prevent the disease’s spreading. The author attempts to forecasts the outbreak of plague epidemics thanks to the methods of judicial astrology. He also advises hygiene rules and dietary precepts in order to counter the spread of the disease. Moreover, Augustine makes clear that astrological knowledge and techniques serve medical purposes and medical practice can benefit from astrology. In fact, he discusses the topic of medical prognostication and defends the idea that medical practice should not be empirical but guided by astrological principles. The treatise draws on the major astrological and medical sources of Greek and Arab origin and contains references to contemporary masters of medicine. The article updates the author’s biography, examines the manuscript tradition, analyzes the two redactional stages of the text, and provides a new critical edition.