Medieval Meteorology

Anne Lawrence-Mathers is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Reading, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. Specializing in the history of medieval magic, she is the author of The True History of Merlin the Magician (2012) and co-author of Magic and Medieval Society (2014) with Caroline Escobar-Vargas.

• Preface; Introduction; 1. Re-creating meteorology in the early Middle Ages: Isidore and Bede; 2. Meteorology, weather forecasting and the early-medieval Renaissance of astronomy; 3. Exploratory encounters with the work of Arab astronomers and meteorologists; 4. Meteorology, the new science of the stars, and the rise of weather forecasting; 5. The contested rise of astro-meteorology; 6. Applying the science of astro-meteorology; 7. Astro-meteorology and mechanisation; 8. Weather forecasting and the impact of print; Conclusion.

'A wonderful, wide-ranging, and comprehensive study of a subject both ubiquitous and particular; the weather. Medieval Meteorology takes a broadly chronological approach in a wide sweep from the ancient world to the end of the European Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The continuities from ancient to medieval understanding of the subject are convincingly shown, alongside the critical difference brought about by the reception of works by Islamicate authors from the twelfth century onwards. There is no better place to start, for specialist scholars or general readers. Conveyed in an accessible manner, it is no less formidable in its learning for ease of style and persuasive arguments. Pick up and read.' Giles Gasper, Durham University