The Horoscope as Primary Source Evidence for Understanding Local Calendar Practice in Late Fifteenth-century England

This article examines how a horoscope can serve as primary source evidence for understanding local calendar practice in late fifteenth-century England. It focuses on a horoscope elected by Richard Fitzjames (d. 1522), Warden of Merton College, Oxford (1483–1507), and chaplain to Henry VII, for the laying of the foundation stone of his building programme. The horoscope, originally part of a stained-glass programme in the Warden’s Lodgings, was destroyed in 1693 but copied down in 1601 by John Chamber. Some scholars have questioned the horoscope’s accuracy, claiming that this was the result of the incompetence of the astrologer. While a prima facie case exists for such a claim, a deeper examination of the horoscope provides evidence which contributes to an understanding of medieval dating methods in fifteenth-century England.