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Book Review: Music and the Scientific Revolution: Music and Science in the Age of Galileo

d' Ailly's astrological works, and a bibliographical guide to his writings as available today, expand this part of the book. The introduction ends with a sizeable introduction to medieval astronomy, based on d' Ailly's Epilogus mappae mundi. In the following chapter on "The medieval debate about astrology" the reader might have expected to learn more about the status of the dispute before d' Ailly. Smoller briefly invokes a series of great authorities before a section on d' Ailly's Defence of astrology. Judging from the chapter's title, it would have been quite appropriate to have mentioned earlier medieval developments, which could well have included the praise of astrology by Abu Ma'shar, the twelfth-century attempts at reconciling astrology with biblical exegesis by Raimund of Marseille and Odo de Champagne, as well as the essays to legitimize astrological writings by dedicating them to influential Church officials (as was the case of Guillaume de Blois, "aux Blanches Mains"). As it is, Smoller has presented d' Ailly's Defence of astrology thoroughly and with competence, adding a praiseworthy selection of quotations. Likewise the next chapters, "The making of an astrologer" and ''Astrology and the narration of history", are presented with thorough investigation and competence. Through a careful study of medieval apocalyptic visions of the End of Time, she has constructed an interesting presentation of the theologians' stand in matters eschatological and of d' Ailly's views on those subjects in his earlier years. But here again a better historical perspective would have been gained by more attention to the situation around the fateful years 1000 and 1033 and the expected arrival of the Antichrist. These reservations do not extend to the chapters devoted to an in-depth study of d' Ailly's mature eschatological and apocalyptical standpoint, its presentation, and its aftermath. Here again quotations are used unusually well. With her substantial and well-founded presentation Smoller has made a valuable scholarly contribution to the understanding of late medieval reflections on the future and their relation to astrology.