La medicina a través de los pronósticos impresos en los siglos XVI y XVII

The label of prognostication, lunarium, calendar, almanack, or astrological reading, etc., was used for an editorial product of short length that contained the astrological prediction for a specific year along with other types of informative and entertaining texts. These forecasts were very widely distributed and enjoyed an enormous acceptance thatreached all levels of society. Together with astrological, natural, and judicial predictions, these printed texts transmitted medical knowledge linked to astrology, including the prediction of diseases and their treatments and the provision of detailed calendars for the performance of bloodletting and purges. The aim of this paper was to delve into the relationship between astrological forecasting and its consequences for medical practice, and how both were integratedinto a literary discourse that had a direct impact on society. First, we investigate how health and disease prevention was a topic addressed in the public sphere; and second, we analyze the mode of transmission of this information until the end of the 17th century through forecasts in the form of loose sheets and pamphlets. We selected for this study a printed corpus made up of four chapbooks of astrological forecasts for the years 1579, 1580, 1625, and 1642 and a pamphlet corresponding to the 1699 edition of Sarrabal’s Piscator. We chose these five works because they faithfullyrepresent the evolution of this editorial product from the 16th century to the end of the 17th century in both form and content and in the manner of its transmission to recipients.