Resumen de Celestial Cervantes: Mauricio's Astrology, the Heavens, and the Search for Terrestrial Order

Stephen Hessel

• What does Mauricio’s astrology say about the insights Cervantes offers us in Persiles y Sigismunda? By briefly exploring the breadth and depth of early modern astrology, I hope to better frame, or perhaps unframe, Mauricio for the contemporary reader and analyze how he serves as a foil to other “magic” users and his fellow travelers in Persiles y Sigismunda. I will also attempt to nuance our understanding of astrology’s role in the seventeenth century Spain while considering the long, multifaceted paradigm shift in magical and scientific thinking.