Astrology After the Fall of Rome

Constantine's acceptance of Christianity in 312 CE (Whitfield 77) was to be a symbol of monumental significance concerning the direction that the astrological tradition would take in the Early Middle Ages. As the Roman Empire continued to fall apart due to invasions from all sides and moral and economic instabilities from within, Christianity (along with its general hostility to many forms of classical knowledge, especially astrology) rose to power and dominated the spiritual and intellectual life of the period. Culminating in the closing of the remaining pagan schools by Emperor Theodosius in 392 CE (Grant 2), it was clear that all forms of learning had to subscribe to the tenets of Christianity above all else. Since classical knowledge was mainly written in Greek, the ascent of the Latin language put a further damper on all intellectual pursuits in Western Europe, leading to a mostly illiterate populace and a general decline in learning. Without astronomical