Betsy Golden Kellem at JSTOR Daily:
Palm reading, also known as palmistry or chiromancy throughout history, has been far more than a party trick for centuries. Dating back to classical antiquity, the idea that a soothsayer can tell something about a person’s health, disposition, or destiny from the lines on their palm has long fascinated seers and scientists alike.
Classicist Charles S. F. Burnett finds mentions of chiromancy in various ancient texts, including in Aristotle’s writing, but the practice of palm reading seems to have disappeared in the Western world between the classical era and the twelfth century. In an interesting blend of disciplines, records of the practice appear not only in scientific or magical writings but in religious text, too. Readers were advised that certain marks are auspicious.
“When it extends as far as the first finger, he will be a monk,” read a Latin chiromancy manuscript. “This mark is the sign of a parish income (presbyterium)…. This is a sign of someone being elected or freely blessing.”
more here.
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