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THE STAINS foretold a catastrophic flood for February 1524, and scores of almanacs warned of a universal deluge. Thousands of Europeans fled their homes and took refuge on hilltops for the entire month. Rainfall was normal, but the astrologers were not chastened.
Almanac editors faced occupational hazards. They could be burned at the stake as sorcerers if they were right too often, or lose their professional reputation if they were frequently wrong. So they cloaked their calamitous portents in ambiguous language.
A 1580 almanac predicted: “The sommer andAutumne shall sometyme encline unto driness, sometyme unto moysture: so the winter shall be partlye rough and partlye milde.” Or, a nice day if it doesn’t rain.
Francois Rabelais, the French satirist, mocked such forecasts by writing: “This year tho blind will see only a very little; the deaf will not hear very well; the dumb will not have much
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