Anglo-Norman chiromancies

In the middle of the 12th century the traditional core of divination techniques is host to a new and successful method, chiromancy. It emerges almost simultaneously in Plantagenet England and in Spain of the Reconquista, in association with the less influential scapulimancy. The Plantagenet court appears to be the most precocious in translating science into a regional language. All six of the vernacular chiromancies prior to the 15th century so far recorded are in the langue d'oïl and five of the six come specifically from England. This leads us to acknowledge that the Anglo-Norman domains formed one of the principal crossroads of medieval divinatory practices.