William Parron
Italian astrologer

William Parron (b. c. 1460, fl. 1500) was an Italian astrologer, who worked for Henry VII of England from 1498 to 1503. An author of almanacs and prognostications, he produced the De astrorum vi fatali in 1499 as a private printed prediction for Henry. He also engaged in investigative work on the background of Perkin Warbeck.
His publishers were Wynkyn de Worde and Richard Pynson, and the almanac is said to be the first printed in English. The almanac for the year 1500 survives to this day. However, Parron's prediction that Henry's queen would live to age 80 backfired, as she died young. Parron subsequently left the court.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “William Parron” as italian astrologer. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as italian astrologer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 7, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q8016600. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1460, 1500, 1498 and 1503.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “William Parron”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow William Parron primary sources, William Parron archive and William research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “William Parron”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “William Parron” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.