More than 800 years ago, around 1195, Gervase, a monk living at Canterbury Cathedral, included a number of reflections on natural, often celestial, phenomena in his chronicles. He was far from unusual in this regard. Medieval monastic thinkers frequently recorded celestial events such as eclipses.
In the Middle Ages, most celestial observations were made by eye. Historians will rely on an eyewitness or other written record for details unless they observed the event themselves.
Technologies such as the astrolabe, an ancient tool used to map the stars, were common in medieval Europe from the 12th century onwards and were known much earlier in Islamized regions influenced by Islamic civilization. Although Europe’s early astronomical historians also used astronomy models translated from Greek and Arabic into Latin, they had no telescopes and none of the other technologies that are not available to people today.
Gervase lived in a world where nature was believed to be closely linked to human activities. The ancient and medieval universe placed the Earth at the center of the universe, with a series of spheres surrounding it and divided into two regions.
These spheres under the Moon were composed of elements: earth and water, air, fire. Above the Moon were spheres of planets: Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and then stars fixed in constellations.
In the context of a universe composed of spheres, ancient and medieval thinkers all worked on the principle that what is above affects what is below. It is important to appreciate that this explains the serious attention given to astrology in ancient and medieval thought. They believed that planets had effects on the human world. Natural events were connected in this way and were integral to understanding that world.
Astronomy and its associated discipline of astrology had direct practical application in human activities at the time, from religious studies of the calendar and events to medicine and agriculture. The broad utility of astronomy in determining the timing of medical procedures or weather conditions has been widely recognized. Philosopher and scientist Robert Grosseteste (c.1170-1253) explained this in his work On the Liberal Arts (c.1200):
At the time of planting, when the waxing moon is in the eastern quadrant or in the middle of the sky and in aspect with the lucky planets… it will powerfully move the vital heat in the plant and accelerate and strengthen its growth and fruiting.
According to Gervase, the purpose of chronicling was to record the deeds of kings and princes, miracles and signs. At the time, direct correlations between celestial events and political change were made by chroniclers of the time; It was kept in mind that most, if not all, chronicles were written after the event. The Melrose Chronicle, compiled in the 13th century, states:
A comet is a star that is not always visible but often appears upon the death of a king or the destruction of a kingdom. When it appears with a crown of shining rays, it heralds the death of a king; But if his hair is wavy and he seems to be throwing it away, this is a sign of the destruction of the country.
A famous example is the appearance of Halley’s comet in 1066, which was associated by contemporaries with regime change in England: from Harald Godwinson to William the Conqueror, who took control after the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
One of the striking things about Gervase is how precise his explanations of natural phenomena are, especially those that seem intelligible to him. An example of this is his description of what can now be described as ball lightning.
Another example, dated September 13, 1178, concerns the observation that the “horns” of the partially eclipsed Sun turned toward the Earth. Gervase states that he was an eyewitness to this eclipse.
Viewers of today’s solar eclipse, which will take place on April 8, 2024 in San Diego, California, will be able to see something very similar to the observation Gervase describes: The Sun’s horns rotate and point vertically downward. Modeling helps us predict that, due to precise location and timing, the lunar landscape in San Diego will be very close to what Gervase saw. The appearance of the eclipse in other parts of the United States will be slightly different.
Also in 1178, Gervase records in similar detail how the image of the Moon was split into two by witnesses who reported this to him. Our analysis shows that this is likely due to being seen through a column of warm air. Gervase wasn’t the only one to elaborate on this. English Benedictine monk Matthew Paris described a spectacular display of halos around the Sun in 1233:
These suns formed a wonderful sight, and were seen by more than a thousand trustworthy persons; Others drew suns and circles of various colors on parchment in memory of this extraordinary event, so that such an unusual event would not escape the memory of humanity. This was followed in the same year by a cruel war and terrible bloodshed in these counties, and by general disturbances in England, Wales and Ireland.
Today’s sky shows
Today, celestial spectacles are seen as simple manifestations of the richness of the natural world that can be explained, at least in principle.
However, despite the predictive success of, for example, the theory of gravity and classical dynamics, there are still unforeseen problems. Some can be deceptively simple – for example, the double pendulum or the Rott pendulum (a pair of pendulums whose movements form a “chaotic” system that cannot be mathematically predicted).
Others include meteorological events and weather forecasts, and here we find ourselves in many respects in a similar position to medieval historians.
For example, we can make observations in long-term weather forecasts, but we still cannot predict precise future outcomes such as extreme weather conditions with accuracy. Medieval historians viewed the wonders in the skies as omens. It might be helpful to relearn why and form our own perspective on how things are connected to each other.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Giles Gasper receives funding from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust
Brian Tanner does not work for, consult, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond his academic duties.