New Astronomical References in Two Catalonian Late Medieval Documents

Abstract

In 2008, after 13 years of preparation, the Generalitat of Catalunya finished the publication of the 10 volumes of the Dietaris de la Generalitat de Catalunya. The Dietaris, as well as a closely related source, the llibre de Jornades 1411/1484 de Jaume Safont, cover the period of 1411 to 1539. In this article, we examine astronomical references contained in these two sources, and place them in their historical context. Our main focus lies on astronomical phenomena that have not previously been published in the astronomical literature. In fact, relatively few astronomical records are accessible in Spanish medieval and early modern history, and our paper intends to fill this gap partially.

A Survey of Meteoric Activity over Spain during the Eighth–Fifteenth Centuries

“…Together with records (20) and (21) they have previously been commented by Martínez and Marco 60 . This event was preceded by an earthquake the 1 st August and intense storms in September that caused injuries and several material damages, so it is not a surprise that it was seen as a bad omen.…”

“…From the Annales del Reyno de Navarra: 73 Two comets are reported for the year a.d. 840, in March and December. 74 However, this report mistakes the date because Pippin died in December 838, and the very hot flame was seen a few days before the death of Pippin (his successor was Charles the Bald (823-877)), so it surely refers to X/838 V1, that was first observed in China:…”

“…59 Together with records (20) and 21, they have previously been commented by Martínez and Marco. 60 This event was preceded by an earthquake in 1 August and intense storms in September that caused injuries and several material damages, so it is not a surprise that it was seen as a bad omen. These are the years before the Catalan civil war (1462-1272), and the situation in the city of Barcelona was very unstable.…”

The total eclipse of the sun of July 29, AD1478, in contemporary Spanish documents

“…Until now, there was no record of other documentary evidence of the total eclipse. 17 The eclipse was not "scientifically" observed by astronomers at the time, which is quite surprising since, as previously mentioned, the eclipse was predicted and therefore expected. The prediction of solar and lunar eclipses was already common since ancient times.…”