The Record of Eclipses in the Bury Chronicle

Roy, A. E.; Stones, E. L. G.

doi:10.1111/j.1468-2281.1970.tb01658.x

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…This success in finding observations of retro-calculated eclipses for Europe (80%; Extended Data Table 1) is notable and comparable with that of later periods for which documentation is more abundant 16,17 (for example, 82%, 1665-1881 ce). It reflects the contemporary proliferation and geographic span of monastic communities across Europe 20 , which improved the overall chances of clear-sky observations, and the attention that some chroniclers paid to celestial phenomena 23 . Observations of the Sun, the Moon or the stars were required to calculate the hours for prayer, as not all monasteries possessed water clocks or astrolabes for timekeeping [24][25][26] .…”

Section: Eclipses Unveil Stratospheric Turbiditymentioning

confidence: 97%

Lunar eclipses illuminate timing and climate impact of medieval volcanism

Guillet

Corona

Oppenheimer

et al. 2023

Nature

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Explosive volcanism is a key contributor to climate variability on interannual to centennial timescales1. Understanding the far-field societal impacts of eruption-forced climatic changes requires firm event chronologies and reliable estimates of both the burden and altitude (that is, tropospheric versus stratospheric) of volcanic sulfate aerosol2,3. However, despite progress in ice-core dating, uncertainties remain in these key factors4. This particularly hinders investigation of the role of large, temporally clustered eruptions during the High Medieval Period (HMP, 1100–1300 ce), which have been implicated in the transition from the warm Medieval Climate Anomaly to the Little Ice Age5. Here we shed new light on explosive volcanism during the HMP, drawing on analysis of contemporary reports of total lunar eclipses, from which we derive a time series of stratospheric turbidity. By combining this new record with aerosol model simulations and tree-ring-based climate proxies, we refine the estimated dates of five notable eruptions and associate each with stratospheric aerosol veils. Five further eruptions, including one responsible for high sulfur deposition over Greenland circa 1182 ce, affected only the troposphere and had muted climatic consequences. Our findings offer support for further investigation of the decadal-scale to centennial-scale climate response to volcanic eruptions.

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