QUOTATIONS ABOUT ECLIPSES
Compiled by David Le Conte
This collection of quotations concentrates on solar eclipses, but a few
referring to lunar eclipses are included. Some are from literary sources, while
others are predictions and records. I have avoided scientific reports,
preferring to include descriptive accounts. The quotations are in chronological
order. Dates are generally in the Julian Calendar until 1582, and in the
Gregorian Calendar thereafter. Some links are provided to maps of historic
eclipses by Fred Espanak,
The compiler is grateful to those organisations which have given
permission to use copyright material for this web page. The compiler grants
general permission to use the page for educational purposes, subject to
appropriate credit being given. However, users should note that reproduction of
some material may require specific copyright clearance.
Additional quotations and comments on this page are welcome, and should
be sent to: David Le Conte.
Last updated
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"Here lie the bodies of Ho and Hi,
Whose fate, though sad, is risible;
Being slain because they could not spy
Th' eclipse which was invisible."
Author unknown
Said to refer to the Chinese eclipse of 2136 BC or 2159 BC.)
"On day kuei-yu (the 10th day of a 60-day cycle), it was inquired (by divination): 'The Sun was eclipsed in the evening; is it good?' On day kuei-yu it was inquired: 'The Sun was eclipsed in the evening; is it bad?'"
From: the An-yang oracle bones of the Shang
dynasty, China (c. 1550-1050 BC).
Quoted in Encyclopaedia Britannica CD 98.
"On the day of the new moon, in the month of Hiyar, the Sun was put to shame, and went down in the daytime, with Mars in attendance."
One of the earliest written records of an eclipse
of the Sun, on
(Reprinted, from Chasing the Shadow, copyright 1994 by Joel K Harris and
Richard L Talcott, by permission of Kalmbach Publishing Co. Also appears in
Total Eclipses of the Sun by Zirker. In Guide to the Sun, Phillips says that this might refer to
the eclipse of 1223 BC.)
". . . and the Sun has perished
out of heaven,
and an evil mist hovers over all."
Said to refer to a total solar eclipse of
From: Homer (Greek), The Odyssey (8th century BC).
"Insurrection in the city of
Refers to the solar eclipse of
From: The Assyrian Chronicles.
Quoted in Encyclopaedia Britannica CD 98, and in Historical Eclipses
and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson, Cambridge University Press,
1997, page 125.
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
"On that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun go down at
and darken the earth in broad daylight."
Said to refer to the solar eclipse of
From: Amos, Chapter 8, verse 9 (Old Testament)
Quoted in Encyclopaedia Britannica CD 98.
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
"The Sun was eclipsed, a thing of very evil omen. Then the Moon became small, and now the Sun became small. . . . For the Moon to be eclipsed is but an ordinary matter. Now that the Sun has been eclipsed - how bad it is!"
Refers to successive eclipses (one lunar, one
solar) in the 8th century BC. The solar eclipse is said to have occurred on the
day hsin-mao, which was the first day of the 10th lunar month. This may
have been in 735 BC.
From: the Shih-ching ("Book of Odes") (
Quoted in Encyclopaedia Britannica CD 98, and in Historical Eclipses
and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson, Cambridge University Press,
1997, page 222.
"Duke Huan, 3rd year, 7th month, day jen-ch'en, the first day (of the month). The Sun was eclipsed and it was total."
Refers to a total solar eclipse of
From: Ch'un-ch'iu, book I (Chinese). Quoted in Historical Eclipses and
Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson, Cambridge University Press,
1997, page 226.
Stephenson says: "This is the earliest direct allusion to a complete
obscuration of the Sun in any civilisation. The recorded date, when reduced to
the Julian calendar, agrees exactly with that of a computed solar
eclipse." Reference to the same eclipse appears in the Han-shu ('History
of the Former Han Dynasty') (Chinese, 1st century AD): ". . . the
eclipse threaded centrally through the Sun; above and below it was
yellow."
"[In Iy]yar (month II) . . . the night of the 14th day, is the [da]y of the watch (to be held), and there will be no eclipse. I guarantee it seven times, an eclipse will not take place. I am writing a definitive word to the king."
Tab-silli-Marduk (Babylonian astrologer), nephew
of Bel-nasir. Period 709 to 649 BC.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 124.
"The eclipse of the Moon which took place in Marchesvan (month VIII) began [in the east]. That is bad for Subartu. What [is wrong]? After it, Jupiter ent[ered] the Moon three times. What is being done to (make) its evil pass? . . ."
Refers to a lunar eclipse of 675 BC.
Bel-suma-iskun (Babylonian scribe).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 125.
"If the Sun at its rising is like a crescent and wears a crown like the Moon: the king wll capture his enemy's land; evil will leave the land, and (the land) will experience good . . . "
Refers to a solar eclipse of
Rasil the older, Babylonian scribe to the king.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 125.
"On the 28th day, at 2-1/2 double hou[rs of the day . . .] in the west [. . .] it also cover[ed] 2 fingers towards [. . .] it made [an eclipse], the east wind [. . .] the north wind ble[w. This is its interpretation] . . . "
Refers to a solar eclipse of
Akkullanu (Assyrian scribe).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson,
Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 125.
"Zeus, the father of the
Olympic Gods, turned
mid-day into night, hiding the light
of the dazzling Sun;
and sore fear came upon men."
Archilochus (c680-c640 BC), Greek poet
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
"Nothing can be surprising any more or impossible or miraculous, now that Zeus, father of the Olympians has made night out of noonday, hiding the bright sunlight, and . . . fear has come upon mankind. After this, men can believe anything, expect anything. Don't any of you be surprised in future if land beasts change places with dolphins and go to live in their salty pastures, and get to like the sounding waves of the sea more than the land, while the dolphins prefer the mountains."
May refer to a total solar eclipse of
Archilochus, Greek poet (c680-640 BC)
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 338. Partly quoted in Encyclopaedia
Britannica CD 98.
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
"Nothing there is beyond hope, nothing that can be sworn impossible, nothing wonderful, since Zeus, father of the Olympians, made night from mid-day, hiding the light of the shining Sun, and sore fear came upon men."
Archilochus (Greek poet, c680-640 BC)
"Duke Hsuan, 8th year, 7th month, day chia-tzu. The Sun was eclipsed and it was total."
Refers to a total solar eclipse of
From: Ch'un-ch'iu, book VII (Chinese).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 226.
"His defeat is like an eclipse of the Sun or Moon; does it harm the brightness (of these bodies)?"
Extract from a speech made in 597 BC, in support
of a general who had recently suffered defeat, and was in danger of execution.
He was reinstated!
From: Tso-chuan (Chinese, about 300 BC).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 223.
"When, in the sixth year they encountered one another, it so fell out that, after they had joined battle, the day suddenly turned into night. Now that this transformation of day (into night) would occur was foretold to the Ionians by Thales of Miletus, who fixed as the limit of time this very year in which the change actually took place."
Herodotus (c485-c420 BC) History I, 74.
Refers to the solar eclipse of
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
"The original discovery (of the cause of eclipses) was made in
Probably refers to the total solar eclipse of
From: Pliny, Naturalis Historia, II, 53.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 342.
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
". . . there was war between the Lydians and the Medes five years. . . . They were still warring with equal success, when it chanced, at an encounter which happened in the sixth year, that during the battle the day turned to night. Thales of Miletus had foretold this loss of daylight to the Ionians, fixing it within the year in which the change did indeed happen. So when the Lydians and Medes saw the day turned to night, they ceased from fighting, and both were the more zealous to make peace."
Probably refers to the total solar eclipse of
Herodotus, (c485-c420 BC) History I, 74.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 242. Also in Greek
Astronomy by Heath, and in Total Eclipses of the Sun, by Zirker, and
referred to in The Fontana History of Astronomy and Cosmology by North.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica CD 98 says that this eclipse must have been
predicted by means of the Saros and the eclipse of
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
"Duke Hsiang, 24th year, 7th month, day chia-tzu, the first day of the Moon. The Sun was eclipsed and it was total."
Refers to a total solar eclipse of
From: Ch'un-ch'iu, book IX (Chinese).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 226.
"Beam of the Sun! O thou that seest from afar, what wilt thou be devising? O mother of mine eyes! O star supreme, reft from us in the daytime! Why has thou perplexed the power of man and the way of wisdom by rushing forth on a darksome track? Art thou bringing a sign of some war, or wasting of produce, or an unspeakably violent snow-storm, or fatal faction, or again, some overflowing of the sea on the plain, or frost to bind the earth, or heat of the south wind streaming with raging rain? Or wilt thou, by deluging the land, cause the race of men to begin anew? I in no wise lament whate'er I shall suffer with the rest!"
"God can cause unsullied light to spring out of black night. He can also shroud in a dark cloud of gloom the pure light of day"
Both these quotation probably refer to the solar
eclipse of
Pinder (Greek poet) Ninth Paean, addressed to the Thebans.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 344, and, in part, in Encyclopedia
Britannica CD 98.
"The moon shuts off the beams of the sun as it passes across it, and darkens so much of the earth as the breadth of the blue-eyed moon amounts to."
Empedocles (Greek, 493-433 BC) Fragment
(ca. 450 BC)
"The same summer, at the beginning of the new lunar month (the
only time by the way at which it appears possible), the Sun was eclipsed after
Refers to an annular solar eclipse of 3 August (29
July) 431 BC.
Thucydides (Greek historian, c460-400 BC) History of the Peloponnesian War.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 346, and, in part, in Encyclopaedia
Britannica CD 98.
"Duke Li (of the Chinese dynasty), 34th year. The Sun was eclipsed. It became dark in the daytime and stars were seen."
Refers to an annular solar eclipse of
From: Shih-chi (Chinese).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 227. Stephenson points out
that as only 93 percent of the Sun was obscured, the allusion to darkness must
be exaggerated, and that this eclipse is the earliest in any civilisation for
which the stars is reliably reported. Venus and Mercury were well placed for
visibility.
". . . the sun assumed the shape of a crescent and became full again, and during the eclipse some stars became visible."
Thucydides (Greek, c460-400 BC).
Refers to an annular solar eclipse of 3 August (29 July) 431 BC.
"The moon is eclipsed through the interposition of the earth, and sometimes also of the bodies below the moon. The sun is eclipsed at the new moon, when the moon is interposed. . . . Anaxagoras was the first to set out distinctly the facts about eclipses and illuminations."
Euripedes (Greek) Hippolytus I, 8 (431 BC)
"In addition to this, there is evidence for the truth of what I have stated in the observed facts with regard to total eclipses of the sun; for when the centre of the sun, the centre of the moon, and our eye happen to be in one straight line, what is seen is not always alike; but at one time the cone which comprehends the moon and has its vertex at our eye comprehends the sun itself at the same time, and the sun even remains invisible to us for a certain time, while again at another time this is so far from being the case that a rim of a certain breadth on the outside edge is left visible all round it at the middle of the duration of the eclipse. Hence we must conclude that the apparent difference in the sizes of the two bodies observed under the same atmospheric conditions is due to the inequality of their distances (at different times)."
Aristotle (Greek, 384-322 BC) Metaphysics.
"On a "paradoxical" eclipse of the moon
"These facts having been proved with regard to the moon, the argument establishing that the moon suffers eclipse through falling into the earth‘s shadow would seem to be contradicted by the stories told about a class of eclipses seemingly paradoxical. For some say that an eclipse (sometimes) occurs, even when both the luminaries are seen above the horizon. This should make it clear that (in that case) the moon does not suffer eclipse through falling into the earth‘s shadow, but in some other way, since, if an eclipse occurs when both sun and moon appear above the horizon, the moon cannot suffer eclipse through falling into the earth‘s shadow. For the place where the moon is, when both bodies appear above the horizon, is still being lit up by the sun, and the shadow cannot yet be at the place where the moon gives the impression of being eclipsed. Accordingly, if this be the case, we shall be obliged to declare that the cause of the eclipse of the moon is a different one. Such being the story, the more ancient of the mathematicians tried to get rid of the difficulty in this way. They argued that it is not impossible, even when both luminaries are above the horizon, for the moon to fall into the earth‘s shadow and to be exactly opposite to the sun. On the assumption that the shape of the earth is flat and plane, this could not happen; but seeing that the figure formed by it is spherical, it would not be impossible that the two divine bodies should be seen above the horizon, while being exactly opposite to each other. They will not, it is true, be in sight of one another while diametrically opposite to one another, because of the prominences formed by convexities on the earth‘s surface; but persons standing on the earth would not be prevented from seeing them both, provided they stood on the convexities of the earth, which are no obstacle to those standing thereon seeing both bodies above the horizon, through the convexities do intervene between the bodies diametrically opposite to one another. The bodies will not be in view of one another; but we shall not be prevented from seeing them both if we are standing on the convexities of the earth, which intervene between the bodies themselves, being, as they are, in the depresssions about the horizon, while the convexities on which we stand are more lofty.
Such is the solution which the more ancient of the mathematicians give of the difficulty alleged. But we may feel doubt of the soundness of the line taken by them. For, if our eye were situated on a height, the effect might be stated, if, I mean, we were raised far away from the earth into the air, but it could not possibly happen if we stood on the earth. For, though there may be some convexity on which we stand, our sight itself becomes evanescent owing to the size of the earth. Hence we should altogether refuse to admit or believe that the thing is possible, I methat an eclipse of the moon can occur when both bodies are seen above the horizon by us standing on the earth and at a lower level.
First, we must take a fundamental objection, and maintain that this story has been invented by some persons who desired to cause perplexity to the astronomers and philosophers who concern themselves with these things. For, while there have been many eclipses, both total and partial, and all have been recorded, history knows, at all events down to our own day, of no person having noted any eclipse of this sort, no Chaldaean, no Egyptian, no other mathematician or philosopher; nay the story is pure fiction. Secondly, if the moon had suffered eclipse in any other way, and not through falling into the earth‘s shadow, it would also at times have suffered eclipse when it was not full moon, and when it was, more or less, in advance of the sun, and again when, after the full moon, it again approached the sun and waned. But, as it is, although very many eclipses of the moon have occurred (for the eclipse is not even a rare phenomenon), it has never suffered eclipse without being full and without being diametrically opposite to the sun, and it has only been eclipsed when it was possible for it to come into the earth‘s shadow. Moreover, nowadays all lunar eclipses are foretold by authorities on the Canon, because they know that, whenever it occurs, the moon is found to be full and to be, either in whole or in part, directly under the midmost circle of the zodiac, thus making the eclipses partial or total, as the case may be. It is, therefore, impossible for eclipses if the moon to occur when both luminaries are seen above the horizon.
Nevertheless, having regard to the many and infinitely various conditions which naturally arise in the air, it would not be impossible that, when the sun has just set, and is under the horizon, we should receive the impression of its not yet having set, if there were cloud of considerable density at the place of setting and the cloud were illuminated by the sun‘s rays and transmitted to us an image of the sun, or if there were ”anthelium.• Such images are indeed often seen in the air, especially in the neighbourhood of Pontus. The ray, therefore, proceeding from the eye and meeting the air in a moist and damp condition might be bent, and so might catch the sun although just hidden by the horizon. Even in ordinary life we have observed something similar. For, if a gold ring be thrown into a drinking cup or other vessel, then, when the vessel is empty, the object is not visible at a certain suitable distance, since the visual current goes right on in a straight line as it touches the brim of the vessel. But, when the vessel has been filled with water up to the level of the brim, the ring placed in the vessel is now, at the same distance, visible, since the visual current no longer passes straight on past the brim as before, but, as it touches, at the brim, the water which fills the vessel up to the brim, it is thereby bent, and so, passing to the bottom of the vessel, finds the ring there. Something similar, then, might possibly happen in a moist and thoroughly wet condition of the air, namely that the visual ray should, by being bent, take a direction below the horizon, and there catch the sun just after its setting, and so receive the impression of the sun‘s being above the horizon. Perhaps, also some other cause akin to this might sometimes give us the impression of the two bodies being above the horion, though the sun had already set, But the observed phenomena make it as clear as day that the moon is not eclipsed otherwise than by falling within the earth's shadow. So much for eclipses."
Cleomedes De motu circulari.
"On the first Mercury rises.
On the third the Equinox.
Night of the 15th 40 minutes after sunset,
an eclipse of the moon begins.
On the 28th occurs an eclipse of the sun."
Inscriptions on a clay tablet, part of an ancient
Chaldean astronomical almanac. The dates quoted are Chaldean. Some sources date
these two eclipses to 9 (4) October 425 BC and 23 (18) October 425 BC.
"And the moon in haste eclipsed her,
and the Sun in anger swore
He would curl his wick within him
and give light to you no more."
Said to refer to a lunar eclipse of 425 BC, and an
annular solar eclipse of 424 BC.
Aristophanese (Greek, c450-385 BC) Chorus of Clouds (423BC)
"On the nones of June the Sun was covered by the Moon and night."
Refers to eclipse of
Quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica CD 98.
"Consequently inhabitants of the East do not perceive evening
eclipses of the Sun and Moon,nor do those dwelling in the West see morning
eclipses, while the latter see eclipses at
From: Pliny, Natural History.
"But about the first watch the Moon in eclipse, hid at first the brilliance of her heavenly body, then all her light was sullied and suffused with the hue of blood."
From: Curtius, History of Alexander.
These quotations refer to a lunar eclipse at moonrise in
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 372.
"Agathocles, who was already at the point of being overtaken and surrounded, gained unhoped for safety as night closed in. On the next day there occurred such an eclipse of the Sun that utter darkness set in and the stars were seen everywhere; wherefore Agathocles' men, believing that the prodigy portended misfortune for them, fell into even greater anxiety about the future. After they had sailed for six days and the same number of nights, just as day was breaking, the fleet of the Carthaginians was unexpectedly seen far away."
Refers to a solar eclipse of
From: Diodorus Siculus (Greek historian, 1st century BC), Library of History.
Agathocles was a tyrant who had made his escape, with a fleet of sixty ships,
from a blockade at
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 348, and, in part, in Encyclopaedia
Britannica CD 98.
"[D]iary for year 65 (SE), king Antiochus . . . [month V]. The 28th, 74 deg after sunrise, solar eclipse (at) 5 months' distance; when I watched I did not see it."
Refers to a solar eclipse of
Babylonian tablet in the
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 122.
"Year 121 (SE), King An(tiochus), month XII, 29 solar eclipse beginning on the north-west side. In 15 deg day [. . .] over a third of the disk was eclipsed. When it began to become bright, in 15 deg day from north-west to east it became bright. 30 deg total duration. [During this eclipse] east (wind) went. During this eclipse [. . .], Venus, Mercury and Saturn [stood there]. Towards the end of becoming bright, Mars rose (?) The other planets did not stand there. (Began) at 30 deg (= 1) beru after sunrise."
Refers to a partial solar eclipse of
Babylonian tablet in the
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson,
Cambridge University Press, 1997, pages 121 and 135.
"Emperor Hui, 7th year, 5th month, day ting-mao, the last day of the month. The Sun was eclipsed; it was almost complete. It was in the beginning of (the lunar lodge) Ch'i-hsing"
Refers to a partial solar eclipse of
Pan Ku Han-shu (AD 58-AD76).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 234.
"Before the new magistrates departed for their provinces, a
three-day period of prayer was proclaimed in the name of the
Probably refers to the solar eclipse of
Livy, Roman.
Quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica CD 98.
"Empress of Kao-tzu, 7th year, first month, day chi-ch'ou, the last day of the month. The Sun was eclipsed; it was total; it was 9 deg in (the lunar lodge) Ying-shih, which represents the interior of the Palace chambers. At that time the (Dowager) Empress of Kao-[tzu] was upset by it and said, 'This is on my account'. The next year it was fulfilled."
Pan Ku Han-shu (AD 58-AD76).
"On the day chi-ch'ou, the Sun was eclipsed, and it became dark in the daytime. The Empress Dowager was upset by it and her heart was ill at ease. Turning to those around her she said, 'This is on my account.'"
Szu-ma Ch'ien Shih-chi
Both of these quotations refer to a total solar
eclipse of
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 234.
"SE 175, month XII. The 29th, solar eclipse. When it began on the south-west side, in 18 deg daytime in the morning it became entirely total. (It began) at 24 deg after sunrise."
Refers to a total solar eclipse of
Babylonian tablet in the
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 129.
"The Sun was eclipsed; drums were beaten and oxen were sacrificed at the temple."
Record of several eclipses.
Szu-ma Ch'ien, Shih-chi (Chinese 'Historical Record'), 104 to 87 BC.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 223.
"Hipparchus tries to demonstrate the Moon's distance by guessing at the Sun's. First he supposes that the Sun has the least perceptible parallax, in order to find its distance, and then he uses the solar eclipse which he adduces; at one time he assumed that the Sun has no perceptible parallax, at another that it has a parallax big enough [to be observed]. As a result, the ratio of the Moon's distance came out different for him for each of the hypotheses he put forward; for it is altogether uncertain in the case of the Sun, not only how great its parallax is, but even whether it has any parallax at all."
From: Ptolemy, Almagest, V, 11.
"So Hipparchus, being uncertain concerning the Sun, not only how great a parallax it has but whether it has any parallax at all, assumed in his first book of 'On Sizes and Distances' that the Earth has the ratio of a point and centre to the Sun [i.e. the Sun's sphere]. And at one time using the eclipse he adduced, he assumed that it had the least parallax, and at another time a greater parallax. Hence the ratios of the Moon's distances came out different. For in Book 1 of 'On Sizes and Distances' he takes the following observation: an eclipse of the Sun, which in the Hellespontine region was an exact eclipse of the whole Sun, such that no part of it was visible, but at Alexandria in Egypt approximately four-fifths of the diameter was eclipsed. By means of the above he shows in Book 1 that, in units of which the radius of the Earth is one, the least distance of the Moon is 71, and the greatest 83. Hence the mean is 77. . . Then again he himself in Book 2 of 'On Sizes and Distances' shows from many considerations that, in units of which the radius of the Earth is one, the least distance of the Moon is 62, the mean 67-1/3 and the Sun's distance 490. It is clear that the greatest distance of the Moon will be 72-2/3."
From: Pappus, Commentary on the Almagest
"Moreover, such an observation has been made in the case of an
eclipse of the Sun. Once the Sun was wholly eclipsed in the Hellespont, it was
observed in Alexandria to be eclipsed except for the firth part of its
diameter, which is, according to the sight, except for two digits and a little
more. . . Now since it is 5000 stades from
From: Cleomedes, De Motu Circularis Corporum,
II, 3.
These three quotations probably refer to a total
solar eclipse of
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 351.
"In the same way you must understand that various causes may account for eclipses of the sun and the moon‘s occultations. If the moon can cut off sunlight from the earth, uprearing its obstructive head between the two and planting an unseen sphere in the path of the glowing rays, why should we not picture the same effect as produced by another body that glides round for ever lustreless? Or why should not the sun periodically fail and dim its own fires and afterwards rekindle its light when it has passed through a stretch of atmosphere uncongenial to flame, which causes the quenching and quelling of its fire? And again, if the earth in turn can rob the moon of light by screening off the sun that shines below while the moon in its monthly round glides through the clear-cut cone of shadow, why should not some other body equally well pass under the moon or glide over the solar orb so as to interrupt the radiant stream of light? And, supposing that the moon shines by its own lustre, why should it not grow faint in a determinate quarter of the heavens while it is passing through a region uncongenial to its particular light?
. . . I have shown how both may suffer eclipse through the obscuration of their light and plunge the unexpecting earth in gloom, as though they blinked and then with reopened eye surveyed the world, aglow with limpid radiance."
Lucretius The Nature of the Universe 1st
century BC.
"Whenever we want to watch an eclipse of the Sun we set out basins filled with oil or pitch, because the heavy liquid is not easily disturbed and so preserves the images it receives."
From: Seneca (Roman, 1st century AD). Naturales
Quaestiones, I, 11.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 54.
"As for the other Matthias who had stirred up the sedition, he (Herod) had him burned alive along with some of his companions. And on that same night there was an eclipse of the Moon. But Herod's illness became more and more severe. . . ."
Refers to a partial CD 98lunar eclipse of
From: Flavius Josephus (Jewish, 1st century AD.)
Quoted in Encyclopaedia Britannica CD 98.
"And Phlegon also who compiled the Olympiads writes about the same things in his 13th book in the following words: 'In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (AD 32-33), and eclipse of the Sun took place greater than any previously known, and night came on at the sixth hour of the day, so that stars actually appeared in the sky; and a great earthquake took place in Bithynia and overthrew the greater part of Niceaea."
Possibly refers to a total solar eclipse of
From: Phlegon, Olympiades, fragment 17.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 359.
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
"I will show portents in the sky and on earth,
blood and fire and columns of smoke;
the sun shall be turned into darkness
and the moon into blood
before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes."
Joel,
Chapter 2, verses 30, 31 (Old Testament).
"And I will show portents in the sky above, and signs on the earth below - blood and fire and drifting smoke. The Sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before that great, resplendent day, the day of the Lord, shall come."
Peter in Acts of the Apostles
This reference to a blood-red Moon, and the following references in the Gospels
to a darkening sky, have been interpreted as placing the date of the
crucifixion to 24 November AD 29, when there was an eclipse of the Sun, or
Friday, 3 April AD 33, when there was a partial eclipse of the Moon over
Jerusalem.
Click here for Fred Espenak's larger scale map of the
eclipse of AD 29.
"From midday a darkness fell over the whole land, which lasted until three in the afternoon; and about three Jesus cried aloud, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?', which means, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'"
The Gospel According to Matthew (New Testament)
"At midday a darkness fell over the whole land, which lasted till three in the afternoon; and at three Jesus cried aloud, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?', which means, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'"
The Gospel According to Mark (New Testament)
"By now it was about
The Gospel According to Luke (New Testament)
(The Gospel According to John does not mention the
"As there was going to be an eclipse on his birthday, through fear of a disturbance, as there had been other prodigies, he put forth a public notice, not only that the obscuration would take place, and about the time and magnitude of it, but also the causes that produce such an event."
Refers to solar eclipse of AD 45, on the birthday
of the Roman Emperor, Claudius.
From: Dion Cassius.
"(Lucies) smiled thereat and said . . . 'Now grant me that nothing that happens to the Sun is so like its setting as a solar eclipse. You will if you call to mind this conjunction recently which, beginning just after noonday, made many stars shine out from many parts of the sky and tempered the air in the manner of twilight. If you do not recall it, Theon here will cite us Minnermus and Cydias, Archilochus and Stesichorus besides, and Pindar, who during eclipses bewail "the brightest star bereft" and at "midday night falling" and say that the beam of the Sun [is sped] the path of shade."
"Even if the Moon, however, does sometimes cover the Sun entirely, the eclipse does not have the duration or extension; but a kind of light is visible about the rim which keeps the shadow from being profound and absolute."
Both these quotations probably refer to a total
solar eclipse of
From: Plutarch, Greek philosopher and biographer, The Face of the Moon.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 360, and, in part, in Encyclopaedia
Britannica CD 98.
". . . about this time while he was pursuing his studies in
Refers to solar eclipse of 3 September AD 118, or
possibly AD 96.
From: Philostratus, Greek (died between AD 224 and 229).
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.
"On the day wu-wu, the 1st day of the 12th lunar month, the Sun was eclipsed; it was almost complete. On the Earth it became like evening. It was 11 degrees in the constellation of Hsu-nu [the Maid]. The woman ruler [ie the Empress Dowager] showed aversion to it. Two years and three months later, Teng, the Empress Dowager, died."
Refers to a solar eclipse of
From: the Hou-Han shu ("History of the Later Han Dynasty").
(
Quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica CD 98, and in Historical Eclipses
and Earth's Rotation by F Richard Stephenson, Cambridge University Press,
1997, page 237. .
"It was almost total and was in Chueh. Whenever an eclipse covers a small portion of the Sun the calamity it brings will be relatively small, but when it covers a large portion of the Sun the consequences will be much more serious. Chueh forms the 'Celestial Entrance', and hence misfortune would fall upon the Head of State - the next year the Emperor died."
Refers to a solar eclipse of
From: Chin-shu ('History of the Chin Dynasty', Chinese).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson,
Cambridge University Press, 1997, pages 232 and 241.
"Yuan-chia region period, 6th year, 11th month, day chi-ch'ou, the first day of the month. The sun was eclipsed; it was not complete and like a hook. During the eclipse, stars were seen. At the hour of fu (= 15-17 h), then it disappeared (i.e. ended). In Ho-pei (province) the Earth was in darkness."
Refers to a total solar eclipse of
From: Sung-shu (Chinese).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson,
Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 242.
"Even the Sun appeared hideous, so that scarcely a third part of it gave light, I believe on account of such deeds of wickedness and the shedding of innocent blood."
Gregorius Turonensis
Refers to solar eclipse of
"A year before his death there were various omens. There was an eclipse of the Sun which was so pronounced as to turn day into night and the darkness was deep enough for the stars to become visible; it occurred in the eastern horn of the sign of Capricorn. And the almanacs predicted another eclipse that would occur after the first year. They say that such events that are observed to happen in the heavens are indicative of things that happen on the earth; so that these eclipses clearly foretold us of the privation and departure as it were of the light of philosophy."
Refers to a total solar eclipse in
From: Marinus, Greek philosopher, Life of Proclus.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson,
Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 368.
"The sun darkened on February 16th from dawn until nine in the morning."
Refers to a solar eclipse in AD 538.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"The sun darkened on June 20th, and the stars showed fully nearly half an hour past nine in the morning."
Refers to a solar eclipse in AD 540.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"36th year of Empress Suiko, spring, 2nd month, 27th day. The Empress took to her sick bed. 3rd month, 2nd day. There was a total eclipse of the Sun. 6th day. The Empress' illness became very grave and (death) was unmistakably near . . . 7th day. The Empress died at the age of seventy-five."
Refers to a total solar eclipse of10 April AD 628,
in the Yamato region of
From: Japanese history.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 267.
"Eclipses of the Sun or Moon may begin or end early or late; they can deviate from normal in either direction. Therefore it is necessary to observe 12-1/2 marks (i.e.3 hours) before and after the predicted time."
From: Sui-shi (Chinese calandrical
treatise, compiled around AD 630).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 284.
"In this year the Sun was eclipsed on the 5th of the Nones of May; and Earcenbryht, the King of the Kentish people died and Ecgbryht his son succeeded to the Kingdom."
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles.
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.
"In this year Aethelbald captured Somerton; and the Sun was eclipsed, and all the Sun‘s disc was like a black shield; and Acca was driven from his bishopric."
The Anglo Saxon Chronicle.
Refers to the annular solar eclipse of
(Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams, and in The Sun in Eclipse by Maunder and
"In the year 733 an eclipse of the Sun occurred on the 19th day before the Kalends of September (i.e. Aug 14), about the third hour of the day, with the result that almost the whole of the Sun's disc seemed to be covered by a black and horrid shield."
Refers to an annular solar eclipse in northern
From: Bedae Continuato.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson,
Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 422.
"One year after the Arabs had been driven back across the
Refers to the annular eclipse of
From: The Chronik der Seuchen.
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.
"The moon was as though drenched with blood."
Refers to a lunar eclipse in AD 734.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"Moreover, the Moon was covered with a blood-red colour on the 8th day before the Kalends of December [ie 24 November] when 15 days old, that is, the Full Moon; and then the darkness gradually decreased and it returned to its original brightness. And remarkably indeed, a bright star following the Moon itself passed through it, and after the return to brightness it preceded the Moon by the same distance as it had followed the Moon before it was obscured."
Refers to a lunar eclipse of
Simeon of
Quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica CD 98.
"The moon was darkened during the second hour of the night of January 16th."
Refers to a lunar eclipse in AD 800.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"The moon was darkened on September 1st."
Refers to a lunar eclipse in AD 806.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"The sun darkened at the beginning of the fifth hour of the day on Tuesday, July 16th, the 29th day of the moon."
Refers to a solar eclipse in AD 809.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"The moon darkened on Christmas eve."
Refers to a lunar eclipse in AD 829.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"In the third year of the Indiction, the Sun was hidden from
this world and stars appeared in the sky as if it were
Refers to a total solar eclipse of
From: Andreas Bergomatis Chronicon.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 387.
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
"This solar eclipse was observed by Abu al-'Abbas al-Iranshahri at Nishapur early in the morning on Tuesday the 29th of the month of Ramadan in the year 259 of al-Hijrah . . . (date on the Persian calendar) . . . He mentioned that the Moon's body (i.e. disk) was in the middle of the Sun'd body. The light from the remaining uneclipsed portion of the Sun surrounded it (i.e. the Moon). It was clear from this that the Sun's diameter exceeded in view that of the Moon."
Refers to an annular eclipse of
From: al-Biruni al-Qanun al-Mas'udi (1030).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 467.
"The Sun was eclipsed at 1 hour of the day."
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles.
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.
". . . the sun darkened for one hour of the day."
This solar eclipse is recorded under the entries
for the AD 879, but is probably the one on
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"An eclipse of the sun; and stars were seen in the heavens."
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
From: The Chronicon Scotorum
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.
"The moon darkened."
Refers to a lunar eclipse of AD 904.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"(This) solar eclipse was calculated and observed by Abu al-Hassan Ali ibn Amajur, who used the al-Zij al-Arabi of Habash . . . We as a group observed and clearly distinguished it . . . We observed this eclipse at several sites on the Tarmah (an elevated platform on the outside of the building) . . . According to calculation from the conjunction tables in the habash Zij the middle was at 0;31 h (i.e. 31 min) and its clearance at 0;44 hours (i.e. 44 min), calculation being in advance of observation."
Refers to a solar eclipse of
From: Ibn Yunus.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 459.
"When the Emperor was waging war in Syria, at the winter solstice there was an eclipse of the Sun such as has never happened apart from that which was brought on the Earth at the Passion of our Lord on account of the folly of the Jews. . . The eclipse was such a spectacle. It occurred on the 22nd day of December, at the 4th hour of the day, the air being calm. Darkness fell upon the Earth and all the brighter stars revealed themselves. Everyone could see the disc of the Sun without brightness, deprived of light, and a certain dull and feeble glow, like a narrow headband, shining round the extreme parts of the edge of the disc. However, the Sun gradually going past the Moon (for this appeared covering it directly) sent out its original rays, and light filled the Earth again."
Refers to a total solar eclipse in
From: Leo the Deacon, Historiae, Byzantine.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 390, and, in part, in Encyclopaedia
Britannica CD 98.
"The Sun was eclipsed . . . . Some people say that it was
entirely total. During the hours mao and ch'en (some time between
5 and 9 h) it was all gone. It was the colour of ink and without light. All the
birds flew about in confusion and the various stars were all visible. There was
a general amnesty (on account of the eclipse)."
From: Nihon Kiryaku.
"At the hour ch'en (7-9 h), the Sun was eclipsed; it was
completely total. All under heaven became entirely dark and the stars were all
visible."
From: Fuso Ryakki.
"The Sun was eclipsed; it was all gone. It was like ink and
without light. The stars were all visible (or: stars were visible in the
daytime)."
From: Hyaku Rensho.
These three Japanese quotations refer to a total
solar eclipse of
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, pages 267 and 268.
"The faculty of sight cannot resist it (the Sun's rays), which can inflict a painful injury. If one continues to look at it, one's sight becomes dazzled and dimmed, so it is preferable to look at its image in water and avoid a direct look at it, because the intensity of its rays is thereby reduced . . . Indeed such observations of solar eclipses in my youth have weakened my eyesight."
From: al-Biruni, Kitab Tahdid (1025).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson,
Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 463.
"They call it a great wonder
That the Sun would not
though the sky was cloudless
Shine warm upon the men."
Sighvald, Icelandic poet.
Said to refer to a solar eclipse of AD 1030, during a battle near
"On Wednesday, when two nights remained to the completion of the
month Jumada, two hours after daybreak, the sun was eclipsed totally. There was
darkness and the birds fell whilst flying. The astrologers claimed that
one-sixth of the Sun should have remained [uneclipsed] but nothing of it did
so. The Sun reappeared after four hours and a fraction. The eclipse was not in
the whole of the Sun in places other than
Refers to a solar eclipse of
From: Ibn al-Jawzi, Islamic.
Quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica CD 98.
"The moon darkened three nights before Candlemas.."
Refers to a lunar eclipse of 1078.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"On the sixth day of the month of February between the sixth and ninth hours the Sun was obscured for the space of three hours; it was so great that any people who were working indoors could only continue if in the meantime they lit lamps. Indeed some people went from house to house to get lanterns or torches. Many were terrified."
Refers to a solar eclipse of
Goffredo Malaterra, Chronicle of the Norman rule in
Quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica CD 98.
"On the fifteenth night of the month of May, the moon appeared, shining brightly; then little by little its light waned, so that as soon as it was night it was so fully quenched that neither light nor circle nor anything at all of it was seen, and so it stayed for full nigh a day. later, full and brightly shining, it appeared; it was on that same day fourteen nights old. All that night the sky was very clear, and the stars over all the heavens brightly shining."
Refers to a lunar eclipse of 1110.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
". . . and on the night of December 11th, the moon was long into the night as though all bloody, and after, it was darkened. Also, on the night of December 16th, the heavens were seen to be as red as though they were burning."
Refers to a lunar eclipse of 1117.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"The moon darkened on the eve of April 5th; that was the fourteenth day of the moon."
Refers to a lunar eclipse of 1121.
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd.
"In the month of August on the 11th day, before the evening service, the Sun began to diminish and perished completely. Great fright and darkness everywhere. And the stars appeared and the Moon (sic). And the Sun began to augment and became full again and everyone in the town was very glad."
Refers to a total solar eclipse in
From: Novorodskaya I Letopic.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 391.
"The elements manifested their sorrow at this great man's [King
Henry 1] departure from
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
William of Malmesbury Historia Novella, Lib. i sec.8.
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.
"Duke Frederick . . . set fire to the town of Augsburg and killed many of its citizens . . . An eclipse of the Sun occurred on the 4th day before the Nones of August at midday for about an hour, such as is not seen in a thousand years. Eventually the whole sky was dark like night, and stars were seen over almost the whole sky. At length the Sun, emerging from the darkness, appeared like a star, afterwards in the form of a new Moon; finally it assumed its original form."
Refers to a total solar eclipse in
From: Honorii Augustodensis: Summa Totius et Imagine Mundi.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 392.
"In the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 1133 . . . on the 4th day before the Nones of August (Aug 2), the 4th day of the week (Wednesday) when the day was declining towards the ninth hour, the Sun in a single moment became as black as pitch, day was turned into night, very many stars were seen, objects on the ground appeared as they usually do at night."
Refers to a total solar eclipse in
From: Notae Halesbrunnenses.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 392.
"In this year King Henry went over sea at Lammas, and the second day as he lay and slept on the ship the day darkened over all lands; and the Sun became as it were a three-night-old Moon, and the stars about it at mid-day. Men were greatly wonder-stricken and were affrighted, and said that a great thing should come thereafter. So it did, for the same year the king died on the following day after St Andrew‘s Mass-day, Dec 2 in Normandy."
The Anglo Saxon Chronicle
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
(Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.)
"That great eclipse of the Sun occurred on the 4th day before
the Nones of August, the 27th day of the Moon, the 13th year of the Indiction.
After
Refers to a total solar eclipse of
From: Chronicon Magni Presbyterii.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 393.
"During this year, in Lent, on the 13th of the Calends of April,
at the 9th hour of the 4th day of the week, there was an eclipse, throughout
William of Malmesbury Historia Novella,
Lib. ii sec.35.
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
(Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.)
"In this year on the 4th day before the Nones of August in the
heat of
Refers to a total solar eclipse in
From: S. Rudperti Salisurgensis Annales Breves.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 393.
"Afterwards in lent the Sun and the day darkened about the noontide of the day, when men were eating, and they lighted candles to eat by; and that was the 13th of the Calends of April [20 March]. Men were greatly wonder-stricken."
The Anglo Saxon Chronicle
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
(Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.)
"In this year King Henry went over sea at Lammas, and the second
day as he lay and slept on the ship the day darkened over all lands; and the
Sun became as it were a three-night-old Moon, and the stars about it at
mid-day. Men were greatly wonder-stricken and were affrighted, and said that a
great thing should come thereafter. So it did, for the same year the king died
on the following day after St Andrew's Mass-day, Dec 2 in
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.
In The Anglo Saxon Chronicles translated and collated by Anne Savage,
CLB Publishing Ltd., this entry is translated as:-
"King Henry went over the sea at Lammas; on the second day that he lay asleep in the ship, the day darkened over all the land, the sun became like a three-day-old moon, and there were stars around it at mid-day. Men wondered greatly, and dreaded, and said that a great thing should come thereafter; so it did for that same year the king was dead, the second day after St Andrew's Day. Then the land was waste, for every man plundered it over who might."
"Shao-hsing reign period, 5th year, 1st month, the first day of the month. A man named Ch'en Te-I predicted that the Sun should be 8-1/2 tenths eclipsed with the beginning of loss in the initial half of the hour of the sxu. (These predictions) were verified by observation."
Refers to a partial solar eclipse of
From: Sung-shih (Chinese).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 253.
"Afterwards in lent the Sun and the day darkened about the noontide of the day, when men were eating, and they lighted candles to eat by; and that was the 13th of the Calends of April [20 March]. Men were greatly wonder-stricken."
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
From: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.
"During this year, in Lent, on the 13th of the Calends of April,
at the 9th hour of the 4th day of the week, there was an eclipse, throughout
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
From: William of Malmesbury, Historia Novella, Lib. ii sec.35.
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams.
"On Sunday, the 7th day before the Kalends of November (Oct 26), a solar eclipse occurred at the 3rd hour and persisted until after the 6th . This eclipse stood fixed and motionless for a whole hour, as noted on the 'clock' . . . During this hour a circle of different colours and spinning rapidly was said to be in the way."
Refers to an annular eclipse in
From: Annales Brunwilarensis.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 394.
"In this year the Sun was eclipsed totally and the Earth was in darkness so that it was like a dark night and the stars appeared. That was the forenoon of Friday the 29th of Ramadan at Jazirat Ibn 'Umar, when I was young and in the company of my arithmetic teacher. When I saw it I was very much afraid; I held on to him and my heart was strengthened. My teacher was learned about the stars and told me, 'Now, you will see that all of this will go away', and it went quickly."
Refers to a solar eclipse of
From: Ibn al-Athir.
Reprinted from Chasing the Shadow, copyright 1994 by Joel K Harris and
Richard L Talcott, by permission of Kalmbach Publishing Co; Also quoted in Encyclopaedia
Britannica CD 98.
"In this year 1487 (Seleucid), on New Sunday, the 11th of the month of Nisan [April], at daybreak, at the end of Office, that is, after the reading of the Gospel, the Sun was totally obscured; night fell and the stars appeared; the Moon itself was seen in the vicinity of the Sun. This was a sad and terrifying sight, which caused many people to lament with weeping; the sheep, oxen and horses crowded together in terror. The darkness lasted for two hours; afterwards the light returned. Fifteen days after, in this month of Nisan at the decline of Monday, at dusk, there was an eclipse of the Moon in the part of the sky where the eclipse of the Sun had taken place . . ."
Refers to a total solar eclipse at
From: Chronicle of Michael the Syrian.
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 394.
"The Sun was eclipsed and it became dark in the daytime. People were frightened and stars appeared."
Refers to the solar eclipse of
From: Imad al-Din, Islamic. Chronicle of the crossing of the
Quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica CD 98.
". . . the Minamato army fled, frightened by a solar eclipse."
Refers to an annular eclipse of
From: Gehpei seiseiki (Japanese history of the Minamato and Taira
clans).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 266.
"On the first day of the month of May, on the day of the Saint
Prophet Jeremiah, on Wednesday, during the evening service, there was a sign in
the Sun. It became very dark, even the stars could be seen; it seemed to men as
if everything were green, and the Sun became like a crescent of the Moon, from
the horns of which a glow similar to that of red-hoot charcoals was emanating.
It was terrible to see this sign of the Lord."
From: Lavrentievskaya Letopis.
"On the first day of the month of May, during the ringing of the
bells for the evening service, there was a sign in the Sun. It became very dark
for an hour or longer and the stars were visible and to men everything seemed
as if it were green. The Sun became like a crescent of the new Moon and from
its horns a glow like a roasting fire was coming forth and it was terrible to
see the sign of the Lord. Then the Sun cleared and we were happy again."
From: Novgorodskaya II Letopis
Both of these quotations refer to a total solar
eclipse in
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson,
Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 395.
"In the month of June, the Vigil of the Nativity of St John the Baptist (Jun 23), the 9th day before the Kalends of July, on the 27th day of the Moon, at the 9th hour of the day, the Sun was eclipsed and it lasted for three hours; the Sun was so obscured that the darkness arose over the Earth and stars appeared in the sky. And when the eclipse withdrew, the Sun returned to its original beauty."
Refers to an annular eclipse of
From: Stubbs, Gesta Regis Henrici II et Ricardi I (1867).
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard Stephenson,
Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 381.
"On the first day of the fifth month (May 23), at
[Later] (Ch'ang-ch'un) asked (an astronomer) about the solar eclipse on the first day of the month (May 23). The man replied: 'Here the Sun was eclipsed up to 7 fen (6/10) at the hour of ch'en (7-9 h)'. The Master continued, 'When we were by the Lu-chu Ho (Kerulen River), during the hour wu (11-13 h) the Sun was seen totally eclipsed and also south-west of Chin-shan the people there said that the eclipse occurred at the hour szu (9-11 h) and reached 7 fen. At each of these three places it was seen differently. According to the commentary on the Ch'un-ch'iu by K'ung Ying-ta, when the body (of the Moon) covers the Sun, then there will be a solar eclipse. Now I presume that we must have been directly beneath it; hence we observed the eclipse to be total. On the other hand, those people on the sides (of the shadow) were further away and hence (their view) gradually became different. This is similar to screening a lamp with a fan. In the shadow of the fan there is no light or brightness. Further away from the sides (of the fan) then the light of the lamp gradually becomes greater."
Refers to a total solar eclipse of
From: Ch'ang-ch'un Chen-jen Tao-ts'ang('The Journey of the Adept
Ch'ang-ch'un to the West').
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 254.
"On the 14th May, which was the Tuesday in Rogation Week, the unusual eclipse of the Sun took place very early in the morning, immediately after sunrise; and it became so dark that the labourers, who had commenced their morning's work, were obliged to leave it, and returned again to their beds to sleep; but in about an hour's time, to the astonishment of many, the Sun regained its usual brightness."
Refers to the total solar eclipse of
From: Rogerus de Wendover, Flores Historiarum, vol. ii. p.235.
Quoted in UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by
Williams,
and in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 425.
Click here for Fred Espenak's map of this eclipse.
"The Sun was obscured on Friday at the 6th hour of the day, and it lasted for a while between the 6th and 9th hours and it lost all its strength and there was as though night. There appeared many stars, and then the Sun grew bright again of its own accord, but for a long time it did not regain the strength that it usually has."
From: Anales Toledanos Segundos.
"While I was in the city of Arezzo, where I was born, and in which I am writing this book, in our monastery, a building which is situated towards the end of the fifth latitude zone, whose latitude from the equator is 42 and a quarter degrees and whose westerly longitude is 32 and a third, one Friday, at the 6th hour of the day, when the Sun was 20 deg in Gemini and the weather was calm and clear, the sky began to turn yellow and I saw the whole body of the Sun covered step by step and it became night. I saw Mercury close to the Sun, and all the animals and birds were terrified; and the wild beasts could easily be caught. There were some people who caught birds and animals, because they were bewildered. I saw the Sun entirely covered for the space of time in which a man could walk fully 250 paces. The air and the ground began to become cold; and it (the Sun) began to be covered and uncovered from the west."
From: Ristoro d'Arezzo, Della composizione del
mondo
Both these quotations refer to a total solar
eclipse in
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, pages 385 and 397.
"On Friday at the beginning of June after the 9th hour, the Sun was covered with darkness and it became completely black. It remained like this for the space of an hour, and the Moon was in front of it. Almost all of the stars were manifestly seen in the sky and this appeared plainly to everyone. There was also a certain fiery aperture in the Sun's disc on the lower part. The Moon itself was on the 29th day. Night arose over the whole Earth. In verse:
'In the year one thousand, two hundred and thirty-nine
When June was beginning; on the third day;
The Sun was obscured, with its disc covered with darkness,
In full daylight the Sun became without light.
For a whole hour the Sun was dead and remote from us,
This marvel happened on the sixth day of the week.'"
Refers to a total solar eclipse in
From: Annales Caesenates .
Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, by F Richard
Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 399.
"On the 3rd day before the Nones of June (Jun 3), on the same day that Christ suffered, namely the 6th day of the week (Friday), and at the same time that darkness occurred over the whole of the Earth at the Passion of our Lord, namely from the 6th to the 9th hours of the era 1237, there occurred a sign such has never happened since the Passion of our Lord until the present day. There was indeed night between the 6th and 9th hours and the Sun became as black as pitch and the Moon (sic) and many stars appeared in the sky. Then the receding of the darkness of night was followed by the receding and recovering of the Sun's orig