{"id":600022,"date":"2024-04-01T17:31:30","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T21:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=600022"},"modified":"2025-12-01T13:45:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T18:45:56","slug":"medieval-planetary-alignment-eclipses-middle-ages-renaissance-600022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/medieval-planetary-alignment-eclipses-middle-ages-renaissance-600022\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprising facts and beliefs about eclipses during medieval and Renaissance times"},"content":{"rendered":"

University of Rochester experts offer historical insights into medieval society\u2019s fascination with astronomical and astrological phenomena.<\/h2>\n

In medieval and Renaissance society and culture, celestial events were not mere spectacles in the sky. Rather, they were omens, predictors of the future, and windows into the workings of the universe. University of Rochester<\/a> historian Laura Ackerman Smoller<\/a> and librarian Anna Siebach-Larsen, director of the Rossell Hope Robbins Library<\/a>, shed light on how the people of the (falsely labeled) \u201cDark Ages\u201d actually understood, interpreted, and experienced eclipses, planetary conjunctions, and other astronomical phenomena.<\/p>\n

Eclipses were well understood in medieval Europe\u2014at least mathematically.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Forget the idea of flat earthers and the notion that medieval people \u201cwere generally stupid, ignorant, and superstitious,\u201d says Smoller, a professor of history at Rochester and a fellow of the Medieval Academy of America. Ancient and medieval astronomers \u201cknew quite well how to predict when conjunctions and eclipses were going to happen,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Close-up
OFF-CENTER:<\/strong> First printed in 1543, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium<\/em> (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres<\/em>) by Renaissance astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus posited a heliocentric model of the universe as an alternative to the then-widely accepted Earth-centric one. The University\u2019s copy of the book dates to 1566. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They understood that if the moon was either new or full, and when its path crossed the ecliptic\u2014the sun\u2019s path\u2014you had an eclipse (a solar eclipse with the new moon and a lunar eclipse with the full moon). During an eclipse, the sun and moon are either in opposition (180 degrees opposite each other) or in conjunction in the exact same degree. But their paths have to be on the exact same plane and need to have crossed, explains Smoller. \u201cThat\u2019s mathematically pretty sophisticated to conceive,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

That said, medieval Europe still held a strictly Earth-centric view that considered the sun and the moon to be planets that orbit Earth\u2014along with the five then-known planets Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. This geocentric model was not just specific to the Middle Ages\u2014indeed, it was the predominant model in several classical civilizations, including ancient Greece and Rome.<\/p>\n

In 1543, the publication of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium<\/em> (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres<\/em>) by Renaissance astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus would kick off the Copernican Revolution. His work ultimately led to the long-held Earth-centric model\u2019s being replaced with a heliocentric one that has the sun at the center of our solar system.<\/p>\n

Celestial events like eclipses were used to predict the future, including the weather.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Scan
THE FINE PRINT:<\/strong> According to the text, when a solar eclipse is combined with the planetary conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the head of Aries, \u201cthe effects will last 12,000 years.\u201d Note the faded marks near that passage in the lower right-hand margins\u2014likely supplied by an early reader noting the super-booster effect. (Photo by Laura Ackerman Smoller)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Medieval Europeans saw alignments of planets, like conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn, as signs of things to come\u2014from famines, earthquakes, and floods, to the birth of Christ, and even the collapse of empires. They believed that eclipses, especially solar eclipses, could amplify and strengthen the effects of these planetary conjunctions.<\/p>\n

The University\u2019s Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation<\/a> (RBSCP) is home to an early printed book from 1485 by Firmin de Beauval titled Opusculum repertorii prognosticon in mutationes aeris<\/em><\/a> (On Predicting Changes in the Weather<\/em>), published by Erhard Ratdolt, who specialized in printing works of geometry, astrology, and astronomy.<\/p>\n

A compilation of ancient medieval sources, the treatise deals with the influence of planets on meteorological phenomena and weather forecasting. But it also covers solstices and equinoxes, planetary conjunctions, and eclipses\u2014and their reported ability to prognosticate the future.<\/p>\n

Reading the original imprint (or incunable) in Latin, Smoller notes that eclipses were considered to boost the effects of planetary conjunctions. According to the text, when a solar eclipse is combined with the planetary conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the head of Aries, \u201cthe effects will last 12,000 years.\u201d That staggering number is not a typo. Smoller points to faded marks in the right margins that an early reader, likewise astonished at the described super-booster effect, made in the same passage.<\/p>\n

Smoller pushes back against the conventional notion of the superstitious Middle Ages. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s superstitious on their part to believe that things that happen in the heavens have an effect on Earth,\u201d she says, pointing to the example of tidal changes that are synched with the moon cycle. \u201cThat is the nature of medieval, ancient, and a lot of early modern natural philosophy, including beliefs held by Galileo and Kepler.\u201d<\/p>\n

Medieval theologians pondered the meaning of the \u201cmiraculous eclipse\u201d that apparently occurred during Jesus\u2019s Crucifixion. <\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"William
TIME CHECK:<\/strong> The University\u2019s copy of De universo<\/em> by William of Auvergne, a 13th-century theologian. Among other Christian writers, William insisted that the eclipse at the time of the Crucifixion had to be miraculous since such an event was not naturally possible given the timing. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The study of eclipses was, unsurprisingly, essential for specialized astronomers. But it also formed part of a general university education during the Middle Ages, including for theologians.<\/p>\n

Take the example of William of Auvergne, the bishop of Paris from 1228 to 1249 and a prominent theology professor at the University of Paris. William is one of many writers to discuss the purported \u201cmiraculous eclipse\u201d that occurred at the time of Jesus\u2019s Crucifixion. With the 600-folio De universo<\/em>, which translates to On the Universe<\/em>, William provides \u201can extraordinary look at the culture of scientific thought and the ways in which it was transmitted,\u201d explained Siebach-Larsen after the University acquired a rare copy<\/a>. The manuscript boasts an unusual illumination that is broken into the four elements: earth (complete with mountains and trees), water (with fish), air (with flies), and fire. (Want to take a deeper dive into the De universo<\/em> manuscript? Take a \u201cguided tour\u201d with Siebach-Larsen<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"Close-up
SPHERES OF INFLUENCE:<\/strong> The first page of De universo<\/em> features a remarkably detailed illumination depicting the four elements of nature (from right): earth, water (note the pair of fish), air (complete with flies), and fire. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An early witness to the idea of \u201cnatural magic\u201d among medieval thinkers, William covers the topic of eclipses in De universo<\/em>. He counts among the many Christian writers, beginning with the earliest Church fathers, to insist that the eclipse at the time of the Crucifixion had to have been miraculous, as it was not naturally possible, says Smoller. Why? Timing is everything: The Crucifixion reportedly took place during Passover, which begins on the first or second full moon after the spring equinox. But you\u00a0need a new moon\u2014not a full moon\u2014for a solar eclipse to occur.<\/p>\n

Doctors in the Middle Ages needed to know about eclipses, too.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"
WHATSAPP, DOC?<\/strong> When folded, this parchment almanac was would attach to a person\u2019s belt. During the Middle Ages, physicians would use such books to diagnose and treat their patients, the medieval equivalent of a WebMD smartphone app. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Robbins Library and RBSCP collections boasts a beautiful \u201cbat book almanac\u201d that is based on the Kalendarium<\/em> of John Somer from the 1390s. Small and dainty, the parchment almanac was designed to be folded and carried around. As tools for astronomy, prayer, and astrology, such almanacs played a role in a patient\u2019s prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment\u2014the medieval equivalent of a WebMD smartphone app.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we see that kind of information in book format frequently, it\u2019s very rare to have this kind of manuscript that was made to attach to someone\u2019s belt so that they could look at it and unfold it while consulting with someone,\u201d says Siebach-Larsen. In fact, there are 31 known almanacs of this type from England in existence, with only four of them\u2014one being the University\u2019s\u2014dating as early as the 14th century. According to Siebach-Larsen, the Rochester manuscript might be one of the earliest English manuscripts of these texts and of this type.<\/p>\n

Smoller adds that the almanac was designed to let physicians look up the most auspicious time to mix medicines and undertake medical interventions. And while the manuscript contains information about solar eclipses\u2014along with striking illustrations\u2014it\u2019s not clear if that particular celestial phenomenon was considered a good or bad omen in the medieval healing arts and sciences.<\/p>\n

\"Close-up
BAT (BOOK) SIGNAL:<\/strong> We know the \u201cbat book almanac\u201d contains detailed illustrations of solar eclipses. But how medical practitioners during the Middle Ages interpreted this information remains unclear. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lunar and solar eclipses were noteworthy in the Middle Ages. But some planetary alignments were the really<\/em> big thing.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In a hierarchy of astronomical importance, what comes first\u2014lunar eclipses, solar eclipses, or planetary alignments or conjunctions?<\/p>\n

For medieval people, even though eclipses are much more visible, other planetary conjunctions were much more meaningful. That\u2019s because for medieval astrologers and astronomers, the sun and the moon are fundamentally two of the seven planets. And according to Smoller, it\u2019s the \u201cslower, outer\u201d planets\u2014Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars\u2014that were considered more significant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe really important ones are those special conjunctions of Saturn and Jupiter that occur roughly every 240 and 960 years, definitely not those of the every-20-year variety,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"\"
ZODIAC SIGNS POINT TO YES:<\/strong> Astrology and astronomy weren\u2019t strange bedfellows in the Middle Ages. The people of medieval Europe held an Earth-centric view that considered the sun and the moon to be planets that orbit Earth\u2014along with the five then-known planets Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the next Saturn and Jupiter conjunction will take place in 2040, to medieval astronomers that one wouldn\u2019t have been very important. Instead, the next particularly significant planetary conjunction\u2014from a medieval perspective\u2014wouldn\u2019t be until the 22nd century.<\/p>\n

Either way, if history is any indication, it stands to reason that future denizens of Earth will continue humanity\u2019s enduring fascination with cosmic happenings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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