Publication Date:
2020-02-01
Description:
The reports of seven eclipses of the Sun and Moon in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History and its Continuation are investigated for their astronomical accuracy using modern-day calculations. The eclipses can all be identified from the given dates, which are accurate to within 2 days, except for one lunar eclipse. There is evidence that the reports were obtained from a range of sources beyond the NE of England, two possibly from as remote as Rome. From the lack of physical detail, we deduce that the interest in the eclipses was their relevance to historical matters, rather than in the phenomena themselves.
Print ISSN:
0021-8286
Electronic ISSN:
1753-8556
Topics:
Physics
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