The Tale of Gervase of Canterbury
“that orbed maiden, with white fire laden, whom mortals call the moon”
– Percy Bysshe Shelley
It was June 25, 1178. Henry II, the father of Richard the Lion-hearted and the first English king of the Plantagenets, ruled over England and northern France. Seven and one-half years earlier, in response to comments made by Henry II, members of his court had murdered the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, who was declared a saint two years later. (Becket’s grave was to become the favorite pilgrimage of a devoutly Roman Catholic society for centuries and was later immortalized in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.) A monk of Canterbury named Gervase, who knew Tomas Becket, chronicled the manner of Becket’s death for posterity. After June 25, 1178, however, his chronicles would also include the observations of the sky on that evening by the monks of Canterbury.
June 25, 1178 occurred 1.5 days after the new moon. Approximately 520 miles (840 kilometers) beyond the edge of the portion of the moon visible from earth, an incident was to occur, which, it was thought, could not have occurred within the time of recorded history. It seemed even less likely that such an incident would have been witnessed and recorded. According to Gervase of Canterbury, the monks who witnessed the occurrence were “prepared to stake their honor on an oath that they had made no addition of falsification” in their narrative. What they had witnessed on that evening was a huge impact on the moon, probably by a meteorite.
To understand the implication of such an incident, it is necessary to examine the influence that the moon’s pull of gravity has upon bodies of water on the earth, such as oceans. It is known that the moon affects the movements of the tides. This is due, in part, to its elliptical orbit around the earth. A major impact on the moon has the potential to affect its orbit, however slightly, which would, in turn, result in a corresponding reaction to the impact on earth, possibly affecting its bodies of water. The reaction on the earth that occurred was what has come to be termed the Little Ice Age. (This event has previously been considered to be solely the result of solar activity minima, which, undoubtedly, was a contributing factor.)
It has been recorded, as early as 1197, in the region near Greenland, that drift ice had begun to appear along vital trade routes, which would result, over the centuries that followed, in the establishment of entirely different trade routes, not only in Greenland, but throughout the world. According to David Lund of Caltech, the rise in the frequency of drift ice in the north Atlantic was due to the fact that the Gulf Stream’s volume was 10 percent lower than might be found today, which means that the Gulf Stream was flowing differently. The Gulf Stream, which takes warm water from the tropical mid-Atlantic to the western coast of Europe, was suddenly functioning in a different manner than it had prior to 1178 (and also in a different manner than it would function subsequent to 1850). The impact of 1178 had apparently affected the movements of the waters on the earth.
Since one event triggers another event, the change in the volume of the Gulf Stream also affected the environment surrounding the water. It is accepted fact that by 1300 warm summers stopped being dependable in northern Europe. The cool weather, which had resulted due to the impact, caused poor harvests, which, in turn, caused repeated mass human starvations. Forests disappeared, as one kind of tree was replaced by another, an adaptation to the change in climate. Lower crops yields accelerated species extinctions. Other species adapted to the change in climate by changing habitats, increasing the incidence of disease, as in the case of the plague. In the far-off tropical Andes, four glacial advances would be noted during the Little Ice Age. Volcanic activity increased. The effects of the impact would last for 700 years.
100 years after the end of the Little Ice Age, in 1976, a researcher named Hartung renewed interest in the tale of Gervase of Canterbury. In an attempt to substantiate the observations of the monks of Canterbury, Hartung studied lunar maps and photos. Based upon the fact that the rays were bright and the rim edges were sharp, an indication that this particular crater did not appear to have sustained numerous meteorite impacts, which would have given it the weathered look of older lunar craters, Hartung determined that Giordano Bruno was probably the crater which had resulted from the impact to which the monks were witness. The location of Giordano Bruno, relative to Canterbury on earth on June 25, 1178, was such that it would have been possible to see the debris rising to a considerable height from a large impact. Hartung’s hypothesis, and work, was confirmed, by Calame and Mulholland, and Davis in 1979.
The tale of the monks of Canterbury illustrates the delicate balance that exists between the earth and its moon, and the vital significance, within that relationship, to the flourishing of life on earth. It also reminds that the flow of the tides should never be taken for granted.
