European Historical Evidence of the Supernova of AD 1054 Balkan Medieval Tombstones

In a previous work, we establish that the acclaimed ‘Arabic’ records of SN 1054 from ibn Butlan originate from Europe. Also, we reconstructed the European sky at the time of the event and find that the ’new star’ (SN 1054) was in the west while the planet Venus was on the opposite side of the sky (in the east) with the Sun sited directly between these two equally bright objects, as documented in East-Asian records. Here, we investigate the engravings on tombstones (stećci) from several necropolises in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina (far from the influence of the Church) as a possible European ‘record’ of SN 1054. Certainly, knowledge and understanding of celestial events (such as supernovae) were somewhat poor in the mid-XI century.

💡 Research Summary

This paper analyzes historical evidence of the supernova (SN 1054) that occurred in Europe during AD 1054. Previous research established that records attributed to ‘Arabic’ sources, specifically from ibn Butlan, actually originated from European contexts. The authors reconstructed the European sky at the time of the event and found that the “new star” (SN 1054) was positioned in the west while Venus was on the opposite side of the sky (in the east), with the Sun directly between these two equally bright objects, as documented in East-Asian records. The paper investigates engravings on tombstones (stećci) from several necropolises in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, a region far from the influence of the Church, as possible European ‘records’ of SN 1054. Despite limited knowledge and understanding of celestial events such as supernovae during the mid-11th century, the authors explore whether these tombstones might contain depictions or references to this significant astronomical event. The study aims to uncover potential cultural artifacts that could provide additional insights into how medieval Europeans perceived and recorded extraordinary astronomical phenomena like SN 1054.