It's a small point and unrelated to the central idea of this thread, but
remember that there were actually no total solar eclipses anywhere in the
world in 528 AD.  There were a few partials, but none of those occurred
even close to June 21.  So in this sense, Hank's knowledge of solar
phenomena (let alone his ridiculously precise recollection of a total
eclipse taking place at three minutes past noon on June 21, 528 AD) is a
little suspect.  Works just fine in the context of a dream, but not as a
function of history.

On Tue, Aug 15, 2017 at 1:52 PM, Click, Ben <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> The Explanatory Notes from the MTP critical edition references Columbus,
> suggesting that Hank was recalling Washington Irving's account of Columbus
> exploiting the eclipse.  It also mentions Lou Budd's *Mark Twain Social
> Philosopher *that references H. Rider Haggard's *King Solomon's Mines* as
> the the source.  There's also a mention of Howard Baetzhold's *Mark Twain
> and John Bull*
>
> On Mon, Aug 14, 2017 at 9:37 AM, William Robison <[log in to unmask]
> >
> wrote:
>
> > There is a fairly well known story that the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh
> > predicted both the solar eclipse of June 16, 1806 and the New Madrid
> > Earthquake of December 16, 1811, and used this to convince the Shawnee
> the
> > gods supported war against the white man. One version of the story says
> > Tecumseh knew about the eclipse in advance because he had seen it
> forecast
> > in an almanac.
> >
> > I have read speculation that Twain drew upon this story for the scene in
> *A
> > Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court *in which Hank Morgan
> out-wizards
> > Merlin by predicting a solar eclipse.
> >
> > Does anyone on the list know if there is evidence to support that?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Bill
> >
> > --=20
> > William B. Robison, PhD
> > Department Head / Professor of History
> > Department of History and Political Science
> > Southeastern Louisiana University
> > SLU 10895
> > Hammond LA 70402
> > 985-549-2109 phone
> > 985-549-2012 fax
> > [log in to unmask]
> > http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/depts/hist_ps/index.html
> > http://www.tudorsonfilm.com/
> > http://www.impairedfaculties.com/
> >
> > History teaches students to read intelligently, think analytically, write
> > clearly, accurately assess past trends, rationally predict future
> > developments, and understand the real world. Now *that* is
> workforce-ready!
> >
> > History does offer us very real lessons, but they are seldom simple and
> > straightforward. To understand and benefit from them, you have to know
> your
> > history very well. That is why history matters as much as math, science,
> > technology, or any other subject.
> >
> > "A young horse is fast, but an old horse knows what's going on."
> =E2=80=93
> > =
> > Muddy
> > Waters
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Ben Click
> Professor, English
> Director, Writing & Speaking Center
> Director, Twain Lecture Series on
> American Humor and Culture
> (240) 895-4253
> St. Mary's College of Maryland
>