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 >