Book 4, Chapter 2: Level Foundations
Supernova 1054
Constellation: Taurus
Distance: 6.5 kilolight-years
Remnant: Nebula
SN 1054 is a supernova that was first observed on 4 July AD 1054, and remained visible until c. 6 April 1056. The event was recorded in numerous contemporary astronomical sources, including Zhōngguó, Nippon, Islamic, and European, as well as in petrographs associated with the Hisatsinom culture. Furthermore, it is historically noteworthy and significant as being one of the instigating factors in Magni Hiccupsson House Haddock’s initial astronomical synlengra experiments, which began a new age of observational astronomy in the coming decades and centuries. One aspect of these studies is that the remnants of SN 1054 have been extensively tracked, with new and increasingly larger synlengra constructed as the supernova remnants faded over time. The remnants of SN 1054, known as the Magni Nebula, consists of debris ejected during the explosion, and is located in the sky near the star Zeta Tauri, with the core of the exploding star having formed a pulsar, called the Magni Pulsar. Due to the centuries of close examination, and as one of the few Galactic supernovae where the date of the explosion is well-known, the nebula and the pulsar it contains are some of the most well-studied astronomical objects outside of the solar system, with the two objects being the most luminous of their types in their respective categories.
[…]
Cultural Significance:
The supernova was received as a supernatural portent in the immediate aftermath of the wedding of Tuffnut Thicknutsson House Thorston and his first wife, Princess Mór of the Isle of Mann, performed on 3 July AD 1054. The pair had attempted to wed in ceremony repeatedly over the preceding eleven years as a betrothed couple, despite technically qualifying as a common law marriage between their extended cohabitation and the births of five children in that time.
According to contemporary sources, the wagering on what might interrupt the wedding on this latest attempt included “another war,” “The Apocalypse,” volcanic eruptions, the blotting out of the sun by an eclipse, and several other types of natural and supernatural disasters, with the longest odds on offer given to the nuptials going through successfully. Several primary sources from the subsequent court cases indicate that the odds were universally set in excess of a hundred to one by different odds-makers, with the highest value being 400:1 against the ceremony going through without incident.
When the supernova was observed the day after the wedding ceremony had taken place, several odds-makers claimed it as a portent and attempted to avoid making their ruinous payments to the winning wagerers. This resulted in a number of lawsuits, the proceedings of which have been portrayed in dramatic and educational productions repeatedly over the ensuing centuries…
—SN 1054 (n.d.). In Wikikenna. Retrieved 9 March, 1852
Tropes that appear in this chapter:
- Adaptation Name Change: The epigraph reveals that the nebula formed by supernova 1054 as well as the pulsar at its center which in real life are named the Crab Nebula and Crab Pulsar respectively are known as the Magni Nebula and Magni Pulsar.
- The Baby Trap: Discussed. People have been making comments about Mor trying to tie Tuffnut to her with a child, but Mor has no such intentions.
- Common Law Marriage: According to the epigraph, Ruffnut's and Mor's relationship is recognised as a marriage at common-law prior to their official ceremony a decade after the story's end.
- Enemy Mine: Discussed. Ryker says that if they manage to tame enough dragons to be considered a threat and yet not enough to deter other threats, all their neighbours would put aside their differences just long enough to crush them before going back to squabbling with each other.
- Language Barrier: Viggo and Ryker between them speaks over a dozen languages, and none of them are what the locals speak. They and their expedition force are reduced to pantomime and shouting to get any progress with the locals.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: When Drago first meets Kelebek for the pre-marriage formalities, they hit it off quite well.
- Pragmatic Villainy: The Grimborns continue their pragmatic streak, deciding against massacring the local humans near the Dragon Nest they find on the grounds that their help would be great for taming the dragons and a massacre of that level could not be kept quiet and Berk will take action against them.
- Recognition Failure: Some Greek visitors fail to recognise Queen Ruffnut when they meet.
- Shipper with an Agenda: Mor's extended Uí Ímair relatives are supportive of her relationship with Tuffnut since they reason it's a good way for the rest of them to get dragons.
- That Liar Lies: A braggart making up lies about the Bog Burglars in a pub is immediately called out by one of the Bog Burglars that happens to be right there.
