Nature in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Times

Introduction

Albrecht Classen

Recent data collections by scientists have fully confirmed that the globe is warming up at a dangerous pace, with a myriad of catastrophic consequences for human society and the natural environment. But as scholars, we must approach this topic sine ira et studio, hence objectively, not panic-stricken, and with a full awareness of the historical dimension of previous catastrophes. Volcanic eruptions continue to be a major factor impacting the entire globe until the present, at times massively impeding air traffic all over the world, such as the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland between April and June of 2010.¹ A similar series of catastrophic events took place in Indonesia in 1815 when Mount Tambora ...