Climate History of the Principality of Transylvania during the Maunder Minimum Years (1645–1715 CE) Reconstructed from German Language Sources

A new article published in the journal Climate delves into the local-level complexities of climate history by examining documentary evidence of the climate during the Maunder Minimum. Comparing the weather over the 70-year span of the study varied between towns in Transylvania and with German-speaking regions further west, the study’s authors demonstrate that regional variation could be considerable. They then compare these findings to isotopic evidence of solar activity from ice cores, finding only a small correlation. The article shows the promise and importance of focusing on the small-scale for understanding the impacts that climate and weather had on human history. Read the full paper here.