In 1054, a supernova appeared in the sky and was recorded by Chinese astronomers and other observers. Its remnant is now known as the Crab Nebula. The event is one of the most important historical astronomical observations because it links medieval records with modern astrophysics.

Celestial signs mattered deeply to poets, chroniclers, and court astrologers, who read the sky as a text of warning and wonder. Records of SN 1054 show how observation, omen literature, and cosmic imagery crossed between science and symbolic writing.