1608
The year of the quarrel between Emperor Rudolf II and his brother Matthias, which set Kepler reading the history of Bohemia and, in his story, dreaming.
1608 CE
The Dream: a journey to the Moon
Johannes Kepler, Somnium, published by his son Ludwig Kepler (Sagan and Frankfurt, 1634) · Written in Prague about 1609; notes added 1620–30; published 1634
Cum anno 1608. ferverent dissidia inter fratres Imp. Rudolphum et Matthiam Archiducem; eorumque actiones vulgo ad exempla referrent, ex historia Bohemica petita; ego publica vulgi curiositate excitus, ad Bohemica legenda animum appuli. Cumque incidissem in historiam Libussæ Viraginis, arte Magica celebratissimæ: factum quadam nocte, ut post contemplationem siderum et Lunæ, lecto compositus, altius obdormiscerem: atque mihi per somnum visus sum librum ex Nundinis allatum perlegere, cuius hic erat tenor.
In the year 1608 a quarrel was raging between two brothers, the emperor Rudolf and the archduke Matthias. People commonly compared their actions to examples from Bohemian history. Caught up in the public curiosity, I set my mind to reading Bohemian tales. I came upon the story of the heroine Libussa, who was famous for her magic art. One night, after watching the stars and the Moon, I went to bed and fell into a deep sleep. In my sleep I seemed to be reading a book brought from the fair. This is what it said.