Out of that list of things that happened in 1554, here is the one that rang MY chimes. It occurred on December 19th, just two days before the eclipse.
December 19 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (d. 1618)
The birth of William of Orange, the man who liberated the Protestants in Ireland. He was the “St. Patrick” of the Protestants. Protestants celebrate July 12th by the wearing of ORANGE, as opposed to March 17th by “the wearin’ o’ the green.” Burl Ives, of Irish descent, had in his repertoire a humorous celebratory song about Irish Protestants titled: THE OLD ORANGE FLUTE.”
Look at what happened in the year AFTER the event, 1555. Not stuff I’d want to go through.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1555