Wonders in the Sky (13 page)

“In the dead of night there appeared from God a glittering pillar of light shining over the hall of the king's [Ecgbert I, king of Kent] palace, which by its unwonted illumination aroused many of the king's household; and they in their great astonishment uttering loud cries, the king was awakened, and, ignorant of what had occurred, arose from his bed, and set out to go to the hymns of matins while it was yet night. On leaving the house, he saw a globe of extraordinary splendor burning with a white flame, the origin of which proceeded from the aforesaid wonderful seat of light. […]”

 

Source: Symeon of Durham,
Opera et Collectanea
, Vol. 1 (Durham: Andrews and Co., 1868).

47.

6 September 670, Nara Prefecture, Western Japan
Flying umbrella

A cloud like an umbrella appeared, accompanied with a strange sound, over the Nara prefecture.

This does not provide enough information to understand the full circumstances of the phenomenon. Although meteors have been known to emit sounds, they are not described in terms of “clouds with the shape of an umbrella.” Therefore the phenomenon has to remain unidentified, at least until a detailed reference is provided in the course of future research.

 

Source: Takao Ikeda,
Nihon nu ufo
(Tokyo: Tairiku shobo, 1974). The author quotes from the Teiohennenki.

48.

675, Berecingum Convent, near London, England
Circling light

A large light came down over praying nuns At Berecingum (Barking) convent, circled their location, and flew up. The description suggests that the light came from a well-defined object:

“For one night, after matins had been sung, and those handmaids of Christ had gone out of their chapel to the tombs of the brothers who had departed this life before them, and were singing the customary songs of praise to the Lord,
on a sudden a light from heaven, like a great sheet, came down upon them all,
and struck them with such amazement, that, in consternation, they even left off singing their hymn.

“But that resplendent light, in comparison wherewith the sun at noon-day might seem dark, soon after, rising from that place, removed to the south side of the monastery, that is, to the westward of the chapel, and having continued there some time, and rested upon those parts, in the sight of them all withdrew itself again to heaven, leaving no doubt in the minds of all, but that the same light, which was to lead or to receive the souls of those handmaids of Christ into Heaven, also showed the place in which their bodies were to rest and await the day of the resurrection.” We note that, although the “great sheet” of light could have been caused by a meteor, the later behavior of the phenomenon (rising and circling) seems to exclude this explanation.

 

Source: J. A. Giles, D.C.L., ed.
The Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England,
Book IV, ch. VII (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1867).

49.

21 November 684, Japan, location unknown
Seven drifting stars

 

At dusk, seven stars are said to have “drifted together” to the north-east, after which they sank below the horizon. The information is too sketchy to reach any conclusion regarding the nature of the unusual “drifting stars.”

 

Source: W. Raymond Drake,
Gods and Spacemen in the Ancient East
(New York: Signet, 1968), 106. The original source has not emerged.

50.

Circa May 698, Ireland, location unknown
Three flying shields

A passage extracted from a 17th century transcription of an older but undated manuscript offers another example of the use of the term ‘shield' in connection with a phenomenon in the sky. As noted by researcher Yannis Deliyannis, “it is interesting and unusual in medieval records. It is reminiscent of course of the ‘clipei' of the authors of the Roman period.”

The text reads: “Three shields were seen in the heavens, as it were warring from the east to the west, after the manner of undulating waves on a very calm night, being that of the Ascension of the Lord. The first was snowy, the second fiery, the third bloody; which prefigured, as is thought, three succeeding evils: for in the same year the herds of cows throughout Ireland were nearly destroyed, and not only in Ireland, but also throughout the whole of Europe.”

Fig. 6: Annals of Ireland

Source:
Annals of Ireland
,
three fragments copied from ancient sources by Dubhaltach Mac Firbisigh,
trans. John O'Donovan (Dublin: Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society, 1860). The date would have been 40 days following that year's celebration of Easter.

51.

June 741, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey
Hovering crescents and fire

In the reign of Constantine, Copronymus, son of Leo, Emperor of Byzantium,
three columns of fire and flame appeared in the sky during the month of June
. The same phenomenon was also seen in the month of September: “There appeared a thing, also in 735 AD, like a half-moon, in the northern quadrant of the sky, and little by little, over a rather long time, it passed to the southern quarter, and then returned to the north, and finally descended under the Earth.” (i.e., presumably dropped down below the horizon).

 

Source: Jean-Baptiste Chabot,
Chronique de Michel le Syrien, patriarche jacobite d'Antioche 1166-1199
(Paris, 1899-1910).

52.