Wonders in the Sky (42 page)

Fig. 19: Discours Espouvantable…

“This caused great damage to the citizens of Genoa, as among them the son of Sr. Gasparino de Loro and also the brother of Sr. Anthonio Bagatello. Several women were also afflicted and had such fear that it caused their death.”

 

Source: Anon.,
Discours au Vray des terribles et espouvantables signes…
(Troyes: Odard Aulmont, 1608).

220.

15 February 1609, Tiannin mountain, China
Blinding “eye” in the sky

Bright lights illuminated the temple walls: an object like a ship or an eye with blinding light was seen in the sky.

 

Source: Shi Bo,
La Chine et les Extraterrestres
, op.cit., 43, citing Feng Mengzhen,
Collection of Stories from the Palace of Snow.

221.

3 July 1612, Switzerland: Battling sky armies

 

According to this broadsheet, some terrible and wondrous signs were seen in the heavens in Switzerland, on the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th of July, 1612.

They included three suns, three rainbows, a white cross, and two battling armies.

The text in this broadsheet contains rhymed strophes. It describes the events rather superficially and repetitively addresses its Christian readers ‘young and old' to repent their sins because wondrous signs from heavens are indicators of bad times, war, and menace.

Fig. 20: Sky armies over Switzerland

Source:
Beschreibung der am 3.4.5. vnd 6. Julii dises 1612. Jars erschienen vnd grausamen erschröcklichen Wunderzeichen am Himmel
(Basel: Johann Schröter, 1612). With 22 strophes from Christian Fischer. Herzog August Bibliothek, HAB 38.25 Aug. 2, fol. 799.

222.

1613, Perth, Scotland: Abducted by fairies

Isobel Haldane testified that she was carried out of her bed, “whether by God or the Devil, she knew not,” to a hillside which opened before her. She went in, and stayed three days in “the fairy kingdom.” Eventually she was brought out by “a man with a grey beard” who taught her to cure diseases and foretell the future.

Far from being rare, such reports of abductions by non-human creatures became commonplace during the 17th century, eventually giving rise to accusations of commerce with the Devil. Unfortunately many of these stories did not include a date or a place. This one is an exception.

 

Source: Robert Pitcairn,
Criminal trials in Scotland
(Edinburgh, 1833).

223.

4 March 1614, Kinki, West Japan
Four-sided object

A single object was seen in the sky, described as a four-sided figure. Unfortunately, we have not been able to uncover a quotation from an original source.

 

Source: Quincy catalog typescript, and the “
Nihon-Kaikimonogatari.”

224.

1619, Flüelen, Lake Lucerne, Switzerland
Fiery dragon

Herr Christophorus Schere, prefect of Uri County, saw a bright, long object, fiery in color, near Flüelen, flying along Lake Uri: “As I was contemplating the serene sky by night, I saw a very bright dragon flying across from a cave in a great rock in the mount called Pilatus toward another cave, known as Flue, on the opposite side of the lake.

“Its wings were agitated with much celerity; its body was long as well as its tail and neck. Its head was that of a serpent with teeth, and when it was flying, sparkles were coming out of it like the ones thrown by an incandescent iron when struck by smiths on an anvil. At first, I thought it was a meteor, but after observing more closely, (I saw) it was truly a dragon from the recognizable motion of the members. This I write to you with respect, that the existence of dragons in nature is not to be doubted any more.”

 

Source: Athanassius Kircher,
Mundus Subterraneus
(Amsterdam, 1665), Lib. VIII, 93-94.

225.

1619, Prague, Czechoslovakia: Flying Globes

A succession of fiery globes is observed. Some of them split into several parts or other globes. The report reads:

“A strange and prodigious thing was seen in a village that is 6 leagues from Prague, the capital city of Bohemia. Never had we seen such a spectacular or frightful sign before. The inhabitants of the village were on guard as the country is full of soldiers, because of the partialities and differences that exist in the empire today. The village priest was with them at about 10:00 in the evening. He was praying, looking up at the sky, when suddenly he stopped, astounded by what he saw. He could see a globe that resembled the moon, but fiery. It divided into two parts, and one of the parts divided into four smaller globes.

“The most amazing thing was that one of the globes disappeared, and in its place we saw a bloody crucifix. These things stayed [in the sky] for a short time, and then disappeared gradually, finally vanishing into a big hole. Then we just saw a great globe which resembled the moon, as we had witnessed at the beginning. This whole process was repeated three or four times, and then everything disappeared.”

 

Source: An 8-page pamphlet titled
Signes Prodigieux d'un Globe de Feu apparu en Allemagne, Capable d'Espouventer toute la Chrestienté, y ayant esté veu un Crucifix sanglant
(Prodigious Signs of a Globe of Fire that appeared in Germany, Able to Frighten all the Believers, and a Bloody Crucifix) (Paris: Pierre Bertault, 1619).