Wonders in the Sky

by Jacques Vallee

  The main purpose of De Grandine et Tonitruis is to debunk popular misconceptions about the weather. In particular, the Archbishop of Lyons fought against the idea that winds and storms were due to the influence of sorcerers (appropriately named “tempestari” by the vulgar people): his main argument is that “Whoever takes away from God His admirable and terrible works, and attributes them to Man, is a false witness against God Himself.” It is in this context that he raises his voice against those who are insane enough to believe that there could be ships (“naves”) flying through the clouds: “Plerosque autem vidimus et audivimus tanta dementia obrutos, tanta stultitia alienates, ut credant et dicant: quandam esse regionem, quae dicatur MAGONIA, ex qua naves veniant in nubibus…” which our translator renders as follows:

  “We have seen and heard many people crazy enough and insane enough to believe and to state that there exists a certain region called MAGONIA, out of which ships come out and sail upon the clouds; these ships (are said to) transport to that same region the products of the earth that have fallen because of the hail and have been destroyed by the storm, after the value of the wheat and other products of the earth has been paid to the ‘Tempestaires’ by the aerial navigators who have received them.”

  Saint Agobard continues: “We have even seen several of these crazy individuals who, believing in the reality of such absurd things, exhibited before an assembled crowd four people in chains, three men and one woman, said to have [fallen] down from one of these ships. They had been holding them bound for a few days when they brought them before me, followed by the multitude, in order to lapidate them. After a long argument, truth having prevailed at last, those who had shown them to the people found themselves, as a prophet says, in the same state of confusion as a robber who has been caught.” (Jerem. 2:26)

  What distinguishes this episode from many folklore tales of ships sailing in the sky is the availability of a precise reference, the authority of a known and respected historical figure who has written extensively on many other subjects, and the fact that the Archbishop, while he testified to the authenticity of a first-hand report, remained a skeptic about the reality of the objects themselves.

  Since we do not have access to the statements made on the other side of the argument, we will never know what the “cloudships” looked like, or why the witnesses thought that the three men and one woman had in fact come from these ships and should be stoned to death. Naturally the mere fact of alighting from a “cloudship” may have been proof of sorcery. In one of his books French physicist Arago states that until the time of Charlemagne it was a common custom to erect long poles in the fields to protect them from the hail and the thunderstorms. These poles were not lightning rods, as one might suppose, but magical devices which were only effective when they held aloft certain parchments. In his Capitularies, published in 789, Emperor Charlemagne forbade this “superstitious” practice. His statement teaches us that interaction between us and the ships that sail through the clouds is not a new phenomenon. It also indicates that the vision of these “ships” was linked, in the popular mind, to atmospheric disturbances and to the stealing of fruits, plants and animals by beings from the sky.

  The reference to animals comes from a passage in a book by J. J. Ampère (in Histoire Littéraire de la France): “it was believed that certain men, called ‘Tempestaires,’ raised storms in order to sell the fruits hit by hail and the animals who had died as a result of storms and floods to mysterious buyers who came by way of the air.”

  Most importantly, Agobard’s book shows that as early as the ninth century there was a belief in a separate region from whence these vessels sailed, and about the possibility for men and women to travel with them. We must be thankful to him for saving the lives of these four poor people, an episode that shows that the skeptics, in this field, can do some good after all.

  59.

  817, China, exact location unknown: Slow-flying globe

  A globe appeared at the zenith, followed by a tail. It flew slowly West under the moon, while witnesses heard something like the sound of birds. We include the case because of the slow motion noted in the report. It is rare, yet not impossible, to hear a sound in connection with a meteor, but they do not fly “slowly.”

  Source: Abel Remusat, “Bolides en Chine,” Journal de Physique (1819): 358.

  60.

  827, Barcelona, Spain: Terrible lights

  Eginard writes that “terrible things in the sky” were observed during the night while Pepin I was at war in Spain. The objects emitted lights, pale or red in color. Here again, the interpretation is difficult: meteors are not “pale and red.”

  Source: Michel Bougard, Inforespace 22 (August 1975):36, citing the Vita Hludowici Pii by Astronomus (835 AD).

  61.

  840, China, exact location unknown

  Two “sacred lamps” astound the crowd

  “Early that night, we saw a sacred lamp on top of the ridge, on the other side of a valley East of the terrace. Our whole group saw it and admired it. The light was about the size of a begging bowl at first, but it expanded to the size of a small house. Deeply moved, the crowd sang with full voice the name of His Holiness. Then another lamp appeared, near the valley. That one, too, only was the size of a rain straw hat at first, and then it grew gradually. The two lights, when seen from afar, seemed about 100 steps apart. They were shining ardently. At midnight they died, becoming invisible.”

  Source: Ennin, Journal d’un voyageur en Chine au IXième siècle, trans. Roger Lévy (Paris: Albin Michel, 1961), 206.

  62.

  November 879, China, exact location unknown

  Two suns fighting

  Two “suns” fought energetically in the sky. On another day of the same month, two Suns fought, and then merged together. Note that a similar phenomenon is described in Japan in case 69 below.

  Source: Shi Bo, La Chine et les Extraterrestres, op.cit., 47.

  63.

  Circa 25 April 880, Montserrat–Santa Cova, Spain

  Magical light

  Towards the end of April in the year 880 seven young children from Monistrol in Barcelona saw a strange light descend from the sky and head towards a small grotto on the mountain of Montserrat, accompanied by a soft melody. A week later a group of priests headed by the Bishop of Manresa returned to the spot, and saw it again.

  On four Saturdays in a row the light reappeared in the sky and dropped towards the mountain grotto. In the end seven men were sent to the place the light seemed to indicate, which was in an area called Santa Cova. When they entered the cave they discovered an image of a black virgin, surrounded by a magical light and giving off a pleasant aroma. The locals tried to carry the sculpture to Manresa but, according to their story, the further they moved it, the heavier it became. It grew so heavy that they had to leave it in the middle of the fields, where they decided to erect a hermitage in the name of St. Mary. The hermitage is still there today.

  Source: Josep Guijarro, Guía de la Cataluña Mágica (Barcelona: Ediciones Martínez Roca, 1999), 42-43.

  64.

  3 September 881, Japan, exact location unknown

  Stellar maneuvers

  Two stars appeared in the sky, and went through strange movements as if merging and separating. This is the same pattern as in case 67, reported in China.

  Source: Nihon-Tenmonshiriyou, by Morihiro Saito. We have looked in vain for an exact reference. Perhaps one of our Japanese readers can research this case further?

  65.

  March 900, China, exact location unknown

  Two huge flying objects with complex shapes

  The New Book of the Tang records that during the year of Guang Hua, “a fat star, as large as 500 meters square, yellow in color, flew towards the southwest. It had a pointed head and the rear was cylindrical…”

  The same book records another “star-like object” that was five times bigger than the above one and flew in a north-westerly direction. When it descended to a point som
e thirty meters from the ground the witnesses could see its upper part emit red-orange flames. “It moved like a snake, accompanied by numerous small stars that disappeared suddenly.”

  Source: Shi Bo, La Chine et les Extraterrestres, op.cit., 31.

  66.

  905, China, location unknown

  A globe and stars hover in the sky

  A large fiery globe appeared at the zenith and flew towards the northwest. It stopped 100 feet away as many tiny stars moved above it. It left a greenish vapor.

  Source: Abel Remusat, “Bolides en Chine” Journal de Physique (1819), 358.

  67.

  919, Hungary: Bright spheres in the sky

  People saw bright spherical objects shining like stars, along with a bright torch, moving to and fro in the sky.

  Source: Antonio Ribera, El gran enigma de los platillos volantes (Barcelona: Editorial Plaza & Janés, 1974).

  68.

  12 May 922, Bulgaria: The Jinni in the red clouds

  In July 921 the ambassador Susan ar-Rassi headed a mission that left Baghdad for Vulga Bulgaria with the aim of seeking support from King Almush to form a military alliance against Khazar Kaganate. On 12 May 922, the first night they spent in Almush’s country, a strange phenomenon was seen in the sky. The secretary of the mission, Ahmad ibn-Fadlan described the sighting thus:

  “I saw that before the final disappearance of sunlight, at the usual hour of prayer, the sky horizon reddened considerably. And I heard in the air loud sounds and a strong hubbub. Then I lifted up my head and lo! A cloud [was seen] not far from me, red like fire, and this hubbub and these sounds came from it. And lo! [there were] seen in it something like men and horses, and in the hands of some figures inside it, similar to men, [there were] bows, arrows, spears, and naked swords. And they seemed to me sometimes absolutely clear, sometimes just apparent. And lo! [there appeared] near them another similar armed group, a black one, in which I also saw men, horses and weaponry. And this detachment began to attack the other one, as a cavalry troop attacks another cavalry troop.”

  The phenomenon lasted for some time. Ibn-Fadlan writes that the men asked the king what it may have meant. The king replied that his forefathers, who were accustomed to seeing such things, believed the riders were “Jinni” (Jinns). Ambassador ar-Rassi also gave his version of the event. His account coincided with that of the secretary, except in that he noticed two red clouds rather than one. He also noted that the sighting began an hour before sunset and ended at around 1:00 A.M.

  Source: A. Kovalevskiy, The book by Ahmad ibn-Fadlan about his voyage to the Volga in the years 921-922. Papers, Translations, and Comments (Kharkov, 1956).

  69.

  March 927, Reims, France: Armies of fire

  “An army of fire was seen in the sky in Reims on a Sunday morning in the month of March. After this sign a pestilence followed.” This citation from Flodoard is an example of a frequent description for which we have no precise correlation in terms of optical or atmospheric phenomena.

  Source: Flodoardi Annales, in Monumenta Germaniae Historiae, trans. G. H. Pertz, Tome III (Hanover, 1839).

  70.

  944, Trans-Rhenan Germany: Iron Globes chased away

  “In some districts, burning iron globes were seen in the air, some of which, while flying, burnt some farms and houses. But in some places they were repelled by opposing them with crucifixes, episcopal blessing and holy water.”

  Source: Flodoardi Annales, in Monumenta Germaniae Historiae, trans. G. H. Pertz, Tome III (Hanover, 1839).

  71.

  9 September 967, Japan, exact location unknown

  Triangular formation

  Numerous objects in triangular formation flying under the rain clouds, trajectory east-west. This description, if it is reliable, excludes the meteoric interpretation.

  Source: Brothers III, 1, 1964. No original source given.

  72.

  989, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey

  Erratic “comet”

  “The star appeared in the west after sunset; it rose in the evening and had no fixed place in the sky. It spread bright rays, visible from a great distance, and kept moving, appearing further north or further south, and once when it rose changed its place in the sky, making sudden and fast movements. The people who saw the comet (sic) were stunned, in awe, and believe that such strange movements are an evil omen. And just as people expected, something happened: in the evening of the day when they usually celebrated the memory of Velikomuchenik (a martyr of early Christianity), a tremendous earthquake brought down the towers of Byzantium…”

  It seems to us today that an object that “changes its place in the sky, making sudden and fast movements,” cannot be a comet if the description is accurate. However Gary Kronk’s Cometography indicates that Halley’s Comet was visible in the night sky during July and August of 989, based on Chinese accounts, so some confusion is possible.

  Source: Istoria (“History”), a 10th century manuscript by Byzantian writer Lev Diakon. Quoted from a modern Russian edition: Lev Diakon, Istoria, trans. M. Kopylenko (Moscow: G. Litavrin, 1988), 91.

  73.

  3 August 989, Japan, exact location unknown

  Three bright objects meet in the sky

  “The three objects became bright, in extraordinary fashion, and met at the same point of their trajectory.”

  Source: Christian Piens, Les Ovni du passé (Paris: Marabout, 1977), 41.

  74.

  Circa 998, Budapest, Hungary

  King Stephen’s aerial trips

  King Stephen (Istvan), who lived from 975 to 1038, and was crowned King of Hungary in 997, was said to be lifted to the sky with some frequency. His biographer, Chartruiz, Bishop of Hungary, revealed that this sometimes happened spiritually and at other times physically.

  On one occasion, as detailed in Chartruis’ Life of St. Stephen, King of Hungary: “While praying in his tent, he was lifted into the air by the hands of angels.”

  Source: Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, A Dictionary of Miracles (London: Chatto & Windus, 1901), 217.

  75.

  Circa 999, Abbey of Saint-Léger, Côte d’Or, France

  Bedroom visitation

  Rodulphus Glaber, a monk and chronicler, writes “Not so long ago such (visions) happened to me, by the favor of God. At the time I was staying in the monastery of the martyr Saint-Léger, also named Abbaye de Champeaux. I saw one night, before Matines, a hideous little monster of vaguely human form appear at the foot of my bed. It seemed to be, as much as I could discern, of medium size with a frail neck, a thin face, very black eyes, a wrinkled and narrow forehead, a goatee, straight and pointed ears, straight and dirty hair, dog teeth, a sharp occiput, its breast swollen, a bump on the back, hanging buttocks and dirty clothes, with its whole body appearing to shake.

  “He grabbed the edge of the bed in which I was lying and shook it with terrible violence and said: ‘You will not stay here any longer.’ And at once I woke up terrified, and suddenly I saw the figure I just described. It was gnashing its teeth while repeating the same thing: ‘You will not stay here any longer.’ I got up from bed at once and ran to the monastery, where I kneeled in front of the altar of the very Holy Father Benedict, extremely terrified. And I began to recall the offenses and serious sins I had committed by being impudent or negligent.”

  Source: Rudolphi Glabri, Historiarum Libri Quinque ab anno incarnationis DCCC usque ad annum MXLIV, book V, chapter I, paragraph 2.

  According to Ernest Petit (“Raoul Glaber,” in Revue Historique, XLVIII, 1892) Glaber stayed in Saint-Léger between 997 and 1005 AD. This is the first of his visions. The five books of his Historiae contain other such experiences as well as many anecdotic accounts of superstitions around the year 1000.

  Epilogue to Part I-A

  What can we say about the above sightings? They range in credibility and significance from curious events where a natural explanation is improbable (but not entirely impossible, if some of the elements of the
observation were reported mistakenly) to extraordinary stories that have evoked paranormal, or even mystical interpretations among the people of the time. All of them made enough of an impact for a record to have been kept by the witnesses and later chroniclers. The very fact that they have come down to us through so much troubled history is quite remarkable.

  These reports do not constitute “evidence” for physical visitation by non-human creatures. All we can say is that they are consistent with modern descriptions of unidentified phenomena and the secondary effects surrounding them. In fact, we could have stopped our work at the year 1000 and we would have presented a fair cross-section of phenomena gathered by modern authors under the label of ufology, including abductions and hard traces. These ancient records show how powerful the concept of such intervention into human affairs can be: most of our religious texts today can be traced to such events, and to the philosophical movements they triggered.

  About the year 1000 many things changed on our planet. Large towns became real cities; in Europe, the feudal system stabilized society. Stone castles and monasteries would become genuine centers of learning while commerce expanded, bringing faraway lands in more frequent contact with Europe. Even the Crusades, the source of so much pillage and bloodshed, would soon play a role in creating an infrastructure for the exchange of knowledge, the rudiments of international banking and the management of complex projects. The nature of the reports will be even more intriguing and detailed in the following sections.

  PART I-B

  Chronology: 1000 to 1500 AD

  The Second Millennium opened with intense religious fervor: the world was in terrible fear of cosmic upheaval, the Last Judgment and the end of the world, but a new spirit of exploration also appeared: Viking Leif Ericson (c. 980-1020), the son of Eric the Red, discovered America while Christianity reached Iceland and Greenland. The Chinese perfected their invention of gunpowder. Normans extended their influence to England after the battle of Hastings (1066). Conflict between different faiths intensified, leading in 1096 to the first of eight murderous Crusades that would force the blending of two great civilizations and help introduce new philosophical ideas, including Hermeticism, into European kingdoms barely emerging from the Dark Ages.