Wonders in the Sky
Page 14
13 January 1553, Porco, Peru
An unexplained “comet” is taken as an omen
Nicolás de Martínez Arzanz y Vela, author of Historia de la Villa Imperial de Potosí (1705), writes in Chapter 2:
“As Don Sebastian and his allies were getting the people and the weapons ready to carry out the revolt in this Town, and Captain Francisco Hernández Girón in his division of Chaqui…was also preparing for his…there appeared in the sky, above Porco, three suns and two moons in the middle of a great ring, and within it two blue and red arches. On the same day there appeared above this rich Imperial Hill and Town another two arches of various colors and a notable comet as red as blood. Enrico Martínez, His Majesty’s Cosmologist in the Peruvian Kingdom, says the following (…)
“‘On Friday January 13th 1553, fifty two days before General Hinojosa was killed, at seven o’clock in the morning there appeared in the sky, in Porco, the large ring that passes through the middle of the natural sun and through the other Suns and Moons; it was stretching towards the west, and was entirely white, a span in thickness; this ring seemed to be half a league in diameter. The natural sun was a little red, almost like blood, and the two at its side very red, just like blood, so much so that the brightness and fire caused those who saw it to avert their eyes. The two Moons at the front were like white Moons, slightly red; the two Arches that appeared were blue and red, as they usually appear; the small arch was wider than the blue one.’”
So far it seems we are dealing with an unusual, but perfectly natural, atmospheric phenomenon. More interesting is the so-called “comet” that was seen in connection with it:
“The comet that appeared outside the ring was very fiery and blood-red, with a formidable curly head and the tail was similar. This comet was seen in Porco and in all the surrounding areas. The comet was seen for seven days at dawn over the rich land of Potosí, with another two arches, one very white which looked like polished silver, and the other was above this one and was almost blood-red and was as bright as fire…”
This description does not match a cometary object, and at 7 A.M. this could hardly have been an aurora borealis. The social reaction to the phenomenon is even more interesting: “The astonished Indians, covering their faces and spitting in the air, cried: Aucca, Aucca, maiccan Apuhuañuncca. These words signified some bad event, abominable action or frightful ruin, which is all conveyed by the word Aucca, a name they also give to any visible or invisible enemy (…)
The death of the great Apuc followed that of Francisco Hernández Girón, who, with the income from his villages, was to appear like the Sun three times in the bloody victories he had; and twice like the Moon, in the waning of his fortune with his imprisonment and death.”
The complex phenomena described here could only be accounted for by a combination of very unusual atmospheric circumstances.
191.
1 February 1554, Salon de Provence, France
Sighting report by Nostradamus
Dr. Nostradamus and a thousand other witnesses have seen a big “bright burning rod” that changed its flight path, between 7 and 8 P.M. It was in the sky for two hours, displaying a swinging motion. Here is the actual report:
TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS, HIGH-BORN AND ALMIGHTY LORD CLAUDE, DUKE OF TENDE,
Knight of the order of Regents and of the King and Honorary Citizen of Provence, Michael de Nostre Dame, his humble and obedient Servant bids greeting and good fortune.
“Gracious Lord,
“According to reports received, on the first day of February in this year of 1554, a most terrifying and horrible sight was seen on [….] towards evening, apparently between 7 and 8, which I am told was seen as far as Marseille. Then it was also seen at nearby St. Chamas by the sea, such that near the moon (which at that time was near its first quarter) a great fire did come from the east and make its way towards the west. This fire, being very great, did by all accounts look like a great burning staff or torch, gave out from itself a wondrous brightness, and flames did spurt from it like a glowing iron being worked by a smith. And such fire did sparkle greatly, glowing aloft like silver over an immense distance like Jacob’s road in the sky, known as the ‘Galaxy’ [i.e., the Milky Way], and raced overhead very fast like an arrow with a great roaring and crackling thunderous din’ and as though it were being blown hither and thither by the [raging and roaring?] of a mighty wind.
“Then slowly, over the course of 20 minutes, it turned until we saw it passing over the region of Arles via that we call the ‘stony road’ which the poets do call immensum fragorem [i.e. the Crau]. Then it turned towards the south, high over the sea, and the fiery stream that it created retained its fiery color for a long time, and cast fiery sparks all around it, like rain falling from heaven.
“This sight was much more terrifying than human tongue could say or describe. And I thought that it might have come from a mountain known as a volcano. But on the 14th of this month I was called to [Bry?], where I asked diligently of many people whether they also had seen it, but not all of them had experienced it. But it did appear only seven miles from there, and the Lord of that same place had seen it, and desired that I should be his witness that he had seen and wished to record it. Two days after the fire had been seen, the Prefect of St. Chamas came to me and indicated that he and other townspeople had seen the same thing, and that it had taken the shape of a half-rainbow stretching as far as the Spanish Main. And if it had been low down rather than high up, it would have burnt up everything and reduced it to ashes as it went by.
Fig. 15: Object seen in Salon de Provence
“They also said that its breadth in the sky was around a [Pisan?] running distance or stadium [about 200 yards], from which the fire sprayed and fell. And so far as I can judge in the circumstances, it is […] very strange to hear, and it would be much better had it not appeared. For this apparition or comet gives certain indication that this Ruler of Provence and other stretches by the sea shall encounter unexpected and unforeseen calamity through war, fire, famine, pestilence or other strange diseases, or otherwise shall be attacked and subjugated by foreign nations.
“This omen was seen by more than a thousand people, and I have been bidden to confirm this and write to your Eminence about it, insofar as I have in my own estimation seen and heard how it happened. And I pray Jesus Our Lord that he may grant Your High Eminence long life, and that he may richly multiply and extend your good fortune.
“Given in France, at Salon-de-Provence, this 19th of March in the year 1554. Your Eminence’s most humble and obedient servant, Michael de Nostre Dame.”
Source: Translated from the French and printed in Nuremberg by M. Joachim Heller (with the illustration given here), cited in Mathias Miles, Siebenbürgischer Würgengel (1670). The above translation is from: www.propheties.it/Nostradamus/inedites/inedites3.htm.
192.
13 June 1554, Iena, Germany
Spheres and disks
A large number of spheres and disks flew over the city of Iena. They had sudden variations of speed and turned to a red color as they flew north.
Source: Mathias Miles, Siebenbürgischer Würgenengel (Hermannstadt, 1670).
193.
5 March 1555, Buendía, Cuenca, Spain
Hovering cross
On Tuesday March 5th 1555, in Buendía, in the Spanish province of Cuenca, many people saw an enormous object in the shape of a cross in the sky. It was stationary, floating next to a new calvary (a life-size representation of a crucifix on raised ground) erected by the Brotherhood of the True Cross.
Seven other women saw it there. The Inquisition of Cuenca dispatched somebody to investigate the occurrence, but nineteen people described the sighting to notaries.
We include this case because of its interest as an unidentified aerial phenomenon, though the religious significance of the case should not be ignored.
Source: William A. Christian, Local Religion in Sixteenth-Century Spain (Princeton University Press, 1989), 186-7.
194.
14 April 1561, Nuremberg, Germany
Vertical cylinders
At sunrise many spheres and disks, red, blue and black were seen to come out of two vertical cylinders. They flew across the face of the Sun in an apparent “aerial fight”. In a contemporary engraving some of the spheres appear to have landed on a hill to the right of the city, where much smoke is rising, while an elongated shape resembling a great black spear is seen in a horizontal position.
Fig. 16: The sighting at Nuremberg
“Beyond balls of a red color, bluish or black, and circular disks, two large pipes were seen…within which small and big pipes were found three balls, also four and more.
“All these elements started fighting against one another.” The fight seems to have lasted about an hour, then “as mentioned above, from the Sun and the sky, it fell onto the earth as if everything was burning, and with great smoke everything got consumed.”
Source: This pamphlet is preserved in the Wickiana collection of the Central Library in Zurich: Erscheinung am Himmel über Nürnberg am 14. April 1561. Zürich Zentralbibliothek [ZB PAS II 12:60].
195.
1 March 1564, near Brussels, Belgium
Aerial bombardment
In Gilbert’s Annalen for 1806 is an account of a fearful phenomenon seen between Mechel and Brussels. The sky was clear at first, but about 9 o’clock became fiery, throwing down a reflection upon the earth so that everything became yellowish. In the meantime there appeared in the sky figures of three men in royal robes with crowns upon their heads, remaining visible for nearly three-fourths of an hour, when they gradually drew near together and in the course of another 15 minutes disappeared. Then frightful stones fell, large and small, some of which were five or six pounds in weight. So far as known none of this material has found its way into collections.
Source: George P. Merrill and William F. Foshag, Minerals from earth and sky, Volume 3 (New York: Smithsonian Institution Series, Inc., 1938), 12-13.
196.
7 August 1566, Basel, Switzerland: Aerial Combat
Many black spheres in apparent aerial combat. Several turn red and disintegrate.
“At sunrise were seen in the air numerous large black balls that flew at high speed towards the Sun, then turned around, hitting one another as if they were fighting. Many of them became red and fiery, and later they consumed themselves and were extinguished.”
A contemporary engraving shows the spheres in the sky above the “Munster” cathedral with the Antistitium.
Fig. 17: The sighting at Basel
Source: Samuel Coccius (Koch), Seltzame gestalt so in diesem M.D. LXVI. Jar, / gegen auffgang und nidergang, under dreyen malen am Himmel / ist gesehen worden, zu Basel auff den xxvij. und xxviij. Höwmonat / und volgends auf den vij Augsten (Basel: Samuel Apiarium, 1566), ZB PAS II 6/5.
197.
7 April 1567, Basel, Switzerland: A black sphere
A black sphere appears in the sky and covers the face of the Sun. It was seen all day long.
Source: Samuel Coccius (Koch), Wunderbare aber Warhaffte Gesicht vii erscheinung in Wolcken des Himmels auff den andern tag Menens in diesem lauffenden acht und sechtzigsten Jar. […] Sampt angehenckter geschicht / inn dem vergangnen LXVII. Jar auff den vii. tag / Aprellens ausz dem lufft geoffenbaret / bende vorhin niemalen / aber jetz. under zur warnung im truck auszgangen (Basel: Samuel Apiarius, 1558), Ms. F. 18.
198.
26 September 1568, Tournai, Belgium
Great circles of fire
“Marvelous signs in the sky were seen from the seventh to the twelfth hour in the evening. At first, great circles of fire were seen with rays emerging like suns dragging water (?), afterwards a black cloud was seen and after that, great lights appeared. That being gone, men on horses were seen fighting each other and it seemed as if several musketeers were skirmishing against one another. Sparkles of fire were seen which illuminated the ground with a terrible shine.”
A possible interpretation of this case would invoke an aurora borealis, but not enough is precisely known to make that determination, so we keep the event with reservation.
Source: Alex Pinchart, Mémoires de Nicolas Soldoyer, as published in Mémoires de Pasquier de la Barre et de Nicolas Soldoyer, pour servir à l’histoire de Tournai (Brussels, 1865), vol. II, 304.
199.
20 July 1571, Prague, Czechoslovakia
Mysterious round “chariot”
“About midnight there was a great wind over Prague that made such a rumbling noise that it sounded like an earthquake. The people woke up with a start and hurried to their windows. Looking towards the cattle fair (today Charles Square) they saw a marching army coming along Spalena Street.
“The soldiers held their weapons in their hands and witnesses found their appearance somewhat unnerving. Behind the soldiers came something resembling a large round ‘chariot’ drawn by oxen.
“The object, which made a loud noise, was apparently made of metal and had no wheels. Eight large human figures marched behind the vehicle. They looked frightful because they had no faces but wore enormous spurs on their feet, adding to the noise.
“Once they had crossed the square, a great fire appeared on the ground in front of the Church of the Sacred Heart. On one side of the fire there were a large number of boxes, and on the other there were barrels. These barrels looked as if they could have been used to transport gunpowder. The big chariot arrived near the fire and all the boxes and the barrels were thrown on it. Then again a frightful wind arose at the same time as a kind of rain of fire and all this horrifying vision disappeared. However, a luminous object could be made out in the air, a circle of fire that persisted until dawn. That year there was a great famine and many people died.”
Source: J. Beckovský, Poselkyn starých píbhv eských. Díl druhý. Od roku 1526-1715. Sepsal Jan Beckovský, knz ádu Kižovník s evenou hvzdou. K vydání upravil Dr. Antonín Rezek, docent rakouského djepisu na universit pražské. V Praze, nákladem Ddictví sv. Prokopa, písmem knihtiskárny B. Stýblovy 1879-1880.
200.
20 September 1571, Lepanto, Italy
A flaming column guides the fleet
On the night of September 20th 1571 a fiery object was seen over Lepanto. The official historian of the papal fleet of Rome, Alberto Guglielmotti, recorded the event in a report based on statements given by two witnesses, Sereno and Caracciolo. In his summary, Father Guglielmotti wrote that the “sign in the sky…was considered by everyone to be a miracle.”
“It was a clear, starry night with a cool wind coming from the north. Suddenly, a colossal fire in the shape of a shining, flaming column was seen by everyone to cross the sky over a long period of time, filling all the witnesses with great admiration…All the witnesses regarded this as a good omen and sensed they were on the verge of a great victory. They believed this column of fire was showing them the way, guiding the Christian fleet in the sea in the same way the people of Israel were guided across the desert in biblical times.
On October 7th, Selim II, the Sultan of Turkey, was defeated at sea by the Christian fleet, just off the shore of Lepanto.
Source: Padre Alberto Guglielmotti, La Guerra dei pirati e la marina pontificia dal 1500 al 1560 (Florence: Le Monnier, 1876).
201.
16 February 1572, Constantinople, Turkey
Crosses in the air
The people of Constantinople were amazed to see cross-shaped objects flying above their city.
It was said that for the consolation of the miserable Christians held captive in Constantinople, and for the confusion of the Turks and Jews living in that city, God placed three crosses in the sky above three Turkish mosques (Piali Baja, Capassi and Saint Sophia). These appeared three days in a row, from Thursday to Saturday.
The crosses were seen by everyone in the area. They floated in the air, high above the roofs of the mosques. Their color changed continuously. The Christians rejoiced and gazed at the objects i
n wonder, while among the Turks there was only confusion and uproar.
Finally, the Turks met with the Jews and asked them what they thought was happening. The Jews replied that the Christians were great magicians, and were trying to frighten them with their magic arts. The Turkish soldiers decided to retaliate more violently than ever, crushing the Christian troops in armed combat. They even started to shoot at the crosses. However, whenever a missile was about to hit them, the crosses vanished momentarily, only to reappear immediately afterwards.
Source: Warhaffte Zeitung vnd beschreibung der Stadt Constantinopel dreyer Creutz gesicht. Auff S. Sophia / Patriarcha / vnd Andrea Kirchen gesehen worden seind / Dreytag auff jeder besonder / vnd allmal von einer Kirchen auff die ander sich erzeigt / geschehen den 16. Februarij des 72. jars. Auch ist warhafftig vnden hernach gesetztes schreiben von Constantinopel aus / von einem Ritter Grio Malluj genandt / Bebstlicher Heiligkeit für warhafftige zeitung zugeschrieben worden / den 10. Martij. im 72. Jar (Augsburg: Hans Rogel, 1572), SUB Göttingen 4° H TURC. 712.
202.
15 November 1572, Romerswil, Switzerland
A farmer’s abduction
Hans Buchmann, a 50-year-old Swiss farmer from Romerswil, had gone to Sempach, a nearby village. When he failed to return, his wife sent out their two sons to look for him. The boys found their father’s hat, coat and gloves. They also found his saber and its sheath, lying on the path. This frightened them and they suspected that Klaus Buchmann, their father’s cousin, who had for years been an enemy to the family, could have murdered him. The authorities had Buchmann’s property searched, in vain.
Four weeks later, the family received news about Hans Buchmann’s whereabouts: he was in Milan! On 2 February 1573, two and a half months after he disappeared, he came back. His wife and children were astonished to see that he did not have a single hair on his head, his face or his chin. His face was so swollen that they didn’t recognize him at first. When the authorities learnt that the man had returned they interrogated him, as so much trouble had been caused to cousin Klaus. The town chronicler, Renward Cysat (1545-1614), was present at the interrogation.