Wonders in the Sky (24 page)

June 1193, London, England
Bright white ball of light, hovering

“On the 7th of the Ides of June, at 6 o'Clock, a thick black Cloud rose in the Air, the Sun shining clear all round about. In the middle of the Cloud was an Opening, out of which proceeded a bright Whiteness, which hung in a Ball under the black Cloud over the Side of the Thames, and the Bishop of Norwich's Palace.”

 

Source: Thomas Short,
A general chronological history of the air, weather, seasons, meteors, &c. in sundry places and different times
(1749).

107.

Late December 1200, Yorkshire, England
Five Moons in formation

“In the third year of John, King of England, there were seen in Yorkshire
five Moons; one in the East, the second in the West, the third in the North, the fourth in the South, and the fifth (as it were) set in the midst of the other, having many Blazing Stars
about it, and went five or six times encompassing the other, as it were the space of one hour, and shortly after vanished away.”

 

Source: William Knight, “
Mementos to the World, or, An historical collection of divers wonderful comets and prodigious signs in heaven..
.” (printed by T. Haly, for T. Passinger, London, 1681).

Note: King John reigned from April 6, 1199 until his death in 1216. The third year of his reign would therefore correspond with 1202 AD. However, another writer, Roger de Hoveden, states it occurred “a little before the Nativity of the Lord,” 1200. As Hoveden himself died in 1201, we think the sighting probably took place in King John's second year of reign.

108.

14 September 1224, Mount Alverne, Italy
Mystical light, visitation

Brother Leo saw a ball of light suspended above St. Francis of Assisi while he conversed with an invisible being. “He heard voices which made questions and answers; and he remarked that Francis, who was prostrate, often repeated these words: ‘Who are you, o my God? And my dear Lord? And who am I? a worm, and Thy unworthy servant.' He also saw him put his hand out three times into his bosom, and each time stretch it out to the flame. The light disappeared, the conversation ceased.”

This kind of narrative bridges the gap between lights and objects that fly through the atmosphere, reports of luminous orbs at ground level and “earth lights” over special spots. Here we have a ball of light (observed by an external witness) over a man who appears in communication with it, hence the relevance to our study.

 

Source: Father Candide Chalippe,
The Life and Legends of Saint Francis of Assisi
(Teddington: Echo Library, 2007), 191-2.

109.

3 May 1232, Caravaca, Spain
Lights, and an “angel” brings a cross

Luminous phenomena attend a double-armed cross apparently brought down by an entity assumed to be an angel. The religious context surrounding the observation has enabled it to survive as a legend, told by multiple authors. Traditionally, the most authoritative of them is considered to be the 13
^th
century Franciscan Juan Gil (Egidio) de Zamora. He relates that the cross was brought inside the church by two angels. The current whereabouts of the artifact are equally uncertain. The cross that can be seen today in the sanctuary in Caravaca is a copy, the original having been stolen in 1934, probably by a cult.

 

Source: Clara Tahoces, “Caravaca, ¡Qué Cruz!”
Más Allá
127 (September 1999).

110.

2 October 1235, Japan: circling lights in the sky

About 8 P.M., by clear sky, a fortune teller named Suketoshi Abe, consultant to Shogun (Warlord) Yoritsune Fujiwara, reported to his palace that mysterious sources of light had been seen swinging and circling in the southwest. These lights moved in loops until the early hours of the morning. Yoritsune ordered an investigation and his astrology consultants, who were skilled in astronomy, conducted the study: “It is only the wind making the stars sway,” they reported after hearing the statements of Suketoshi Abe.

With arrogance worthy of our modern academic experts, they even suggested that he should write a letter of apology. A high government official, Yasutoki Houjo, denied their request.

 

Source: This case is mentioned in the Japanese magazine
Brothers
(No. I) and by one of us (Vallee) in
Anatomy of a Phenomenon
(1965) with an incorrect date. The original source is the book
Azumakagami
, edited in 1605 (see
Shinjinbutuouraisha
, vol. 4, 1977). Azumakagami means “Mirror of the East.” It was a chronicle covering the period 1180 to 1266, and was compiled after 1266 under the directive of the Hojo regent. It is usually written in two words: Azuma Agami.

111.

1237, El Puig, Valencia: A fleet of seven lights

According to one record, seven mysterious lights in the night sky were seen on four Saturdays in a row. They appeared to be falling from the sky and entering the earth at a particular spot. Quoting from Tirso de Molina's
Historia de la Orden de la Merced
, the chronicle in which the story was originally written:

“The sentries and custodians of the castle [at El Puig] observed that every Saturday, at midnight, a fleet of luminous stars, seven in number, consecutively descended upon the summit nearest the said fortress, in the same place where our monastery now lies.” When the guards informed their masters, Pedro Nolasco (1189-1256) and the mayor, supposing that the phenomenon was trying to announce something important, went up to the site together and carefully excavated the spot.