JonnyMcA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It does tie in sort of with the idea that in the
> past we have been subjected to extraterrestrial
> influences, that could potentially be encoded in
> myth, or effect civilisation in some form (in
> mentality of physically).
> For example, we have
> the old UFO fodder that in 776 at the siege of
> Charlamange by the Saxons that flying, fiery
> shields were observed in the air, which routed the
> Saxon Army.
I'd never heard of this before, but, with some help from online sources, I found that the event apparently refers to a siege that took place in AD 776 at castles called Hohen-Syburg and Eresburg (Eresburg is near Paderborn, in the northwest of Germany).
The incident was described by
Conrad Lycosthenes in
Prodigiorum ac ostentorum chronicon, published in 1557. Unfortunately,
Prodigiorum isn't available online (although there is a brief description of it
here) - but
this is a facsimile of the page with the Latin description of the event:
Quote
776. Anno Constantini 35. Saxonib[us] Heresburch castrum obsidentibus, gloria Dei super ecclesiam apparuit omnibus, duobus scilicet scutis, sanguineo colore flam[m]antibus, quosdam motus ut in bello per aera, da[n]tibus. Et statim Carolus rex in Saxoniam veniens, munitiones irrumpit.
(Trans.: 776 In the year 35 of Constantin V, whilst the Saxons were laying siege to the castle of Eresburg, the glory of God appeared to all, above the church – quite clearly, two flaming shields the colour of blood, giving the impression of a war in the air. And thereupon Charlemagne entered Saxony, and broke through the fortifications.)
There is a - slightly puzzling - illustration of five horsemen sitting on a cloud over a church, which is rather difficult to tie in with the account of the two flaming shields.
Lycosthenes’ account is derived from the much earlier
Royal Frankish Annals.
This page has a translation of the relevant passage (as you'll see, it's very similar to the passage in Lycosthenes).
This
description of the siege (pgs 35-36) helps put it in historical context. Charlemagne’s agenda was that of an aggressor and conqueror, and part of this agenda included converting the Saxons to Christianity; consequently, he wanted events to be described in a way that indicated that God, and the cosmos, were on his side, as, for instance, with
”the miraculous provision of water” (103) near an encampment, and weather in general - as it explains
here (pg 29), “auspicious weather” is part of the scene-painting associated with “good” kings. Is it not therefore more likely that the two “burning shields” are symbols indicating divine support for Charlemagne, rather than anything to do with fireballs or supernovae? I’m not saying that such occurrences didn’t take place: but the authors of these accounts, and their patrons, sometimes had agendas that didn’t necessarily include reporting actual meteorological phenomena. Consequently, I don't think it does any harm if they're considered with caution.
Hermione
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2012 04:10AM by Hermione.
