ALSACAT-1520-00-00-WISSEMBOURG-1
Conrad Lycosthènes, scholar from Basel of those times, had written in his 1577 book that in 1520, the residents of Wissembourg had heard one day in full midday in the air an horrible rattling of weapons, and fighting people running and shouting as in a battle. The terrified residents run to get weapons, thinking that the city was besieged and that the enemies were close to the city gates.
In 1977, Jean Giraud cited the story in the ufology bulletin Info OVNI of May 1977, of which he was the editor.
In 1977, journalist Jean-Claude Bourret quoted this as an event related to extraterrestrial visitors in his UFO book La Science face aux Extra-Terrestres in 1977.
| Date: | 1520 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Midday. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | 1577 |
| Reporting delay: | Minutes, decades. |
| Department: | Bas-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Wissembourg |
| Place: | From the city. |
| Latitude: | 49.034 |
| Longitude: | 7.945 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 2 km |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | Numerous. |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Adults. |
| Witness(es) types: | Residents. |
| Reporting channel: | Book of the time about natural "wonders". |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | City. |
| Visibility conditions: | Day. |
| UFO observed: | No |
| UFO arrival observed: | N/A |
| UFO departure observed: | N/A |
| Entities: | No |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Frightened. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Ennemy army noise. |
| Hynek: | N/A |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Probable storm or earthquake noise. Not UFO-related. |
[Ref. lys1:] CONRAD LYCOSTHENES:
|
1520
Wissemburgi ad Rhenum in meridie magnus atque horrendus armorum strapitus atque concursus in aere resonans a ciuibus audisus est. Unde multi metu consternati, arreptis fuis etiam armis confluxerunt, urbem ab hostibus cinctans obsidione putantes.
I.e.:
At Wissembourg on the Rhine, at noon, a great and horrible noise of equipment and excitement in the air is heard by the citizens. Consequently, a lot of fear, panic and, the owners of weapons flock to defend the city which they supposed besieged by enemies.
[Ref. ioi1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "INFO OVNI":
|
"In the year 1520, the burgers of Wissembourg, a city sitting on the banks of the Rhine, heard one day in the middle of noon strangely rustling in the air a horrible clanking of armies and races of people fighting and screaming as if in pitched battle. Which caused such terror that everyone ran to arms, thinking that the city was besieged and that the enemies were near the gates..." (CURIOSITES INFERNALES by Jacobs - according Licostène).
[Ref. jcb1:] JEAN-CLAUDE BOURRET:
The author reports that according to "Licostenes", in 1520, in "Vulssembourg [sic]; which is on the Rhine", all those in the city heard at midday, a great horrible noise of weapons in the air, as if two powerful and mighty armies fought to the utmost, so that the greater part of those of the city who could bear weapons, for fear they had, quickly took up their weapons, and gathered to defend their city, which they thought was besieged by the enemy.
[Ref. pjb1:] P. L. JACOB:
The author reports that Lycosthènes had written that in "the year 1520, the burgers of Wissembourg, city sitting on the edges of the Rhine, heard one day in full midday in the air an horrible strange rattling noise of weapons, and the running of people fighting and shouting as in an arranged battle. This caused such a fright that all run to the weapons, thinking that the city was besieged and that the enemies were close to the doors."
|
Conrad Lycosthènes, born Conrad Wolffhart (1518-1561), was a scholar, humanist and Alsatian popularizer of sciences of the XVIth century. Deacon of Saint-Léonard in Basle, professor of grammar and dialect, Lycosthènes had a passion for the study of nature and the physics of the earth.
In 1557, he published the first edition of its book "Prodigiorum ac ostentorum chronicon", a collection illustrated of woodcuts on extraordinary wonders and phenomena: mirages, falls of crosses, rains of blood, phenomena related to meteorology and the earth.
The book is in Latin and original issues now sell in thousands of Euros. On page 494 there is a sketch of what was later called a UFO or a spacecraft observed in Arabia in 1479, reprinted in some ufology books.
It seems that only Jean-Claude Bourret and Jean Giraud wanted to link what is described here as a noise, without any visual observation, to the topic of extraterrestrial visitors. One can rather think of storm noises, or earthquake noises and tremors.
Probable storm or earthquake noise. Not UFO-related.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | November 21, 2016 | Creation, [jcb1], [pjb1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | November 21, 2016 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 20, 2021 | Addition [lys1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | July 22, 2022 | Addition [ioi1]. in the Summary and the Discussion, addition of the information from [ioi1]. |
