A Medieval Monk May Have Spotted Halley’s Comet Twice
▼ Summary
– A Benedictine monk named Eilmer attempted flight around the 11th century by gluing from a 150-foot tower with homemade wings, gliding 600 feet before crash-landing and breaking both legs.
– The story is recorded by 12th-century historian William of Malmesbury around 1125, but the exact date of the flight is unknown.
– William noted that an elderly Eilmer witnessed Halley’s comet in 1066 and remarked, “It is long since I saw you,” suggesting he may have seen it earlier in 989.
– If Eilmer saw the comet in 989 as a young boy (born by 984), his flight likely occurred between 1000 and 1010 when he was in his first youth.
– Historian James Aitcheson argues Eilmer may have seen a different comet in 1018, which would push his birth and flight to later dates, such as the 1020s–1040s.
Early in the 11th century, a young Benedictine monk named Eilmer leaped from a 150-foot tower at his abbey in Malmesbury, England, strapped into homemade wings crafted from willow wood and cloth. He managed to glide roughly 600 feet, soaring over the city wall before crashing into a valley near the river Avon. The fall shattered both his legs, leaving him permanently disabled. Today, Malmesbury Abbey still commemorates Brother Eilmer with a stained-glass window.
This daring experiment in medieval flight survives through the writings of 12th-century historian William of Malmesbury, who recorded the account around 1125. Unfortunately, William did not provide an exact date for the monk’s aerial feat. However, he does reference another significant moment in Eilmer’s life when the monk, already “advanced in years,” witnessed Halley’s Comet in 1066. Eilmer reportedly remarked, “It is long since I saw you.” Many historians have taken this as evidence that Eilmer also saw the comet during its earlier passage in 989, when he would have been a young boy.
If Eilmer was at least five years old in 989, he must have been born no later than 984. That would make him roughly 80 years old in 1066. His flight, which occurred when he was “in his first youth,” likely took place between 1000 and 1010. But this timeline rests heavily on assumptions. James Aitcheson of the University of Leicester challenges this interpretation in a paper published in the journal Notes and Queries. He argues that the comet Eilmer saw in his youth might not have been Halley’s at all, but rather the comet of 1018. If that is the case, Eilmer would have been born much later, placing his flight somewhere between the 1020s and 1040s.
(Source: Ars Technica)