Medieval UFO Report: Rare UFO Sighting Over the Mediterranean

Medieval UFO Report: Rare UFO Sighting Over the Mediterranean Sea and France | Ancient UFO Encounter, Mysterious Flying Object, Historic UFO Sightings, Unexplained Aerial Phenomena

An account of a medieval UFO?

On the first day of February 1554, a very frightening face was seen in the sky above the city of Schalon. This sighting, we believe, is also mentioned in some historical records kept in Marseille, because the miracle disappeared from view on its way there. But without a doubt, it was witnessed at Saint Chamas, situated near the Mediterranean Sea. 

Namely, this happened near the Moon in its first quarter phase, between 7 and 8 o’clock in the evening. 

A great fire came from the east and moved westward. This fire was very large and shaped like a fiery rod or torch, giving off a wonderful glow. Flames leapt from it, like those from glowing iron that a smith is working on. It emitted many fiery sparkles, which were thrown up immeasurably high, while it glistened like silver, similar to the Jacob’s shine sometimes visible in the sky.

It moved very fast, like an arrow, with a loud rustling and pattering in the sky. Not long after, we saw it heading towards the Arla, then turning south, aimed at the Mediterranean Sea. The fiery streak it left behind retained its color for a long time as it moved on, with fiery sparks flickering around it until it finally vanished somewhere over the Mediterranean, in the direction of Marseille.

Translated from the original medieval German and Latin by Matus Taratuta ©

Historical Context of the 1554 UFO Sighting in France

The year 1554 found the French kingdom under the reign of King Henry II, amid ongoing wars. The country had recently defeated the Habsburg forces at the Battle of Renty, a key moment in the long and drawn-out Italian Wars.

Chalon—is likely referring to Chalon-sur-Saône in Burgundy—or perhaps a scribal variation of a more local town near Arles, a prominent city since Roman times on the Rhône delta, while Marseille, a thriving port founded by the Greeks, was already a major gateway to the Mediterranean world at the time of the alleged UFO sighting (1554).

Saint-Chamas, also mentioned in the text, nestled on the shores of the Étang de Berre near Marseille, would have certainly provided a perfect vantage point for observing such an extraordinary atmospheric event. 

Our Evaluation of the Alleged UFO Sighting

The story of that fiery object, shaped like an arrow, blazing across the sky over Schalon in 1554 and heading towards the Mediterranean is truly mysterious. 

You can almost picture the people staring up in awe as this glowing, torch-like object moved quickly through the sky—what’s most spectacular is how it shifted direction in a way that didn’t quite make sense. 

Was it something that today we might call a UFO? The way it changed direction definitely gives the impression of an object controlled by someone or something.

But if we step back and think about it with what we know now, the description also sounds a lot like a meteor lighting up the sky. Meteors can blaze bright trails and throw off sparks, creating a dazzling show, though they usually move in a straight line. Sometimes, though, strange atmospheric effects can make their path look unusual.

Was it a meteor or a UFO? I’ll leave that for my readers to decide.

Reference:

Nostradamus; Heller, Joachim: Ein Erschrecklich vnd Wunderbarlich Zeychen/ so am Sambstag für Judica den zehenden tag Martij zwischen siben vnnd acht vhrn in der Stadt Schalon in Frankreych/ [...]. Aus Französischer Sprach Tranßferiert/ und gedruckt zu Nürmberg : bey M. Joachim Heller, 1554. Zentralbibliothek Zürich, PAS II 3/1, https://doi.org/10.7891/e-manuscripta-92222