• This article is PART 1 of the series UAP - A German Perspective Read the introduction here

In the year 775, the Syburg, located south of today’s city of Dortmund in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, towers above the Ruhr Valley and was conquered by the Frankish army of Charlemagne. But only a year later, the Falen, a western Saxon tribal group, recaptured the fortress. It was not until the beginning of the 9th century that the Saxons gave up their fight, adopted the faith of the victors, and became vassals of the Frankish emperor.

Regarding the battle for the Syburg (today the ruins are known as the Hohensyburg) anno 776, the Annals of the Frankish Kingdom (Annales regni Francorum), also known as the Royal Annals, a written record of events in the Frankish Empire during the 8th and 9th centuries, reported the following event:

Original Latin "[...] Sed Dei virtus, sicut iustum est, superavit illorum virtutem, et quadam die, cum bellum praeparassent adversus christianos, qui in ipso castro residebant, apparuit manifeste gloria Dei supra domum ecclesiae, quae est infra ipsum castrum, videntibus multis tam aforis quam etiam et deintus, ex quibus multi manent usque adhuc; et dicunt vidisse instar duorum scutorum colore rubeo flammantes et agitantes supra ipsam ecclesiam. Et cum hoc signum vidissent pagani, qui aforis erant, statim confusi sunt et magno timore perterriti coeperunt fugere ad castra, et omnis multitudo eorum in pavore concussi fugam arrepti ali ab aliis se ab invicem interficiebant. Qui enim retro propter pavorem aliquam respiciebant, infigebant se lanceis eorum, qui ante illos fugiebant et in humeris portabant, et alii diversis ictibus inter se sunt perpessi et divina ultione iudicati. [...]"

- Interested readers can find full transcript of the “Annales regni Francorum” online: https://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Annales_regni_Francorum

Discussion

What exactly caused such panic above Syburg back then can only be guessed today.Even if one does not take the given description literally, it might be helpful to first visualize the most common shape of warrior shield of the time, to understand the impression the chronicler may have wanted to convey when speaking of “flying shields”: The so-called Carolingian Round Shield.

From a UFO perspective the interpretation of the events seems clear: The two flying shields in the sky represent two objects that did not belong into the skies of the early Middle Ages. But iconographically they fit perfectly with the modern UFO phenomenon.

From a critical perspective, often applied by some historians and art historians to such cases (when claiming that UFOs do not exist today, and therefore also not in the past), these are metaphorical images that reflect the worldview of the time, in which God punished with (contemporary) military instruments.UFO-critics also often assume that such descriptions represent a misunderstanding of phenomena then unknown but well understood today. However, one must ask what phenomenon resembles “flying shields” above a church? If no known natural phenomenon is found, hallucinations and religious delusions, interpreted as the vengeance of the Christian God against the pagans, are suggested.

In this context, it is also important to question the source itself:The “Royal Annals” do not represent a chronologically and historically precise “chronicle” but served to legitimize and glorify Frankish rule, its rulers and politics. Rather than focusing solely on delusions or hallucinations, one could therefore also consider that the event was a literary invention to underline the success and legitimacy of the Christian mission. Such motifs, especially “celestial apparitions,” frequently appear in historical battle narratives and have a long literary tradition. In this tradition, many Renaissance authors demonstrably referred back to texts and descriptions from antiquity. These circumstances must be taken into account when evaluating old “UFO reports.”

Determining which interpretation of the events surrounding the conquest of Syburg is now historically accurate is likely no longer possible today and therefore open to the reader’s choice...

Another sighting of a celestial phenomenon by Charlemagne?

In Vita Karoli Magni, written by Charlemagne’s biographer Einhard, there is a description of another celestial phenomenon, of which Charlemagne himself was reportedly a direct eyewitness.

According to the chronicler, the following event likely took place in the year 810(?):

Original Latin 32 ,...] Ipse quoque, cum ultimam in Saxoniam expedi-tionem contra Godofridum regem Danorum ageret, qua-dam die, cum ante exortum solis castris egressus iter agere coepisset, vidit repente delapsam caelitus cum ingenti lu-mine facem a dextra in sinistram per serenum aera trans-currere. Cunctisque hoc signum, quid portenderet, ammi-rantibus, subito equus, quem sedebat, capite deorsum merso decidit eumque tam graviter ad terram elisit, ut, fibula sagi rupta balteoque gladii dissipato, a festinantibus qui aderant ministris exarmatus et sine amiculo levaretur."

Discussion

Here, too, caution is required when evaluating the source as a factual chronicle. Phenomenologically, this event describes something that could most likely be interpreted as an astronomical daytime meteor or fireball.

The most recent well-known example of such an event is the Chelyabinsk Meteor, which was widely visible over the Chelyabinsk Oblast in Russia’s Ural region on February 15, 2013, at around 9:20 a.m. local time. It was documented by numerous eyewitnesses in photos and videos.