Chariot 3: Conception

The following text is a translation from a broadsheet news article, illustrated with a woodcut engraving, printed in the year of 1561. The document is archived in the prints and drawings collection of the Zentralbibliothek Zürich, the Central Library of Zurichin, in Switzerland.

In the morning of 14th of April, 1561, at daybreak, between 4 and 5, a dreadful event occurred at the sunrise and it was seen in Nuremberg at the town, in front of the gates and in the countryside by many men and women.

At first, there appeared in the middle of the sun, two blood red semi-circular arcs like the diminishing moon. And in the sun, above, below, and on both sides there stood blood colored round spheres of partly dull, partly black ferrous color.

Likewise, there stood on both sides and in circles around the sun blood colored ones and other spheres in great number, standing three in a row, at times a formation of fours and also many as singles. In between these spheres, blood colored crosses also have been seen, and between such crosses there were blood colored strips, becoming thicker to the rear and in the front malleable like the rods of reed-grass. Combined among them stood two big rods, one to the right, the other to the left, and within the small and big rods there were three, four, and more spheres.

They all began to fight among themselves, so that the spheres which were first in the sun moved towards the ones standing on both sides, thereafter, the spheres that were outside moved together with the other ones out of the small and large rods into the sun. As the spheres, the rods flew back and forth among themselves and vehemently battled with each other for almost one hour.

And after they battled in and out of the sun violently, they became exhausted to a magnitude that they all fell from the sun down upon on earth as if they all burned and vanished, producing an immense smoke.

After such events, something like a black spear with great thickness and length with the shaft towards sunrise and the head pointing sundown was sighted.

Whatsoever these signs mean, God alone knows. Although, one after the other we have seen many kinds of signs on the heaven, they were sent to us by the almighty God to bring us to repentance, unfortunately we are still so ungrateful that we despise such high signs and miracles of God. Or we speak of them with ridicule and discard them to the wind in a way that God may send us a frightening punishment on account of our ungratefulness. After all, the fearing God will by no means discard these signs, but will take them to heart as a warning of the merciful father in heaven, will mend their lives and faithfully beg God to prevent his wrath, the well-deserved punishment on us, so that we may temporarily here and perpetually there, live as his children. For it, may God grant us his bless, Amen.

By Hans Glaser, letter-painter of Nuremberg