History of Monsters. 717

Proceeding likewise through the chronological sequence of years, we find that in 1499, in Lucerne, Switzerland, in the month of May, a fiery dragon of immense size—as thick as a calf and eight cubits long—was seen flying, to the great wonder of all the inhabitants. In the following month, Maximilian, King of the Romans, invaded Switzerland with a large army and devastated the Engadine with fire and sword.

Again, in July 1535, in Lusatia, not far from the town of Ruben, two armies of men were seen from south to north, appearing to engage in battle with full cohorts and centuries of soldiers across the entire line. Likewise, in 1538, the inhabitants of Germany observed armed ranks, swords, and scenes of death scattered throughout the air.

Similarly, in the year of human salvation 1545, in the month of July, these visions were seen in the air by the people of Silesia: a Bear leading a battle line to the East met a Lion surrounded by troops. As they joined in combat, blood flowed from the wounds they inflicted and bodies fell. During the fight, an Eagle was seen flying from a high thicket toward the Lion’s forces. After the battle, the Lion shone brightly among his cohorts, while the Bear was nowhere to be seen. Indeed, that same year among the Poles, three crimson crosses appeared in the sky, between which a knight in armor fought against an opposing army with a fiery sword; he was later devoured by a horrific dragon after his victory. Shortly thereafter, a massive chasm appeared for the duration of an hour, followed by three rainbows, over which a beautiful winged angel sat in full view of everyone, until everything gradually vanished along with the clouds.

In 1547, two armies and two lions were seen in the air over Switzerland, fighting fiercely; one of the lions bit off the other's head. On the first of October that same year in Saxony, at sunrise, a tomb covered with a black cloth and topped with a red cross appeared in the heavens. It was preceded and followed by many people dressed in mourning clothes, blowing trumpets with such a loud blast that they were easily heard by the inhabitants. Also in that year, in Italy not far from Rome, during the month of December, a reddish cross was seen in a clear sky, where an eagle was also observed flapping its wings for three days.

Again in Saxony the following year, 1548, at Quedlinburg, two armies were seen fighting fiercely in the air. In the next year, 1549, several trustworthy men from Brunswick while traveling—according to Lycosthenes—observed the moon crowned with that circle which the Greeks call a *halo*. They also saw a fiery lion and an eagle stabbing its own breast, as shown in Illustration I.

That same year, in a town in Vogtland, the inhabitants observed a vision in the air of a man dressed in German clothing, whom we discussed earlier in the section on omens in the first chapter.

In the following year, 1550, between Nuremberg, Feuchtwangen, and Ansbach, at the beginning of August on a clear day, many witnessed the sun discolored with various hues, accompanied by the image of a multi-colored eagle with spread wings and no feet. Below it was a celestial bow, and next to it a rider who seemed to be leading a horse with one hand and hunting meat with the other; the reader may find the image of this monstrous apparition in the first chapter of this history.

That same year, in Trebbin, Saxony, not far from Wittenberg—the famous marketplace of all disciplines—many visions appeared in the sky. Among them was the sight of a beautiful stag, with various ranks of soldiers fighting on either side; their blood seemed to fall like rain, as shown in Illustration II.

Again, in the year of human salvation 1553, in the village of Herbsleben in Thuringia, according to Lycosthenes, two serpents were seen in July biting each other in the sky with their tails entwined. In their midst, a fiery cross shone, as seen in Illustration III.

In that same year, in a certain village of Thymigra, the image of a tall man appeared among the clouds