Did a medieval flying monk spot Halley's comet, twice? It's complicated
“it is long since I saw you” Did a medieval flying monk spot Halley’s comet, twice? Eilmer managed to glide a good 600 feet, passing over the city wall before crash-landing in a small valley near the river Avon. Malmesbury Abbey still boasts a stained-glass window in honor of Brother Eilmer.
- ▪“it is long since I saw you” Did a medieval flying monk spot Halley’s comet, twice?
- ▪Eilmer managed to glide a good 600 feet, passing over the city wall before crash-landing in a small valley near the river Avon.
- ▪Malmesbury Abbey still boasts a stained-glass window in honor of Brother Eilmer.
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| Original publisher | Ars Technica - All content |
| Canonical URL | https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/did-a-medieval-flying-monk-spot-halleys-comet-twice-its-complicated/ |
| Publication time | Sun, 14 Jun 2026 16:02:53 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-06-14T17:10:45.240Z |
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“it is long since I saw you” Did a medieval flying monk spot Halley’s comet, twice? It’s complicated University of Leicester historian thinks Eilmer of Malmesbury saw two different comets: in 1018 and 1066 Jennifer Ouellette – Jun 14, 2026 12:02 pm | 8 Stained glass window at Malmesbury Abbey depicting the medieval "flying monk," Eilmer Credit: Andrew Dunn/CC BY-SA 2.0 Stained glass window at Malmesbury Abbey depicting the medieval "flying monk," Eilmer Credit: Andrew Dunn/CC BY-SA 2.0 Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Early in the 11th century, a young Benedictine monk named Eilmer jumped from the 150-foot tower of his abbey in the small English town of Malmesbury, wearing a pair of…
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