“the perfect form and likeness of a mighty great ship,” was said to have been — In 1254
seen in the sky by “certain monks of St. Albans,” in England. In the classic flying saucer
book Flying Saucers Have Landed, Desmond Leslie and George Adamski published the translation of a document called the “Ampleforth Abbey manuscript,” allegedly a 13th century document. They had come across the story in a letter to The Times on February 9th 1953 that ran as follows: “Sir - Reports of “flying saucers” usually evoke a small crop of cynical replies that far more sensational objects were seen towards the end of the last century, &c. While going through some early manuscripts pertaining to Byland Abbey, in Yorkshire, I came across material for this sort of criticism which is surely unsurpassed. A document dated circa 1290 mentions a round flat silver object like a discus which flew over the monastery exciting “maximum terrorem” among the brethren. I am, Sir, yours faithfully, A. X. Chumley, Ampleforth College, York” The controversial fragment itself was in Latin and read as follows: ”.. .took the sheep from Wilfred and roast them in the feast of SS. Simon and Jude. But when Henry the Abbot was about to say grace, John, one of the brethren, came in and said there was a great portent outside. Then they all went out and LO! a large round silv$ thing like a disk flew slowly over them, and excited the greatest terror. Whereat Henry the Abbott immediately cried that Wilfred was an adulterer…” The story came apart when two boys confessed to having written the passage as a joke. In January 2002 one of us (C.A.) contacted the archivist at Ampleforth Abbey, who prefers not to be named, in order to discover the identities and motives of the hoaxers. He replied that he had been at school with them himself. One of the boys had been killed in an accident in the mid-1950s, he said, while “the other half is a distinguished academic, now in retirement,” who preferred to remain anonymous. “It was done on purpose in order to bring out the folly of the credulous,” he added. As for the name “Chumley,” which had been attached to the letter in The Times, it “was a known local name, spelt more usually as Cholmondly.” When asked if he knew how the surviving hoaxer felt about the fuss made by the prank - a prank that was (and still is) cited by ufologists the world over, the archivist replied: “I think he finds it rather tiresome. Consider to what extent you wish to dwell-or rather be pursued about- the japes of your youth!”
Source: Case: W499