Hero
The Flying Monk
Next time, a tail.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Ruined Norman abbey church in use
- Legend from
- William of Malmesbury, Gesta regum Anglorum
- Tone
- Wondrous
He flew a furlong. Then he remembered he had forgotten the tail.
William of Malmesbury tells of Eilmer, a monk of the abbey, who in his youth fastened wings to his hands and feet so he might fly like Daedalus. He leapt from a tower and flew more than a furlong before the wind and his own fear brought him down. He broke both legs and was lame ever after. Eilmer said he had forgotten to fit a tail. The abbot forbade a second try. Eilmer lived to be old and saw a comet, perhaps Halley's in 1066.