She’d be a comedy figure, if her predictions hadn’t kept coming true.

She was convinced that she was a great prophet, and insisted on writing long, pompous tracts about her visions, and forcing them on people. She was arrogant, ill-tempered and didn’t pay her debts. Lady Eleanor Davies wasn’t an easy person to get on with. No wonder people were willing to listen to those who claimed they were prophets sent by God. Who will win the war? Will my plan work? Is my loved one safe? The royal astrologer, William Lilly, was besieged with questions from Royalists and Parliamentarians alike. They took this as a sign that God was on their side. According to one story, on the night after the battle of Edge Hill, injured Royalists saw their wounds glowing eerily, and found that they were much better by morning. Other strange happenings were taken as good omens. In the south of England, many saw a huge cloud shaped like a sword-point, shining as brightly as the moon. Strange fire was seen falling from the sky near the village of Bibury. In the winter of 1639 one gentleman described clouds that looked like two battalions of armed men, from which came loud noises, flashes of light and “streaks like smoke”.Īfter war was declared and armies were on the march, the heavens became downright tetchy. If you were going into battle, wouldn’t you want to know if you’d come back alive?Įven before war broke out, there were whispers of dark omens. They wanted to know what would happen to them, and whether they were fighting on the right side… After all, the world they knew had gone frighteningly mad. When war broke out, people were even more eager to look for omens, consult the stars, or seek portents of God’s will. Introduction | Reviews | Dark Omens and Dangerous Prophecies | Boars' Heads and Cats' Tongues A Skinful of Shadows Dark Omens and Dangerous Propheciesīack in the seventeenth century, it wouldn’t have seemed silly or superstitious to see signs of the hand of God in ordinary events.

Gullstruck Island / The Lost Conspiracy.

A skinful of shadows frances hardinge