A Great VVONDER IN HEAVEN: SHEWING The late Apparitions and prodigious noyses of War and Battels, seen on Edge-Hill neere Keinton in Northampton-shire.

Certified under the hands of William Wood Esquire, and Iustice for the Peace in the said Countie, Samuel Marshall Preacher of Gods Word in Keinton, and other persons of qualitie.

LONDON, Printed for THO. IACKSON, Ian. 23. Anno Dom. 1642.

A great wonder in HEAVEN: Shewing the late Apparitions and Prodigious noyses of War and Battails seen on Edge-Hill neer Keynton in Northampton-shire.

THat there hath beene, and ever will be Laruae spectra, and such like ap­paritions, namely, Ghosts and Gob­lins, have beene the opinion of all the famousest Divines of the Primi­tive Church, and is (though op­pugned by some) the received Do­ctrine of divers learned men at this day, their opinion being indeed ra­tified and confirmed by divers Texts of Scripture, as the Divells possessing the Swine, and the men possessed with Divells in the Acts of the Apostles, that came out of them, and beat the Exorcists, by which it is evidently con­firmed, that those legions of erring angels that fell with their great Master, Lucifer, are not all confined to the lo­call Hell, but live scattered here and there, dispersed in the empty regions of the ayre as thicke as motes in the Sunne, and those are those things which our too superstitious an­cestors called Elves and Goblins, Furies, and the like, such as were those who appeared to Machbeth the after King [Page 4]of Scotland, and foretold him of his fortunes both in life and death. It is evident, besides, that the divell can con­dense the ayre into any shape he pleaseth; as hee is a subtill spirit, thin and open, and rancke himselfe into any forme or likenesse, as Saint Augustin, Prudentius, Hieronimus Cyril, Saint Basil the Great; and none better then our late Soveraigne King Iames of ever-living menory, in his Trea­tise de Demonologia, hath sufficiently proved: but to omit circumstance and preamble, no man that thinkes hee hath a soule, but will verily and confidently believe that there are divels, and so consequently such divels as appeare either in premonstrance of Gods Judgements, or as fatall Em­bassadours to declare the message of mortality and destructi­on to offending Nations; and hath in Germany and other places afflicted afterwards with the horror of a civill and forraigne warres notoriously manifested.

But to our purpose Edge-Hill in the very confines of Warwickeshire, neere unto Keynton in Nrrthamptonshire, a place, as appeares by the sequele, destined for ci­vill warres and battells; as where King Iohn fought a battell with his Barons, and who in the defence of the Kingdomes lawes and libertie was fought a bloody con­flict betweene his Majesties and the Parliaments forces, who under the conduct of his Excellence the Earle of Essex, obtained there a glorious victory over the Cava­liers at this Edge-Hill, in the very place where the bat­tell was strucken, have since, and doth appeare, strange and portentuous Apparitions of two jarring and contra­ry Armies, as I shall in order deliver, it being certified by the men of most credit in those parts, as William Wood Esquire, Samuel Marshall Minister, and others, on Saturday, which was in Christmas time, as if the Savi­our of the world, who died to redeeme mankinde, had beene angry that so much Christian blood was there spilt, and so had permitted these infernall Armies to appeare, [Page 5]where the corporeall Armies had shed so much blood; between twelve and one of the clock in the morning was heard by some Sheepherds, and other countrey-men and travellers, first the found of Drums a far off, and the noyse of Soulders, as it were, giving out their last groanes; at which they were much amazed, and amazed stood still, till it seemed by the neernesse of the noyse to approach them, at which too much affrighted, they sought to with­draw as fast as possibly they could, but then on the sud­den, whilest they were in these cogitations, appeared in the ayre the same incorporeall souldiers that made those clamours, and immediately with Ensignes displayed Drums beating, Musquets going off, Cannons discharged, Horses neyghing, which also to these men were visible, the ala­rum or entrance to this game of death was strucke up, one Army which gave the first charge, having the Kings colours, and the other the Parliaments in their head or front of the battells, and so pell mell to it they went; the battell that appeared to the Kings forces seeming at first to have the best, but afterwards to be put into ap­parent rout; but till two or three in the morning in e­quall scale continued this dreadfull fight, the clattering of Armes, noyse of Cannons, cries of souldiers so ama­zing and terrifying the poore men, that they could not believe they were mortall, or give credit to their eares and eyes, runne away they durst not, for feare of being made a prey to these infernall souldiers, and so they with much feare and affright, stayed to behold the successe of the businesse, which at last suited to this effect: after some three houres fight, that Army which carryed the King colours withdrew, or rather appeared to flie; the other remaining, as it were, Masters of the field, stayed a good space triumphing, and expressing all the signes of joy and conquest, and then with all their Drummes, Trum­pets, Ordnance and Souldiers vanished, the poore men [Page 6]glad they were gone, that had so long staid them there a­gainst their wils, made with all haste to Keinton, and there knocking up Mr. Wood, a Justice of Peace, who called up his neighbour Mr. Marshall the Minister, they gave them an account of the whole passage, and averred it upon their oaths to be true. At which affirmation of theirs, being much a­mazed, they should hardly have given credit to it, but would have conjectured the men to have been either mad or drunk, had they not knowne some of them to have been of appro­ved integritie; and so suspending their judgements till the next night about the same houre, they with the same men, and all the substantiall Inhabitants of that and the neighbou­ring parishes, drew thither; where about halfe an houre after their arrivall on Sunday, being Christmas night, appea­red in the same tumultuous warlike manner, the same two adverse Armies, fighting with as much spite and spleen as formerly: and so departed the Gentlemen and all the spe­ctatours, much terrified with these visions of horrour, with­drew themselves to their houses, beseeching God to defend them from those hellish and prodigious enemies. The next night they appeared not, nor all that week, so that the dwel­lers thereabout were in good hope they had been for ever departed; but on the ensuing Saturday night, in the same place, and at the same houre, they were againe seene, with far greater tumult fighting in the manner afore mentioned for foure houres, or verie neere, and then vanished, appea­ring againe on Sunday night, and performing the same acti­ons of hostilitie and bloud-shed; so that both Mr, Wood and others, whose faith it should seeme was not strong enough to carrie them out against these delusions, forsook their ha­bitations thereabout, and retired themselves to other more secure dwellings; but Mr, Marshall stayed, and some o­ther, and so successively the next Saturday and Sunday the same tumults and prodigious sights and actions were put in the state and condition they were formerly. The rumour [Page 7]whereof comming to his Majestie at Oxford, he immediate­ly dispatched thither Colonell Lewis Kirke, Captaine Dud­ley, Captaine Wainman, and three other Gentlemen of cre­dit, to take the full view and notice of the said businesse, who first hearing the true atrestation and relation of Mr. Mar­shall and others, staid there till Saturday night following, wherein they heard and saw the fore-mentioned prodigies, and so on Sunday distinctly knowing divers of the appariti­ons, or incorporeall substances by their faces, as that of Sir Edmund Varney, and others that were there slaine; of which upon oath they made testimony to his Majestie. What this does portend, God only knoweth, and time perhaps will discover; but doubtlesly it is a signe of his wrath against this Land, for these civill wars, which He in his good time finish, and send a sudden peace between his Majestie and Parliament.

FINIS.

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