Magonia is the name of the cloud realm whence felonious aerial sailors were said to have come, according to commonly held beliefs denounced in the
polemic
Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...
al treatise by
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
bishop
Agobard
Agobard of Lyon (–840) was a Spain, Spanish-born priest and archbishop of Lyon, during the Carolingian Renaissance. The author of multiple treatises, ranging in subject matter from the Byzantine Iconoclasm, iconoclast controversy to Spanish Ado ...
of
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
in 815, where he argues against weather magic. The treatise is titled ''De Grandine et Tonitruis (On Hail and Thunder)''.
Description
In his treatise Agobard complains that in his region it is widely believed that there is a land called Magonia whose inhabitants travel the clouds in ships and work with Frankish ''
tempestarii'' ("tempest-raisers" or weather-magi) to steal grain from the fields during (magically raised)
storm
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...
s. He denounces such beliefs as ignorant and refutes them with many quotations from Scripture, to prove that God alone causes hail and thunder.
Charles Godfrey Leland
Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe.
Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensivel ...
, in his book ''Etruscan Roman Remains'', relates certain stories about Magonia's origins and
slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
.
Document history
Agobard's works were lost until 1605, when a manuscript was discovered in Lyon and published by
Papirius Masson, and again by
Baluze in 1666. For later editions see
August Potthast
August Potthast (13 August 1824, Höxter, Province of Westphalia13 February 1898, Leobschütz), was a German historian, was born at Höxter, and was educated at Paderborn, Münster and Berlin.
He assisted GH Pertz, the editor of the ''Monume ...
, ''Bibliotheca Historica Medii Aevi''. The life of Agobard in
Ebert's ''Allgemeine Geschichte der Literatur des Mittelalters im Abendlande'' (1880), Band II., is still the best one to consult. For further indications see
A. Molinier, ''Sources de l'histoire de France'', i. p. 235.
Popular culture
Magonia is featured in
Jacques Vallee's book ''Passport to Magonia'', which explores the link between modern
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...
visitations and reports from antiquity of contact with these "space beings" where he quotes Agobard's description. The former British magazine ''Magonia'' was devoted to articles about UFOs and other
Forteana
Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold w ...
.
Magonia is mentioned frequently in
SosMula's 2024 album 'SLEEZ RELIGION', with the track 'PASSPORT TO MAGONIA' and interlude 'LOST IN MAGONIA' bearing the name.
Maria Dahvana Headley
Maria Dahvana Headley (born June 21, 1977) is an American novelist, memoirist, editor, translator, poet, and playwright. She is a ''New York Times''-bestselling author as well as editor.
Her work includes ''Magonia'', a young-adult space-fanta ...
's young adult novel ''Magonia'' also references the mythological realm.
See also
*
Airship of Clonmacnoise
*
Flying Dutchman
The ''Flying Dutchman'' () is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the sea forever. The myths and ghost stories are likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dutch East India C ...
Notes
References
*
*
European witchcraft
Folklore
History of magic
Flight folklore
Atmosphere of Earth
815
Medieval Lyon
Medieval legends
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