There are early legends of human flight such as the story of Icarus, and Jamshid in Persian myth, and later, somewhat more credible claims of short-distance human flights appear, such as the flying automaton of Archytas of Tarentum ( 428 – 347 BC ), the winged flights of Abbas Ibn Firnas ( 810 – 887 ), Eilmer of Malmesbury ( 11th century ), and the hot-air Passarola of Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão ( 1685 – 1724 ).

* Eilmer of Malmesbury, a Benedictine monk who attempted flight with mechanical wings

* Eilmer of Malmesbury attempts flight in a glider of his own construction.

Some of the earliest recorded attempts with gliders were those by the 9th-century poet Abbas Ibn Firnas and the 11th-century monk Eilmer of Malmesbury ; both experiments injured their pilots.

There are early legends of human flight such as the story of Icarus, and Jamshid in Persian myth, and later, somewhat more credible claims of short-distance human flights appear, such as the flying automaton of Archytas of Tarentum ( 428 – 347 BC ), the winged flights of Abbas Ibn Firnas ( 810 – 887 ), Eilmer of Malmesbury ( 11th century ), and the hot-air Passarola of Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão ( 1685 – 1724 ).

The Abbey was the site of an early attempt at human flight when, in 1010, the monk Eilmer of Malmesbury flew a primitive hang glider from a tower.

Stained glass window showing Eilmer, installed in Malmesbury Abbey in 1920

Eilmer of Malmesbury ( also known as Oliver due to a scribe's miscopying, or Elmer ) was an 11th-century English Benedictine monk best known for his early attempt at a gliding flight using wings.

Eilmer was a monk of Malmesbury Abbey and is known to have written on astrology.

Thus, Eilmer fixed wings to his hands and feet and launched himself from the top of a tower at Malmesbury Abbey:

* Eilmer of Malmesbury, from the Malmesbury Abbey website.

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# REDIRECT Eilmer of Malmesbury

# REDIRECT Eilmer of Malmesbury

# REDIRECT Eilmer of Malmesbury

It has been suggested that Ibn Firnas ' attempt at glider flight might have inspired the attempt by Eilmer of Malmesbury between 1000 and 1010 in England but there is no evidence supporting this hypothesis.

" Eilmer of Malmesbury, an Eleventh Century Aviator: A Case Study of Technological Innovation, Its Context and Tradition ", Technology and Culture 2 ( 2 ), p. 97 – 111,.

If Eilmer had seen Halley's comet seventy-six years earlier in 990, he could have been born about 984, making him about five or six years old when he first saw the comet, old enough to remember it.

Eilmer could not have achieved true soaring flight in any event, but he might have glided down in safety if he had had a tail.

Since it is known that Eilmer was an " old man " in 1066, and that he had made the flight attempt " in his youth ", the event is placed some time during the early 11th century, perhaps in its first decade.

From knowledge of books held in the library at Malmesbury Abbey and available as source works, and from the identification of certain words particular to the local dialect found in the text, the transcription may have been made there.

William of Malmesbury recorded that Edgar made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1102, and it may be that Orderic's report is the product of confusion, conflating the expedition of the English fleet with Edgar's later journey.

There are five versions of the speech recorded by people who may have been at the council ( Baldric of Dol, Guibert of Nogent, Robert the Monk, and Fulcher of Chartres ) or who went on crusade ( Fulcher and the anonymous author of the Gesta Francorum ), as well as other versions found in later historians ( such as William of Malmesbury and William of Tyre ).

Later Anglo-Norman histories may or may not be reliable depending on their source material, but useful ones include the Chronicle of John of Worcester ( compiled between 1124 and 1140 ), William of Malmesbury ( writing between c. 1125 and 1142 ), Henry of Huntingdon ( writing between c. 1133 and 1154 ), and Orderic Vitalis ( writing between c. 1114 and 1141 ).

Historians have puzzled over Edward's intentions for the succession since William of Malmesbury in the early 12th century.

According to the twelfth century chronicler William of Malmesbury, the abbey was built on a gravel spur " between the rivers Kennet and Thames, on a spot calculated for the reception of almost all who might have occasion to travel to the more populous cities of England ".

Without the addition of buttresses, bracing arches and anchor irons over the succeeding centuries, it would have suffered the fate of spires on later great ecclesiastical buildings ( such as Malmesbury Abbey ) and fallen down ; instead, Salisbury remains the tallest church spire in the UK.

** The letter to King Geraint of Dumnonia, was supposed to have been destroyed by the Britons ( William of Malmesbury, Gesta Pontificum, p. 361 ), but was discovered with others of Aldhelm's in the correspondence of St Boniface, archbishop of Mainz.

According to William of Malmesbury, Aldhelm also wrote poetry in Old English, and set his own compositions to music, but none of his songs, which were still popular in the time of Alfred, have come down to us.

During the English Civil War, Malmesbury is said to have changed hands as many as seven times, and the abbey was fiercely fought over.

He was severely criticised in Parliament during this time, the Earl of Malmesbury stating in the House of Lords on 26 February 1857 that " If it were not for the serious consequences involved in this matter, I do not know that I have ever met anything which I should consider more grotesque than the conduct of Consul Parkes throughout these transactions ".< ref >

Furthermore, if ( as William of Malmesbury states ) Cenwalh was baptized by Saint Felix, this must have occurred by c. 647.

This is said to have occurred on an island named Scani or Scandza ( Scania ), and according to William of Malmesbury ( Gesta regum Anglorum ) he was later chosen as King of the Angles, reigning from Schleswig.

In 1794 he was sent to Brunswick to solicit the hand of the unfortunate Princess Caroline for the prince of Wales, to marry her as proxy, and conduct her to her husband in England. For once his diplomatic skills seem to have failed him: confronted with Caroline's bizarre manner and appearance, he sent no advance word to the Prince, who was so shocked by the sight of his future wife that he asked Malmesbury to bring him brandy.

As a statesman, Malmesbury had an influence among his contemporaries which is scarcely to be understood from his writings, but which must have owed much to personal charm of manner and persuasiveness of tongue ; as a diplomatist, he seems to have deserved his reputation, and shares with Macartney, Auckland and Whitworth the credit of raising diplomacy from a profession in which only great nobles won the prizes to a career opening the path of honour to ability.

William of Malmesbury reports negotiations between King Alfred of Wessex and King Dungarth of the Cornish in c. 876 held somewhere near Exmoor in Devon ; presumably Alfred would have sought reassurances over his western frontier as he conspired to defeat the Danes.

The deaneries of the archdeaconry of Salisbury have remained unaltered ; Wiltshire archdeaconry now includes the deaneries of Avebury, Marlborough and Potterne ; and the deaneries of Chippenham, Cricklade and Malmesbury form part of the archdeaconry and diocese of Bristol.

Matilda and Henry seem to have known one another for some time before their marriage — William of Malmesbury states that Henry had " long been attached " to her, and Orderic Vitalis says that Henry had " long adored " her character.

St. Aldhelm is said to have used stone from here to build the original church at Bradford and also for Malmesbury Abbey.

In addition, a number of individuals are known to have read the text or have been indirectly influenced by it, including: Vussin, Hrabanus Maurus, Hermann of Reichenau, Hugo of St. Victor, Gervase of Melkey, William of Malmesbury, Theoderich of St. Trond, Petrus Diaconus, Albertus Magnus, Filippo Villani, Jean de Montreuil, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Giovanni de Dondi, Domenico di Bandino, Niccolò Acciaioli bequeathed copy to the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, Bernward of Hildesheim, and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Ecgberht's brother and successor King Hlothhere of Kent is said by William of Malmesbury to have ridiculed the idea of their sanctity.