![title page of Prodigies & Apparitions showing conjoined wins holding a banner with the title on it. in the background is a depitciton of a battle in the heavens](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMNL2Wa3l8FUzyZTJbuekcf1Icpmb5jYd638PXcb4IZo9QMp3OnbGNEoCus1wC7DDNnxBnhEjC5aOGUvFHtSv0BTQ1K_bY_t7ruTt9bA2IrUmnGKMZFsZqQmQ4JH5hT-EjPMiIoqYh-8/s320/SKM_C30817031409410_0002.jpg)
In the 1600s, a prodigious snowstorm like the one forecast for today might not have been seen as a classic "Nor'easter," but as a warning from a greater power. We just cataloged a very cool little book from 1643 that describes a series of events that the author saw as signs of future doom:
Prodigies & Apparitions; or, England's Warning Pieces (London: Bates and Markland, [1643]).
![Image of a church busting into flames during service as a fireball from the sky strikes it during a storm](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFdagxci13tNivVZZOxjtJMF7M29aALtOyFQBQuWHAZSBaxOmEhPEajPk_SxiXag_79hRI1loFxobXo6OVY_jrF4eyYcSytl6JyMLM8A96EmKFoJlVdg4qSlmMlnimqORgqen0r777DQ/s320/SKM_C30817031409410_0003.jpg)
Among the descriptions are examples of lightning striking churches, the birth of conjoined twins, and a battle in the heavens. England had a lot to be concerned with at the time. Charles I was fighting for his crown, a battle he lost a few years later, and then lost his head over in 1649. It was a tumultuous time in English politics that tore the society apart. As this book indicates, the warning signs were there for anyone with a sharp eye.
I guess we should watch out! To see the warnings of another era, ask for
Hickmott 516.