The 1561 Celestial Phenomenon over Nuremberg
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But wait... do sun dogs actually explain the "battle" part of the description? Those are usually static halos, not spheres fighting each other...
the broadsheet specifically lists the number of spheres.
If the number of spheres was consistently reported, could that actually serve as evidence against a purely hallucinatory explanation? A shared, specific count might suggest a common physical stimulus.
It is crucial to remember that these broadsheets were often printed and distributed weeks after the supposed event. This introduces a feedback loop where the printed image shapes the memories of subsequent witnesses, rather than just documenting them.
Does the Wikipedia entry specify the exact time lag between the event and the printing of the broadsheet?
This mirrors the phenomenon of social contagion in mass sightings. When a visual representation precedes the narrative, witnesses often align their descriptions to match the artwork.
The broadsheet format was essentially the 16th century version of a viral thread. Similar reports from that era show how quickly a single sketch could standardize a sighting across an entire region.
I disagree that it was like a viral thread. Distribution in the 1500s was slow and physical; it took a real person to carry that paper to the next town, which is far more deliberate than a digital share.