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Extract from Gesta regum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Kings) by William of Malmesbury:-

“….He [Eilmer] was a man of good learning for those times; of mature age and in his early youth had hazarded an attempt of singular temerity: he had by some contrivance fastened to his hands and feet in order that he might fly as Daedalus, and collecting the air, on the summit of a tower, had flown for a distance of a furlong (200m); but agitated by the violence of the wind and a current of air, as well as the consciousness of his rash attempt, he fell and broke both his legs, and was lame ever after. He used to relate as the cause of the failure that he had forgotten to provide himself with a tail….”

Halley’s Comet’s appeared in 989 and 1066 AD, and the Benedictine monk Eilmer of Malmesbury, saw it on both occasions, being a very young boy in 989 and elderly in 1066. The comet was believed to predict the downfall of England, a prophecy that was considered to have been fulfilled in 1066! But things that happened in the sky fascinated Eilmer for another reason, because he believed that the Greek myth of Daedalus (https://www.worldhistory.org/Daedalus/) was true, and attempted to prove it.

Fastening a contraption to his hands and feet, he launched himself from a tower of Malmesbury Abbey and flew “….for more than the distance of a furlong [220 yards or 201 meters]…” before crashing and breaking both legs. He was lame ever after and as you’ll have read in the extract above, he blamed the mishap on not realising he’d require a tail.

You can see more about Eilmer’s exploit by watching Series 1, Episode 4 (“The Rose Garden Mystery”) of the Meet the Ancestors series, available here on BBC iPlayer: https://tinyurl.com/bdzc4umm. There is another video link in this article https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-important-events/flying-monk-0015684. The video features Dr Tobias Capwell, of whom see https://www.gethistory.co.uk/news/tobias-capwell-in-conversation.

So poor old Leonardo da Vinci rather trailed along behind our pioneer Flying Monk!

Oh, and I mustn’t forget—there is (when isn’t there?) a ghostly tale attached to these events. You can read it here https://hauntedwiltshire.blogspot.com/2009/07/flying-monk-of-malmesbury-abbey.html.