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Blood rain or red rain is a phenomenon in which blood is perceived to fall from the sky in the form of rain. Cases have been recorded since Homer's ''Iliad'', composed approximately 8th century BC, and are widespread. Before the 17th century it was generally believed that the rain was actually blood. Literature mirrors cult practice, in which the appearance of blood rain was considered a bad omen. It was used as a tool foreshadowing events, but while some of these may be literary devices, some occurrences are historic. There is now a scientific consensus〔http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/unravelling-the-blood-rain-mystery/article7057859.ece〕 that the blood rain phenomenon is caused by aerial spores of green microalgae Trentepohlia annulata. Recorded instances of blood rain usually cover small areas. The duration can vary, sometimes lasting only a short time, others several days. By the 17th century, explanations for the phenomenon had moved away from the supernatural and attempted to provide natural reasons. In the 19th century, blood rains were scientifically examined, and theories that dust gave the water its red colour gained ground. Today, the dominant theories are that the rain is caused by red dust suspended in the water (rain dust) or by the presence of micro-organisms. Alternative explanations include sunspots and aurorae. ==History and use in literature== Occurrences of blood rain throughout history are distributed from the ancient, to the modern day. The earliest literary instance is in Homer's ''Iliad'', in which Zeus twice caused a rain of blood, on one occasion to warn of slaughter in a battle. The same portent occurs in the work of the poet Hesiod, writing around 700 BC; The author John Tatlock suggests that Hesiod's story may have been influenced by that recorded in the Iliad. The first-century Greek biographer Plutarch also recounts a tradition of a rain of blood during the reign of Romulus, founder of Rome. Roman authors Livy and Pliny record some later cases of blood rain, with Livy describing it as a bad portent.〔 Unusual events such as a rain of blood were considered bad omens in Antiquity, and this belief persisted through the Middle Ages and well into the Early modern period. Throughout northern and western Europe there are many cases of rains of blood which were used by contemporary writers to augur bad events: the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' records that in 685, "there was a bloody rain in Britain. And milk and butter were turned to blood. And Lothere, king of Kent, died". Tatlock suggests that although the ''Chronicle'' was written long after the events, it may have basis in historical truth. He notes that although the rain may seem to be foreshadowing the death of Lothere, medieval chroniclers often noted unusual occurrences in their works "merely for their general interest". Gregory of Tours records that in 582 "In the territory of Paris there rained real blood from the clouds, falling upon the garments of many men, who were so stained and spotted that they stripped themselves of their own clothing in horror". Although the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth, a 12th-century writer who popularised the legends of King Arthur, is regarded as "fantastical" rather than reliable, he too notes the occurrence of blood rain, in the reign of Rivallo. This event was further expanded on by Layamon in his poem ''Brut'' (written around 1190), who described how blood rain was one of several portents, and which itself led to destruction: Many works which record occurrences of blood rain, such as that of Layamon, were written significantly after the event was supposed to have taken place. The 14th-century monk Ralph Higden in his work, the ''Polchronicon'', recounts that in 787 there was a rain of blood, perhaps intended by the author as an indication of the coming Viking invasion. Written in the 12th century, the ''Book of Leinster'' records many sensational events, including showers of silver; it records a shower of blood in 868. In the work of William of Newburgh, a rain of blood proves the drive and determination of Richard the Lionheart. According to William of Newburgh, a contemporary chronicler, in May 1198 Richard and the labourers working on the castle were drenched in a "rain of blood". While some of his advisers thought the rain was an evil omen, Richard was undeterred: In Germany, a shower of blood was one of several portents for the arrival of the Black Death in 1348–1349. The phenomenon gained exposure to a wide audience in the 16th century, during the Renaissance, when it was used as an example of the power of God; a form of literature using prodigies such as blood rain as cautions against immorality proliferated across Europe having originated in Italy. In Germany, such works were particularly popular amongst Protestants.〔 Although unusual events such as rains of blood were still treated with superstition, often as demonstrations of godly power, Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1580–1637) was one of the few who proposed natural causes; after hearing of a bloody rain in Aix-en-Provence, he suggested it was caused by butterflies. Although his theory would later be rejected, he helped the likes of Pierre Gassendi and René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur to lay the foundations for removing superstition from explanations of the phenomenon.〔 In Europe, there were fewer than 30 recorded cases all together of blood rain in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. There were 190 instances across the 16th and 17th centuries; there was a decline in the 17th century when only 43 were recorded, but this picked up again with 146 in the 19th century. There is little literature on the subject of blood rain,〔 although it has gained the attention of some naturalists. The phenomenon received international coverage in 2001, after red rain fell in Kerala, India, and again in 2012. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blood rain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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