Papers by Sophia Hendrikx
Throughout the centuries, sea-monsters have featured not only in stories, legend and art, but als... more Throughout the centuries, sea-monsters have featured not only in stories, legend and art, but also in the study of nature. In Antiquity, scholars theorised that water generated more monstrosities than any other environment. Medieval and Early Modern scholars did not exclude the possibiliry that sea-monsters exist, and collected rather than contradicted reported sightings. As a consequence they helped spread stories about monstrosities from the sea and contributed to a culture in which such monsters were omnipresent. Medieval and Early Modern depictions of strange creatures from the sea can be found as decorative elements on maps and in works recording folklore, man-made monsters were included in Early Modern collections of naturalia (see chapter 3), and sea-monsters were described in scholarly works, even up until the Modern period. Many of these creatures and their characteristics were based on descriptions from Antiquiry while at the same time new monsters were introduced.
This PhD project is part of: A New History of Fishes. A long-term approach to fishes in science a... more This PhD project is part of: A New History of Fishes. A long-term approach to fishes in science and culture, 1550-1880, a project directed by Paul Smith, funded by NWO, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, and the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.
Conrad Gessner’s (1516-1565) discussion of cetaceans and sea-monsters as part of the same distinc... more Conrad Gessner’s (1516-1565) discussion of cetaceans and sea-monsters as part of the same distinct group of animals (HA 1558) highlights how in the work of mid-sixteenth century naturalists the taxonomical interacts with cultural, literary, and scholarly tradition. In addition to listing physical characteristics shared by all members of the group, Gessner refers to literary sources which blur the line between whales and monsters, to linguistic causes of such confusion, and to descriptions of cetaceans by various classical, mediaeval, and early modern authors. Alongside anecdotes about real but little-known cetaceans, he presents a range of monster-sightings and draws a connection between classical sirens, aquatic fairies and mermaids. Gessner’s encyclopaedic approach means his discussion is embedded in the scholarly dialogue of the mid-sixteenth century and provides insight in the thoughts of several of his contemporaries on cetaceans, the position of monsters in a taxonomy, and the existence of sea-monsters.
KEYWORDS :
Cetaceans, sea-monsters, monstrous whales, literary tradition, taxonomy, sirens, mermaids, aquatic counterparts of terrestrial creatures, aspidochelone, teratology.
Joachim Camerarius the Younger’s (1534-1598) Symbola et Emblemata (1590-1604) presents us with bo... more Joachim Camerarius the Younger’s (1534-1598) Symbola et Emblemata (1590-1604) presents us with both an overview of natural history and moral wisdom, offering biological information and emblematic interpretations, supported by an array of references to emblematic and non-emblematic literature and various imprese. While other connections are often more explicitly expressed, both in the biological element and in terms of emblematic and literary references the work shows a strong connection to Conrad Gessner’s encyclopaedic work of natural history, Historiae Animalium. Similarities in both text and image suggest that this work was kept at hand during the production of both text and image of the Symbola et Emblemata. While distinctly different, there are important overlaps in content and approach between Gessner’s work of natural history and Camerarius’ emblem book.
Zoology in Early Modern Culture. Intersections of Science, Theology, Philology and Political and Religious Education, Dec 2014
Blog posts by Sophia Hendrikx
Blogposts:
Monsters, Sea-Monks, and Mermaids: Strange Creatures from the Sea from Antiquity to th... more Blogposts:
Monsters, Sea-Monks, and Mermaids: Strange Creatures from the Sea from Antiquity to the Modern Age.
Fantastic Beasts and How to Make Them (acc. 16th-century instructions).
Fantastic Beast and How to Make Them. Part I.
Lactating creatures with double genitals and the head of a cow. Describing New World ‘whales’ in the sixteenth century.
What’s in a name? Mislabeling fish since the 16th century.
Spontaneously Generating Fish.
Monstrous Rays and Fraudulent Apothecaries
Extremely Oily Flammable Fish
Eat What You Are: 16th century medical advice
A tale of two fishes, identifying species in the 16th century
Spontaneously generating, extremely oily fish
Culinary fish-poetry: Francois Boussuet, De Natura Aquatilium Carmen, 1558
Parrot fish as a symbol of friendship: Joachim Camerarius the Younger’s Symbolorum et Emblematum (1604)
Books by Sophia Hendrikx
Urs B. Leu, Peter Opitz (ed.), Conrad Gessner (1516-1565) Die Renaissance der Wissenschaften/ The Renaissance of Learning. De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2019
Uploads
Papers by Sophia Hendrikx
KEYWORDS :
Cetaceans, sea-monsters, monstrous whales, literary tradition, taxonomy, sirens, mermaids, aquatic counterparts of terrestrial creatures, aspidochelone, teratology.
Blog posts by Sophia Hendrikx
Monsters, Sea-Monks, and Mermaids: Strange Creatures from the Sea from Antiquity to the Modern Age.
Fantastic Beasts and How to Make Them (acc. 16th-century instructions).
Fantastic Beast and How to Make Them. Part I.
Lactating creatures with double genitals and the head of a cow. Describing New World ‘whales’ in the sixteenth century.
What’s in a name? Mislabeling fish since the 16th century.
Spontaneously Generating Fish.
Monstrous Rays and Fraudulent Apothecaries
Extremely Oily Flammable Fish
Eat What You Are: 16th century medical advice
A tale of two fishes, identifying species in the 16th century
Spontaneously generating, extremely oily fish
Culinary fish-poetry: Francois Boussuet, De Natura Aquatilium Carmen, 1558
Parrot fish as a symbol of friendship: Joachim Camerarius the Younger’s Symbolorum et Emblematum (1604)
Books by Sophia Hendrikx
KEYWORDS :
Cetaceans, sea-monsters, monstrous whales, literary tradition, taxonomy, sirens, mermaids, aquatic counterparts of terrestrial creatures, aspidochelone, teratology.
Monsters, Sea-Monks, and Mermaids: Strange Creatures from the Sea from Antiquity to the Modern Age.
Fantastic Beasts and How to Make Them (acc. 16th-century instructions).
Fantastic Beast and How to Make Them. Part I.
Lactating creatures with double genitals and the head of a cow. Describing New World ‘whales’ in the sixteenth century.
What’s in a name? Mislabeling fish since the 16th century.
Spontaneously Generating Fish.
Monstrous Rays and Fraudulent Apothecaries
Extremely Oily Flammable Fish
Eat What You Are: 16th century medical advice
A tale of two fishes, identifying species in the 16th century
Spontaneously generating, extremely oily fish
Culinary fish-poetry: Francois Boussuet, De Natura Aquatilium Carmen, 1558
Parrot fish as a symbol of friendship: Joachim Camerarius the Younger’s Symbolorum et Emblematum (1604)