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→Fantastical creatures: sea monk etc. Gesner was aware of some fakes made of rays (Gudger). Also commercial interest by publisher (Henrikxs), Gesner possibly too sick to object (suggested by Wehner) |
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''Historia animalium'' showed the animals' places in [[history]], [[literature]] and [[art]]. Sections of each chapter detailed the animal and its attributes, in the tradition of the [[emblem book]]. Gessner's work included facts in different languages such as the names of the animals.<ref name=Anzovin/>
== Fantastical creatures ==
There have been various academic studies relating to Gesner's inclusion of some fantastical-looking creatures in the volumes, such as [[sea monk]], [[sea bishop]], or [[ichthyocentaur]].<ref name=hendrikx/><ref name=wehner/>
Gesner was aware of fakery in the curio shops market, where dried rays were manipulated to look like dragons ([[Jenny Hanivers]]).{{sfnp|Gudger|1934|pp=516–517}} There may have also been fake mermaid-like creatures being imported from China by the Dutch.{{sfnp|Gudger|1934|p=512}}
Also, commercial interests may also have motivated publishers or authors such as Gesner to include such creatures to boost sales.<ref name=hendrikx/> But Gesner was known for meticulously checking facts, and it has been suggested that publishers may have interpolated material when Gesner was in no condition to gainsay them, since the author was already morbidly ill by the time of these publications.<ref name=wehner/> In fact there is the example of the Su of Patagonia, posthumously inserted in the 1603 Frankfurt edition.<ref name=wehner/>
==Contents==
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==References==
{{reflist|
<ref name=hendrikx>{{cite journal|ref=harv|last=Hendrikx |first=Sophia |authorlink=<!-- Sophia Hendrikx --> |title=Monstrosities from the Sea. Taxonomy and tradition in Conrad Gessner’s (1516-1565) discussion of cetaceans and sea-monsters |journal=Anthropozoologica |volume=53 |issue=11 |year= |url=http://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/periodiques/anthropozoologica/53/11 |pages=133–134<!--125–137-->}}</ref>
<ref name=wehner>{{cite book|ref=harv|last1=Ursula Wehner |first1=Peggy |author-link1=<!--Ursula Wehner--> |last2=Zierau |first2=Wolfgang |author-link2=<!--Wolfgang Zierau--> |last3=Arditti |first3=Joseph |author-link3=<!--Joseph Arditti--> |title=Germanicus and Plinius Indicus: Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Descriptions and Illustrations of Orchid "Trash Baskets", Resupination, Seeds, Floral Segments and Flower Senescence in the European Botanical Literature in Orchid Biology: Reviews and Perspectives |work=Orchid Biology VIII: Reviews and Perspectives |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kyLtCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |pages=42–44 |isbn=978-9-401-72500-2}}</ref>
}}
== Bibliography ==
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* {{cite book |last=Gmelig-Nijboer |first=Caroline Aleid |title=Conrad Gessner's 'Historia animalium': an inventory of renaissance zoology|publisher=Meppel |year=1977 |isbn=}}
* {{cite book |last=Gessner |first=Conrad |authorlink=Conrad Gessner |title=Curious Woodcuts of Fanciful and Real Beasts - A Selection of 190 Sixteenth-century Woodcuts from Gessner's and Topsell's Natural Histories |publisher=Dover Publications |year=1971 |isbn=04862270-1-4 |display-authors=etal}}
*{{cite journal|ref=harv|last=Gudger |first=E. W. |authorlink=<!-- Eugene Willis Gudger --> |title=Jenny Hanivers, Dragons and Basilisks in the Old Natural History Books and in Modern Times |journal=The Scientific Monthly |volume=38 |issue=6 |year=<!--Jun.-->1934 |pages=511–523}} {{jstor|15490}}
* {{cite book |last=Huxley |first=Robert |title=The Great Naturalists |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-500-25139-3 |display-authors=etal}}
* {{cite book |last=Jardine |first=Secord |title=Cultures of Natural History|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1996 |isbn=0-521-55894-8 |display-authors=etal}}
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