Abstract
Sereias e manatins, assim como as representações híbridas destes seres marinhos, representam um bom caso de estudo para debater a construção de uma história natural do exótico no período moderno, assim como a evolução do conhecimento produzido e atores envolvidos. Tendo por base fontes escritas e visuais, é aqui discutida a produção e circulação de conhecimento natural sobre as sereias antigas e modernas, em comparação com as novas informações obtidas no Atlântico sobre manatins, e a sua inclusão na história natural Europeia. Este tipo de informação torna ainda possível discutir a relevância e persistência de certos mitos e de vários tipos de monstros marinhos. Assim, é apresentada uma cronologia dos autores que contribuíram para a construção deste tipo de conhecimento do mundo natural, desde humanistas, cartógrafos e naturalistas Europeus passando por missionários, colonizadores e viajantes do Atlântico. Estes últimos observaram em primeira mão uma abundância e novidade que transmitiram na forma de mapas, registos, cartas, manuscritos e livros, quase sempre em línguas vernaculares, os quais não entraram nos circuitos centrais da Europa letrada sobre história natural nos séculos XVI, XVII e nos que se se seguiram.
Mermaids, manatees, and hybrid representations of both marine beings, offer a case for debating the construction of an early modern history of exotic natural history, knowledge evolution and key actors involved. Based on written and visual sources, production, circulation and interconnections of well-established knowledge on mermaids as real elements of the old and new natural marine world, in comparison to the slow development of natural knowledge related to manatees in Europe, will be discussed. Also, a discussion on the relevance and persistence of monsters from the sea, during early modern Europe and Atlantic will be conducted. This will allow to establish a chronologic representation and understanding of this natural knowledge created by authors ranging from European writers, naturalists and cartographers to Atlantic travellers, settlers and missionaries. The novelty and abundance these latter witnessed was shared through maps, logbooks, letters, manuscripts and printed publications, mostly in vernacular languages, but did not make its way into central routes of European natural knowledge production and exchange in the 16th and 17th centuries and beyond.
Mermaids, manatees, and hybrid representations of both marine beings, offer a case for debating the construction of an early modern history of exotic natural history, knowledge evolution and key actors involved. Based on written and visual sources, production, circulation and interconnections of well-established knowledge on mermaids as real elements of the old and new natural marine world, in comparison to the slow development of natural knowledge related to manatees in Europe, will be discussed. Also, a discussion on the relevance and persistence of monsters from the sea, during early modern Europe and Atlantic will be conducted. This will allow to establish a chronologic representation and understanding of this natural knowledge created by authors ranging from European writers, naturalists and cartographers to Atlantic travellers, settlers and missionaries. The novelty and abundance these latter witnessed was shared through maps, logbooks, letters, manuscripts and printed publications, mostly in vernacular languages, but did not make its way into central routes of European natural knowledge production and exchange in the 16th and 17th centuries and beyond.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Cross-cultural Exchange and the Circulation of Knowledge in the First Global Age |
Editors | Amélia Polónia, Fabiano Bracht, Gisele C. Conceição, Monique Palma |
Place of Publication | Porto |
Publisher | Afrontamento | Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar “Cultura, Espaço e Memória” (CITCEM) - Universidade do Porto |
Pages | 106-132 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Volume | 1 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-989-8351-88-3, 978-972-36-1635-4 |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- History of natural history
- Atlantic history
- Early Modern Age
- Marine mammals
- Manatees
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Connected margins and disconnected knowledge: Exotic marine mammals in the making of early modern European natural history'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Prizes
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Cow-fish, ngulu-maza or iguaragua? Local and global knowledge production, changing perceptions and practices on marine animals in the Atlantic, 1419-1758
Brito, Cristina (Recipient), 2016
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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John Carter Brown Library at Brown University (Gulbenkian Fellowship)
Brito, Cristina (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively