Buch der Natur [Book of Nature] (page 2/2)

Page 67. Heaven and Earth.

Heaven, Earth, and intermediate spheres (or layers) of the skies. The moon looks depressed. [more...]

Page 113. Four Footed Beasts.

Cow and camel, Elk and Elephant (or is that a unicorn on the right?), lion and horse, rabbit and hound! [more...]

Page 151. Birds of the Air.

Eagle and duck, peacock and rooster, jackdaw and goose! (what else?)

The page has only this illustration, no text.

Strange and Fantastical Creatures

I cannot read the text (it’s in mediæval German), so these descriptions are arbitrary; I’d welcome better descriptions. [more...]

Winged Mermaid from p. 199 recto

A fifteenth-century drawing of a mermaid with wings (and breast) taken from fol. 199r of a (somewhat dubious) textbook on natural history. [more...]

Page 395. Herodotus people

A fire in the background, with smoke; a woman in mediaeval dress drinks a cup of coffee froma styofoam cup; nine naked people wander around. These are the people described by the “historian” Herodotus, such asthe people withfeet pointing backwards, or with six arms, or two heads, or no head or [...] [more...]