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Sea Bishop
The sea bishop or bishop-fish was a type of sea monster reported in the 16th century. According to legend, it was taken to the King of Poland, who wished to keep it. It was also shown to a group of Catholic bishops, to whom the bishop-fish gestured, appealing to be released. They granted its wish, at which point it made the sign of the cross and disappeared into the sea. Another was supposedly captured in the ocean near Germany in 1531. It refused to eat and died after three days. It was described and pictured in the fourth volume of Conrad Gesner's famous '' Historiae animalium, published in 1551 – 58 and 1587. Cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans believed the report was based on the discovery of a large mutilated Grimaldi scaled squid.Heuvelmans Bernard (2003). ''The Kraken and the Colossal Octopus: In the Wake of Sea-Monsters''. London: Kegan Paul International. 2003. pp. 230-231. See also * Oannes (mythology) * Jenny Haniver * Sea monk The sea monk (also monk-fish or mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merman
Mermen, the male counterparts of the mythical female mermaids, are legendary creatures, which are male human from the waist up and fish-like from the waist down, but may assume normal human shape. Sometimes they are described as hideous and other times as handsome. Antiquity Perhaps the first recorded merman was the Assyrian-Babylonian sea-god Ea (called Enki by the Sumerians), linked to the figure known to the Greeks as Oannes. However, while some popular writers have equated Oannes of the Greek period to the god Ea (and to Dagon), Oannes was rather one of the ''apkallu'' servants to Ea. The ''apkallu'' have been described as "fish-men" in cuneiform texts, and if Berossus is to be believed, Oannes was indeed a being possessed of a fish head and man's head beneath, and both a fish tail and manlike legs. But Berossus was writing much later during the era of Greek rule, engaging in the "construction" of the past. Thus even though figurines have been unearth to corroborate this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernard Heuvelmans
Bernard Heuvelmans (10 October 1916 – 22 August 2001) was a Belgian- French scientist, explorer, researcher, and writer probably best known, along with Scottish-American biologist Ivan T. Sanderson, as a founding figure in the pseudoscience and subculture of cryptozoology. His 1958 book ''On the Track of Unknown Animals'' (originally published in French in 1955 as ''Sur la Piste des Bêtes Ignorées'') is often regarded as one of the most influential cryptozoology texts. Life Heuvelmans was born on 10 October 1916 in Le Havre, France, and raised in Belgium and earned a doctorate in zoology from the Free University of Brussels (now split into the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel). Heuvelmans was a pupil of Serge Frechkop, a proponent of the Theory of Initial Bipedalism. In 1939, his doctoral dissertation concerned the teeth of the aardvark. During World War II he had escaped from a Nazi prison camp and later worked as a jazz singer in Paris.M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Legendary Creatures
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term ''mashiach'' (מָשִׁיחַ) (usually rendered as ''messiah'' in English). While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term ''Christian'' used as an adjective is descriptive of anything associated with Christianity or Christian churches, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." It does not have a meaning of 'of Christ' or 'related or pertaining to Christ'. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Ameri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Monsters
Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water. The definition of a "monster" is subjective; further, some sea monsters may have been based on scientifically accepted creatures, such as whales and types of giant and colossal squid. Sightings and legends Sea monster accounts are found in virtually all cultures that have contact with the sea. For example, Avienius relates of Carthaginian explorer Himilco's voyage "...there monsters of the deep, and beasts swim amid the slow and sluggishly crawling ships." (lines 117–29 of ''Ora Maritima''). Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed to have encountered a lion-like monster with "glaring eyes" on his return voyage after formally claiming St. John's, Newfoundland (1583) for England. Another ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Monk
The sea monk (also monk-fish or monkfish) was a sea creature found off the eastern coast of the Danish island of Zealand in 1546. It was described as a "fish" that outwardly resembled a human monk in his habit. A 2005 paper concluded that the animal was most likely an angelshark. Names The creature was called "monk fish" ( la, ) by Belon (1553), and ' ("fish earingthe habit of a monk") by Rondelet (1554). The name "sea monk" (') was applied to it by Gesner (1558), and Joannes Sluperius (1572; la, ; french: ) as well. History The alleged sea monk was captured at sea between Denmark's Zealand and Sweden, in the strait Øresund, probably in 1546. Christian III of Denmark sent an illustration of it to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The creature is recorded in Vedel's ''Den danske Krønicke'' (1575) as measuring 4 ells long. It was either caught in a herring net, or stranded, depending on the source. 16th century natural history The capture of the sea-monk is dated t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jenny Haniver
A Jenny Haniver is the carcass of a ray or a skate that has been modified by hand then dried, resulting in a mummified specimen intended to resemble a fanciful fictional creature, such as a demon or dragon. Name One suggestion for the origin of the term was the French phrase ("youth of Antwerp"). British sailors "cockneyed" this description into the personal name "Jenny Haniver". History Jenny Hanivers have been created to look like devils, angels and dragons. Some writers have suggested the sea monk may have been a Jenny Haniver. The earliest known picture of Jenny Haniver appeared in Konrad Gesner's ''Historia Animalium vol. IV'' in 1558. Gesner warned that these were merely disfigured rays and should not be believed to be miniature dragons or monsters, which was a popular misconception at the time. The most common misconception was that Jenny Hanivers were basilisks. As basilisks were creatures that killed with merely a glance, no one could claim to know what one looks li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oannes (mythology)
Apkallu (Akkadian) and Abgal ( Sumerian: ) are terms found in cuneiform inscriptions that in general mean either "wise" or "sage". In several contexts the ''Apkallu'' are seven demi-gods, sometimes described as part man and part fish, associated with human wisdom; these creatures are often referred to in scholarly literature as the ''Seven Sages''. Sometimes the sages are associated with a specific primeval king. After the deluge (see ''Epic of Gilgamesh''), further sages and kings are listed. Post-deluge, the sages are considered human, and in some texts are distinguished by being referred to as ''Ummanu'', not ''Apkallu''. The terms ''Apkallu'' (as well as ''Abgal'') is also used as an epithet for kings and gods as a mark of wisdom or knowledge. A further use of the term ''Apkallu'' is when referring to figurines used in apotropaic rituals; these figurines include fish-man hybrids representing the seven sages, but also include bird-headed and other figures. In a later work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lepidoteuthis Grimaldii
''Lepidoteuthis grimaldii'', also known as the Grimaldi scaled squid, is a large squid growing to 1 m in mantle length. It is named after the Grimaldi family, reigning house of Monaco. Prince Albert I of Monaco was an amateur teuthologist who pioneered the study of deep sea squids by collecting the 'precious regurgitations' of sperm whales. The Grimaldi scaled squid was first collected from the stomach contents of a sperm whale.Albert 1er of Monaco. "Notes sur un Cachalot." ''Bulletin du Muséum d’histoire naturelle'' 1895, no. 8. It is a widely distributed species in tropical and subtropical areas of the North and South Atlantic, the southern Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, where it has been recorded off Japan and in the west Pacific. File:LepidoJoubin2.jpg, Syntype (86 cm ML) File:Lepidoteuthis grimaldii scales.jpg, Closeup of the mantle scales File:Lepidoteuthis grimaldii gladius.jpg, Gladius See also *Cephalopod size Cephalopods vary enormously in si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historiae Animalium (Gesner)
''Historia animalium'' ("History of the Animals"), published at Zurich in 1551–1558 and 1587, is an encyclopedic "inventory of renaissance zoology" by Conrad Gessner (1516–1565). Gessner was a medical doctor and professor at the Carolinum in Zürich, the precursor of the University of Zurich. The ''Historia animalium'', after Aristotle's work of the same name. is the first modern zoological work that attempts to describe all the animals known, and the first bibliography of natural history writings. The five volumes of natural history of animals cover more than 4500 pages. Overview The ''Historia animalium'' was Gessner's magnum opus, and was the most widely read of all the Renaissance natural histories. The generously illustrated work was so popular that Gessner's abridgement, ''Thierbuch'' ("Animal Book"), was published in Zurich in 1563, and in England Edward Topsell translated and condensed it as a ''Historie of foure-footed beastes'' (London: William Jaggard, 1607). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Monster
Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water. The definition of a "monster" is subjective; further, some sea monsters may have been based on scientifically accepted creatures, such as whales and types of giant and colossal squid. Sightings and legends Sea monster accounts are found in virtually all cultures that have contact with the sea. For example, Avienius relates of Carthaginian explorer Himilco's voyage "...there monsters of the deep, and beasts swim amid the slow and sluggishly crawling ships." (lines 117–29 of ''Ora Maritima''). Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed to have encountered a lion-like monster with "glaring eyes" on his return voyage after formally claiming St. John's, Newfoundland (1583) for England. Another ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conrad Gesner
Conrad Gessner (; la, Conradus Gesnerus 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his talents and supported him through university, where he studied classical languages, theology and medicine. He became Zürich's city physician, but was able to spend much of his time on collecting, research and writing. Gessner compiled monumental works on bibliography (''Bibliotheca universalis'' 1545–1549) and zoology (''Historia animalium'' 1551–1558) and was working on a major botanical text at the time of his death from plague at the age of 49. He is regarded as the father of modern scientific bibliography, zoology and botany. He was frequently the first to describe species of plants or animals in Europe, such as the tulip in 1559. A number of plants and animals have been named after him. Life Conrad Gessner was born on 26 March 1516, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south; it covers an area of , with a population of almost 84 million within its 16 constituent states. Germany borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. In 962, the Kingdom of Germany formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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