Sea monk

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The sea monk in Robert Chambers' Book of Days from 1863/1864. The illustration corresponds to that in François Deserps' costume book from 1562

The sea ​​monk is a fictional animal that is described in various medieval and early modern animal books. It is first mentioned around 1200 by Alexander Neckam . As a result, various sightings of the sea monk were documented, among other things, a copy is said to have been sent to the King of Denmark around 1550. Images of the sea monk can be found in various works from the 16th century, for example in Conrad Gessner's fish book. In modern times attempts were made to interpret the sightings of the sea monks by confusing them with other animals. Japetus Steenstrup interpreted it as an octopus in 1855 ; more recent interpretations are based on monkfish , sea ​​angels or seals , for example .

Lore history

Sea monk in Conrad Gessner's fish book.

The sea monk is first mentioned at the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century in Alexander Neckam's De Naturis Rerum , in which it says in the chapter on strange fish that “other fish remind of monks”. Albertus Magnus gave a more precise description in De animalibus , he also mentioned sightings in the British sea for the first time. Albert's student Thomas von Cantimpré included the sea monk in his Liber de natura rerum .

In the German-speaking world, the sea monk is mentioned for the first time by Konrad von Megenberg in his book of nature , a translation of the Liber de natura rerum . He is listed here alongside numerous other "sea wonders" such as the sea ​​dragon or the sea cattle . According to Megenberg, the sea monk's head resembles a monk's tonsure , but it has a fish-like nose and a non-human face. The sea monks have the peculiarity of attracting people by jumping and playing, but then pulling them under the water and eating. According to Monika Schmitz-Emans, the sea wonders described by Megenberg are at the same time allegories of human attitudes, character traits or occupations, the sea monk is therefore a parable of the blender who lures people into disaster under the pretense of false piety.

In the Middle Ages and early modern times, isolated sightings of sea monks have been described. In 1187 one was caught near Suffolk and, according to legend, was held in a castle for six months. However, he took advantage of an opportunity to jump into the sea and escape. There were other alleged sightings on the Norwegian coast and in the open water of the North Sea .

In the middle of the 16th century, King Christian III sent from Denmark Drawings of a strange marine animal that was caught in Øresund to Emperor Charles V. Numerous illustrations of the sea monk in various animal books are probably based on these drawings. Japetus Steenstrup lists a total of eight mentions for this period, including in the fish books by Pierre Belon and Guillaume Rondelet and in Conrad Gessner's fish book (1558). At Gessner the sea monk was described together with the sea ​​bishop and provided with illustrations. Gessner also lists other mythical creatures such as the phoenix or the unicorn in his books ; he usually leaves their existence open. He counts the sightings of the sea monk with critical distancing.

In the fish book the sea monk is shown with a human-like face and clothes made from scales reminiscent of Catholic monks. As with the medieval descriptions of Megenberg, his head is tonsured . Shortly after Gessner's fish book, the sea monk - again together with the sea bishop - appeared again in François Deserps' costume book ( Le recueil de la diversité des habits qui sont de present en usage dans les pays d'Europe, Asie, Afrique et les sauvages , 1562) pictured. Here the figure looks squat, the face has a grimaceous, shark-like grin, and the clothes look more human-like than Gessner's. According to Pommeranz, these changes could be anti-Catholic motivated, similar to Lucas Cranach's depictions of the Pope's donkey and monk's calf .

Even after the 16th century, the sea monk was described several times in books and, because of the high reputation of early modern scientists, was considered to be a real living being, including in Gaspar Schott's Physica Curiosa (1697) or in Robert Chambers' Book of Days (1863 / 64). In 1855 Steenstrup tried for the first time to scientifically explain the sightings of the sea monk by mistaking it for an octopus.

Possible scientific interpretations

Steenstrup interpreted the sea monk as an octopus in 1855. According to him, both the traditional body shape of the sea monk and other details would roughly match that of an octopus. He interpreted the color of the head, reminiscent of a tonsure, as an ink bag . Even if this interpretation is still widely accepted, other animals were taken as candidates to the game in recent times, among other types of sea devil , who is also in English as monkfish is called. Also known as monkfish and often confused with the anglerfish is the sea angel , which looks remotely similar to a monk and would correspond better to the described size of the sea monk than the squid typical of the North Atlantic. Another possibility would be seals , which often also resemble monks and are common in the North Atlantic. Dried and prepared rays ( Jenny Haniver ), which are often designed like mythical creatures, could also be mistaken for dead sea monks, but this is no explanation for specimens sighted alive. A clear explanation of the phenomenon of the sea monk cannot be given in view of the sparse tradition.

literature

  • CGM Paxton and R. Holland: What Steenstrup Right? A new interpretation of the 16th century sea monk of the Øresund. , in: Steenstrupia 29 (1), 2005. pp. 39-47.
  • Johannes Pommeranz: The animal book by Conrad Gesner , in: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Georg Ulrich Großmann and Christine Kupper (eds.): From the view of animals (= cultural-historical walks in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, volume 11) . Germanisches Nationalmuseum Abt. Verlag, Nuremberg 2009, pp. 58–70.

Web links

Commons : Sea Monk  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Monachum repræsentat piscis alius. In: Alexander Neckam: De naturis rerum. II, 25 De monstruosis piscibus. ( online  - Internet Archive ).
  2. ^ Albertus Magnus: De animalibus libri XXVI rerum. XXIV, I, 85 Monachus maris. ( online  - Internet Archive ).
  3. ↑ a b c d C. GM Paxton and R. Holland: Was Steenstrup Right? A new interpretation of the 16th century sea monk of the Øresund. In: Steenstrupia 29 (1), 2005. pp. 39-47.
  4. ^ Franz Pfeiffer: The book of nature by Konrad von Megenberg. The first natural history in German. Stuttgart 1861 (reprint 1962, Faks. G. Olms, Hildesheim-New York 1971, 1994), p. 239 Bayerische Staatsbibliothek .
  5. ↑ Monika Schmitz-Emans: Sea depths and soul depths: literary reflections of inner and outer strangers (= Saarbrücker contributions to comparative literary and cultural studies ). Königshausen u. Neumann, Würzburg 2003, p. 53.
  6. ^ Johann-Daniel Herholdt: Description of 6 human freaks with 14 painted coppers. Along with an appendix on medical superstition. Bing'sche Schulbuchhandlung, Copenhagen 1830, pp. 83–85.
  7. ↑ Conrad Gessner: Fischbuoch. Zurich 1563, fol. 105. "This Meermünch should be shown in three places / be caught in three places."
  8. ^ A b Johannes Pommeranz: The animal book by Conrad Gesner. In: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Georg Ulrich Großmann and Christine Kupper (eds.): From the view of the animals (= cultural-historical walks in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. 11). Germanisches Nationalmuseum Abt. Verlag, Nuremberg 2009, pp. 58–70.
  9. ↑ JJS Steenstrup: Om den i Kong Christian IIIs tid i Øresundet catches Havmund (Sømunken kaldet). In: Dansk Maanedsskrift. 1, 1855, pp. 63-96 ( babel.hathitrust.org ).