Description
De Monstris. Ex recensione Gerardi Blasii, M.D. & P.P. Qui Monstra quaedam nova & rariora ex recentiorum scriptis additit. Editio novissimia. Iconibus illustrata.
Amstelodami, Sumptibus Andreae Frisii, 1665
Small quarto, leaves [9] incl. engraved antiporta, pages 316-[26]; Bound in contemporary Dutch stiff vellum.
Emblematic antiporta, title vignette, and 73 copperplates in text. (expect for the last plate hors text).
Comments:
Second illustrated edition, enlarged.
In 1616, in Padua, Italy, Fortunio Liceti, a professor of natural philosophy and medicine, published De Monstruorum Causis, Natura et Differentiis (On the Causes, Nature, and Differences of Monsters). In this work, Liceti compiled a chronological record of human and animal monstrosities from ancient times through the seventeenth century. During this period, many believed these monsters to be terrifying signs of evil, cursed by supernatural forces. However, Liceti did not fully subscribe to these beliefs. Instead, he classified monsters according to their possible causes, many of which he argued were not supernatural.
The first edition of De Monstruorum, which was not illustrated, divided monsters into two main categories: uniform and non-uniform monsters. Uniform monsters were those of a single species or sex, and these were further divided into six categories. The first category, “deficient,” referred to those lacking limbs. The second, “excessive,” included creatures with extra body parts, such as two heads. The third category, “two-natured,” described beings that were both deficient and excessive. The fourth, “double,” referred to conjoined twins. The fifth, “unformed,” included infants with detached or malformed limbs. Lastly, the sixth category, “extraordinary,” covered individuals with unusual features like excessive hair or abnormal coloration.
Non-uniform monsters were the second main category, encompassing creatures that had parts from different species or sexes. These included hybrids, such as man-animal and human-demon hybrids, as well as intersex individuals, later known as hermaphrodites.
In addition to classifying these creatures, Liceti speculated about their possible causes. Rather than attributing them solely to the supernatural, he suggested that biological factors could be involved. These included weak semen, pressure on the uterus, and hereditary illness—a medieval belief that deformities in a parent’s lifetime could be inherited by their offspring. Liceti also invoked “Nature,” an Aristotelian concept, suggesting that imperfect or insufficient matter during creation could result in monstrous forms. He likened Nature to an artist who creates something extraordinary from imperfect materials.
Historians note that after the publication of De Monstruorum, many individuals brought cases of monstrous births to Liceti for his expert opinion. For instance, in 1622, a physician from Genoa sent Liceti a report on conjoined twins born in the area. Liceti replied with possible explanations for the condition and speculated that the twins might live long lives.
In 1634, Liceti released a second edition of De Monstruorum in Padua, featuring the same text but with over seventy copper engravings by artist Giovanni Battista Bissoni. Many of these engravings were inspired by works of earlier authors like physician Ambroise Paré and philosopher Lycosthenes. The second edition included images of both mythical creatures and infants with medically recognizable birth defects. Among the mythical depictions were two-headed snakes, mermaids, goose-human hybrids, and centaurs. However, some illustrations depicted conditions like cleft lip, diprosopus (a duplication of facial features), and cyclopia (a single eye with two pupils and no eyelid), which were identified by medical historians as birth defects.
In 1665, Gerardus Leonardus Blasius, a professor of medicine in Amsterdam, published a third illustrated edition. This edition included a preface and an appendix discussing famous monsters that became known after Liceti’s first two editions. One of the illustrations featured a man, possibly Liceti himself, pulling back a curtain to reveal a stage populated by various monsters, including a woman with five breasts.
Liceti’s work contributed significantly to public awareness of anatomical defects, especially those associated with birth, and legitimized the study of monsters, encouraging scholars to explore their causes. Medical historians believe that Liceti’s classification of birth defects in De Monstruorum helped establish investigative methods for the study of teratology (the study of birth defects) in later centuries.
Bibliography:
- Bates, Alan. “The De Monstrorum (On Monsters) of Fortunio Liceti: A Landmark of Descriptive Teratology.” Journal of Medical Biography 9 (2001): 49–54.
- Cheng, Sandra. “The Cult of the Monstrous: Caricature, Physiognomy, and Monsters in Early Modern Italy.” Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural 1 (2012): 197–231. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/485148/pdf (Accessed February 21, 2025).
- Findlen, Paula. Possessing Nature Museums, Collecting, and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
- Lazzarini, Elena. “Wonderful Creatures: Early Modern Perceptions of Deformed Bodies.” Oxford Art Journal 34 (2011): 415–31. https://academic.oup.com/oaj/article/34/3/415/1568297 (Accessed February 21, 2025).
