{"id":17,"date":"2023-03-11T14:27:41","date_gmt":"2023-03-11T14:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/?p=17"},"modified":"2023-05-20T16:20:31","modified_gmt":"2023-05-20T16:20:31","slug":"the-historie-of-foure-footed-beastes-and-the-historie-of-serpents-books-of-living-and-fantastic-creatures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/the-historie-of-foure-footed-beastes-and-the-historie-of-serpents-books-of-living-and-fantastic-creatures\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abThe Historie of foure footed beastes\u00bb and \u00abThe Historie of Serpents\u00bb: Books of living (and fantastic) creatures"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last time I worked with lists of words in alphabetical order from another period, I was<\/span> stud<\/span>ying<\/span> Spanish monolingual <\/span>dictionaries from the 18th century<\/span>,<\/span> and what I most enjoyed\u00a0 from th<\/span>em<\/span> at the time <\/span>were the definitions of animals<\/span>, as<\/span> I found them amusing and they made me <\/span>think about how different the notions of<\/span> dictionary <\/span>then and nowadays are<\/span>. In the case of <\/span><\/span>The Historie of foure footed beastes<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/span> what drew me to <\/span>it <\/span>was that it <\/span>seemed\u00a0 like<\/span> an <\/span>antiquity<\/span> contain<\/span>ing<\/span> eye-catching illustrations; <\/span>it <\/span>reminded me of <\/span>my<\/span> ear<\/span>lier experience and <\/span>motivated me<\/span> to <\/span>a closer study of the <\/span>book<\/span>, even though it doesn\u2019t identify itself as a dictionary (the first English dictionary, by Robert Cawdrey, appearing in <\/span>1604, then followed by Samuel Johnson\u2019s <\/span><\/span>A Dictionary of the English Language<\/span><\/span><\/em>, in 1775)<\/span><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

W<\/span>hen reading <\/span>this book<\/span>, the <\/span>overwhelming<\/span> documentation used to write the descriptions of the creatures listed in it leaps out. The book refers to classic texts, provides an exhaustive list of authors and sources consulted, and gives an account of the names of the species<\/span> discussed <\/span>in different languages. It is a book that, for reasons that I later analyze in detail, seems to have been conceived for a didactic purpos<\/span>e<\/span>. Holding it, having it in my hands, is not easy because of its large size (<\/span>22 x 33 x 8 cm. \/ 9 x 13 x 3 inches, approximately<\/span>) and its very poor state of preservation, which makes it a delicate object to handle and observe carefully but which also shows the great use that has been given to it.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>here is no information on the book\u2019s covers nor its spine<\/span> about the title<\/span>. In this case,<\/span> a X<\/span>erox <\/span>of what is believed to be <\/span>the title page\u00a0 gives information about this book, although it may not be this edition.<\/span>\u00a0In the back of the <\/span>print<\/span>, presumably made b<\/span><\/span>y the archivist or <\/span>owner <\/span>of the book, <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Library of Congress<\/span>\u201d<\/span> is<\/span> written down<\/span>, <\/span>specifying <\/span>where<\/span> this<\/span> first page was xeroxed<\/span>. That is to say, this book does not preserve its first title page<\/span>, but furthermore it <\/span>has in its place <\/span>information <\/span>from a book that does not match this one<\/span>. The reason for this affirmation is that,<\/span> i<\/span>n the copy<\/span>, <\/span>only includes the title of the first book of living creatures<\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>The Historie of foure footed beastes<\/span> <\/span><\/em>(<\/span>s<\/span>ee <\/span>Figure<\/span> 1)<\/span>, first<\/span> published in London, in 1607<\/span>, but<\/span> t<\/span>he <\/span>book <\/span>that is <\/span>here being <\/span>described <\/span>includes a second part<\/span>,<\/span> published <\/span>originally <\/span>in 1608, entitled<\/span> <\/span>The Historie of Serpents. Or, The second Booke of living Creatures<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> <\/span>What we know: b<\/span><\/span>oth parts<\/span> wer<\/span>e written by Edward Topsell<\/span>,<\/span> and printed and edited by William Jaggard<\/span>. But what is the title, then, of the copy <\/span>kept <\/span>in <\/span>the <\/span>Archive?<\/span> One option <\/span>is<\/span> that this volume <\/span>could have been <\/span>one of the 1658 copies of <\/span><\/span>History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents<\/span><\/span><\/em>,<\/span> pub<\/span><\/span>lished more than thirty years after Topsell\u2019s death<\/span>, but that volume was<\/span> p<\/span>rinted <\/span>by E. Cotes, for G. Sawbridge<\/span>,<\/span> not by Jaggard. This leads me to think that it is a previous copy of a volume including the two books, maybe as a selling technique <\/span>conjured by the printer, previous to the actual 1658 copy that brought them together after the author\u2019s death.<\/span> <\/span>A<\/span>pparently, Topsell had planned to publish four parts of this histo<\/span><\/span>ry of living creatures, one on four-legged beasts, one on snakes, and later on<\/span>,<\/span> birds and fish. However, <\/span>a<\/span>s<\/span> G. Lewis <\/span>would comment <\/span>on the matter: <\/span>\u00abSigns of hast<\/span><\/span>e, and perhaps of boredom, are evident already in the book on serpents. Despite the fact that Topsell lived on for another twenty years, the intended volumes on birds and fishes never appeared\u00bb<\/span><\/span> (Lewis)<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Figure 1<\/p><\/div>\n

Edward Topsell was notably enough no zoologist, but a clergyman who borrowed and translated from Latin to English mainly Konrad Gesner\u2019s well-known bestiary, <\/span>Historia Animalium<\/span><\/i>, in order to compose these works<\/span>.<\/span><\/i>The collaboration with Gesner would be proved by the fact that Gesner includes an Epistle \u201cTo the Reader\u201d as part of the front matter of Topsell\u2019s text, although it is still a matter to be explored in depth.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Historie of Foure Footed Beastes <\/span><\/i>has a front matter<\/span> consisting of the missing title page, a dedicatory letter to reverend Richard Neile, the letter from Gesner \u201cTo the Reader\u201d, one from Topsell \u201cTo the learned Reader\u201d, a catalogue included by Topsell with all the authors that had previously written about the beasts, a Latin catalogue of the same content, and an \u201cEnglish Table\u201d with the names of every four-footed beast that he knew of (including, interestingly enough, unicorns, of whom he expressed his disbelief but nevertheless importance as a recurrent creature in other texts). The <\/span>Historie of Serpents<\/span><\/i> is separated from its first part of four-footed creatures by two blank sheets. Its front matter consists of a dedicatory letter addressed, once more, to reverend Richard Neile, a letter to the reader by Topsell, a \u201cTable of the severall Serpents, as they are rehearsed and described in this Treatise following\u201d, and the so called \u201cGenerall Treatise of Serpents\u201d, followed by the text in itself (and its questionable \u2013at least from today\u2019s point of view\u2013 idea of serpents; one of them being bees included in the serpent category). In the back matter, there is an \u201cEpilogus Gratulatorius\u201d entirely written in Latin, where Ludovico Leonoro and Thomo Bonhamo are praised, followed by \u201cA table of the names of al the Foure-footed-Serpents\u201d and \u201cA table of all the Latine names of Serpents without legges, as well corrupted as those in use\u201d, meaning that he included the classical Latin terms along with those used in the Vulgar Latin language.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

E. Willoughby is the name that links this particular copy to the Archive, as it was donated to the library by the Willoughby family, <\/span>in memoriam<\/span><\/i>. This information can be found in the front paste-down endpaper which has a stamped card on it. (See Figure 2)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 2<\/p><\/div>\n

Inside the book, illustrations are of great importance (Figures 3, 4), as well as the ornaments at the beginning and at the end of some sections displaying floral and animal motifs (Figures 5, 6), all produced by wood engravings \u2013\u2013the artist of the woodblocks is unknown. In terms of the content of the pages, the book has larger margins on the outer side, and small font in the main text, although it is changeable depending on the section (e.g. \u201c<\/span>OF THE DOG<\/span>\u201d and \u201c<\/span>Of the the biting of a mad Do<\/span><\/i>g<\/span><\/i>\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 3<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Figure 4<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Figure 5<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Figure 6<\/p><\/div>\n

The display or layout of the page is diverse and the illustrations are framed within the text differently every time (Figures 7, 8).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 7<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Figure 8<\/p><\/div>\n

Noteworthy elements can be found reading a regular page from the main text of either book. Such elements are <\/span>catchwords<\/span><\/i> in the end of some initial and ending pages used to ensure that the manuscript would be assembled correctly (Figure 9); letters under the footline of some pages known as <\/span>signatures<\/span><\/i> and meant to serve as indicators of the correct order of sheets when the book is arranged (also see Figure 9); headers indicating different sections in every page; quotation marks placed at the outer margin of the page whenever long <\/span>verbatim<\/span><\/i> citations were included (Figure 10); the names of authors cited and other key words printed at the outer margins too (see also Figure 10), that served presumably as a guide to the reader, maybe another technique meant to facilitate quick referencing, to indicate at a glance where more specific information is located in the text, like the fact that the text is numbered every 10 lines in the center of the page.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 9<\/p><\/div>\n

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Figure 10<\/p><\/div>\n

The entire book seems to have had a very useful life, with numerous stains, signs of aging and deterioration, as well as the negative effects of water stains and brittle, scuffed edges, cracked sides, holes and even ripped pages. (See the following figures 11, 12, 13):<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

The book binding is some sort of thinned leather folded around a piece of hard cardboard that was laced-in, and is separated from the rest of the codex but for one binding chord that kept it from falling apart completely. Most of the leather from the sides and spine is eroded, exposing the pieces on the inside of the binding, as is appreciated in the following images:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Figure 14<\/p><\/div>\n

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Figure 15<\/p><\/div>\n

The pages are of a very thin, fragile paper, whose quality is questionable since it bleeds through and lets us see the text of the <\/span>verso<\/span><\/i> from the <\/span>recto<\/span><\/i> side. It also does not seem to have been taken care of even when it was printed, as I came upon a detail in which the paper has torn and no letters have been printed on that piece (Figure 16).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Signs of use throughout the whole book include marginalia such as scribbled notes, drawn <\/span>manicules<\/span><\/i> that indicate relevant sections for the reader (Figure 17), underlined sections in pen ink, various \u201cX\u201d marking an important line, but also ink stains, pencil marks resulting from having pointed without intending to write anything or to point out a specific point, and clumsily written shapes in pencil that are constantly repeated on the last page of the book. These last ones remind us of a bored child or student repeating the same drawing over and over again in his book (Figure 18).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 16<\/p><\/div>\n

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Figure 17<\/p><\/div>\n

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Figure 18<\/p><\/div>\n

On a final note, there are several inscriptions of a not very readable signature, two of them in the back free endpaper, written in colored ink, that could have been made by the same hand that drew the manicules and the underlined parts in ink in the book (Figure 19), and another two with same ink in the \u201cEpilogus Gratolatorius\u201d (Figure 20). A theory for their existence is that they were part of some kind of testing of the paper\u2019s quality, a seemingly normal practice at the time, as in our time checking the ink of a pen making a doodle in the page would be.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Figure 19<\/p><\/div>\n

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Figure 20<\/p><\/div>\n

Works consulted<\/span> and cited<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

\u201cGlossary of Manuscript Terms.\u201d <\/span>Folgerpedia<\/span><\/i>, https:\/\/folgerpedia.folger.edu\/Glossary_of_manuscript_terms.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Greenfield, Jane. <\/span>ABC OF BOOKBINDING: An Unique Glossary with over 700 Illustrations for Collectors & Librarians<\/span><\/i>. Oak Knoll Press, 1998.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Isaac, Susan. \u201cThe Familiar and the Fantastic: The Historie of Foure-Footed Beastes by Edward Topsell, 1607.\u201d <\/span>Royal College of Surgeons<\/span><\/i>, 16 Mar. 2018, https:\/\/www.rcseng.ac.uk\/library-and-publications\/library\/blog\/the-familiar-and-the-fantastic\/.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lewis, G. \u201cTopsell, Edward (Bap. 1572, d. 1625), Church of England Clergyman and Author.\u201d <\/span>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography<\/span><\/i>, 23 Sept. 2004, https:\/\/www.oxforddnb.com\/display\/10.1093\/ref:odnb\/9780198614128.001.0001\/odnb-9780198614128-e-27557?rskey=5wM8rj&result=1.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mulley, Jessica. \u201cBook Descriptions: Glossary of Terms.\u201d <\/span>BookAddiction<\/span><\/i>, 23 Dec. 2022, https:\/\/bookaddictionuk.wordpress.com\/book-collecting\/book-descriptions-glossary-of-terms\/.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nicholson, James B. <\/span>A Manual of the Art of Bookbinding Containing Full Instructions in the Different Branches of Forwarding, Gilding, and Finishing ; Also the Art of Marbling Book-Edges and Paper ; the Whole Designed for the Practical Workman, the Amateur and the Book-Collector<\/span><\/i>. Henry Carey Baird, 1856.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Poortenaar, Jan, et al. <\/span>The Art of the Book and Its Illustration<\/span><\/i>. Harrap, 1935.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wells, Stanley. \u201cJaggard, William (c. 1568\u20131623), Printer and Bookseller.\u201d <\/span>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography<\/span><\/i>, 23 Sept. 2004, https:\/\/www.oxforddnb.com\/display\/10.1093\/ref:odnb\/9780198614128.001.0001\/odnb-9780198614128-e-37592?rskey=RbFE6I&result=1.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Willoughby, Edwin Elliott. <\/span>A Printer of Shakespeare; the Books and Times of William Jaggard<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>Haskell House, 1970.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last time I worked with lists of words in alphabetical order from another period, I was studying Spanish monolingual dictionaries from the 18th century, and what I most enjoyed\u00a0 from them at the time were the definitions of animals, as I found them amusing and they made me think about how different the notions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4944,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-introadoptbook","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4944"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/historyofthebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}