“Cynocephali” from Reysen und Wanderschafften durch das Gelobte Land (Travels and Wanderings Through the Promised Land)
Strasbourg: Johann Prüss, 1483
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Spencer Collection
“Cynocephali” from Reysen und Wanderschafften durch das Gelobte Land (Travels and Wanderings Through the Promised Land)
This early description of a journey to the East, which acquired widespread fame under the name of John Mandeville, was actually compiled by an anonymous author writing at some point in the middle of the 14th century. Composed as a sort of travel memoir, the fabricated story purports to be the firsthand account of John Mandeville, a knight from St. Albans in the south of England, who in 1332 set off on a journey to the Holy Land and then traveled on to Asia and Africa. Among his many encounters was this one with the so-called cynocephali, humanoid beings he described as combining qualities of men and dogs. The German edition featured here is among the first printed examples of the text.
: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Spencer …
Currently on View at Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
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