Witches in Sixteenth-Century Germany: The belief in witches, what they were accused of and why 'The witch trials demonstrated fear of the power of women’s sexuality. The female witch was understood to be a product of woman’s excessive carnal lust who were affiliated with fornication and orgies with the Devil. This made them more susceptible… Continue reading Halloween Compilation 2022
Category: cannibalism
Imagining the New World: Representations of Cannibalistic Cynocephali in Lorenz Fries’ Uslegung der Mercarthen oder Carta Marina
Keywords: New World, cynocephali, Native Americans, Cannibalism, Lorenz Fries With the discovery of the Americas, there was a natural decline in the interest in monstrous races, as that was superseded by the interest in real marvels of the New World. However, the legacy of the monstrous races persisted to the mid-sixteenth century. After the discovery… Continue reading Imagining the New World: Representations of Cannibalistic Cynocephali in Lorenz Fries’ Uslegung der Mercarthen oder Carta Marina
Child Murderers within the wider Visual Culture of Infanticide and Cannibalism
Keywords: Der Kinderfresser, Wild Man, Witchcraft, Midwives, Cannibalism This Christmas, did your children make it to the naughty or nice list? The image of sixteenth-century Der Kinderfresser (‘the child eater’) is not dissimilar to the modern idea of Santa with large belly, large belt over a long coat, and large black boots, carrying a large… Continue reading Child Murderers within the wider Visual Culture of Infanticide and Cannibalism
Myth-Making in Cannibalistic Portrayals of Native Americans
Keywords: Cannibalism, Native Americans, Hans Staden, Theodor de Bry, William Arens In sixteenth-century prints, Native Americans were depicted in scenes of cannibalism with hanging body parts or in the act of cooking human flesh. Europeans were already preconditioned to associate the foreign Other with man-eaters when exploration shifted to the New World. Native Americans became… Continue reading Myth-Making in Cannibalistic Portrayals of Native Americans
Cynocephali in the Caribbean: An English Translation
Translation of Lorenz Fries, Uselegung der mercarthen oder carta marina, Strasbourg: Johannes Grieninger, 1525, leaf XVI Unknown Artist, ‘Cannibals on the Caribbean Island’, in Lorenz Fries, Uslegung der Mercarthen oder Carta Marina, Strasbourg: Johannes Grüninger 1525, leaf XVI,Woodcut, handcolouring, 10.5 x 14.4 cm,Rhode Island, Archive of Early American Images, The John Carter Brown Library, Brown University. ©John… Continue reading Cynocephali in the Caribbean: An English Translation
Dana K Rehn 