Tag: John Mandeville

Ox-worshipping Cynocephali in Mandeville’s Travels: Christian Conversion of Pagan Heathens

Dana RehnLeave a comment

Keywords: Cynocephali, John Mandeville, Ox-worship, Christian conversion, St. Christopher The cynocephali depicted in Otto von Diemeringen’s German translations of late-fifteenth century editions of John Mandeville's Travels mirror Christian practices of worship. Not only do they kneel before their god, like Christians, but one cynocephalus in a Strasbourg 1499 edition was portrayed clasping his hands in… Continue reading Ox-worshipping Cynocephali in Mandeville’s Travels: Christian Conversion of Pagan Heathens

The Dog-Headed Cannibals of John Mandeville’s Travels

Dana RehnLeave a comment

Keywords: Cynocephali, Monstrous Races, Cannibalism, John Mandeville, Age of Discovery Depictions of man-eating cynocephali appear in late-fifteenth-century German printed editions of John Mandeville’s Travels, embedded in the texts of a 1481 Basel edition and a copy in a 1499 Strasbourg edition. In the Basel edition, a cynocephalus is depicted on his hands and knees biting… Continue reading The Dog-Headed Cannibals of John Mandeville’s Travels