#panotii

“... monstrous races were viewed alternatively as human and nonhuman.... They might live in societies, often cultivating valuable commodities (notably spices), but they were marked off by their form and by nakedness... and muteness. Yet they too were portrayed in an indeterminate manner that played with human and nonhuman imagery. There are certain well-known examples of their being accepted as human beings. At the entrance to the nave of the basilica of Vézelay, the tympanum sculpture shows apostles sent out to the farthest reaches of the earth where the Pygmies, Cynocephali, and long-eared people dwell. These strange nations are still sufficiently human to receive the Word of God.”

« Parler ce n’est pas en même temps écouter ; parler est avant tout écouter. » Martin Heidegger, Acheminement vers la parole, 1959.

(Illustration : les panotii - linteau du tympan du narthex - basilique de Vézelay - XIIe s)

Lionel Faivre Hypnothérapeute

Sur rendez-vous Tel : 06 56 83 57 10

3, rue Jules Vallès - Belfort

https://www.facebook.com/hypnose.belfort

Fantastical Creatures in The Marvels of the East

Those who consider medieval manuscripts as dull are probably unfamiliar with medieval texts that refer to the Orient. The ninth-century copy of The Marvels of the East in the famous Beowulf manuscript (British Library, Cotton MS Vitellius A XV) is probably the best known early text about the Orient. The text reveals the belief in the existence of monstrous races during the Middle Ages and draws upon ancient Greek and Roman traditions of writing on exotic inhabitants of foreign lands. It jumps from marvels in Africa to those in Asia and back again, and describes all kinds of creatures with physical deformities. Some creatures were believed to be gigantic while others were believed to be half-human, half-animal.

One of these creatures is the panotii (f. 104r). The panotii had a large head and ears like fans, almost like the little elephant Dumbo on two feet. It was said that at night, the panotii would spread one ear beneath it and wrap itself with the other to stay warm, and if it saw anyone it took its ears in its hands and fled. The Marvels of the East is full of these entertaining descriptions of strange creatures. Thus, medieval manuscripts are not dull at all!

Look at this and don't laugh. I dare you.