1 Introduction
The Swiss scholar Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn (1531–1596) began to write about the natural history of Portugal in 1555, when he stayed in Lisbon as a guest of the royal chronicler and humanist Damião de Góis (1502–1574). Thurneysser’s report is recorded in a manuscript, consisting of more than 300 pages with descriptions of plants and animals, which also includes other information, which he collected during his sojourn in Lisbon. Thirty-two folios of the manuscript deal mainly with fishes, mammals, crustaceans and molluscs.1
2 Who Was Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn
Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn [Fig. 5.1] was born on 22 July 1531 in Basel, the son of a goldsmith and was baptized in the Lutheran church.2 As an apprentice in his father’s shop, he developed an early interest in mineralogy and metallurgy. At the same time, he served as attendant for the professor of medicine Johannes Huber (1507–1571), collecting herbs and preparing medicines. On this occasion he became acquainted with the writings of the philosopher Paracelsus (Theophrastus von Hohenheim, 1493–1541), that influenced him profoundly throughout his life. From 1547 onward he undertook many travels, including a voyage to Lisbon in 1555; here he began to study the natural history of Portugal until his return home in 1556. In 1559 he started to work as a metallurgist in Tarrenz (Tyrol) and became owner of a mine. He became more and more well known as an apothecary, alchemist, astrologist and healer, drawing his wisdom from the experience he gained and observations that he made during his travels to many different countries. In spite of not having ever set foot into a university, his expertise in pharmacy, chemistry, metallurgy, botany, mathematics, astronomy and medicine was recognized by wealthy patricians and princes, such as Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria and Imperial Count of Tyrol (1529–1595) and his wife Philippine Welser (1527–1580) who came from a very wealthy family of Augsburg merchants and patricians. In 1561 Welser commissioned him to travel to many countries, including the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and the Orient in order to collect minerals, plants and recipes for her curiosity cabinet. This included probably also a second trip to Portugal in 1562. As a result of his first voyage to Lisbon, Thurneysser wrote about his observations of the nature in Portugal, including a chapter on aquatilia,3 and other information gathered, recorded in a manuscript, which was never published. In 1571 he moved to Berlin as the personal physician of John George, Elector of Brandenburg (1525–1598), who allowed him to use as his home, library and laboratory, as well as for his printing company, some buildings of a former Franciscan monastery, which later became known as the Grey Abbey. He became very wealthy by selling medicine of his own creation, as well as astrological calendars, horoscopes and talismans for protection against evil. He authored 39 books on a vast variety of subjects covering alchemy, astrology, hydrology, uroscopy, as well as multilingual glossaries, replies to defamations and many almanacs, as well as a book on herbs and their curative powers.4 He also created a curiosity cabinet, a botanical garden and kept exotic animals.5 Due to inheritance disputes he became unable to pay his debts and left Berlin 1584 for good and was baptized in the Catholic Church. He died impoverished in Cologne and was buried there 1596 in the Dominican Monastery of Albertus Magnus.6
Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn (1531–1596). Reproduced from Thurneysser Leonhardt, Historia unnd Beschreibungen influentischer, elementischer und natürlicher Wirkungen aller heimischen und fremden Erdgewächssen, 2nd edition (Cölln/Berlin, Johannes Gymnium: 1587)
Courtesy Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
3 Thurneysser’s Travels to Lisbon
Thurneysser’s burning curiosity for nature was certainly the main driving force for his many travels. During Spring 1555, Thurneysser was still working as a goldsmith and woodcut printer consecutively in Strasburg and Nurnberg. His arrival in Lisbon as early as solstice of the same year, as stated on the front page of his manuscript, would have only been possible if he travelled by sea from Antwerp, the main route of trade between Germany and Lisbon. The land route would have taken too long. Twice every year a convoy used to sail from the Portuguese factory in Antwerp to Lisbon, the first one departing by the end of May or early June, which took about two weeks to arrive in Lisbon in time for the midyear solstice.
After the closure of the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1549, the connection was continued mainly by vessels of the Hanseatic League.7 In 1555, contemporaneously with the arrival of Thurneysser in Lisbon, an emissary of the senate of the Hanseatic city of Danzig, Heinrich Giese also arrived in Lisbon; there he is believed8 to have met Damião de Góis [Fig. 5.2], Thurneysser’s host. The existence of an acquaintance between Thurneysser and Giese offers a plausible explanation for a number of details in Thurneysser’s manuscript, which were written in a way as to capture the attention of readers in Danzig. This points to the possibility of the merchants of Danzig having sponsored the voyage of Thurneysser. The important trade in salt from Portugal and timber and grain from Danzig going back to the Middle Ages had been boosted by the Portuguese overseas expansion movement with the purchase of Indian spices by Danzig merchants. This underpins the hypothesis that the first voyage to Lisbon of Thurneysser had been sponsored by commercial interests in Danzig. As noted earlier, the second trip to Portugal around 1562 was however probably sponsored by Archduke Ferdinand of Austria or his wife.
Damião de Góis (1502–1574). Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, RP-P-OB-6897
Public Domain
4 Relationship between Thurneysser and Damião de Góis
The front page of the first part of Thurneysser’s manuscript concerning Portugal9 [Fig. 5.3] tells us that he began to write in the house of the ‘Nobleman and Lusitanian Knight Sir Damian de Goës by the solstice of 1555’ and where he remained until 1556. Damião de Góis, Portuguese humanist and diplomat,10 was known to receive foreign visitors very often into his Lisbon home. This was common knowledge and held against him during his trial (1571–1572) by the inquisition tribunal. He was accused of heresy, because some of the humanist scholars, who he visited on his travels to Germany were leaders of the Reformation and because of his exchange of letters with them. Damião de Góis’ friendship with several humanists in Basel, most of whom shared with Góis a friendship and admiration for Erasmus of Rotterdam11 may have contributed to create a link, that led to Thurneysser being invited to his home by Góis. The latter had also exchanged letters with the cosmographer Sebastian Münster of Basel (1488–1552), criticizing his negative evaluation of the economy and the population of Iberia, a region which Münster never had visited. As a reply to this criticism, Damião de Góis published a description that highly praised the city of Lisbon.12 An accurate description of the agriculture, and the flora and fauna of Portugal by Thurneysser could have been used by de Góis as an additional argument against Münster. In his manuscript, Thurneysser mentions Damião de Góis several times as a source of information or advice.
Ms. Germ. Fol. 97. Front matter fol. 111r. Second Part. Index and Description of Various Animals especially small water animals found in Lusitania but not seen often at our home [country]. Begun in Lisbon Anno Christi 1555 and 1556
Courtesy Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
5 History, Structure and Main Contents of the Manuscript
The department of manuscripts of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin keeps a codex dated from the 16th Century13 that is part of the estate left by Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn. In an inventory published in 192514 it was named Zur Naturbeschreibung von Portugal, which one may translate as ‘On the description of the nature of Portugal’. The existence of this manuscript was mentioned in several studies on Thurneysser,15 Damião de Góis (1502–1574),16 as well as on cultural relations between Portugal and Germany17 or Switzerland.18 None of these studies however was focused on the relevance of this manuscript to the early modern history of science. The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and the Centro Interuniversitário de História da Ciência e da Tecnologia (CIUHCT) agreed in 2013 to grant free access to a digitization of the complete codex in Early New High German to a team of researchers at the University of Lisbon.19
The contents of the parts of the manuscript concerning observations and information obtained in Portugal by Thurneysser were summarized in Portuguese in a further study20 and republished,21 together with an annex with the transcription of the same parts. The codex has more than 900 pages with observations or information obtained in Portugal occupying four of the eleven parts of the codex (about 40% of the pages), namely
Part 1 (fol. 1r to 109v) on plants,
Part 2 (fol. 111r to 127v) on animals, including fishes, mammals, crustaceans and molluscs (aquatilia),
Part 3 (fol. 129r to 143v). Miscellanea Lusitanica, and
Part 4 (fol. 317r to 353v) continues the description of the natural history of Portugal.
The first three parts were a result from his first trip (1555/56), but the fourth part, however, presumably relates to his second trip (around 1562).
In spite of the manuscript not being in the original hand of Thurneysser, but merely a copy written presumably by his employee Adam Seidel from Basel, the notes on the margins of some pages, written in Thurneysser’s own hand suggest his role in supervising the writing process of that copy. The fourth part, however, was written by yet a different hand.
Also on the front page of the first part22 the reader is told that the manuscript contains an ‘index and descriptions of a number of herbs, bushes and fruits that can be found mainly in Lusitania, which are rarely seen or not at all in our own country’. The front page of the second part23 is identical with that of the first part, except that it tells that it contains an ‘index and descriptions of a number of animals especially small aquatic animals that can be found mainly in Lusitania, which are rarely seen or not at all in our own country’.
Part 3 Miscellanea Lusitanica consists mainly of two chapters that deal with subjects not expected in a manuscript named ‘On the Description of the Nature of Portugal’. One chapter with the title “Ritus Depositionis Mercatorum Norvegiæ” describes the rituals of initiation of newcomers to the Hanseatic factory of Bergen and the other describes the bodies of black Africans who Thurneysser met in Lisbon. The latter has been reproduced, translated into English and commented on elsewhere.24
6 Language and Translation
The transcription of the original text in Early New High German can be downloaded from the digital library of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences.25 The calligraphy of the original is in a 16th-century gothic cursive scholar’s handwriting (‘Gelehrtenschrift’), which highlights some words (mostly Latin or Portuguese expressions) by using italic letters of a slightly larger size.
In the next chapter, when translating entire phrases of the manuscript, the German original is shown as a footnote.
Regarding the names of the species, the taxonomic identification of fishes is based on Nobre,26 Albuquerque,27 Rodríguez de la Fuente,28 Carneiro et al.,29 Lloris30 and the database FISHBASE,31 that on molluscs on Macedo et al.32 and the database WORMS,33 that of crustaceans on Nobre,34 Zariquiey Alvarez,35 Rodríguez de la Fuente, Saldanha,36 Costello et al.,37 Marco-Herrero et al.,38 and that of marine mammals on Reis and Mathias,39 and the database FAUNA EUROPAEA.40 After each name used by Thurneysser and before the scientific name, the modern Portuguese common name is here represented in order to serve as a reference and comparison with the name used by Thurneysser in the manuscript.
7 About Fishes, Mammals, Crustaceans and Molluscs
Part 2 of the Thurneysser manuscript (fol. 111r to 127v) consists of the following chapters:
I – (fol. 112r to 112v) ‘About little animals and fishes’: Contains a list of the various qualities which would have to be reported in the descriptions of the various species.
II – (fol. 112v to 113r) ‘Tenches’: Contains remarks about tenches, beavers, crucian carps and crayfishes found in the waters of Gdansk.
III – (fol. 113r to 116v) ‘Lusitanian lamprey’. Contains descriptions of two species of lamprey, probably the sea-lamprey (modern Portuguese common name: ‘lampreia-de-mar’, Lamprea Lvsitanica, Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758) and the river-lamprey (‘Altera lamprea’, Portuguese ‘lampreia-de-rio’, Lampreta fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1758)). The description of ‘Lamprea Lvsitanica’ is very detailed and accurate: the body is ‘like skye blue or grey blue, but not completely over the whole body, which in some places is, interrumpiret or spotted with white patches or blots which are rather large;41 but their body is similar and identical with the eels. But they are generally one ell long and almost like a [Northern] pike [Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758], which is also that long [and] thick, namely three fingers broad’.42 Its mouth ‘is garnished and armiret on both sides with many small rows of yellowish spikes which are not hard, but look like the sides of the top skin of a cow’s tongue.’43 The gill openings are described as being ‘elongated little holes side by side at equal distances, through which it sucks the water in and returns it, when hanging by its mouth from the rocks, when sucking and lambiert’.44 The skin is ‘smooth and shining, without scales, just like the eels, but even smoother. It has a marvellous and soft flesh almost without little fish-bones or little bits of bones’.45 Thurneysser gives an explanation for the fish’s great flexibility: the fish has ‘a carthilaginisch [cartilagineous] cord as a spine which is very flexible, this being the reason for the ready and fast agility of this fish, when it is caught and seized.’46 The lamprey was ‘caught mainly in January in running fresh waters’.47 In fact, we know that the sea-lamprey lives in the sea until it reaches its adult stage. During the breeding season, generally in Spring, they go up the rivers and build a kind of nest where they lay their eggs. Juveniles live in fresh waters for up to 3–5 years, then descending rivers, growing in marine waters. According to Thurneysser, the fish was rare in the Lisbon markets, very appreciated and fetched high prices: ‘along one whole year I have only seen once in the Lisbon market, and it was taken and delivered immediately or on the hour to the king. But it is offered and sold for a Portuguese cruzado’48 (each gold cruzado weighted ca. 3.6 grams).
The description of the ‘Altera lamprea’ is also very fine and detailed. The body is blue but ‘the belly is very white like with the eels.’49 Comparing with the sea-lamprey, this lamprey has ‘a more elongated and not very plump or round mouth’.50 The dorsal fins (Pinnas) are ‘firstly a bit smaller but then near the tail much larger and taller, continuing along the tail, although not in the same and equal height.’51 It has ‘a little broader tail, like the fish Linguado [sole] and under the belly it has no Pinnas’.52 This lamprey was fished later, in February, and ‘was not as expensive as the first [sea-lamprey].’53 In fact, the river-lamprey has a way of life similar to that of the sea-lamprey, but it lives longer in fresh waters, climbs higher in rivers, and in the sea it does not go as far from the coast. The rise of rivers can occur in Spring or Autumn, or in both seasons. Here Thurneysser mentions the Spring rise. A curious method of conservation is also mentioned. The fish is cut into slices that are ‘preserved in sand and not in salt, because in the sand they keep better and longer than in salt’.54 The text refers to an illustration, which is lost.
Finally, it can be mentioned that the former species is more common in southern Europe, while the latter is more common in northern Europe.
IV – (fol. 116v to 117v) ‘Seabreams’. Describes possibly five different species of seabreams: ‘mvcharos’ (mucharro, Diplodus annularis (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘sarves’ (sargo, Diplodus sargus (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘goras’ (goraz, Pagellus bogaraveo (Delaroche, 1809)); ‘salem’ (possibly salema, Spondyliosoma cantharus (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘vezugo’ (besugo, Pagellus acarne (Risso, 1827)). Details about the body of these fishes are given in the text. Referring to the black spot or band near the tail fin of the bream, Thurneysser wrote that the ‘sarves’ on ‘the rearmost part of the body at the beginning of the tail […] have sometimes large and square shaped patches.’55 and also ‘long and black stripes on the body’.56
V – (fol. 117v to 118v) ‘Gurnards’. Describes three or four different species of gurnards (with reference to a lost illustration), namely ’rvivo’ (ruivo, a common name applied in Portuguese to several species of Trigla Linnaeus, 1758, in particular Eutrigla gurnardus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Lepidotrigla cavillone (Lacepède, 1801)) and ‘cabra’ (cabra, cabrinha or peixe-cabra, other species of this same genus, in particular Trigla lyra Linnaeus, 1758 and Chelidonichthys obscurus Bloch & Schneider, 1801).
VI – (fol. 118v–122v) ‘Fishes in Lusitania especially those caught in the estuary of the river Tagus in Lisbon’; probably two different tuna species are described: ‘tunn’ (probably atum, Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758)) and ‘tunina’ (possibly bonito, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus, 1758)). Thurneysser describes in detail the body of these two tuna species: ‘Their heads are like black morions or closed helmets. Also like blackened and polished leather, which shines like a mirror.’57 The ‘teeth, which are not very large but sharp.’58 ‘Its body, belly and back are of the same thickness or a little larger than the head over a considerable length but nevertheless ending in a pointed tail, which at its end has not more than the thickness of a finger.’59 ‘On the back the color of its skin looks like black polished leather, the tail and its sides [are] a bit whitish and mainly towards the belly [here probably referring to Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758)], but the belly is completely white [also probably referring to Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758)].’60 Referring to one of the two pointed dorsal fins, Thurneysser observed that ‘On the back it has a raised horn, which looks more like a horn than as a Pinna or feather.’61 Describing the small fins (finlets) that exist between the second dorsal fin and the caudal fin and between this the anal fin, Thurneysser mentions that ‘on the back and under the belly many small Pinnæ or wings or feathers, which are of a yellow color’.62
Sturgeons (Acipenser sturio Linnaeus, 1758) are mentioned as extremely rare and expensive. This species is currently restricted in the western Atlantic to the Garonne River basin in France. In Portugal, the last specimens were observed in the 1980s in the lower Guadiana River. It is considered extinct in Portugal, with the last references of its reproduction being from the late 70’s to the Douro River and from the beginning of the 80’s to the Guadiana River.63 Thurneysser mentions that in 1555 two very big sturgeons were caught and sold for a very high amount of money – 30–90 cruzados. Skates and rays – ‘raiarvm’ (raias, several species of Raja Linnaeus, 1758), plaices – ‘solii’ (solhas, Pleuronectes platessa Linnaeus, 1758, Pleuronectes flesus Linnaeus, 1758 and Pleuronectes boscii (Risso, 1810)), and wreckfish – ‘cherne’ (cherne, Polyprion americanus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)) are also mentioned, as well as other fishes, namely ‘coubra de mare’ (cobra-de-mar, Ophisurus serpens (Linnaeus, 1758)) and ‘bvdia’ (possibly the bodião, Labrus bergylta Ascanius, 1767). This section has several references to lost illustrations.
VII – (fol. 122v to 123v) ‘Sea mussels’. Different species of molluscs are mentioned, most of them by their Portuguese names with references to lost illustrations: ‘brigigaun’ (berbigão, Cerastoderma edule (Linnaeus, 1758) and Cerastoderma glaucum (Bruguière, 1789)); ‘vieira’ (vieira, Pecten jacobeus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Pecten maximus (Linnaeus, 1758); since Thurneysser says that he is referring to the ‘Jacobi Muscheln’, it is the first species, the pilgrim’s to Santiago de Compostela shell); ‘maxilhaon’ (mexilhão, Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819); ‘ostrae’ (ostras, Ostrea edulis Linnaeus, 1758 and Crassostrea angulata (Lamarck, 1819) are, at present, the commonest species); ‘conchæ margaritiferæ’ (Thurneysser might have been referring to the river mussel, Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758), a species that is currently very threatened at a global and national level, classified as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN Red Book); ‘caramunio’ (caramujo is the Portuguese common name for rocky intertidal snails like Littorina littorea (Linnaeus, 1758) and Monodonta lineata (da Costa, 1778)); ‘lapas’ (lapas, currently four species occur, Patella intermedia Murray, 1897, Patella rustica Linnaeus, 1758, Patella ulyssiponensis Gmelin, 1791 and Patella vulgata Linnaeus, 1758).
VIII – (fol. 123v) ‘Terrestrial mussels and trumpet snails’: mentions only one land snail with a reference to a lost illustration.
IX – (fol. 124r) ‘Crabs in Lusitania’: mentions several crustaceans by their Portuguese names with references to lost illustrations: ‘cangeios’ (caranguejos, many species exist in the Portuguese coasts); ‘centolas’ (santolas, Maja brachydactyla Balss, 1922); ‘lagonsta’ (lagosta, Palinurus elephas (J.C. Fabricius, 1787) and Palinurus vulgaris Latreille, 1803); ‘lagostius’ (possibly lagostim, Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘camerons’ (camarões, namely Palaemon serratus (Pennant, 1777) and Palaemon adspersus Rathke, 1836).
X – (fol. 124r and 124v) ‘Semianimalia and reptiles’. Thurneysser mentions several ‘half-alive and crawling sea creatures’ namely ‘Polypus maximus’, ‘Polypus medius’ and ‘Polypus minimus’. These names were used by Rondelet in his Libri de piscibus marinis (1554)64 to describe several cephalopods: Prima & secunda polyporum specie, Polypus octopus,65 is Eledone cirrhosa (Lamarck, 1798), today currently called in Portuguese ‘polvo-do-alto’; Tertia polyporum specie66 is Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797, the ‘polvo-comum’. The ‘polypus’ mentioned by Thurneysser are probably these two octopus species. This chapter also has several references to lost illustrations.
XI – (fol. 124v to 127v) ‘Fishes in Portugal etc.’: a list of several dozen names of fishes and marine mammals, most of which are in Portuguese, often with slightly erroneous spellings, probably due to having been recorded by somebody who does not know the Portuguese language after hearing these names mentioned in conversations with native fishermen or fishmongers. Each name has a reference to a lost illustration. The following fish can be mentioned, whose modern identification appears to be resonably secure (by the order they appear in the text, omitting those that had been referred to, before in the text): ‘sardiniæ’ (sardinha, Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792)); ‘pataroxa’ (pata-roxa, Scyliorhinus canicula (Linnaeus, 1758) and/or Scyliorhinus stellaris (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘sauelha’ (savelha, Alosa fallax (Lacepède, 1803)); ‘macarenæ sarda Anglica’ (sarda, Scomber scombrus Linnaeus, 1758, an abundant species in the cold waters of northern Europe, perhaps hence the reference to England); ‘chicharcino’ (chicharro, Trachurus trachurus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Trachurus picturatus (Bowdich, 1825)); ‘mugem’ (mugem, Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758, Mugil curema Valenciennes, 1836, Chelon saliens (Risso, 1810), Chelon ramada (Risso, 1827) and/or Crenimugil seheli (Forsskål, 1775)); ‘bordalo’ (bordalo is Squalius alburnoides (Steindachner, 1866), but could also refer to Squalius cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) which, however, is also known for ‘escalo’); ‘robalo’ (robalo, Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus, 1758) and/or Dicentrarchus punctatus (Bloch, 1792)); ‘chuopa’ (choupa, Spondyliosoma cantharus (Linnaeus, 1758) and/or Diplodus vulgaris (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817)); ‘xyphion’ (probably espadarte, Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758, a common fish all around the world); ‘salmoneta’ (salmonete, Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus, 1758 and Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758); ‘budiam’ (bodião, there are several species with this common name, namely, Labrus bergylta Ascanius, 1767, Labrus mixtus Linnaeus, 1758 and Symphodus bailloni (Valenciennes, 1839)); ‘cachuncho’ (cachucho, Dentex macrophthalmus (Bloch, 1791)); ‘pargo’ (pargo, Pagrus pagrus (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘remora’ (the fish described by Rondelet,67 with this name is Remora remora (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘papagei’ (papagaio, Callanthias ruber (Rafinesque, 1810)); ‘truta’ (there are currently two species in Portugal, Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758, an indigenous fish, and Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792), the rainbow-trout, a fish originally from the USA and introduced into Portugal); ‘abrontea’ (abrotea, Phycis blennoides (Brünnich, 1768)); ‘murea’ (moreia, Muraena helena Linnaeus, 1758); ‘murea altera’ (the author may be referring to Conger conger (Linnaeus, 1758), a fish similar to the moray); ‘eiros’ (eiró, Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘carapuos’ (carapau, Trachurus trachurus (Linnaeus, 1758) and/or Trachurus mediterraneus (Steindachner, 1868)); ‘pisce spanda’ (probably peixe-espada, Lepidopus caudatus (Euphrasen, 1788)); ‘rodoualho’ (rodovalho, there are several species with this Portuguese common name, but the commonest is Scophthalmus rhombus (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘Linguadæ’ (linguado, Solea solea (Linnaeus, 1758), today a very expensive fish); ‘pastinacæ species duæ’ (Rondelet described the pastinaca,68 a name that Linnaeus will adopt for Raja pastinaca (current name Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758)), the uge in modern Portuguese); ‘pisce puta’ (probably chaputa, Brama brama (Bonnaterre, 1788)); ‘pampano’ (pompano, Stromateus fiatola Linnaeus, 1758); ‘douranda’ (dourada, the commonest species is Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758); ‘gallina’ (galinha-do-mar, Helicolenus dactylopterus (Delaroche, 1809)); ‘pisce porco’ (peixe-porco, Chilomycterus atinga (Linnaeus, 1758)); ‘cassaun’ (cação, common name applied to species such as Mustelus mustelus (Linnaeus, 1758), Mustelus asterias Cloquet, 1819, Galeorhinus galeus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Squalus acanthias Linnaeus, 1758); ‘lixa’ (lixa, Centrophorus squamosus (Bonnaterre, 1788)); ‘piscis caninus’ (peixe-cão, Bodianus scrofa (Valenciennes, 1839)); ‘pisce gallo’ (peixe-galo, Zeus faber Linnaeus, 1758); ‘barbo’ (barbo, the European barbel is Barbus barbus (Linnaeus, 1758); in the Iberian Peninsula there is a barbel, Barbus bocagei Steindachner, 1864, which some consider as an autonomous species, others as a sub-species of Barbus barbus; in the Tagus and Guadiana rivers, there is another barbel, an endemic species, Luciobarbus comizo (Steindachner, 1864)); ‘rana piscatrix’ (Rondelet described a Rana piscatrice,69 called by Linnaeus as Lophius piscatorius Linnaeus, 1758, tamboril, in modern Portuguese); “coruina” (corvina, Sciaena cirrosa Linnaeus, 1758, and/or Argyrosomus regius (Asso, 1801)); ‘bacalhao’ (bacalhau, Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758); ‘enxaroco’ (enxarroco, Zeus faber Linnaeus, 1758).
Marine mammals are also mentioned by Thurneysser. ‘Balena’ and ‘balena altera species’, two cetaceans, possibly dolphins and/or small whales. ‘Delphines’, probably a dolphin; Rondelet, named a dolphin as ‘delphino’;70 Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758 is the commonest species in Portuguese waters. ‘Phocae maris septentrionalis’, possibly Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758), the Portuguese ‘bôto’ or ‘toninha’, the smallest cetacean that occurs in waters of Continental Portugal.
XII – (fol. 127v) ‘Sea monsters’: six names of real or imagined aquatilia, four of which with references to lost illustrations. Many of the traditions of antiquity and the Middle Ages persisted into the Renaissance (and some to this day). Rondelet, of the purest Renaissance humanism, was also unable to ‘emancipate’ from some of these ‘legends’. In his masterpiece, Libri de piscibus marinis, published in 1554, Rondelet described and drew (!) several of these sea monsters: “De monstro leonine”;71 “De pisce monachi habitu”;72 “De pisce episcope habitu”;73 “De nereide”.74 Thurneysser mentioned ‘Monachus marinus’ possibly Rondelet’s “De pisce monachi habitu”. Another master of the Renaissance, Conrad Gessner (1516–1565), in his Historia animalium liber IV,75 described and drawn Pan vel satyrus marinus, probably Thurneysser’s ‘De Tritonibus segeues’.
XIII – (fol. 127v) ‘Lusitanian ships and maritime gear’: Only contains references to two lost illustrations.
Suprisingly, the first part of the manuscript, the one dealing with plants, contains in its last chapter76 under the title “Proseves vel ungues marini” a very detailed description of goose barnacles. Since they grow on rocks in shallow seawater and are unable to move, Thurneysser, not knowing how they feed and reproduce themselves, considered them something marvelous and placed this chapter in the part of the manuscript dealing with plants in spite of concluding eventually that they are animals. This exemplifies how in early modern times the distinctions between plants and animals were difficult to draw (another example were corals, considered to be plants by early naturalists).
8 Conclusions and Outlook
This manuscript contains very important information on the aquatic and marine fauna of the Tagus estuary in 1555 with a large set of Portuguese common names, as well as descriptions, a few very detailed, of the morphology of some of the species. Unfortunately, the illustrations referred to in the text have been lost. To our knowledge, this is the first inventory of the aquatic and marine fauna of Continental Portugal.
Portuguese ichthyofauna and fisheries of the 18th century are reasonably known as the result of (1) inventories of the natural history (already according to the Linnaean nomenclature), carried out by the Italian naturalist Domingos Vandelli (1735–1816) hired by the Marquis of Pombal to renovate the University of Coimbra (the total number of fish species reported by Vandelli was 80), (2) reports of travelers who toured the country, visited the markets and saw what people ate, (3) menus of the Benedictine monasteries and (4) cookbook recipes.77 All these sources of information agreed that our coasts were frequented by a high and diverse number of fishes and that many of these were captured, certainly for consumption by the populations. The situation for earlier periods is much less known, but this manuscript allows us to affirm that also in the 16th century the diversity of fish that existed on the Portuguese coasts and in the markets would have been high.
This high abundance and diversity of fish consumed by the people is also related to the Roman Catholic religious precepts that imposed abstinence from meat at certain times of the year, in which only fish were consumed as the main dish. Actually, Advent, Lent, and Fridays throughout the year, plus the eve of main holy days, corresponded to a very significant fraction of the annual calendar. In general terms, the privileged classes preferred meat and ate fish especially during periods of restriction. In contrast, the lower classes consumed mainly fish throughout the year. In certain social and religious groups there were other restrictions. Jews and New-Christians who maintained some of the Jewish practices, did not eat fish without scales, i.e., lampreys and chondrichthyans, such as skate.78
If we take into account Lacerda Lobo’s history of Portuguese fisheries,79 there are records of an abundance of fisheries that go back to at least to King João I (1357–1433). The quantity of fish was so great that it was exported to Castile and abroad. However, at the time that Lacerda Lobo was writing this memoir – 1812, its author considered that fishing had declined sharply and was in decay. Not for lack of fish, but because of fiscal, economic and financial reasons, including the lack of training of fishermen and deficient fishing equipment, the silting of many of the estuaries that made it difficult for fish to enter the bars and the mooring of boats, as well as the emigration of fishermen to the neighbouring country.
The current studies of the manuscript will centre on the tentative identification of the animals whose common names presented by Thurneysser are not similar to modern Portuguese names.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Dr. Gabriele Kaiser, librarian at the manuscript section of Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin for granting the access to a digitised version of Thurneysser’s manuscript and Dr. Thomas Horst for cooperation in its transcription. We also thank for the support of Centro Interuniversitário de História da Ciência e da Tecnologia (CIUHCT) in Lisbon through Prof. Henrique Leitão. The authors are also grateful to Dr. Susan Turner (Brisbane) for assisting them with English language and scientific terminology.
Bibliography
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Cabral J.P.S., A História Natural de Portugal em Domingos Vandelli (Lisbon: 2018).
Cabral, J.P.S., “Parte IV: Esboço biográfico de Domingos Vandelli. Flora e Fauna”, in Cabral J.P.S. – Borges F.S. – Costa J.M.R. (eds.), Um manuscrito inédito de Domingos Vandelli, Historia naturalis Olisiponensis (BPMP Ms. 1127): leitura, interpretação e discussão (Oporto: 2020).
Cabral M.J.M. (ed.), Livro Vermelho dos Vertebrados de Portugal (Lisbon: 2008).
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Degering H., Kurzes Verzeichnis der germanischen Handschriften der Preussischen Staatsbibliothek (Berlin), I: Die Handschriften in Folioformat (Leipzig: 1925).
Fischer B., Dialogue Luso-Suisse: Essai d’une histoire des relations entre la Suisse et le Portugal du XVe siècle à la Convention de Stockholm de 1960 (Lisbon: 1960).
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Herold B., “The Diary of the Swiss Leonhardt Thurneysser and Black Africans in Renaissance Lisbon”, Renaissance Studies 42 (2017) 463–488.
Herold B. – Horst T. – Leitão H., “A ‘História Natural de Portugal’ de Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn, ca. 1555–1556”, Ágora. Estudos Clássicos em Debate 19 (2017) 305–334.
Herold B. – Horst T. – Leitão H., A História Natural de Portugal de Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn, ca. 1555–1556. [Including a] transcription of the Parts Concerning Portugal of the Manuscript Ascribed to Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn Ms. Germ. Fol. 97 of Berlin State Library (Berlin: 2019). Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Biblioteca Digital http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/45798last access 2023-09-27.
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Lacerda Lobo C.B. de, “Sobre a decadencia das Pescarias em Portugal”, Memorias Economicas da Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa. IV, Na Officina da mesma Academia (Lisbon: 1812) 312–383.
Lloris, D., Ictiofauna marina. Manual de identificación de los peces marinos de la Península Ibérica y Baleares (Barcelona: 2015).
Macedo M.C.C. – Macedo M.I.C. – Borges J.P., Conchas marinhas de Portugal (Lisbon: 1999).
Marco-Herrero E. – Abelló P. – Drake P. – García-Raso J.E. – González-Gordillo J.I. – Guerao G. – Palero F. – Cuesta J.A., “Annotated checklist of brachyuran crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda) of the Iberian Peninsula (SW Europe)”, Scientia Marina 79 (2015) 243–256.
Marques A.H. de O., “Damião de Góis e os mercadores de Danzig”, Arquivo de Bibliografia Portuguesa (Coimbra: 1959).
Moehsen Johann Carl Wilhelm, Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Alchymie, wie auch der Wissenschaften und Künste in der Mark Brandenburg gegen Ende des sechszehnten Jahrhunderts (Berlin – Leipzig, George Jacob Decker: 1783).
Nobre A., Crustáceos decápodes de Portugal (Oporto: 1931).
Nobre A., “Peixes de água doce de Portugal”, Boletim do Ministério da Agricultura, XIII, no. 2, série I (1932).
Nobre A., Crustáceos decápodes de Portugal, second ed. (Barcelos: 1936).
Pohle J., Os mercadores-banqueiros alemães e a Expansão Portuguesa no reinado de D. Manuel I (Lisbon: 2017). https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/38843/2/MercadoresAlemaes.pdf.
Quelle O., “Leonhard Thurneysser zum Thurn”, Revista do Instituto de Cultura Alemã. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Kulturinstituts 1/1 (1944) 99–102.
Quelle O., “Deutsch-Portugiesische Kulturbeziehungen”, Zeitschrift für Politik 34 (März/April 1944) 115–121.
Reis M.S. – Mathias M.L., “Mamíferos”, in Rodrigues P.D. – Crespo E.G. (eds.), Portugal Moderno: Fauna, Enciclopédia Temática Pomo (Lisbon: 1991) 160–191.
Rocha R., A viagem dos sabores. Ensaio sobre a história da alimentação (séculos IX–XIX) seguido de 100 receitas em que vários mundos se encontram (Lisbon: 1998).
Rodríguez de la Fuente F., Cadernos de campo. Lisbon: Artel. Colecção de 60 cadernos de campo sobre a fauna ibérica. Supervisão científica de Luís F. Matos, Cadernos de campo #18 and #32 for fishes, and #53 for crustaceans (Lisbon: 1984).
Rondelet Guillaume, Libri de piscibus marinis, in quibus verae piscium effigies expressae sunt (Lyon, Matthias Bonhomme: 1554).
Saldanha L., Fauna submarina atlântica (Lisbon: 1995).
Schumacher Y., Leonhard Thurneysser, Arzt – Alchemist – Abenteurer (Zurich: 2011).
Spitzer G., … und die Spree führt Gold: Leonhard Thurneysser zum Thurn, Astrologe – Alchimist – Arzt und Drucker im Berlin des 16. Jahrhunderts (Wiesbaden: 1996).
Strasen E.A. – Gândara A., Oito séculos de História Luso-Alemã (Berlin: 1944).
Thurneysser Leonhardt, Historia sive plantarum omnium, tam domesticarum quam exoticarum (Berlin, Michael Hentsken: 1578).
Thurneysser Leonhardt, Historia unnd Beschreibungen influentischer, elementischer und natürlicher Wirkungen aller heimischen und fremden Erdgewächssen (Berlin, Michael Hentsken: 1578).
Thurneysser Leonhardt, Historia unnd Beschreibungen influentischer, elementischer und natürlicher Wirkungen aller heimischen und fremden Erdgewächssen, 2nd edition (Cölln/Berlin, Johannes Gymnium: 1587).
Zariquiey Alvarez R., “Crustáceos decápodos ibéricos”, Investigación Pesquera 32 (1968) 1–510.
Ms. Germ. Fol. 97. Staatsbibliothek Berlin.
Moehsen Johann Carl Wilhelm, Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Alchymie, wie auch der Wissenschaften und Künste in der Mark Brandenburg gegen Ende des sechszehnten Jahrhunderts, (Berlin – Leipzig, George Jacob Decker: 1783); Spitzer G., … und die Spree führt Gold: Leonhard Thurneysser zum Thurn, Astrologe – Alchimist – Arzt und Drucker im Berlin des 16. Jahrhunderts (Wiesbaden: 1996) 16; Schumacher Y., Leonhard Thurneysser, Arzt – Alchemist – Abenteurer (Zurich: 2011) 33.
Fishes, mammals, crustaceans and molluscs.
Thurneysser L., Historia sive plantarum omnium, tam domesticarum quam exoticarum (Berlin, Michael Hentsken: 1578); ibid., Historia unnd Beschreibungen influentischer, elementischer und natürlicher Wirkungen aller heimischen und fremden Erdgewächssen (Berlin, Michael Hentsken: 1578; second edition Cölln/Berlin, Johannes Gymnium 1587).
Spitzer G., … und die Spree führt Gold: Leonhard Thurneysser zum Thurn, Astrologe – Alchimist – Arzt und Drucker im Berlin des 16. Jahrhunderts (Wiesbaden: 1996); Schumacher Y., Leonhard Thurneysser, Arzt – Alchemist – Abenteurer (Zurich: 2011).
The monastery does not exist anymore. The location of the remains of Thurneysser is unknown but Albertus Magnus’s remains rest after the lifting of the Dominican monastery (1804) since 15 November 1954 in the crypt of St. Andrew in Cologne (https://memim.com/albertus-magnus.html).
Marques A.H. de O., “Damião de Góis e os mercadores de Danzig”, Arquivo de Bibliografia Portuguesa (Coimbra: 1959); Pohle J., Os mercadores-banqueiros alemães e a Expansão Portuguesa no reinado de D. Manuel I (Lisbon: 2017) (https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/38843/2/MercadoresAlemaes.pdf); Arnold T. dos S., “Portugal and the Hanseatic League”, in Lopes P.C. (ed.), Portugal e a Europa nos séculos XV e XVI. Olhares, relações, identidade(s) (Lisbon: 2019) 85–108.
Hirsch E.F., Damião de Góis: The Life and Thought of a Portuguese Humanist (The Hague: 1967).
Fol. 1r of Ms. Germ. Fol. 97, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.
Hirsch, Damião de Góis.
Beau A.E., As relações germânicas do humanismo de Damião de Góis (Coimbra: 1941).
Damião de Góis, Vrbis Olisiponis Descriptio per Damianum Goem Equitem Lusitanum, in qua obiter tractantur nõ nulla de Indica nauigatione, per Graecos et Poenos et Lusitanos, diuersis temporibus inculcata (Évora, Andreas Burgensis: 1554).
Ms. Germ. Fol. 97.
Degering H., Kurzes Verzeichnis der germanischen Handschriften der Preussischen Staatsbibliothek (Berlin), I: Die Handschriften in Folioformat (Leipzig: 1925).
Quelle O., “Leonhard Thurneysser zum Thurn”, Revista do Instituto de Cultura Alemã. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Kulturinstituts 1/1 (1944) 99–102; ibid., “Deutsch-Portugiesische Kulturbeziehungen”, Zeitschrift für Politik 34 (März/April 1944) 115–121; Spitzer, … und die Spree führt Gold; Schumacher, Leonhard Thurneysser.
Beau, As relações germânicas do humanismo de Damião de Góis; Hirsch, Damião de Góis.
Strasen E.A. – Gândara A., Oito séculos de História Luso-Alemã (Berlin: 1944).
Fischer B., Dialogue Luso-Suisse: Essai d’une histoire des relations entre la Suisse et le Portugal du XVe siècle à la Convention de Stockholm de 1960 (Lisbon: 1960).
As a first result, its history and contents were briefly described in an article by Thomas Horst. Horst T., “A Rediscovered Manuscript about Portuguese Plants and Animals: Preliminary Observations”, in Lopes M. dos S. – Leitão H. (eds.), Renaissance Craftsmen and Humanistic Scholars. Circulation of Knowledge between Portugal and Germany (Frankfurt/Main: 2016) 133–174.
Herold B. – Horst T. – Leitão H., “A ‘História Natural de Portugal’ de Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn, ca. 1555–1556”, Ágora. Estudos Clássicos em Debate 19 (2017) 305–334.
Herold B. – Horst T. – Leitão H., A História Natural de Portugal de Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn, ca. 1555–1556. [Including a] transcription of the Parts Concerning Portugal of the Manuscript Ascribed to Leonhardt Thurneysser zum Thurn, Ms. Germ. Fol. 97 of Berlin State Library (Berlin: 2019).
Ms. Germ. Fol. 97, fol. 1r.
Ms. Germ. Fol. 97, fol. 111r.
Herold B.J. “The Diary of the Swiss Leonhardt Thurneysser and Black Africans in Renaissance Lisbon”, Renaissance Studies 42 (2017) 463–488.
http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/45218 last access 2023-09-27.
Nobre A., “Peixes de Água doce de Portugal”, Boletim do Ministério da Agricultura XII, no. 2, série I (1932).
Albuquerque R.M., “Peixes de Portugal e Ilhas Adjacentes. Chaves para a sua determinação”, Portugaliae Acta Biologicae, serie B, 5 (1954–1956).
Rodríguez de la Fuente F., Cadernos de campo. Lisbon: Artel. Colecção de 60 cadernos de campo sobre a fauna ibérica. Supervisão científica de Luís F. Matos, Cadernos de campo #18 and #32 for fishes, and #53 for crustaceans (Lisbon: 1984).
Carneiro M. – Martins R. – Landi M. – Costa F.O, “Updated Checklist of Marine Fishes (Chordata: Craniata) from Portugal and the Proposed Extension of the Portuguese Continental Shelf”, European Journal of Taxonomy 73 (2014) 1–73.
Lloris, D., Ictiofauna marina. Manual de identificación de los peces marinos de la Península Ibérica y Baleares (Barcelona: 2015).
Macedo M.C.C. – Macedo M.I.C. – Borges J.P., Conchas marinhas de Portugal (Lisbon: 1999).
Nobre A., Crustáceos decápodes de Portugal (Oporto: 1931); Nobre A., Crustáceos decápodes de Portugal, second ed. (Barcelos: 1936).
Zariquiey Alvarez R., “Crustáceos decápodos ibéricos”, Investigación Pesquera 32 (1968) 1–510.
Saldanha L., Fauna submarina atlântica (Lisbon: 1995).
Costello M.J. – Emblow C. – White R. (eds.), European Register of Marine Species. A Check-list of the Marine Species in Europe and a Bibliography of Guides to Their Identification (Paris: 2001).
Marco-Herrero E. – Abelló P. – Drake P. – García-Raso J.E. – González-Gordillo J.I. – Guerao G. – Palero F. – Cuesta J.A., “Annotated checklist of brachyuran crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda) of the Iberian Peninsula (SW Europe)”, Scientia Marina 79 (2015) 243–256.
Reis M.S. – Mathias M.L., “Mamíferos”, in Rodrigues P.D. – Crespo E.G. (eds.), Portugal Moderno: Fauna, Enciclopédia Temática Pomo (Lisbon: 1991) 160–191.
wie liecht kemler, oder blaw aschenfarbig, aber doch nicht ganntz vnd gar, doch vber das ganntze Leib, den derselbig an etzlichenn Örtteren mit weissen Mackhlen oder Plackhenn interrumpiret oder befleckhet ist, wellche zimlich gros sein.
am Leibe aber ist es den Alen enlich vnnd gleich. Sie ist aber gemeiniglich einer Ellen lanng, vnnd fast wie ein Hecht, der auch so lang ist, dickhe, alls namlich dreyer zwerch Finnger dickh.
Es ist aber derselbigen Rach[en] zu beyden Seitten, mit vielen Reylein oder Rechen Zacherlein besetzet, vnnd armiret, wellche da gelblecht, vnnd nicht hardt, sunderen fast wie die stachlechtige Vberhaut der Ochsenn Zungen zu den Seitten anzusehen seindt.
lannglechtige Löcherlein, neben vnnd inn gleicher Weitte vonn einannder, durch wellchenn sie das Wasser zu sich zeüchte; vnnd auch widerumb vonn sich zeücht gibt, wann es mitt dem Munndt an den Steinklippen henngt vnnd dieselbige seügend vnnd lambiert.
Sie hat ein gar glatte vnnd glantzete Hautt, ohne Schuppenn od[er] Pflumen, gleich wie die Ale, aber sie seindt noch viel gletter. Sie hatt ein gar herrliches schon weiß, vnnd weich Fleisch, wellches kaum Gretlein od[er] Knochlein … hatt.
ein carthilaginisches [Thurneysser wrote ‚carthellagini‘ in italics, but the ending ‚sches‘ in German ‚Gelehrtenschrift‘, which was transcribed in roman characters] Kröspelein hatt zum Ruckhgrat, wellches gar brügig ist, doher dann auch die Vrsach der behennden vnnd geschwinnden Bewegligkheit dieses Fisches wol zu colligieren vnnd abzunehmen ist.
fürnehmlich im Jenner gefanngen, inn süssenn fliessenden Wasseren.
inn einem ganntzen Jar nur einmahl zu Lysabon auf dem Marckht gesehen hab, wellche doch strackhs oder vonn Stundt an zu dem Könnig gebracht oder getragen sein. Es wierdt aber alda eine umb einen portugallischen Kreüttzer feilgebotten vnnd verkaufft.
am Bauch aber ist sie gar weiß, wie die Ale.
ein lannglechtiges, vnd nicht sehr tranndes oder runndes Maul.
erstlich etwas geringens, darnach aber an Schwartze [meaning ‚am Schwantze‘] vil grosser vnd höcher, wellches sie auch dem Schwantz lang streckht, wiewol nicht inn einem vnd gleicher grosser Höche.
ein wenig ein breitten Schwantz fast wie der Fisch Linguado zu vnnderst aber am Bauch hatt sie gar keine Pinnas.
nicht so teür wie die Erstenn verkaufft.
Sie werden aber inn dem Sand vnd nicht inn dem Saltz eingemacht; dann inn dem Sannd werden sie vil füeglicher, vnd lennger bewahret, dann inn dem Saltz.
fürnemlich am hinderst[en] Theil deß Leibes, zum oder am Anfanng deß Schwanntzes, so haben sie auch hin vnnd wider viel große schwartze, vnd vier eckhechtige Mackhlen am Leib.
lannge schwartze Striemen an dem Leib.
Ire Heupten seindt einer schwartzen Sturmhauben, oder einem verschlossenen schwartzen Helm gleich. Item wie geschwertzt vnnd glatt gemacht Leder, wellches wie ein Spiegel glenntzet.
nicht sehr grosse aber doch scharpfe Zehne.
Sein Leib, Bauch, vnd Ruckhen seindt mit dem Haupt fast einerley grosse, oder ja ein wenig grosser inn zimlicher Lennge, ohne daß er sich enndtlich, inn einem gar spitzen Schwantz, wellcher am Ennde nicht viel vber eines Finngers dickh ist.
An dem Ruckhen ist an Farb sein Hautt anzusehen wie ein schwartz glentzet gemacht Leder, der Schwanntz vnnd seine Seitten etwas weißlechtig, vnnd sunderlich gegen den Bauch werts. Der Bauch aber ist im gar weiß,.
auf dem Ruckhenn hatt er ein einiges aufgerichtes Hornn, wellches mer ein Hornn, dann ein Pinna oder Feder anzusehen ist.
auf dem Ruckhen, vnd vnder dem Bauch vil kleiner Pinnæ, oder Fittigen oder Federen nacheinannder folgenn, wellche an Farb gelb, … sein.
Cabral M.J.M. (coord.), Livro Vermelho dos Vertebrados de Portugal (Lisbon: 2008).
Rondelet Guillaume, Libri de piscibus marinis, in quibus verae piscium effigies expressae sunt (Lyon, Matthias Bonhomme: 1554).
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 513.
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 516.
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 436.
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 331.
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 363.
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 459.
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 491.
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 492.
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 494.
Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinis 494.
Gessner Conrad, Historiae animalium liber IIII qui est de piscium et aquatilium animantium natura (Zurich, Christoph Froschauer: 1558) 1197.
Chapter number 32 (fol. 106r to 109v).
Cabral J.P.S., A História Natural de Portugal em Domingos Vandelli (Lisbon: 2018); Cabral, J.P.S., “Parte IV: Esboço biográfico de Domingos Vandelli. Flora e Fauna”, in Cabral J.P.S. – Borges F.S. – Costa J.M.R. (eds.), Um manuscrito inédito de Domingos Vandelli, Historia naturalis Olisiponensis (BPMPMs. 1127): leitura, interpretação e discussão (Oporto: 2020).
Rocha R., A viagem dos sabores. Ensaio sobre a história da alimentação (séculos IX–XIX) seguido de 100 receitas em que vários mundos se encontram (Lisbon: 1998); Braga I.D., “La place du poisson et des crustacés dans l’alimentation des Portugais (XVIe–XVIIIe siècle)”, Centre de Recherche d’Histoire Quantitative, Histoire maritime 4 (2007) 241–250.
Lacerda Lobo C.B. de, “Sobre a decadencia das Pescarias em Portugal”, Memorias Economicas da Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa. IV, Na Officina da mesma Academia (Lisbon: 1812) 312–383.