History of Monsters. 655

We know indeed that there have been some who, in order to depict the double-bodied monster of dual nature born in Albania, use a different illustration in which a human and a canine offspring are seen together; however, they also assign human hands to the dog, as may be seen in image III.

Nonetheless, adhering to the second image, we believe this figure is taken from the accounts of those who claim such monsters live in Ethiopia. These creatures, though integrated with a human nature, are said to carry the body of a dog attached to their shoulders, complete with human hands, and are reportedly subject to the power of the Great Khan of the Tartars. Truly, we believe this to be a fable, or perhaps to have drawn its origin from some monster of this kind actually witnessed in those regions.

Even more horrific and wonderful than the aforementioned is that double-bodied monster of this kind which we can now make public. It was born in the month of September, in the year 1494, in Krakow, on the street named after the Holy Spirit. There, a certain woman gave birth to a lifeless fetus with a serpent clinging to its back, devouring the infant's corpse, as is seen in figure IV.

DOUBLE-BODIED ANIMAL MONSTERS

We must not believe that such things are constructed by Nature in the human womb that are not also fashioned in the offspring of beasts. Since Nature is prone to err in both human and animal birth—depending on obstacles, circumstances, and the disposition of the matter—if double-bodied monsters emerge from a human womb, then double-bodied offspring are also produced in the wombs of beasts.

Indeed, we read in the history of Poland that in Kalisz, in the year 1269, within the octave of Christmas, a double-bodied calf was born with two heads and canine teeth. The larger of these two heads (for they differed in size) was located in its proper place, while the other—the smaller one—occupied the place of the tail. It stood on seven calf legs, four of which supported the front part of the beast, while the other three, along with the tail, adorned the rear. They report that afterwards, dogs and birds recoiled from the corpse of this monster; this creature is represented in figure I.

A not very dissimilar double-bodied calf monster was one that came to light in the year 1556, in the month of March, in the town of Bergedorf. It was a six-legged, two-headed calf with a single anus and two tails. The parts of the monster were so distributed that one head seemed to face East and the other West. Three legs were attached to one part of the beast, and the same number to the other. Two tails and the anus were visible on the side of the monster.

Furthermore, no less horrific than wonderful was that calf monster born in Bonn, a noble town of Lower Germany on the Rhine situated four miles from Cologne, in the month of May in the year 1552. It was a calf with two heads and two tails, but provided with only three eyes, just as it is presented to be seen in image II.

Moreover, something occurs among beasts that has not yet been observed in human nature: namely, the procreation of a triple-bodied monster. We believe this arises because many animals are more fecund than humans. For where numerous fetuses are conceived in the womb, two or three small bodies can easily be joined or fused together. This happened in Basel in the year 1554, involving the domestic cat of Konrad Lycosthenes.