It was the end of the Renaissance in the yard. Europeans, in love with art, science, philosophy, eagerly explored the world around them, enriching the paradigm of knowledge about the Universe and man. The restrained medieval asceticism was replaced by an active, creative activity of a free personality. The first non-religious centers for the development of scientific thought appeared in the cities.
In an effort to embrace and learn the laws of the universe, the inquisitive human mind discovered promising paths, solving more and more new mysteries of the planet Earth. However, there was among them a gloomy monstrous figure from the chthonic world of nightmares - a mystery that has sunk into oblivion, a creature that no one could either explain or identify completely.
He was called the "sea monk". Drawings depicting half-man-half fish were distributed throughout the continent in publications intended for naturalists and crowned heads, beginning in the 14th century. The German Konrad Megenberg presented it as follows:
Monachus marinus. A sea monk is a fish-like monster with a human body. His head is similar to the head of a monk who took tonsure. This head is covered with scales, and above the ears it is wrapped in a black hoop, consisting of hair - exactly the same as that of a real monk. This monster has a habit of luring people to the seashore.
First, it makes jumps, capturing the unlucky travelers with imaginary fun. And when he sees that people are happy, contemplating his game, he begins to rush in different directions with even greater passion. But when a person approaches, it grabs him, drags him into the water and eats him. The face of the sea monk is not quite human: he has a fish nose, and his mouth is too close to the nose."
To this day, vague information has come down that in 1520 the head of the sea monk in alcohol was presented to Pope Leo by one of the Norwegian bishops.
The first descriptions of the monster, close to scientific ones, were given in 1553 by the French ichthyologist and naturalist Pierre Belon. Following him in 1554, a colleague of the scientist, the Frenchman Guillaume Rondelet, spoke about the sea monk. In 1558, the strange and unusual creature was included in the Historiae Animalium, an encyclopedia of natural history, compiled by the Swiss professor Konrad Gesner. These rare editions are still kept in the library funds, and recently they were even digitized for public viewing.
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So, the story tells that somewhere between 1545 and 1550, a living sea monk was caught in the Öresund Strait (the territory of modern Denmark and Sweden). The actual circumstances of such an unusual catch were not properly documented, but it is known that the find was immediately sent to Copenhagen, to the Danish king. During the research, it was found that the length of the individual was almost one and a half meters. In the middle of the body, flipper-shaped fins or arms were located. Instead of legs, the monster had a fish tail. On the ventral side there was a dark head, the main "attraction" of which was the mouth.
The curiosity was placed in the basement of the castle, however, finding itself outside the usual habitat, the creature quickly died. Nevertheless, Konrad Gesner, already known to us, managed to make sketches of the sea monster. Then this unusual creature was considered a myth for many centuries. Only occasionally have attempts been made to identify him.
For example, in 1855, the renowned marine biologist from Denmark, Iapet Steenstrup, gave a lecture in which he suggested that the sea monk was nothing more than a huge squid, Archeteuthis Dux. Not surprising given the fact that the Dane specialized in cephalopods. In particular, he noted that the sea monk's body was similar to a squid: a black head, red and black spots all over the body. Steenstrup believed that his predecessors were mistaken, because the body of the creature could not have scales, since cuttlefish do not have it.
After this early theory, several more versions were put forward. For example, cryptozoologist Bernard Heulmans thinks it's a walrus. Another popular belief is that the sea monk is a giant stingray or gray whale.
Finally, the Scottish scientist - ecologist and marine biologist Charles Paxton from the University of St. Andrews came across a description of the monster. In 2005, he and a colleague published a study containing a full account of the sea monk's origins, daring to present their point of view to the world scientific community. “For the last 20+ years, I have had a strange hobby - to pursue the complex science of studying sea monsters, - says the scientist. "I'm a big kid and I always thought it was interesting."
The sea monk captivated his imagination, because the data obtained from folklore and scientific works of the 16-19 centuries did not want to fit into the existing paradigm. It seemed to Paxton that all attempts to classify this creature did not take into account something very important. First, the scientist thought that the observations took place in a specific area, that is, it was unlikely that it was accidental. Secondly, he recalled that a special species of North Atlantic fish under the general name "anglerfish" lives off the coast of Great Britain.
Paxton then suggested that the sea monk could be an angel shark (Squatina), which suits many parameters - habitat, color, length, shoulder girdle and pelvic bones.
“If you put a gun to my head and order me to give an immediate answer about who the sea monk is, I will immediately say that this is exactly the angel shark,” Paxton jokes. “However,” he clarifies, “we cannot turn back time and find out for sure, so my answer cannot be considered correct one hundred percent.”
Paxton is sure that the ocean is still inhabited by animals unknown to science. Proof of this is the speed at which scientists are discovering new species.
In addition, the scientist became interested in another creature, which is mentioned in many ancient works and is called the "sea bishop". Perhaps, he believes, we are talking about the same creature.
Despite the hypotheses put forward, the Scottish researcher still believes that the sea monk's mystery is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. Scientists of the 16th century and members of the royal family actually considered the sea monster to be a hybrid, chimera, half-human.
Paxton suggested that over time, two completely different creatures could transform into a single legend. One of them is fish, which from time to time caught in the nets and frightened local fishermen. And the other is some kind of primate; perhaps even a real person, some sinister man-eating monk who lived at that time on the seaside.
Elena Muravyova for neveroyatno.info