The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Montaigne, Cannibals, and Grottoes
Secondary Title (i.e. Proceedings Title): Editions of this work: Periodical Title:History & Anthropology Publication Type: Authors:Ginzburg, Carlo Editors: Publisher: Place of Publication: Publication Date:Mar 1993 Alternate Date (i.e. Conference Date): Volume:6 Issue:2/3 Start Page:125-155 End Page: Abstract:French author Michel de Montaigne's celebrated essay "On Cannibals" is related to several historical contexts and Montaigne's wide and varied interests. The positive connotations for him of words like "variety," "strangeness," and "monster" are illustrated by his interest in the Mannerist gardens, fountains, and grottoes he observed in Italy. The essay also unfolded the moral and intellectual implications of the "cabinets of wonders" collections in 16th-century Europe; Montaigne played a crucial role in the process by which the curiosity of antiquarians about Greece and Rome was shifted toward geographically distant, exotic civilizations until the discipline of ethnography eventually emerged. Descriptors/Keywords: Collectors & collectingDiscoveries in geography
Ethnology ISBN: URL:
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