1.02022 Archive of RENATURED, Marina Zurkow's Research Bloghttps://o-matic.com/blog-archive-2022https://o-matic.com/blog-archive-2022/blog/author/<p><i>teratology</i> now means a study of deformity, in the olden days it referred to monsters</p><p>writhing sea monsters of the deep… whales were monstrous</p><p>hell lay inside their mouths (jonah’s experience)</p><p>they were often depicted with horns and scales.</p><p><a href="http://bestiary.ca/prisources/psdetail821.htm" target="_blank"><b>Isidore of Seville</b></a> [7th century CE] (<i>Etymologies</i>, Book 12, 6:6): Whales (<i>ballenae</i>) conceive through coition with the sea-mouse. (Book 12, 6:7-8): Whales are immense beasts, with bodies equal to mountains. They have their name from emitting water, for the Greek <i>ballein</i> means emit; they raise waves higher than those of any other sea beast. They are called monsters (<i>cete</i>) because of their horribleness. The whale that swallowed Jonah was of such size that its belly resembled hell; as Jonah says (Jonah 2:2): “He heard me from the belly of hell.” - <a href="http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast282.htm" target="_blank">medieval bestiary</a><br /></p><figure class="tmblr-full"><img src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/1e5488c55a09273ba2ba04807f4a9ea2/tumblr_inline_oj9q2zWMOG1sfm5ga_540.jpg" /></figure>rich