Monsters as Portents of the Future

In the days after 9/11, American Evangelicals Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson discussed what the tragedy meant for America. In that conversation, Falwell describes the attackers as "monsters." The blame for the events, though, was on groups like the ACLU and the communities they support. For Falwell and Robertson, this was a moment where God used "monsters" to show an anger with American secularism. In making these claims, they drew on a history of seeing monsters and disasters as portents of the future. This interpretation of monsters becomes necessary if they are real, and not allegories. Their presence asks why would such beings exist if there is a perfect God. In response, some theologians argued that monsters are portents, signs that something was amiss in the world. They reasoned that what they considered the physical deformity of monsters was a sign of moral deformity in the world. They were visible signs of an invisible evil. Such an interpretation was especially useful in vilifying political or theological opponents, as Falwell and Robertson demonstrate even today.

S. Isidore hispalensis episcopi…opera omnia (Etymologies)

Isidore of Seville (-636)

Rome: Antonii Fulgonii (1793)

1793 ISID, V. 4, p. 31

Thinking about monsters, Isidore is concerned about what their presence means about the moral state of the universe. This is so important to him that it becomes the defining difference between humans and monsters. Monsters attest to something wrong in the universe. This was especially true when considering more humanoid monsters. People were more likely to encounter someone like this than a griffin. As such, theologians had to provide an answer for why such a difference existed. It was not possible to think of these beings as literary allegories for something else if we could encounter them in real life.

Deuttung der zwo grewlichen Figuren: Bapstesels zu Rom, und Munchkalbs zu Freyberg in Meyssen funden

Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) and Martin Luther (1483-1546)

Wittenberg: Johann Rhau-Grunenberg (1523)

1523 MELA I, pp. 1–2

These woodcuts depict two famous portents related to the Protestant Reformation. The first slide is of the Papal Ass. In 1496, after the Tiber River in Rome flooded, people found it in the streets. They believed it was a river monster that came ashore in the flooding. The other being is the Monk-Calf of Freyberg. It was born in 1522 with the deformed appearance shown here. This included a tonsure-like irregularity on its head that resembled the haircut of a Roman Catholic Monk. Drawing on these beings, Luther and Melanchthon published this pamphlet to critique the Papacy. They argued that these monsters showed up in this time and place to signal the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.

Illustrium veterum scriptorum, qui rerum a Germanis per multas aetates gestarum historias vel annales posteris reliquerunt

Johann Pistorius (1546-1608)

Frankfurt: Andreae Wecheli (1583)

1583 PIST, V. 2, p. 57

German historian Johann Pistorius points to another connection between portents and religious change. Here he describes a boy with four hands and a boy born without hands or eyes with the lower body of a fish. These beings, along with a couple of monstrous animals from the Nile, appeared in roughly 584 CE. Pistorius tells us that some believed these were portents that signaled the coming of Islam. This association means readers would immediately understand that Islam was dangerous for them.

Gregorii posthuma: or, Certain Learned Tracts

John Gregory (1607-1646)

London: Printed by W. Du-gard for L. Sadler (1650)

1650 GREG, pp. 121–122

Over time the existence and meaning of humanoid monsters came into question. In this passage from the Learned Tracts of John Gregory, he describes an encounter the people and king of Poland had with the "bishop fish." Shown here, the fish has a cowl that resembles the habit of a Roman Catholic bishop. One could make a connection to Luther's own Monk-Calf, which had a similar appearance. As such, one might expect Gregory to interpret the fish as a sign of corruption. Instead, he raises questions about whether the fish even existed. He also notes that even if it did exist, it had no profound meaning behind it.

A discourse concerning prodigie: wherein the vanity of presages by them is reprehended, and their true and proper ends asserted and vindicated

John Spencer (1630-1693)

Cambridge: Printed by J. Field for W. Graves (1663)

1663 SPEN, title page

In 1663, English priest John Spencer published a critique of interpreting monsters as portents. This treatise sought to avoid any sense that monsters or other unknown appearances were signs of God's anger. Instead, he finds a danger in such interpretations. Doing so turns those beings into idols while also stoking a fear about the world. Spencer argues we should rather interpret such events and beings as moments for wonder and admiration. In such a way, they keep the soul in expectation of what God has planned. Through this lens, they attest to the plentitude of creation as the artwork of God.

The Complete Works of Washington Irving in One Volume: with a Memoir of the Author (The Legend of Sleepy Hallow)

Washington Irving (1783-1859)

Paris: Baudry's European Library (1834)

1834 IRVI, p. 332

As theologians doubt portents, they remained a part of the collective imagination through stories. In Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, we find a town still fascinated by the powers of portents. These fears express themselves most in the Headless Horseman that haunts the town. Yet, throughout the story there is a question of the power of these monsters. While the main character believes them to be real, the narrator seems unsure. The ending even suggests the Horseman is a ruse to scare off the superstitious Ichabod Crane, but the story leaves us hesitating about the truth. Thus, the power of portents lived on, even as theology became skeptical.