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September 21 - September 22, 2021
The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips.
Conrad Gessner’s Historiae animalium was published in Zurich between 1551 and 1558 and is seen as the book that kick-started modern zoology.
Two snowy owls, just like Hedwig, can be found in John James Audubon’s The Birds of America. It was published in sections between 1827 and 1838, bound together in multiple volumes, and depicted every bird native to North America. It has been described as the most beautiful illustrated bird book ever.
Even though Hedwig is female in the Harry Potter books, the movies used a male snowy owl to play the part since his completely white feathers looked great on camera and his lighter weight made it easier for the then-child actors to carry him.
Unlike those of most birds, owls’ eyes aren’t at the side of their heads, but facing front – just like people. If you look at an owl, it will look right back, which might explain the mysterious connection that some people (and wizards) have with owls.
The first record we have of a Hippogriff being mentioned by name is in the book Orlando Furioso.
the knights mounted on Hippogriffs as a symbol of the impossibility of and contradictions between chivalry and passionate love, and how that love is complicated in the chivalric tradition.
Like a lot of women who broke through barriers in history, particularly in science and business, Merian had to withstand persistent doubt and cynicism from the patriarchal society in which she lived.
Statues of mermaids were surprisingly common and part of a growing trend in Europe in the 18th century, mostly hailing from Japan where there was a vogue for them. These types of mermaid became world-famous and some say they were central to the fame of ‘the Greatest Showman on Earth’, P.T. Barnum.
But magic has always crept in, because fundamentally humans want to believe in the unbelievable – that a narwhal tusk is actually a unicorn horn – and so the bestiaries and cabinets of curiosity from the medieval period onwards have found a thrilling new life in the Harry Potter stories and Fantastic Beasts film series. If you care enough for magical creatures in your imagination, they will enhance your life in return!
