Mythologization of avifauna in Polish humanists’ works

Abstract

The process of mythologization of avifauna has been analyzed in order to study the relation between man and nature, and more precisely, between the Renaissance humanism and natural sciences. One issue is puzzling in this field – why did educated and well-read humanists mythologize nature, including the avifauna? Why did authors, for whom in principle criticism was an elementary indicator for perceiving reality, got rid of it so easily? 16th century authors with humanist education did not reconstruct nature but art, and they searched for its ideal in ancient works filled with mythologization of the nature. Humanist erudition required describing mythical animals and equally mythical symbolic of those animals. In this way one could prove that he knew ancient texts well. Reconstruction of such nature as it really existed was an attitude that was unworthy of a humanist artist. Hence the store of knowledge and ignorance that existed in those times was translated into a particular, often mythologized, text written by a Renaissance author.