Monstrous Births and Visual Culture in Sixteenth-Century Germany

'a valuable addition to the literature on early modern print culture, monstrous births, and German culture during the Reformation.' Journal of Early Modern History 'shows the range and power of monstrous births in early modern German writing and illustration, and will be of interest to scholars of Reformation Germany and 'monster culture'. Canadian Journal of History 'Spinks has produced an interesting and highly detailed text showing how politics, religious turmoil, and print culture 'turned monstrous births into iconic figures in a world teeming with disturbing wondrous signs'. Parergon 'Well researched and with thoughtful use of primary sources, this book is a welcome and necessary addition to the nascent scholarship on the complex subject of monsters in the early modern period.' Renaissance Quarterly 'Lavishly illustrated, beautifully produced and written, Spinks's investigation ... proves how fruitful attention to the unusual can be in understanding the typical, mainstream mentalities, beliefs and culture of early modern society.' Times Literary Supplement 'includes interesting observations regarding the emergence of monstrous births as an ambiguous subject in the German print culture during the sixteenth century, and Spinks brings our attention to a fascinating topic.' Sixteenth Century Journal

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Wonders and Monsters in Early Modern Europe; Chapter 1a From Monstrous Races to Monstrous Births: Sebastian Brant and the Intersection of Humanism, Print Culture and Monstrous Births around 1500; Chapter 2 Visual Culture and Monstrous Births before the Reformation: Albrecht Dürer, Hans Burgkmair and Conjoined Twins; Chapter 3 Reformation Visual Culture and Monstrous Births: Luther's Monk Calf and Melanchthon's Papal Ass; Chapter 4 Wonder Books and Protestants: Jakob Rueff, Konrad Lycosthenes and Job Fincel; Chapter 5 Catholic Print Culture and Monstrous Births: Johann Nas and Anti-Lutheran Polemic; Chapter 6 'Many Heads, Mouths and Tongues': Monstrous Births in the Later Sixteenth Century;