Ulysses Aldrovandi’s Serpentum et Draconum Historiae (Bologna, 1640)

Ulysses Aldrovandi’s Serpentum et Draconum Historiae (Bologna, 1640)
Original 10 page / 5 leaf Folio Engraving set | First Edition | Renaissance Natural History

• Author: Ulysses Aldrovandi (1522–1605)

• Illustrator: Jacopo Ligozzi (attributed)

• Published: Bologna, Clemente Ferroni, 1640

• From: Opera Omnia, Vol. X: Serpentum et Draconum Historiae Libri Duo

• Medium: Original 17th-century woodcut engraving

• Size: Approx. 24 × 36 cm (9.5" × 14")

• Condition: Very good to excellent

• Provenance: Eduardo Obejero Urquiza (lithographed bookplate)

Overview

These powerful large engravings hail from Aldrovandi’s seminal natural history compendium on serpents and dragons are a remarkable fusion of early science, mythology, and Renaissance scholarship.

Serpentum et Draconum Historiae was published posthumously in 1640 as part of the Opera Omnia, and stands as one of the earliest attempts to visually and taxonomically document serpents. The plates range from accurate depictions of real snakes to fantastical beasts including horned dragons and chimeric reptiles rooted in folklore. We give you some nice translations of the plates below and if you go ahead and purchase, we will include the high resolution prints of all the translations to be included in your records. 

If I happened to own a University library or a grimy dark tattoo store they would be going up on my wall. 

Scholarly Interest

One verso page translates and discusses ancient Greek, Latin, and vernacular names for snakes, including Pharias, Paraias, Dorcitus, and others, an early example of zoological philology and the changes of names over time. These are very old documents. Aldrovandi cross-references Pliny, Galen, Dioscorides, and Lucan, preserving a linguistic fossil record of how humanity has perceived these creatures across millennia.

This encyclopedic method — weaving literature, science, and mythology — makes each engraving not just an artwork, but a scholarly artefact.

Original Latin (from p. 269, Serpentum et Draconum Historiae):

"Pharias serpens genas habet pulchras, ut Varinus scribit, diphthongo in penultima, scribitur olim Pharias, interdum Pharias sine diphthongo: accedunt Dorcitus et Paraia, eadem ut putant, ex graeco παραίας, quod rufescens aut subruber significat..."

This deceptively short passage is a masterclass in Aldrovandi's interdisciplinary method: linguistics, zoology, and philology blended into early scientific taxonomy.

1. The Greek Origin:
   Aldrovandi traces the name Pharias back to the Greek παραίας, meaning “reddish” or “rust-colored.” This isn’t just linguistic trivia — it suggests that ancient observers were already classifying snakes by physical traits like color, centuries before formal taxonomy.

2. Variant Names Across Cultures:
   He catalogs a litany of alternative names: Pharias, Paraias, Dorcitus, Pagetus, Peras even regional dialect names like Bissa bona (Italian) and Baggen schlang (German). This shows how the same species (or perceived species) was understood differently across Europe, with local names reflecting folklore, appearance, or temperament.

3. Why It Matters:
   In referencing this, Aldrovandi:

   • Demonstrates scholarly depth: he’s read classical sources like Lucan and Greek naturalists.

   • Asserts credibility: he isn’t inventing names; he’s tracing their heritage.

   • Reveals the pre-modern challenge of classification: without Linnaean binomials, naming was messy — and filled with memory, myth, and geography.

4. Intellectual Context:
   This method reflects the Renaissance drive to reconcile ancient knowledge with contemporary observation. It’s not just about snakes — it’s about recovering the ancient world’s lost systems of understanding nature and filtering them through the lens of early modern scholarship.

Translation: Page 269 (Hist. Serp. & Drac. Lib. I)

A: On the Name and Form of the Serpent Pharias or Pareas

“The Pharias Serpent has beautiful cheeks, like Varinus describes, with a diphthong in the penultimate syllable. It was once written as pharias and sometimes as pharias without a diphthong. Add to that, Dorcitus and parai as alternative names. The word paraias is derived from the Greek παραίας, meaning ‘brownish’ or ‘reddish’. Some think the name comes from the rust-red color of the scales.

In the shop of Ravanus the printer, the Pharias Serpent was read as having quick eyes and a reddish hue. Albertus claims that this word came from Lucan, who calls it a “Parae” or “Pareas” Serpent. Some say Pareas is a variant of Pharias, while others call it Peras. Still others call it Pagetus. The German name is Baggen schlang, from the shape of its cheeks.

Italians call it Bissa bona; the Bolognese call it Bissa Angela. From this, we can see how the name passed down and was understood differently in various languages.”

DIFFERENTIAE: (On the Varieties of Serpents)

“The varieties of Serpents are determined by place, form, and other distinctive features. Writers have suggested that even among harmless species, many types exist.

Gesner recounts that in a Polish town called Wasilitza, not far from Cracow, serpents are abundant. Some are venomous, others are not. In the town of Olo Magnus, there’s mention of a plague of serpents that climb roofs, entering homes and devouring grain, even though guardians are present.

Joannes Leo of Africa tells of serpents in the region of Mauritania that are so tame they lie with humans in their beds, or beside dogs under the table, or with cats. They are fed like domestic animals. Julius Scaliger compares them to the tame snakes of the Pyrenees.

Again, Marcus of Venice mentions a Serpens Pares of great length and spotted color, purplish on the sides. These snakes are often found sleeping in desert caves or beneath ruins.”

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