Discovering the Yonge Collection - Pontoppidan's 'Natural History of Norway'

Pontoppidan, Erich (1755), The natural history of Norway: containing a particular and accurate account of the temperature of the air, the different soils, waters, vegetables, metals, minerals, stones, beasts, birds, and fishes: together with the dispositions, customs, and manner of living of the inhabitants: interspersed with physiological notes from eminent writers, and transactions of academies : in two parts, A. Linde, London. 

The Natural history of Norway was distinctly modern in its concept, and Pontoppidan was called Norway’s Pliny, often citing Pliny the Elder, the Roman naturalist and scholar. Once published, the book was hugely popular and quickly translated into English and German. Chapters included: geography, climate, weather, geology, fresh and sea water, trees, plants crops, wild and domestic animals, land and sea birds, fish and fisheries, all sorts of creeping and wiggly animals. He also gave over a chapter dedicated to marine monsters, such as the sea serpent, the kraken, and mermen and mermaids.

Illustrated plate from The Natural History of Norway.

Pontoppidan’s book is one of the first texts to make Norwegian nature into a coherent and manageable entity. The subtitle indicates how nature has been divided into many categories. The subtitle also implies that the book takes part in a collective “scientific” endeavour, presenting academically proven facts from reputable scholars. However, as a work of natural history from the 18th century, this book’s credibility has been somewhat damaged, due to Pontoppidan’s presentation of certain spiritual arguments, such as claiming that he could prove scientifically and empirically that God’s deed are full of love and kindness.

Pontoppidan’s scientific credibility also took a hit when he provided full chapter coverage to marine serpents, mermaids, and sea monsters such as the kraken. The kraken is a legendary cephalopod-like sea monster of giant size which, according to ancient tales, lives in the waters off Norway and Iceland. Myths and stories of the kraken have been traced back in Nordic folklore as far back as the 12th century Icelandic sagas. The author used numerous sighting reports from credible observers to build his case for the existence of these creatures:

“The existence of European mer-men being called into question, it must proceed entirely from the fabulous stories usually mix’d with the truth. Here in the diocese of Bergen, as well as in the manor of Nordland, are several hundred person of credit and reputation, who affirm, with the strongest assurances, that they have seen these creatures sometimes at a distance, and at other times quite close to the boat, standing upright and formed like a human creature down the middle.” 

Illustrated plate from The Natural History of Norway.

Putting aside arguments for the existence of mermaids, there was a grain of truth in his description of the kraken, with it possibly having its origins in the authentic giant squid, which was only first photographed alive in 2004, and in 2012 when a giant squid was filmed in the wild for the first time. Measuring an impressive 46 feet, these squid truly are reminiscent of tales of the legendary Kraken. Pontoppidan tread very carefully with his coverage in this chapter, as he knew that his reputation as a natural historian might easily be destroyed if he insisted on the existence of these animals. However, Pontoppidan did attempt to be even handed with the discussion of these creatures, noting the danger of ignoring the truth by refusing to believe something unusual or unexpected, saying:

“We are apt to believe sometimes too much, and sometimes too little. I shall therefore quit the subject here, and leave it to future writers on this plan, to complete what I have imperfectly sketched out, by further experience, which is always the best instructor.” 

Since the 1700s, the myth of the kraken has indeed continued to capture the minds of many scholars and writers, such as Alfred Lord Tennyson in 1830 when he wrote the eerie poem The Kraken, and Herman Melville in 1850 when he referred to the Kraken in Moby Dick, calling it “the great live squid, which they say few whale-ships ever beheld, and returned to their ports to tell of it”. Pontoppidan’s description even influenced Jules Verne’s depictions of the famous giant squid in Twenty thousand leagues under the sea from 1870. In 1953 John Wyndham used the fear of the kraken in his apocalyptic science fiction novel The kraken wakes, showing how humankind responds to its own extinction. Although we now know it is not just a legend, the giant squid remains one of the most elusive large animals in the world, thus continuing to add to its aura of mystery that Pontoppidan somewhat bravely highlighted all those centuries ago.

The work is vast in its subject coverage, and size and quality of illustrations. The book itself is large, with dimensions being 36cm H x 23cm W. Many of the 28 beautiful copper engraved illustrations are equally large, and include great detail. The illustrations cover a wide subject matter, as per the book’s long and detailed subtitle. Illustrations include rocks, minerals, gems and crystals, intricately drawn shells, fish and marine animals, seaweeds, stunning landscapes and seascapes of Norway, detailed charts including a large fold out map of Norway and survey drawings of Norway’s coastline. The chapter in Part 2 entitled “Chapter VIII Concerning certain sea-monsters, or strange and uncommon sea-animals” also includes illustrations of weird mythical animals, such as the sea serpent. Land-based animals and plants were also illustrated with fine illustrations of birds, plants. The author also recorded information about the culture and customs of Norway at the time, providing detailed illustrations of current dress styles in Norway.

Illustrated plate depicting a mythical sea serpent, from The Natural History of Norway.

About the author 
Erich (Erik) Pontoppidan (24 August 1698 – 20 December 1764) was a Danish-Norwegian author, a Lutheran bishop of the Church of Norway, a historian and naturalist, and a cryptozoologist. He was a very eminent man in his day, training as a theologian in 1738, and going on to become Professor of Theology at the University of Copenhagen. He was Bishop of Bergen from 1747 until 1755, when he was named Vice-Chancellor of the University, a post he retained till his death. In 1737 he published a major theological work called Truth unto Godliness, which was an explanation of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. This work extensively influenced Danish and Norwegian religious life for the next 200 years.

Pontoppidan wrote several other ecclesiastic works as well as a novel Menoza, which was a critique of the religious conditions of Denmark and other countries. In 1747 he was appointed Bishop of Bergen, and introduced many educational reforms. However, some of his work caused antagonism in Bergen, and in 1754 he was obliged to go to Copenhagen where he became the Vice Chancellor of Copenhagen University the following year.

Illustrated plate from The Natural History of Norway.

Apart from theological works, Pontoppidan wrote a number of other significant works of natural history. One of his earlier writing accomplishments was the multi-volume Atlas of Denmark from 1763 to 1767. As part of his job as Bishop of Bergen, Pontoppidan was required to travel and visit much of the western coast of Norway, where he collected observations and specimens. After three summers of travelling, he had collected enough material to write a natural history of the entire country. After 4 years of writing, he produced the 2 volume work Geschichte Norwegens (The Natural History of Norway). Its coverage was vast with the subtitle being “a particular and accurate account of the temperature of the air, the different soils, waters, vegetables, metals, minerals, stones, beasts, birds, and fishes : together with the dispositions, customs, and manner of living of the inhabitants : interspersed with physiological notes from eminent writers, and transactions of academies”. The book was massive in its scope and coverage of Norwegian natural history and was very popular, being immediately translated into German in 1753 and 1754, and English in 1755.


Suzie Davies, Special Collections Volunteer
James Cook University Library

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Bibliography

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