THE ELEPHANT AND THE RHINO IN A DUEL RETOLD BETWEEN THE THIRTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH-CENTURIES

Abstract

In the early sixteenth century, the Portuguese king D. Manuel, arranged a fight between an elephant and a rhinoceros, animals brought directly from overseas and known by a supposed rivalry. The conflict between the two species was reported in several sorts of works, such as bestiaries, encyclopedias and travel reports, which told the details of the encounter between these belligerent animals. From the information contained in the bestiaries of the thirteenth century to the event undertaken by the Portuguese monarch, the description of the duel presents significant nuances concerning, above all, the way men conceived the animal world. The exam of some variations and changes in the way of describing the confrontation between these beasts, from the first decades of the thirteenth century to the early sixteenth, will be made in this article. It will be argued, in this sense, that   the accurate observation of this retold duel may reveal important aspects of the relationship between animals and men of the past.