In November 1637, the public performance of Lazzaro and Giovan Battista Colloredo, a couple of Italian parasitic twins, created great excitement in London printing market. Advertisements, handbills, broadsheets and ballads immortalized the presence of the extraordinary brothers in the country, spreading their fame in the whole city. The present essay takes into consideration the only surviving publications of this period: A true Picture and Story of two Brethren borne in Genoa, authored by Robert Milbourne, and The Two Inseparable Brothers, written by Martin Parker. The intertwined analysis of these two illustrated texts will allow to understand how two Caroline poets reacted to the strangeness of human severe malformation, as well as to show how they, exploiting the specific anatomical physiology of the “monstorus creature”, instrumentally constructed two counterposed ideas of English nation.

Due idee del mostruoso, due idee di nazione. I gemelli Colloredo a Londra (1637) in due ballate di Robert Milbourne e Martin Parker

Luca Baratta
2018-01-01

Abstract

In November 1637, the public performance of Lazzaro and Giovan Battista Colloredo, a couple of Italian parasitic twins, created great excitement in London printing market. Advertisements, handbills, broadsheets and ballads immortalized the presence of the extraordinary brothers in the country, spreading their fame in the whole city. The present essay takes into consideration the only surviving publications of this period: A true Picture and Story of two Brethren borne in Genoa, authored by Robert Milbourne, and The Two Inseparable Brothers, written by Martin Parker. The intertwined analysis of these two illustrated texts will allow to understand how two Caroline poets reacted to the strangeness of human severe malformation, as well as to show how they, exploiting the specific anatomical physiology of the “monstorus creature”, instrumentally constructed two counterposed ideas of English nation.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11367/84506
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