Animal légendaire et discours savant médiéval. La barnacle dans tous ses états

• Main Author: van der Lugt, Maaike
• Other Authors: Groupe d'anthropologie scolastique/Equipe CRH (GAS-CRH), École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2000
• Subjects: legend; spontaneous generation; food laws; barnacle; légende; génération spontanée; interdits alimentaires; [SHS.HIST]Humanities and Social Sciences/History; Arctic; Lent; Marvel; Barnacle goose; Branta leucopsis
• Online Access: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00175458; https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00175458/document; https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00175458/file/vanderLugt-BARNACLE.pdf

International audience According to a legend attested since the 10th century at least, the barnacle goose (branta leucopsis/branta bernacla) does not hatch from eggs, but grows on driftwood, and is a barnacle at its first stage of development. Another version of the legend has the goose growing as a fruit on the waterfront trees. Most commonly, medieval literature treats the barnacle goose as an amusing marvel without posing the question of its causes or reality. However, the legend has also led to learned discussions, observations and even enquiries. This article looks at the efforts of medieval scholars to refute the legend as a fable, or to integrate the barnacle into the order of nature. The case of the barnacle goose shows the limits of simple observation, which is always predetermined by the expectations of the observer. Sometimes observation of the birds or of the barnacles is put forward as proof for the veracity of the legend. At the same time, the discovery, in 1596, of the breeding place of the birds, in the Arctic regions, does not lead to the demise of the legend. The article then turns to other learned discussions about the barnacle goose, such as polemic or anti-heretical treatises that cite the asexually generated bird as an analogy for the virginal conception of Christ. The article concludes on a culinary note. Because of its extraordinary generation, the barnacle goose is an ambiguous animal, at the frontier between animals and plants, between flesh and fish. This uncertainty has lead to interesting discussions on whether it is permissible to eat a barnacle goose during Lent. Selon une légende, attestée depuis le Xe siècle au moins, la barnacle (branta leucopsis/branta bernacla) ne naît pas, comme les autres oiseaux, à partir d'œufs, mais se développe sur du bois flottant, et est d'abord un coquillage: l'anatife. Selon une autre variante, l'oie pousse comme un fruit sur des arbres au bord de l'eau. Le plus souvent, la littérature médiévale traite la barnacle comme une merveille amusante ...