Elephas Anthropogenus

After the fall of the Roman Empire, elephants virtually disappeared from Western Europe.

Since there was no real knowledge of how this animal actually looked, illustrators had to rely on oral and written transmissions to morphologically reconstruct the elephant, thus reinventing an actual existing creature. This tree diagram traces the evolution of the elephant depiction throughout the middle ages up to the age of enlightenment.





~1230

~1385

1479

1676

~1650

1597

~1650

1592

1585

1582

~1580

~1580

1578

~1550

1530-1561

1520-1530

1482

1480-1485

~1480

1470

1470-1472

1470-1480

~1470

~1450

1452

~1450

~1450

~1450

1400-1450

~1450

1410-1412

~1450

~1450

~1450

1450-1500

1450-1500

1450-1475

1449-1477

1447-1455

1447-1455

1447-1455

1410-1412

1410-1412

1410-1412

~1424

~1375

~1366

1362-1363

~1375

~1325

1325-1350

1473

1313

~1300

~1300

~1300

1293

1290-1300

~1250

~1250

1250-1275

~1400

1250-1275

1200-1210

~1445

~1186

1050-1075

1200-1210

0900-1000

~1450

~1450

1475-1500

1505

~1440

~1350

~1350

1275-1300

1275-1300

~1230

~1230

~1450

1461

1559

1478-1506

~1475

1250-1275

1793

1765

~1675

1745-1747

1746 - 1755

1652

1663

1672

~1650

1639-1644

1646

1629

1582

1587

~1575

1565

1559

~1500

1550-1570

1552

1574

1552

1552

1539

1511

1536

1514

~1510

1508

1501

~1500

1482

1485-1499

1487

1500-1550

~1500

~1475

1482

1470-1482

1471

~1475

1475-1500

1470-1480

1460-1470

~1450

~1350

1450-1500

~1450

1450-1475

1444

1420-1430

~1360

1442-1448

1304-1321

1300-1350

~1270-1290

1230-1240

1230-1240

1225-1250

~1200

~1185

~1025

1175-1200

~1185

1150-1250

1025 - 1050

1350-1400

1664

~1275

1275-1300

~1258

~1250

1250-1275

1236-1245

1255-1259

~1250

~1450

( click on drawings for magnification & additional information )