Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Donkey
(920 words)

The donkey enjoyed considerable importance in early modern societies by reason of its physical strength, but this was not its only role. It was also portrayed in early modern art as an attribute of Christian scenes and an object of pagan veneration [13]. In European literature, the donkey became synonymous with stubbornness and stupidity from at least the French translation of the Disputation de l'asne (1544; “Disputation on the Donkey”) by Mayurqi Abdallah Ibn-Abdallah. The animal's character was the same in its appearance in the fables of La Fontaine (1668-1693), for example L…

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Sanz Lafuente, Gloria, “Donkey”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_018941>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170626



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