Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Mirabilia
(1,189 words)

1. Concept and definition

The common Latin term in medieval and early modern Europe for wonders and prodigies of nature was mirabile, usually in its plural form, mirabilia (“wondrous things,” “marvels”; more rarely: miracula or admiranda). The term for the emotion of astonishment or wonder elicited by mirabilia was admiratio. Like the Latin verb mirari (“to wonder [at],” “to admire”) and the adjective mirus (“wondrous,” “astonishing”), these terms are derived from the Indo-European*smei-, …

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Krämer, Fabian, “Mirabilia”, 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 30 September 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_024684>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20200128



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