ABSTRACT
This chapter extends recent theories in Nashe studies by recognizing the explicit connections between Vesalian anatomy and Nashe's layered and detailed style. It presents an interpretation of Nashe's work that ties its form to "something specific" by situating the formal elements of The Unfortunate Traveller as a model for practicing Vesalian knowledge. By the term "new anatomy", the chapter considers what many medical historians observe to be a paradigm shift in the practice of dissection, where the human body was freed from the restrictions of ancient thought. The most effective use of anatomical form in Nashe's work occurs after Pierce's preface a clever rendering of paratext in the body text itself in which he defines the purpose of his note and searches for a proper courier to deliver it. The chapter contends that Nashe appropriates precise formal suggestions from the Fabrica in his efforts to establish a "clean different vein" from his "other forms of writing" in The Unfortunate Traveller.
