ABSTRACT
What role did curiosity and wonder play in the construction and dissemination of natural knowledge in the early modern Hispanic world? How did naturalists respond to the challenge posed by novelties and rarities, especially those originating from the lesser-known parts of the empire? Starting with the wondrous bird of paradise—sometimes referred to as pájaro celeste—this chapter explores a series of themes and phenomena belonging to the fields of natural history and natural philosophy, whose novelty and allure resonated in other areas of early modern Spanish culture. A key figure in the story will be the Madrid-based Jesuit scholar Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, whose treatises address all kinds of natural wonders and curiosities, from monsters and the power of imagination to the nature of exotic creatures originating from the Americas and other parts of the world.
