Erik Pontoppidan's The Natural History of Norway, 1752, is a primary source, the work through which the kraken enters print. Its strength is that Pontoppidan, bishop of Bergen, presents it as a real animal within a serious natural history rather than as a monster of folklore, which is exactly why the atlas cites it for the creature itself rather than for a mythology reference. Its limit is the ordinary one for eighteenth century natural history: it mixes genuine sailors' observation with credulous compilation, and later naturalists did not accept the kraken as a real species.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier2
Reliability tier 2: a primary eighteenth century natural history text, valuable as the work through which the creature entered print but mixing genuine observation with credulous compilation, as period natural history generally did. NotesThe work through which the kraken enters print. Pontoppidan, bishop of Bergen, presents it as a real animal within a natural history, not as a monster of myth, which is why the atlas cites it for the creature rather than a mythology reference.
Citation
AuthorErik Pontoppidan
Publication Year1752
Source Typeprimary-text
Claims Backed By This Source (10 claims)
This source backs 10 claims across the atlas. As facts: 8 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 6 claims: 6 well-attested.
- Mythical Creatures, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
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