In antiquity malformations on both men and animals were regarded as warnings from the gods, this old belief still today survives in the word “monster”, from the Latin verb “monere” – meaning “to warn”.
Collected first in Cabinets of Curiosities, monsters became soon an important part of Freak Shows in the Victorian England, here often displayed as missing link between humans and the animal kingdom. Naturalists studied freaks to understand the rules that govern the development of embryos, and believed also that they reflect the evolution of life on earth.
