Wizard Sells Magic Wind Knot, 1555
A sixteenth-century woodcut showing a magician in Finland selling a rope with three knots to a merchant captain. If one knot is loosened, the sailor gets mild winds. Two knots give stronger winds and three knots heavy storms. The crew of the sinking ship in the background have not believed in this magic and have loosened the third knot. Olaus Magnus (October 1490 - August 1, 1557) was a Swedish writer and Catholic ecclesiastic. He is best remembered as the author of Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (A Description of the Northern Peoples), printed in Rome 1555, a work of folklore and history. This illustration, titled "On Wizards and Magicians among the Finns," is from Book 3, Chapter 16.
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Photo credit: © Science History Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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