The Unpublished Manuscript of Alcalá: Chronicle of the Jesuit Jerónimo Xavier on the Prodigies of an Ape at the Court of Emperor Jahangir
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The missionary Jerome Xavier, as well as English diplomats accredited to Emperor Jahangir, spread a festive, yet intriguing story about the divinatory qualities of a Bengali ape who always selected the religion of Christ. This episode of entertainment generated more notoriety in Europe than in India, being interpreted as a miraculous action or as an illusionist’s trick. The Archives of Alcalá (AESI-E) keeps a copy of the handwritten letter sent by Fr. Xavier to Visitor Pimenta, a letter that recounts the details of the event. This article aims to contextualize the circumstances and perceptions generated by the news and then compare them with the English ones.
Source: Indialogs
Author: Alfonso Ojeda-Marín
Institution: Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409680750