1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: show that uncovers a little bit more about history every day. 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier and today we're talking about an Asian 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: elephant that left a lasting impression on Renaissance sarah Europe, 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: from his role in Portuguese politics to his influence on 7 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:31,159 Speaker 1: the Protestant Reformation. This is the story of Hanno, the 8 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: Pope's pet Elephant. The day was June eighth, fifteen sixteen. 9 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 1: Pope Leo the Tenth's favorite pet, a rare white elephant 10 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: named Hanno, passed away at the age of seven. Hanno 11 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: was buried beneath the Belvedere courtyard at the Vatican Palace 12 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: in Rome. His grave site was adorned with a memorial 13 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: fresco designed by the acclaimed Italian artist Raphael and the 14 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: Pope himself wrote Hanno's epitaph. In the sixteenth century, it 15 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: was customary for Christian rulers to present gifts to the 16 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: Vatican upon the election of a new pope, so in 17 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: fifteen thirteen, when Giovanni de Lorenzo de Medici became Pope 18 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,199 Speaker 1: Leo the Tenth, the gifts began rolling in and didn't 19 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: stop for the first couple years of his reign. Previous 20 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: popes had received a menagerie of exotic animals as gifts, 21 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: including parrots, mandrills, leopards, and a whole troop of monkeys, 22 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: but no one had ever sent the Roman pontiff anything 23 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: as exotic or as big as an elephant. That finally 24 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: changed in fifteen fourteen, when Portuguese King Manuel the First 25 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: tried to outdo his fellow sovereigns by sending a whole 26 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 1: caravan of precious goods to the Vatican doorstep. But his 27 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: goal wasn't just to show off. The king was actually 28 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: eager to expand portugal shipping routes to India as a 29 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,119 Speaker 1: way to tighten the country's grip on the lucrative spice trade. However, 30 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: Manuel would need money from the Church and the pope's 31 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: blessing in order to pull it off, and that's where 32 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 1: the Mountain of Presence came in. Hoping to win the 33 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: new pope's favor, King Manuel sent all the usual goodies 34 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,640 Speaker 1: you'd expect, such as gold, jewels, and textiles, but he 35 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 1: also threw in a veritable zoo of foreign animals, including 36 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: a cheetah, a Persian horse, and a white Indian elephant. 37 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: It's hard to overstate the novelty of seeing an elephant 38 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:46,079 Speaker 1: in Italy during the Renaissance. To be sure, Italians were 39 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: aware elephants existed centuries earlier. Hannibal had famously crossed the 40 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: Alps with several dozen African war elephants, but no elephant 41 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: had stepped foot in Italy since the fall of the 42 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: Roman Empire, and since cameras hadn't been invented and paintings 43 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,839 Speaker 1: and sculptures were expensive, most people in Italy had never 44 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: even seen a picture of a pachoderm, much less a 45 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: real live one. You can imagine then, the excitement it 46 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: caused when a four year old white elephant arrived in 47 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: Italy in the winter of fifteen fourteen. He was named Hanno, 48 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: after a famous Carthaginian explorer, and during his slow seventy 49 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: mile journey from the port of Hercules to Rome, he 50 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: became the joyful fascination of just about the entire country. 51 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: People from all walks of life came out to see Hanno, 52 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: with many following behind his entourage for days. On end. 53 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: The elephant, essentially a toddler, wasn't all that big. His 54 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: shoulder is said to have reached only about four feet tall, 55 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: but it hardly mattered. Hanno picked up new fans and 56 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: every town he visited, and his most zealous admirers were 57 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: said to have trampled fields, caved in roofs, and ripped 58 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: through walls just to get a look at him. Hanno 59 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: clearly made quite an impression all on his own, but 60 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: when he finally arrived in Rome, the little elephant and 61 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: his handlers went all out to dazzle the Pope. He 62 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: was led in a grand procession through the streets of Rome, 63 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: draped in luxurious fabrics and sporting a proud silver tower 64 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: on his back. Later that day, the Portuguese ambassador presented 65 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: Hanno to the Pope, and the elephant wasted no time 66 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,359 Speaker 1: in winning his heart. Upon reaching his new master, the 67 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: elephant performed a trick he'd learned before being sent to 68 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: Italy in the presence of the Pope. Hanno dropped to 69 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: his knees, bowed his head low, and trumpeted three times 70 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,679 Speaker 1: loud and clear. Then he sucked a trough of water 71 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: into his trunk and sprayed it out over everyone in 72 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: the crowd, including the Pope, who was just as charmed 73 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: by the little elephant as everyone else who'd met him. 74 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: Not all of the animals gifted to popes remained in 75 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: the Vatican, but Pope Leo the Tenth wanted to keep 76 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: Hanno as close as possible. He commissioned a special enclosure 77 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: for the elephant right between Saint Peter's Basilica and the 78 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:13,359 Speaker 1: Apostolic Palace, and on weekends he invited the public to 79 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: come visit his favorite new pet. Hanno also made frequent 80 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,720 Speaker 1: appearances in parades, festivals, and other celebrations, but no matter 81 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: how many times people saw him, they still couldn't get enough. 82 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,839 Speaker 1: The Pope was so pleased with Hanno that he wrote 83 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: a gushing letter of thanks to King Manuel the first, 84 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: telling him quote it was the elephant which excited the 85 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: greatest astonishment to the whole world, as much from the 86 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: memories it evoked of the ancient past, For the arrival 87 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: of similar beasts was fairly frequent in the days of 88 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:49,279 Speaker 1: ancient Rome. One is almost tempted to put faith in 89 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 1: the assertion of the idolators who pretend that a certain 90 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: affinity exists between these animals and mankind. The sight of 91 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,600 Speaker 1: this quadruped provides us with the greatest amusement and has 92 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: become for our people an object of extraordinary wonder. Tragically, 93 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: Hanno's time with the Pope didn't last long. In fifteen sixteen, 94 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: the seven year old elephant suddenly fell ill and began 95 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: having trouble breathing. He was still quite young for his species, 96 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: but the stress of being continually exposed to masses of 97 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: spectators may have weakened his immune system. The doctors who 98 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: examined him believed the elephant was only constipated, so they 99 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: administered what was of fairly common treatment at the time, 100 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: a suppository enriched with pure gold. It's unclear whether Hanno 101 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,480 Speaker 1: died of his illness or his toxic treatment, but what 102 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: we do know is that when the elephant drew his 103 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: last breath on June eighth, fifteen sixteen, Pope Leo the 104 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: Tenth was at his side. The Pope was said to 105 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 1: be heartbroken by the loss of Hanno and was determined 106 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,919 Speaker 1: to lay the animal to rest with honor. So for starters, 107 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: he hired the great artist Raphael to design a life 108 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: sized fresco portrait of Hanno to be painted on the 109 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: wall of the Vatican's Gatehouse. The pope insisted that Raphael 110 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: himself make the preliminary drawing, not the other artists at 111 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: his studio, and while the finished fresco and the wall 112 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: it was painted on were eventually destroyed, contemporary copies of 113 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: Raphael's original drawings still exist. As a further expression of 114 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: his grief, Pope Leo the Tenth composed a lengthy epitaph 115 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: in honor of Hanno, including a portion written from the 116 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: elephant's point of view. The full memorial is available online, 117 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: but it reads in part, under this great hill I 118 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: lie buried mighty elephant, which the King Manuel, having conquered 119 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: the Orient, sent as captive to Pope Leo the Tenth, 120 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: at which the Roman people marveled a beast not seen 121 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: for a long time, and in my brutish breast they 122 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: perceived human feeling. Hanno the Elephant was buried beneath the 123 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: courtyard where he lived, and while his bones were eventually 124 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: unearthed in the nineteen sixties, they were thankfully reburied and 125 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: allowed to rest in peace. Remarkably, Hanno's brief time at 126 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: the Vatican actually helped inspire the Protestant Reformation, if only 127 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: a little. Many would be reformers of the Church were 128 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: already outraged by the wasteful spending of Pope Leo the 129 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: Tenth's papal court. He was known to host over the 130 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,679 Speaker 1: top feasts and masquerades, and was often accused of granting 131 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: indulgences in exchange for contributions to his costly construction projects. 132 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,199 Speaker 1: Once the pope's critics found out he had a special 133 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 1: pet elephant from India, Hanno became the perfect symbol of 134 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: the papacy's extravagance. In fact, German supporters of Martin Luther 135 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: made Hanno the subject of one of their first published 136 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: criticisms of the church. Then a few years later, La 137 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:07,719 Speaker 1: Popelio the tenth excommunicated Luther, effectively launching the Reformation. Protestants 138 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: may have viewed Hanno as the embodiment of church corruption, 139 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: but for plenty of other folks in Europe, he was 140 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 1: simply an amazing creature. Many portraits of the famous elephant 141 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: were painted from life, and they continued to circulate in 142 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: Europe first centuries after his death. Today you can view 143 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: four such works yourself at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. 144 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 1: Another surviving tribute to Hanno is on permanent display in 145 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: Rome's Piazza della Minerva. It's a sculpted pedestal for an 146 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: ancient Egyptian obelisk that was uncovered in Rome in the 147 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: sixteen sixties. The support for the obelisk was created by 148 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,440 Speaker 1: the renowned Roman artist Bernini, and it depicts a familiar 149 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: white elephant adorned with an ornate saddlecloth. It's reportedly one 150 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: of the most photographed artworks in Rome, which is quite 151 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: an impressive feat. Conser during the competition, but based on 152 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 1: all the praises sung about Hano, I'd say the recognition 153 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: is well deserved. I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now 154 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 155 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: You can learn even more about history by following us 156 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and 157 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: if you have any comments or suggestions, you can always 158 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,439 Speaker 1: send them my way by writing to this day at 159 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays and Ben Hackett 160 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 1: for producing the show. And thanks to you for listening. 161 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day 162 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: in history class.