“Cobras da Índia de duas cabeças não fazem mal” Codex Casanatense 1889, fl. 91

Abstract

The long, if uneven, history of alleged sightings of serpents with a head at each end of their body – known in the ancient world as amphisbaenae – extends at least from the fifth century BC to as late as the eighteenth century AD. This shows that, in presenting an image of such a two-headed snake, the illustrator of the Codex Casanatense was in illustrious company.