Petrus Gonsalvus
Petrus Gonsalvus was a gentleman in the court of Henry II of France.
Referred to by Ulisse Aldrovandi as "the man of the woods", he was notable for his unusual hairiness, which attracted attention throughout his life. This interest came both from doctors — being considered the first definitely recorded case of hypertrichosis — as well as from society at large, with him acquiring such nicknames as the "wild gentleman of Tenerife" and the "Canarian werewolf". His life at various courts in France and Italy has been well chronicled.
Biography
Gonsalvus was born on May 9th, 1537 in Tenerife, shortly after the conquest of the island by Alonso Fernández de Lugo. Of Guanche heritage, he was deemed worthy of the Don honorific later in his life on account of his supposed parental descent from the menceys of Tenerife.Gonsalvus first came to the court of Henry II, King of France in 1547 at the age of around 10, and was sent there as a gift from the court of Margaret of Parma, regent of the Netherlands. He married while there; the name of his wife remains unknown, but it is believed she was named Catherine Raffelin and that she may have been a lady-in-waiting to Catherine de' Medici. Later, he was moved into the court of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma. Of his six children, only two — Françoise and Enrico — did not have hypertrichosis. The ones who did — such as Antonietta Gonsalvus — were also the subject of attention, including paintings. His family became an object of medical inquiry by Ulisse Aldrovandi among others. Despite living and acting as nobles, Gonsalvus and his hairy children were not considered fully human in the eyes of their contemporaries and were gifted, like their father was, to other nobles as a sort of court pet. Gonsalvus eventually settled in Italy with his wife.
He was listed among those who had attended his grandson's christening in 1617. He died on October 15th, 1618 in Capodimonte. He was 81 years old.