Arthur de Capell Brooke

Arthur de Capell Brooke (født 22. oktober 1791, død 6. desember 1858) var en britisk baronett og reisende forfatter, også i Norge. Han ble medlem av Royal Society i 1823 og var med på etableringen av oppdagerklubben «Raleigh Club» i 1827.

Arthur de Capell Brooke
Født		22. juni 1791 Mayfair
Død		6. des. 1858 (67 år) Great Oakley
Beskjeftigelse		Skribent, geograf
Embete		High Sheriff of Northamptonshire (1843–1844)
Utdannet ved		Magdalene College
Far		Sir Richard de Capell Brooke, 1st Baronet
Mor		Mary Worge
Nasjonalitet		Det forente kongerike Storbritannia og Irland Kongeriket Storbritannia (–1801) (avslutningsårsak: Act of Union 1800)
Språk		Engelsk
Medlem av		Royal Society (1823–)
Utmerkelser		Fellow of the Royal Society Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
Periode		1800-tallet
Debut		Travels through Sweden, Norway, and Finmark… (1823)
Arthur de Capell Brooke på Commons

Bemerkninger om Norge

I Norge reiste han i 1820 langs norskekysten og bemerket følgende om de observerte sjømonstre:

• «Off Otersoen… It was of considerable length, and longer than it appeared, as it lay in large coils above the water to the height of many feet. Its head was shaped like that of a serpent; but he could not tell whether it had teeth or not. He said it emitted a very strong odour and that the boatmen were afraid to approach near it.»^{[trenger referanse]}
• «At Alstahoeg I found the Bishop of the Nordlands (another clergyman!) who was an eye-witness to the appearance of two in the Bay of Sorsund, on the Drontheim Fjord… They were swimming in large folds, part of which were seen above the water, and the length of the largest he judged to be about one hundred feet. They were of a darkish grey colour, the heads hardly discernible, from their being almost under water.»^{[trenger referanse]}

Hans informanter i dette var amtmannen i Finnmark, sogneprest Marcus Fredrik Steen i Karlsøy, sognepresten Peter Vogelius Deinboll i Vadsø (1816–1824), og «the bishop of Nordland» Mathias Bonsak Krogh. Senere, i 1823 var han reisende mellom Alta og Torneå og fant at de som bodde der drakk kaffe.^{[trenger referanse]}

Bibliografi

Han skrev og tegnet i flere utgivelser vedrørende sine erfaringer:

• Travels through Sweden, Norway, and Finmark to the North Cape, in the Summer of 1820, (1823)
• Winter Sketches in Lapland (1826) -- «Illustrations of a Journey from Alten on the Shores of the Polar Sea in 60o 55" North Lat. through Norwegian, Russian, and Swedish Lapland to Torneå at the Extremity of the Gulf of Bothnia. Intended to Exhibit a Complete View of the Mode of Travelling with Rein-Deer, the most Striking Incidents that Occured during the Journey, and the General Character of the Winter Scenery of Lapland.»
• A Winter in the North Cape, John Murray, London (1827) – «with various Observations relating to Finmark and its Inhabitants; made during a Residence at Hammerfest, near the North Cape»
• Sketches in Spain and Morocco, London (1831)

Eksterne lenker

• Galleri Nordlysveien ved Universitetet i Tromsø har flere av hans maleri gjengitt
• Richard Ellis, The Search for the Giant Squid, The Lyons Press (1998)