In 1559 the French humanist Pierre Boaistuau arrived in England hoping to win the endorsement of the newly crowned Elizabeth I for his catalogue of marvels, wonders and monstrosities. He had prepared a lavish illuminated manuscript of the Histoires prodigieuses, which mixed the Bible, classical philosophy, folktales and gossip. It begins with the Devil, who in Boaistuau's account was worshipped in Calicut, and includes strange births such as a child with four arms and four legs and a man with another man growing from his stomach. Some stories suggest that a mother's distraction during conception caused the wonders. The queen did not endorse the work, and it was printed in Paris the next year instead, where it was reissued nine times over thirty-five years.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.