Will the shepherd be able to play the alpine horn with that huge goiter (XVI century)?

Abstract

In a Nativity, in the upper part of the altar of the Church of the Annunciata, Boccioleto (Val Sermenza, Piedmont, Italy), a horn player with a huge goiter, gladdens the Holy Family. Wooden work by Francesco Antonio d'Alberto, 1694.

Goiter in a fresco by i Fiammenghini, 1615 (Abbey of Santa Maria di Rovegnano, Chiaravalle, Italy)

“…In a large fresco, which narrates brutal episodes of torture against Cirtercian monks, in the right corner of the background an ugly aggressor with a huge goiter, symbol of evil and sin, attacks a monk with a sword (Fig. 1) [1,2].…”

Goiter drawing in Ulrich Boner’s Der Edelstein Codices Palatini Germanici 794

“…It was printed in 1461 at Bamberg by Albrecht Pfister and was one of the first books printed in the German language [1]. It is copiously illustrated with pen-andlink drawings [1,2]. One illustration definitely represents a man with a huge goiter (Fig.…”