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bestiaries-msg - 5/25/13

 

Medieval bestiaries and modern sources.

 

NOTE: See also the files: Bestiaries-lnks, heraldry-bks-msg, arms-humor-msg, embroidery-msg, cross-stitch-msg.

 

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NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.

 

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

   Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                         Stefan at florilegium.org

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Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Looking for Bestiary

From: vnend at nudity.UUCP (David W. James)

Date: Tue, 18 Oct 94 23:36:35 -0500

 

day at sask.usask.ca writes:

>This request more properly belongs in alt.sca.heraldry, but since my

>site won't let me post there...

 

        That good, since it doesn't exist.  And what makes you think that

Bestiaries are heraldic?  They aren't, they were part of the general

culture and used as a teaching tool, they taught various Christian

virtues. They were so well known that some of the beasts described

found their way into heraldry...

 

>A self-described "deranged Herald" of my acquaintance in the local

>SCA is trying to locate a Bestiary. Can anyone suggest any sources

>of same, i.e. bookstores, publishers and the like?

 

        Last time I looked, Dover was still publishing T.H. White's translation

of a medieval bestiary, but I can't find my copy so I can't give you an

ISBN.

 

        Not a bestiary but commentary on one, is 'Beasts and Birds of the Middle

Ages", edited by Willene B. Clark and Meradith T. McMunn (University

of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 0-8122-3091-4)  It is available in softcover

so it isn't too expensive.

 

        A beautiful book is Anne Payne's "Medieval Beasts" (New Amsterdam

Books, ISBN 1-56131-018-2) a summary of the authors surveys of several

different medieval bestiaries (good bibliography!!)  It has lots of

reproductions of period illustrations and is one of my favorite books.

Unfortunately, I have only seen it in hardback, and it is $32. (All those

color illustrations are expensive to print.)

 

>Randy

 

        Enjoy.

 

Kwellend-Njal

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: anhaga at usa.net (Wayne Olsen)

Subject: Re: Looking for Bestiary

Organization: anhaga olsen works

Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 04:11:14 GMT

 

In article <1994Oct18.161221.1 at sask.usask.ca> day at sask.usask.ca writes:

>From: day at sask.usask.ca

>Subject: Looking for Bestiary

>Date: 18 Oct 94 16:12:21 -600

 

>This request more properly belongs in alt.sca.heraldry, but since my

>site won't let me post there...

 

>A self-described "deranged Herald" of my acquaintance in the local

>SCA is trying to locate a Bestiary. Can anyone suggest any sources

>of same, i.e. bookstores, publishers and the like?

 

>Thanks,

>Randy

 

Re the Bestiary, the author E.B. White, of the Once and Future King published

one some twenty or so years ago that I had once in a paperback. It was very

closely based on a single medieval bestiary, but edited for his own

entertainment purposes. Shouldn't be hard to find.

 

anhaga.usa.net

 

 

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Looking for Bestiary

From: vnend at nudity.UUCP (David W. James)

Date: Mon, 24 Oct 94 08:41:48 -0500

 

In article <anhaga.20.00153091 at usa.net> anhaga at usa.net (Wayne Olsen) writes:

>Re the Bestiary, the author E.B. White, of the Once and Future King published

>one some twenty or so years ago that I ahd once in a paperback. It was very

>closely based on a single medieval bestiary, but edited for his own

>entertainment purposes. Shouldn't be hard to find.

>anhaga.usa.net

 

Ah, found it.  "The Book of Beasts, Being a Translation from a Latin

Bestiary of the Twelfth Century Made and Edited by T.H.White." Dover,

ISBN 0-486-24609-4, $7.95 in USA.  I picked up this copy at Pennsic

a few years ago.

 

Kwellend-Njal

 

 

From: ansteorra at eden.com (4/8/95)

To: ansteorra at eden.com

RE>Heraldry

 

<aodhan at dobharchu.org (Aodhan Ite an Fhithich)>

> "MC> "The Fabulous/Heraldic Tygre...

>Hmmm... the picture in the PicDic II looks more tiger-like than that

>description.

 

I'm sorry, but I am unfamiliar with that source.  To be honest, I can't

recall specifically which of the following I gleaned my descripription from

(as it was several years ago and I was researching a LOT of these things),

but I know it was one of:

 

Beasts and birds of the Middle Ages, the bestiary and its legacy. / edited by

Willene B. Clark and Meradith T. McMunn. Philadelphia, University of

Pennsylvania Press, c1989.

 

Bestiary. English.

   The book of beasts, being a translation from a Latin bestiary of the

twelfth century. / made and edited by T. H. White. London, J. Cape, [1954].

   Translation of Cambridge University Library ms. Ii.4.26.

 

Bestiary. English.

   A medieval bestiary. / Translated & introduced by T. J. Elliott. With wood

engravings by Gillian Tyler. [1st ed.]. Boston, Godine, 1971.

   Translation based on the standard Middle English text, The Bestiary: B. M.

Arundel 292, in Selections from early Middle English, 1130-1250, edited by

J. Hall, 1920.

 

Lehner, Ernst, 1895-.

   A fantastic bestiary, beasts and monsters in myth and folklore. / by Ernst

and Johanna Lehner. Foreword by Henry P. Raleigh. New York, Tudor Pub. Co.,

[1969].

 

Morris, Richard, 1833-1894.

   An Old English miscellany containing a bestiary, Kentish sermons, Proverbs

of Alfred, religious poems of the thirteenth century, from manuscripts in

the British Museum, Bodleian Library, Jesus College Library, etc. / Edited

with introd. and index of words by Richard Morris. New York, Greenwood Press,

[1969].

   Series: Early English Text Society (Series). Original series, no. 49.

 

Theobaldus Episcopus.

   Physiologus, a metrical bestiary of twelve chapters. / by Bishop Theobald,

printed in Cologne 1492. The author is believed to have been abbot of Monte

Cassino, A.D. 1022-1035, and a description of the abbey is appended with

illustrations. Translated by Alan Wood Rendell ... London, J. & E. Bumpus,

ltd., 1928.

   Original title: Phisiologus Theobaldi Episcopi de naturis duo decim

animalium. [Colophon: The Finit phisiologus Theobaldi ... Impressus per

Henricu Quentell in sancta ciuitate Coloniensi.

 

"Mihi Satis Apparet Propter     Diarmuit Ui Dhuinn

Se Ipsum Appetenda Sapientia" University of Northkeep

-- St. Dunstan                    Northkeepshire, Ansteorra

                              (I. Marc Carlson/IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu)

 

 

From: sniderm at mcmail2.cis.McMaster.CA (Mike Snider)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: animals in the Middle ages

Date: 19 Mar 1995 23:19:16 -0500

Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

 

You might like to try The Book of Beasts, a translation of a twelfth cen.

bestiary by T.H. White. It lists the characteristics and attributes of

many beasts and birds which will give you a better understanding of why

certain creatures are depicted the way they are in heraldry and other

forms of medieval art. It's also a very fine read. Elephants have no

joints in their legs and are the natural enemy of the dragon. Weasels

conceive through their ears and give birth through the nose and tigers

can be misled with mirrors.

Enjoy.

 

Elizabeth Cadfan

 

I only dream when I sleep.

 

 

From: v081lu33 at ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu (TRISTAN CLAIR DE LUNE/KEN MONDSCHEIN)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: animals in the Middle ages

Date: 20 Mar 1995 16:58:32 GMT

Organization: University at Buffalo

 

In article <3kfie1$f7t at newsbf02.news.aol.com>, wolfextasy at aol.com (Wolfextasy) writes:

>     Does anyone know of a book which explores the use of animals in

>heraldry of the Middle Ages, and/or symbolism of animals in Medieval

>literature?

>                wolfextasy at aol.com

>wolfextasy at aol

 

        The best place to go is to the primary sources. The only one I

can think of off the top of my head is Pliny's _Historia_Natura_ or

"natural History," which is actually a classical work, though of course,

widely read up to the Enlightenment.

        The most interesting feature is the moral and religious qualities

metaphorically attributed to different animals, such as the pelican for

Christ.

 

                       --Tristan

 

 

From: v081lu33 at ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu (TRISTAN CLAIR DE LUNE/KEN MONDSCHEIN)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: animals in the Middle ages

Date: 20 Mar 1995 17:15:22 GMT

Organization: University at Buffalo

 

In article <3kfie1$f7t at newsbf02.news.aol.com>, wolfextasy at aol.com (Wolfextasy) writes:

>     Does anyone know of a book which explores the use of animals in

>heraldry of the Middle Ages, and/or symbolism of animals in Medieval

>literature?

>                wolfextasy at aol.com

>wolfextasy at aol

 

        The best thing, I think, would be to go to the primary sources,

such as the medieval beastiaries. The only one that comes to mind at the

moment is Pliny's _Natural_History_, or "Historia Natura." This was a

classical work, but widely read up to the Enlightenment and beyond.

        The most interesting thing, I think, was the ascribing of moral

or religious metaphors or attributes to the animals, such as the well-

known example of the pelican for Christ.

 

               --Tristan

 

 

From: Mark Schuldenfrei <schuldy at abel.MATH.HARVARD.EDU>

Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 09:42:28 -0400 (EDT)

Subject: Re: SC - Humor - where birds come from

 

>   Annejke, that sounds quite heavenly!  Where does it come from?

>

> Alys, Birds come from Bees.  I thought everyone knew that.

>    Tibor (:-)

  

But geese come from barnacles, or so Gerard says, so not all birds

come from bees!

 

Alys, I know you are "joking".  But, in period it was believed that barnacle

geese were from barnacles, and hence fish.  Not to mention that beavers

"breathed" water through their tails, making beaver tails also fit for Lent.

 

It is obvious that the writers of the Heraldic Bestiaries weren't in touch

with that Lenten rule...  the stories of the "habits" of a frightened beaver

are vulgar, but make it clear that it wasn't exactly a fish....

 

(The sexual organs of beavers were considered an aphrodisiac.  A beaver,

when chased through the woods, would bite those organs off, throw them at

the pursuer, and race away.   They would "grow back".  At least, according

to those bestiaries.  And we think Pelicans are self-destructive just for

biting blood out of their breasts!)

 

        Tibor

 

 

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 08:37:06 -0700

From: M Wolfe <mwolfe at nwlink.com>

Subject: [STEPS] Medieval Bestiary available on web!

 

For those of interest in Medieval style Natural History the university

of Aberdeen has something special!!!!

 

http://www.clues.abdn.ac.uk:8080/besttest/alt/comment/aberbest.html

 

Rauthulfr Meistari inn Orthstori  (OL, MC, P-eX, Et Cetera)

Herbal Guild person

 

 

Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 19:49:40 -0800

From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at efn.org>

Subject: NEW! SC - beavers

 

Hello everyone!

 

Seumas and I were In The Basement yesterday for a bit (and we lived to

tell the tale!), going through the books in search of my _Shoes and

Pattens_ book (wonderful book- you all need one!) and I came across the

box with my bestiary books in it. Pulled up _Medieval Bestiaries: Text,

Image, Ideology_ by Debra Hassig (Cambridge, 1995) and out of curiousity

opened it up to the section on beavers, which I had remembered as

especially good... and broke out laughing (Seumas will attest to this)

and yelling "Oh! Ras will loooove this!"

 

According to Dr Hassig (who I know- she did a visiting prof term here at

Oregon), all of the bestiary texts in the main group (that is, complete

ones) agree in the essential information on the beaver. To whit: hunters

pursue the beaver for his testicles, which are valued for their medical

powers (hence the name _Castor_), so to save his life the beaver will

bite off his own testicles and throw them in the hunter's path.

 

(Don't all groan at once, gentlemen...;-)

 

Apparently the moral of the story (and that is what bestiaries are

largely about- drawing morals [usually Christian] from the natural life

around us) is that just as the beaver tosses his testicles to the hunter

to save himself, so the faithful should toss aside their vices and so

renounce the Devil.

 

The pictures in the bestiaries tend to feature the disembodied testicles

quite prominently, even enlarged, brightly colored, against gold

backgrounds- and the beaver lying on his back exposing himself, to

discourage the hunter.

 

<snip of beaver as food for fasts - see fasts-msg>

 

So Ras, are you planning to go beaver hunting? ;-)

 

Bad 'Lainie. heh heh heh.

 

 

Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 01:41:13 -0800

From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at efn.org>

Subject: Re: NEW! SC - beavers

 

"James F. Johnson" wrote:

> Hey, Sweetie, are any of those hunters in the Bestiaries exclaiming:

> "Greats Balls o' Fur!"

>

> :->

 

Um, no, but one hunter, one of four in a scene in a bestiary in the

British Library (MS Harley 4751, f.9v) has an expression on his face

that can only be interpreted as "But these [which he is holding in his

hand] are bigger than mine!"

 

I came across an interesting note that is somewhat in opposition to the

traditional use of the beaver as an invitation to cast off the worldly

and fleshly lust, etc. The 'Give it up' for God and holiness is stood on

its head by Richard of Fournival in the late 13th century. Apparently in

his _Bestiaire d'Amour_ (Bestiary of Love), which is a thoroughly

secular love-themed text, Fournival exhorts the (female) object of his

desire to emulate the beaver by giving up her heart to him- which

follows of course the classic courtly euphemism for virginity. Instead

of 'giving it up' to resist temptation as the monks, he wants his

beloved to 'give it up' in surrender...

 

Hard to say which one has the most amusement potential for this gang...

 

'Lainie

 

 

From: Andy Dingley <dingbat at codesmiths.com>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: "Dead Rabbits" at War

Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2004 23:11:55 +0100

Organization: Codesmiths, UK

 

On Wed, 1 Sep 2004 12:40:26 -0500, "Chass Brown" <chass at allegiance.tv>

wrote:

 

>Were not Dragon, and Troll Period WORDS :) just not used in the confines we use >them.

 

I've recently been working with a 17th century bestiary (Franzius'

"History of Brutes"). He's quite clear that dragons, unicorns, and

griffins are real animals, but he's a bit uncertain about that

ridiculous mythical creature the "rhinoceros".

 

 

Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 02:18:04 -0800 (PST)

From: Anna Troy <owly3 at yahoo.se>

Subject: [SCA-AS] A Medeiva bestiary online

To: Arts and Sciences in the SCA <artssciences at lists.gallowglass.org>

Cc: scribes <scribes at castle.org>

 

Check it out at http://www.bestiary.ca/index.html">http://www.bestiary.ca/index.html

 

Anna de Byxe

 

 

Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:36:05 -0700

From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at jeffnet.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] weird question - honey fast???

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Terry Decker wrote:

<<< Aristotle, Pliny and Dioscorides refer to bees as animals, IIRC.  

Their works contain a number of very solid observations and a number

of errors of interpretation.  The probability that Medieval Europeans

did not consider bees animals is rather low in my opinion.

 

Bear >>>

 

I found that in most of the bestiaries, bees are grouped with birds. The

bestiaries are not known for accuracy, however. ;-)

 

'Lainie

 

 

From: Tim McDaniel <tmcd at panix.com>

Date: April 17, 2010 1:45:52 PM CDT

To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] Dog as an animal

 

On Sat, 17 Apr 2010, Catrin ferch Maelgwn <ladycatrin at gmail.com> wrote:

<<< Though they were not noted for it (to my knowledge) in the middle

ages - I must put in a word for the much maligned and misunderstood

goose. The goose is a noble creature, a fierce protector of its

family and a true example of comradeship in nature. >>>

 

More or less known in the Middle Ages.  The Aberdeen Bestiary has it

on ff. 53r and 53v, <http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/translat/53r.hti>;:

 

   The goose marks the watches of the night by its constant cry. No

   other creature picks up the scent of man as it does. It was

   because of its noise, that the Gauls were detected when they

   ascended the Capitol. Rabanus says in this context: 'The goose can

   signify men who are prudent and look out for their own safety.'

 

   There are two kinds of geese, domestic and wild. Wild geese fly

   high, in a an orderly fashion, signifying those who, far away from

   earthly things, preserve a rule of virtuous conduct. Domestic

   geese live together in villages, they cackle together all the time

   and rend each other with their beaks; they signify those who,

   although they like conventual life, nevertheless find time to

   gossip and slander.

 

   All wild geese are grey in colour; I have not seen any that were

   of mixed colour or white. But among domestic geese, there are not

   only grey but variegated and white ones. Wild geese are the colour

   of ashes, that is to say, those who keep apart from this world

   wear the modest garb of penitence. But those who live in towns or

   villages wear clothes that are more beautiful in colour.

 

   The goose, more than any other animal, picks up the scent of a

   someone happening by, as the discerning man knows of other men by

   their good or bad reputation, even though they live far

   away. When, therefore, a goose picks up the scent of a man

   approaching, it cackles endlessly at night, as when a discerning

   brother sees in others the negligence that comes with ignorance,

   it is his duty to call attention to it. The cackling of geese on

   the Capitol once helped the Romans, and in our chapter-house

   daily, when the discerning brother sees evidence of negligence,

   his warning voice serves to repel the old enemy, the Devil. The

   cackling of the goose saved the city of Rome from enemy attack;

   the warning voice of the discerning brother guards the life of his

   community from disruption by the wicked.

 

   Divine providence would not, perhaps, have revealed to us the

   characteristics of birds, if it had not wanted the knowledge to be

   of some benefit to us.

 

The contents are at <http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/contents.hti>;.  It

has much to say on wolves, including "It cannot turn its neck

around.", and on dogs, including loyalty.  Then again, what it says

about weasels can't be repeated on a family mailing list, and

fortunately he never heard (or at least never repeated) the worst

about hyenas and hares.

 

Danel de Lincoln

 

 

From: Tim McDaniel <tmcd at panix.com>

Date: April 18, 2010 2:57:16 PM CDT

To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] Bears

 

On Sun, 18 Apr 2010, willowdewisp at juno.com <willowdewisp at juno.com> wrote:

<<< In Christian symbolism a Bear stands for the Devil >>>

 

Whoever did the Aberdeen Bestiary didn't mention such a thing.

<http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/translat/15r.hti>;

 

What he did write was that cubs are born unformed and are licked into

shape, that bears know how to heal themselves by applying flomus or

eating ants, that they copulate like humans (unlike normal

quadrupeds), they know how to attack bulls, that bears hibernate right

after the child is born, and a few other things.

<http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast171.htm>; quotes other bestiaries, with

some overlap of properties.  "Notes on a Slavic Bestiary",

<http://www.goldschp.net/archive/bestiary.html>; says "In period, the

associations were not as general (or as friendly). Rather than being a

jovial child-friendly creature, the bear was seen as gluttonous and

quarrelsome. In one case, the bear was even described as a sodomite."

 

Which is not to doubt that some other bestiary, sermon, apocrypha, or

whatever said that bears stood for the Devil.  It illustrates, though,

that period ascribing of qualities to beasts is variable.

 

Daniel de Lincoln

 

<the end>



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Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org