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.

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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

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>
Edited by Mark S. Harris	bestiaries-msg	Page 9 of 9