The bestiary is a literary genre of the European
MIDDLE AGES generally consisting of a collection of
stories, each detailing the qualities of an animal,
plant, or even stone. These stories were often presented
in the form of Christian allegories for moral
enlightenment.
The bestiaries are derived from the Greek text
Physiologus, compiled between the second and
fourth centuries by an unknown author and consisting
of 48 sections, each linking a creature, plant,
or stone to a Biblical text. Translations and adaptations
of this and other bestiaries spread throughout
Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries and
were very popular in France.
Many of the medieval bestiaries, such as “The
Panther” and “The Whale,”were also lavishly illustrated
with pictures of sometimes-fabulous beasts.
Creatures in other tales included a gryphon, a
lion/eagle hybrid; a basilisk, a half-bird, half-reptile
so poisonous that its glance could kill; and an
aphibaena, a two-headed reptile. In addition, many
traditional attributes of real and mythical creatures,
such as the phoenix and the unicorn, derive
from the bestiaries. These attributes, again intended
to help teach a moral tale, have since been
absorbed into folklore, literature, and art.
A 14th-century tale titled Bestiare d’amour applies
the allegorical structure of a bestiary to
courtly love, but the intent of most bestiaries was
to elaborate on the virtues of abstinence and
chastity and to warn against heresy. Some of the
animals in the tales symbolize religious virtues
or characters from the BIBLE. The lion, for example,
is portrayed in one bestiary as an animal that
can revive its dead offspring, reminiscent of God’s
resurrection of the Christ. In another tale, goats
were used to symbolize sinners who strayed from
God’s path.
The power of using animals to teach lessons
about friendship and honesty can still be seen
today in tales such as those about Winnie the Pooh
and Hank the Cowdog. The ancient tales and their
medieval translations and adaptations, however,
found their place in world literature by illustrating
how the written word was used to transfer religious
teachings and concepts to the illiterate
masses.
English Versions of Bestiaries
Bestiaries In Mediaeval Latin And French. Translated
by Florence McCulloch. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University
of North Carolina Press, 1956.
The Book of Beasts. Edited by T. H.White. Mineola,
N.Y.: Dover, 1984.
Medieval Latin and French Bestiaries. Translated by F.
McCulloch. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 1960.
Works about Bestiaries
Baxter, Ron. Bestiaries and their Users in the Middle
Ages. Phoenix Mill,U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1998.
Davis, Norman. “Notes on the Middle English Bestiary.”
Medium Aevum 19, Oxford,U.K.: The Society
for the Study of Medieval Languages and
Literature, 1950: 56–59.
Hallbeck, Einar S. The Language of the Middle English
Bestiary. Cristianstad, Virg. Is.: Länstidning Press,
1905.