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Following the ''Physiologus'', Saint [[Isidore of Seville]] (Book XII of the ''[[Etymologiae]]'') and [[Saint Ambrose]] expanded the religious message with reference to passages from the [[Bible]] and the [[Septuagint]]. They and other authors freely expanded or modified pre-existing models, constantly refining the moral content without interest in or access to much more detail regarding the factual content. Nevertheless, the often fanciful accounts of these beasts were widely read and generally believed to be true. A few observations found in bestiaries, such as the [[Bird migration|migration]] of birds, were discounted by the [[Natural philosophy|natural philosophers]] of later centuries, only to be rediscovered in the modern scientific era. | Following the ''Physiologus'', Saint [[Isidore of Seville]] (Book XII of the ''[[Etymologiae]]'') and [[Saint Ambrose]] expanded the religious message with reference to passages from the [[Bible]] and the [[Septuagint]]. They and other authors freely expanded or modified pre-existing models, constantly refining the moral content without interest in or access to much more detail regarding the factual content. Nevertheless, the often fanciful accounts of these beasts were widely read and generally believed to be true. A few observations found in bestiaries, such as the [[Bird migration|migration]] of birds, were discounted by the [[Natural philosophy|natural philosophers]] of later centuries, only to be rediscovered in the modern scientific era. | ||
Medieval bestiaries are remarkably similar to one another in sequence of the animals of which they treat. Bestiaries were particularly popular in [[England]] and [[France]] around the 12th century and were mainly compilations of earlier texts. The [[Aberdeen Bestiary]] is one of the best known of over 50 [[ | Medieval bestiaries are remarkably similar to one another in sequence of the animals of which they treat. Bestiaries were particularly popular in [[England]] and [[France]] around the 12th century and were mainly compilations of earlier texts. The [[Aberdeen Bestiary]] is one of the best known of over 50 [[manuscript]] bestiaries surviving today. | ||
Much influence comes from the Renaissance era and the general Middle Ages, as well as modern times. The Renaissance has been said to have started around the 14th century in Italy. | Much influence comes from the Renaissance era and the general Middle Ages, as well as modern times. The Renaissance has been said to have started around the 14th century in Italy. Bestiaries influenced early [[heraldry]] in the Middle Ages, giving ideas for [[charge (heraldry)|charges]] and also for the artistic form. Bestiaries continue to give inspiration to coats of arms created in our time.<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Stephen|editor-last=Friar|title=A New Dictionary of Heraldry|location=London|year=1987|publisher=[[A & C Black|Alphabooks/A&C Black]]|isbn=0-906670-44-6|page=342}}</ref> | ||
Two illuminated [[Psalter]]s, the [[Queen Mary Psalter]] ([[British Library]] Ms. Royal 2B, vii) and the [[Isabella Psalter]] (State Library, [[Munich]]), contain full Bestiary cycles. The bestiary in the Queen Mary Psalter is found in the "marginal" decorations that occupy about the bottom quarter of the page, and are unusually extensive and coherent in this work. In fact the bestiary has been expanded beyond the source in the Norman bestiary of Guillaume le Clerc to ninety animals. Some are placed in the text to make correspondences with the [[psalm]] they are illustrating.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stanton |first1=Anne Rudloff |title=The Queen Mary Psalter: A Study of Affect and Audience |date=2001 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |isbn=978-0-87169-916-9 |page=44ff }}</ref> | Two illuminated [[Psalter]]s, the [[Queen Mary Psalter]] ([[British Library]] Ms. Royal 2B, vii) and the [[Isabella Psalter]] (State Library, [[Munich]]), contain full Bestiary cycles. The bestiary in the Queen Mary Psalter is found in the "marginal" decorations that occupy about the bottom quarter of the page, and are unusually extensive and coherent in this work. In fact the bestiary has been expanded beyond the source in the Norman bestiary of Guillaume le Clerc to ninety animals. Some are placed in the text to make correspondences with the [[psalm]] they are illustrating.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stanton |first1=Anne Rudloff |title=The Queen Mary Psalter: A Study of Affect and Audience |date=2001 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |isbn=978-0-87169-916-9 |page=44ff }}</ref> | ||
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[[Image:AberdeenBestiaryFolio005rAdamNamesAnimalsDetail.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Adam]] naming the animals, in a detail from the 12th century [[Aberdeen Bestiary]]]] | [[Image:AberdeenBestiaryFolio005rAdamNamesAnimalsDetail.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Adam]] naming the animals, in a detail from the 12th century [[Aberdeen Bestiary]]]] | ||
The significance shown between animals and religion started much before bestiaries came into play. In many ancient civilizations there are references to animals and their meaning within that specific religion or mythology that we know of today. These civilizations included Egypt and their gods with the faces of animals or Greece which had symbolic animals for their godly beings, an example being Zeus and the eagle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Animal Symbolism (Illustrated) |url=https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2505&context=ocj |website=Open SIUC}}</ref> With animals being a part of religion before bestiaries and their lessons came out, they were influenced by past observations of meaning as well as older civilizations and their interpretations. | The significance shown between animals and religion started much before bestiaries came into play. In many ancient civilizations there are references to animals and their meaning within that specific religion or mythology that we know of today. These civilizations included Egypt and their gods with the faces of animals or Greece which had symbolic animals for their godly beings, an example being [[Zeus]] and the eagle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Animal Symbolism (Illustrated) |url=https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2505&context=ocj |website=Open SIUC}}</ref> With animals being a part of religion before bestiaries and their lessons came out, they were influenced by past observations of meaning as well as older civilizations and their interpretations. The [[Physiologus]] though was the direct antecedent to the bestiary, for this 2nd to 3rd century CE text likewise catalogs animals and invests them with a moralizing narrative. | ||
The audience for bestiaries was not only monks and clerics, but also laity. All of the animals presented in the bestiaries show some sort of lesson or meaning when presented. A few of the creatures, such as the [[pelican]], panther and lion are unequivocally "good," and in contrast the [[dragon]] is an evil, Satanic creature (appearing in the pelican entry as well for its fear of the panther's sweet breath, an allegory of good's power over evil). <ref>{{Cite web |title=Medieval Bestiary : Beasts : Pelican |url=https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast244.htm |access-date=2026-05-04 |website=bestiary.ca}}</ref> | |||
These bestiaries held much content in terms of religious significance. In almost every animal there is some way to connect it to a lesson from the church or a familiar religious story. With animals holding significance since ancient times, it is fair to say that bestiaries and their contents gave fuel to the context behind the animals, whether real or myth, and their meanings. | These bestiaries held much content in terms of religious significance. In almost every animal there is some way to connect it to a lesson from the church or a familiar religious story. With animals holding significance since ancient times, it is fair to say that bestiaries and their contents gave fuel to the context behind the animals, whether real or myth, and their meanings. | ||
==Modern bestiaries== | ==Modern bestiaries== | ||
In modern times, artists such as [[Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec]] and [[Saul Steinberg]] have produced their own bestiaries. [[Jorge Luis Borges]] wrote a contemporary bestiary of sorts, the ''[[Book of Imaginary Beings]]'', which collects imaginary beasts from bestiaries and fiction. Nicholas Christopher wrote a literary novel called | In modern times, artists such as [[Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec]] and [[Saul Steinberg]] have produced their own bestiaries. [[Jorge Luis Borges]] wrote a contemporary bestiary of sorts, the ''[[Book of Imaginary Beings]]'', which collects imaginary beasts from bestiaries and fiction. Nicholas Christopher wrote a literary novel called ''The Bestiary'' (Dial, 2007) that describes a lonely young man's efforts to track down the world's most complete bestiary. John Henry Fleming's ''[[Fearsome Creatures of Florida]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fearsomecreatures.com |title=Fearsome Creatures of Florida by John Henry Fleming |website=Fearsomecreatures.com |access-date=2016-12-06}}</ref> (Pocol Press, 2009) borrows from the medieval bestiary tradition to impart moral lessons about the environment. [[Caspar Henderson]]'s ''[[The Book of Barely Imagined Beings]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barelyimaginedbeings.com |title=The Book of Barely Imagined Beings |website=Barelyimaginedbeings.com |access-date=2016-12-06}}</ref> ([[Granta]] 2012, [[University of Chicago Press]] 2013), subtitled "A 21st Century Bestiary", explores how humans imagine animals in a time of rapid environmental change. In July 2014, Jonathan Scott wrote ''The Blessed Book of Beasts'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rna.org/news/184377/Beasts-from-the-East.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141019031915/http://www.rna.org/news/184377/Beasts-from-the-East.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-10-19 |title=Religion News Association & Foundation |website=Rna.org |date=2016-11-21 |access-date=2016-12-06 }}</ref> Eastern Christian Publications, featuring 101 animals from the various translations of the Bible, in keeping with the tradition of the bestiary found in the writings of the Saints, including [[John Chrysostom|Saint John Chrysostom]]. In today's world there is a discipline called [[cryptozoology]] which is the study of unknown species. This discipline can be linked to medieval bestiaries because in many cases the unknown animals can be the same, as well as having meaning or significance behind them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dendle |first1=Peter |title=Cryptozoology in the Medieval and Modern Worlds |journal=Folklore |date=2006 |volume=117 |issue=2 |pages=190–206 |doi=10.1080/00155870600707888 |jstor=30035486 |s2cid=55397570 }}</ref> | ||
The lists of monsters to be found in [[video games]] (such as ''[[NetHack]]'', ''[[Dragon Quest]]'', and ''[[Monster Hunter]]''), as well as some [[tabletop role-playing game]]s such as [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]], [[Dungeons & Dragons]] and [[Pathfinder Roleplaying Game|Pathfinder]], are often termed bestiaries. | The lists of monsters to be found in [[video games]] (such as ''[[NetHack]]'', ''[[Dragon Quest]]'', and ''[[Monster Hunter]]''), as well as some [[tabletop role-playing game]]s such as [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]], [[Dungeons & Dragons]] and [[Pathfinder Roleplaying Game|Pathfinder]], are often termed bestiaries.{{cn|date=March 2026}} | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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*Morrison, Elizabeth, and Larisa Grollemond. “An Introduction to the Bestiary, Book of Beasts in the Medieval World (article).” Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/beginners-guide-to-medieval-europe/manuscripts/a/an-introduction-to-the-bestiary-book-of-beasts-in-the-medieval-world. Accessed 2 March 2022. | *Morrison, Elizabeth, and Larisa Grollemond. “An Introduction to the Bestiary, Book of Beasts in the Medieval World (article).” Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/beginners-guide-to-medieval-europe/manuscripts/a/an-introduction-to-the-bestiary-book-of-beasts-in-the-medieval-world. Accessed 2 March 2022. | ||
*Morrison, Elizabeth. “Beastly tales from the medieval bestiary.” The British Library, https://www.bl.uk/medieval-english-french-manuscripts/articles/beastly-tales-from-the-medieval-bestiary {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216215828/https://www.bl.uk/medieval-english-french-manuscripts/articles/beastly-tales-from-the-medieval-bestiary/ |date=2022-02-16 }}. Accessed 2 March 2022. | *Morrison, Elizabeth. “Beastly tales from the medieval bestiary.” The British Library, https://www.bl.uk/medieval-english-french-manuscripts/articles/beastly-tales-from-the-medieval-bestiary {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216215828/https://www.bl.uk/medieval-english-french-manuscripts/articles/beastly-tales-from-the-medieval-bestiary/ |date=2022-02-16 }}. Accessed 2 March 2022. | ||
* "[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-saxon/flowers/bestiary.html The Medieval Bestiary]", by James Grout, part of the ''Encyclopædia Romana''. | * "[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-saxon/flowers/bestiary.html The Medieval Bestiary]", by James Grout, part of the ''Encyclopædia Romana''. | ||
* McCulloch, Florence. (1962) ''Medieval Latin and French Bestiaries.'' | * McCulloch, Florence. (1962) ''Medieval Latin and French Bestiaries.'' | ||
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* George, Wilma and Brunsdon Yapp. (1991) ''The Naming of the Beasts: Natural History in the Medieval Bestiary''. | * George, Wilma and Brunsdon Yapp. (1991) ''The Naming of the Beasts: Natural History in the Medieval Bestiary''. | ||
* Benton, Janetta Rebold. (1992) ''The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages''. | * Benton, Janetta Rebold. (1992) ''The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages''. | ||
* Lindberg, David C. (1992) ''The Beginnings of Western Science. The European Tradition in | * Lindberg, David C. (1992) ''The Beginnings of Western Science. The European Tradition in Philosophical, Religious and Institutional Context, 600 B. C. to A. D. 1450'' | ||
* Flores, Nona C. (1993) "The Mirror of Nature Distorted: The Medieval Artist's Dilemma in Depicting Animals". | * Flores, Nona C. (1993) "The Mirror of Nature Distorted: The Medieval Artist's Dilemma in Depicting Animals". | ||
* Hassig, Debra (1995) ''Medieval Bestiaries: Text, Image, Ideology.'' | * Hassig, Debra (1995) ''Medieval Bestiaries: Text, Image, Ideology.'' | ||