The artists responsible for illustrating most bestiaries had never seen an elephant (or phoenix!) in person, so their representations could be highly imaginative and entertaining.

For example, elephants were believed to embody kindness and redemption and be strong enough to carry entire castles, but to have no knees. Today, we recognize that the phoenix is a mythological creature, but much more ordinary beasts had such associations as well. The phoenix - a creature once believed to regenerate itself by being reborn through fire - acquired a rather obvious connection with Christ’s death and resurrection. Medieval bestiaries had their roots in an ancient Greek text called the Physiologus, but with the addition of heavy Christian allegories. Some animals had positive moral and religious connotations, while others were associated with sins like gluttony, sloth, or lust. Unlike our modern versions, these texts used animals, both real and imaginary, to convey moral and religious messages based on the medieval understanding of each creature. Think of bestiaries like illustrated encyclopedias of beasts, containing an image and short text for each creature. In fact, an entire genre of popular books called bestiaries set forth the moral and religious connotations of animals both real and imagined. Medieval thought provided Christian meanings for just about everything under the sun, and animals were no exception. Medieval Animal Symbolism An Elephant, about 1250–1260, via the J. Why? This mysterious paradox continues to occupy scholars and contributes to the popular fascination with these artworks. However, such marginal imagery commonly appears in religious manuscripts, alongside deeply pious subject matter. The human and grotesque figures, which are not our subject today, are rarely polite or family-friendly. Such scenes are quite amusing and ridiculous, though often somewhat dark as well. We frequently see rabbits turning the tables on hunters, snails battling knights, monkeys wearing human clothes, and foxes preying on other animals in decidedly human fashion. Within the animal kingdom, a variety of creatures participate in human activities like baking bread, playing music, or mimicking doctors and members of the clergy. More often, they are comical, rude, or even profane. However, marginal images are rarely so straightforward. On some occasions, they might depict animals behaving naturally, or humans working, praying, etc. These images are usually termed “marginal illustrations” or “marginalia”. In the later tradition of western European manuscript illumination in the 13th and 14th centuries, animals appear in copious illustrations on the side and bottom margins. Please check your inbox to activate your subscription Thank you! The Wild World of Medieval Marginalia The Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg, Duchess of Normandy, attributed to Jean Le Noir, via Metropolitan Museum of Art In a Christian context, these animal forms may be interpreted for their religious connotations or as apotropaic devices (symbols believed to impart protection wherever they appear). This style relates back to pre-Christian Celtic and Anglo-Saxon metalworking traditions, such as that seen in the treasures of the Sutton Hoo ship burial. In many cases, the interlace itself becomes the long and stylized bodies of birds, snakes, and terrestrial animals, with their heads and claws sprouting from the ends. Manuscripts like the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels practically invite viewers to play Where’s Waldo, finding all the creatures hidden in a single image. In insular manuscripts - those made in early medieval monasteries of the British Isles - profuse animal and human forms occur within the characteristic interlacing decoration that often covers entire letters or pages. Humans and human/animal hybrids called “grotesques” or “chimeras”, as well as foliage appear here as well. They occur in the ample white space, or within decorated capital letters, frames, borders, and more. In medieval manuscripts, animal images appear most frequently as decorative details with little relationship to the meaning of the text. Animals in Medieval Manuscripts The Lindisfarne Gospels, Anglo-Saxon, c.

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