Animals

The Medieval Bestiary – Cute, Quirky, and Weird Animals

Alexandra Kiely 4 October 2023 min Read

Of all the medieval manuscripts, bestiaries are definitely the most fun. A medieval bestiary is a book about animals. It’s full of unusual information and charming illustrations about a variety of creatures.

medieval bestiary hedgehogs
Hedgehogs, c. 1250-1260, The Bestiary, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 

medieval bestiary hydrus
A Crocodile and a Hydrus, c. 1270, The Bestiary, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 

Bestiaries were based on an early Christian text called the Physiologus and works by Herodotus, Pliny the Elder, Isidore of Seville, Aesop, and others. All of these texts contained moralizing allegories about animals and other features in the natural world. So, the medieval bestiary attributed traits to animals and then made Christian moral lessons from them.

medieval bestiary pelican
A Pelican Feeding Her Young, c. 1270, The Bestiary, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Animals could have positive or negative attributes. For example, the pelican was believed to peck its own breast to resurrect its dead children with its own blood. This was good since it was an allegory of Christ’s Resurrection. On the other hand, the monkey had strongly negative connotations, and its lack of tail was seen to parallel the devil’s lack of Scripture.

medieval bestiary monkey
A Monkey, c. 1270, The Bestiary, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Turn the pages of a medieval bestiary, and you’ll encounter creatures, illustrations, and statements that would definitely surprise any zoologist today. That’s because bestiaries weren’t based on scientific observation, a concept that didn’t even exist in the Middle Ages. Legends, folk beliefs, and travel accounts were the main sources of information. Such tales could hardly be reliable, which is perhaps why bestiaries included animals like the bonnacon, which was thought to fling its own flaming poop in self-defense.

medieval bestiary bonnacon
A Wild Boar; a Bonnacon, c. 1250-1260, The Bestiary, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Most medieval Europeans, including bestiary creators, had never encountered creatures native to other lands, so they had no idea how such animals would look or act. It’s no wonder then that medieval representations of crocodiles look more like wolves or lions than reptiles.

medieval bestiary crocodile
A Crocodile, c. 1250-1260, The Bestiary, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 

Medieval bestiaries also include many creatures that are just plain fiction, because people had no way to distinguish between the mythical and the merely exotic. If an elephant could exist with massive ears and a long trunk, why not also a phoenix, who resurrects itself from its own ashes and makes such a great Christian allegory?

medieval bestiary phoenix
A Phoenix, c 1270, The Bestiary, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 

The medieval bestiary may seem naïve to modern viewers, but it’s still a great source of delight and can inspire imagination. You can explore the whole menagerie at The Medieval Bestiary and in Janetta Rebold Benton’s book The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages (New York: Abbeville Press, 1992).

Get your daily dose of art

Click and follow us on Google News to stay updated all the time

Recommended

Unicorns in art Animals

Unicorns in Art Across Time: From French Tapestries to Damien Hirst’s Sculptures

Unicorns, the enchanting and mythical beings, have been a captivating subject in art since ancient times, maintaining their inspirational allure for...

Ela Bobek 16 September 2024

Animals

The Magical Menagerie of Norbertine Bresslern-Roth

Always moving, impenetrable, and ephemeral, animals are among the most difficult subjects for an artist to depict. Using a new style of printmaking...

Louisa Mahoney 4 October 2024

Animals

Secrets of Pets in Art

There’s nothing better than going to a museum and spotting a cute pet hidden in a painting. I mean, after all, one of art’s functions is...

Marta Wiktoria Bryll 26 March 2024

Animals

Sporting Artist: Alfred Munnings

Alfred Munnings was the leading sporting artist during the first half of the 20th century. His paintings encompass a range of sporting themes: horses...

Lauren Kraut 23 August 2023