Medieval Bestiaries

Bestiaries are not works of natural history in our modern understanding — they are medieval illustrated editions that narrate the peculiar properties of beasts: a deer lives for a thousand years; a goat's blood is so hot that it can cut through diamond; a lynx — a huge white worm — can see through walls; a hyena can become female or male at will. However, above all, bestiaries carry moral and religious — often ambiguous — meanings and tell about God and saints, Satan and sinners: a lion embodies Christ, symbolizing power, strength, and generosity; a bear — the rival of the lion, and thus embodies the devil, symbolizing gluttony, laziness, and intemperance; the red fur of the sly fox reminds one of the hair of Judas and other traitors.
Michel Pasturo offers to create an idea of what this special animal world of medieval people represented, filled with dreams, signs, and images that can still be found in culture today.

With an introductory article and edited by Mikhail Maizuls, one of the authors of "The Suffering Middle Ages." Illustrated edition. Translated from French by Denis Golovanenko.

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