The Grand Medieval Bestiary: Animals in Illuminated Manuscripts

by Christian Heck (Contributor), Remy Cordonnier (Contributor)

As the 587 colorful images in this magnificent volume reveal, animals were a constant — and delightful — presence in illuminated manuscripts throughout the Middle Ages. Many proto-zoological illustrations, of great charm but variable accuracy, are found in the bestiaries, or compendiums of animal lore, that were exceedingly popular in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. But animals are depicted in every other sort of illuminated manuscript as well, from the eighth-century Echternach Gospels, with its geometrically schematized symbols of the Evangelists, to the early fifteenth-century Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, with its famously naturalistic scenes of peasant and aristocratic life.

In his insightful opening chapters, the noted art historian Christian Heck explains that the prevalence of animals in illuminated manuscripts reflects their importance in medieval thought, an importance due in part to the agricultural society of that age, in which a variety of species—and not just docile pets—were the daily companions of man. Animals also had a greater symbolic significance than they do today: in popular fables, such as those of Reynard the Fox, they held up a mirror to the follies of mankind, and on the religious plane, they were understood as an integral part of God’s creation, whose attributes and behaviors could be taken as clues to His plan of salvation.

The main part of the book explores the complex and fascinating iconography of the individual creatures most frequently depicted by medieval miniaturists. It is arranged in the manner of a proper bestiary, with essays on one hundred animals alphabetized by their Latin names, from the alauda , or lark, whose morning song was thought to be a hymn to Creation, to the vultur , which enjoyed a certain respect due to its impressive appearance, but whose taste for carrion also made it a symbol of the sinner who indulges in worldly pleasures. The selection includes a number of creatures that would now be considered fantastic, including the griffin, the manticore, and of course the fabled unicorn, tamable only by a gentle maiden.

Not merely a study of art history, The Grand Medieval Bestiary uses a theme of timeless interest to present a panorama of medieval life and thought that will captivate even the most sophisticated modern reader.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Medieval, History

620 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[xenia]

little dudes with big ideas!

[Ihor Kolesnyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чудова книга. Наркотики, вбивства, химерні пригоди, рейв-вечірки тощо. Вдячний Центру Шептицького за можливість почитати, подивитися паперовий примірник)

[Alex Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read and reread for fun and then research; an endlessly inspiring portrait of imagination and ignorance in equal measure.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't know when I asked the hubs to bring this home for me from the library that I was gonna add 15 pounds to his load.

[Maze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book ever made. Endless fun.

[Geof Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note that the purchase price of this book does not include the draft horse you require to take it home, as it is too heavy for anything smaller than a Ford F-350.

[Emma McGilvray · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was cool to see medieval depictions of animals i know well and ones that i don’t. there were a lot more animals that don’t exist in this than i thought there would be and a lot of them i hadn’t heard of before. but the writing is super dense and uses unnecessarily difficult words to describe simple concepts.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of medieval art. Each section was incredibly informative about the characteristics and beliefs of the time. The colors are represented well making it easy to discern different forms of media used to create the illuminated manuscripts.