Status Updates From The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts

How to catch a Unicorn, according to the 12th century:

“A virgin girl is led to where he lurks, and there she is sent off by herself into the wood. He soon leaps into her lap when he sees her, and embraces her, and hence he gets caught.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is also a Unicorn, spiritually…”

Nice.

It’s surprisingly seen as restorative. The third crow of the cock reminded Peter of his faithlessness but that caused him to repent. Christ forgave him so he was restored. So, it’s a sign of restoration to the sick."

pp. 150-151 The first is a bird called the Hoopoe (based on its sound). They said it was a filthy bird that lines its nest with dung and eats dung and can cause you to have nightmares if you are exposed to it. The second is the cock. It’s like a eunuch because it’s missing the same thing. The crowing of a cock is comforting to travelers, workers, and priests because it tells the passage of time.

If the saura goes into a hole in the wall facing east and stretches itself toward the rising sun, its sight is restored. What a cool image!!!!!

The salamander is fascinating. It can kill more people in one blow than other reptiles. If it wraps itself around trees, it infects the fruit with venom and, if people eat the fruit, they die. If the fruit falls in the well, it poisons people who drink the water. If salamanders are in a fire, they put out the flames. None of this is true but it’s te imagery that matters in literature. Saura goes blind when its old.

pp. 181 The medievals imagined three kinds of small venomous snakes with poison that kills you so quickly there is no pain. The syrene is a white snake with wings and it flies. The seps poisons your blood and bones. The dipsa is so small that you can’t see it. Lhcan the poet wrote about it. There are reptiles with arms (frog, salamander, lizard, newt). I already read about the newt.

His mother’s maid noticed this and thanked Lucina for the help because the baby was delivered. It was a trick and, as soon as Lucina let go, he was born. As a punishment, Juno turned the maid into a weasel and she could only give birth through the ear by which she had deceived the goddess.

She conceived by the word planted in her ear. God spoke the word through the mouth of an angel which caused the Virgin to conceive. This idea was believed by early theologians. Weasels are skilled in medicine and they could resurrect their babies that are killed. Ovid had a metamorphosis story. Lucina (light) was midwife to the goddesses. Hercules’ mother was struggling and Juno ordered Lucina to hinder birth.

pp. 22-24 (2 pages) was for the griffin.
ppp. 91-93 (2 pages) Weasels are like a long mouse or rat. After having babies, she stays in a different lair every night. Weasels go after snake and mice. (The theory is that medievals confused the mongoose and weasels.) They were believed to conceive through the ear and give birth through the mouth (or vice versa). This symbolized the Virgin Mary.

A griffin is a winged quadruped born in mountains or Hyperborean parts. It has the boady of a lion and the wings and face of an eagle. It’s a blend of the symbols of the evangelists Mark and John. It’s hostile to horses. It will tear apart humans.

More on lions. Their courage is seated in their heart and constancy in their heads. Fire and creaking wheels frighten lions. Lions are proud. They enjoy sauntering on mountaintops. If hunted, he uses his tail to disguise his scent and he saves himself. Likewise, Jesus hid his nature when sent by the Father to Mary’s womb and saved humanity. Even angels cannot find him and ask, “Who is this King of Glory?” (Messiah)

Ravens poke out the eyes of corpses first when feeding on them.

Pp.143 Crows are extremely dutiful to their young. They feed them longer than necessary and watch carefully when they are learning to fly. Compare that to humans who give everything to the eldest and leave younger siblings penniless. This encourages medicines to abort babies to avoid large families. Rich women wear quickly or turn over to wet nurses. Some babies are abandoned (Sparta).

Pp. 141-142 Bats hang like a cluster of grapes because they are affectionate. Ravens only feed their young when they recognize their black feathers. God feeds them up until that point. Their name comes from their coarse sound. Crows are pathfinder for storks. They caw to alert others about rain. The ancients believed they gave omens but that belief dishonors God.

pp. 108-109 Vultures are named for their slow flight. Like eagles, they can see the dead from far away. In fact, the ancients looked at the number of vultures soaring on both sides of a battle as an omen of who would win and who would lose. Now for far-out beliefs--vultures did not copulate so females were virgins but, for some reason, they never became symbols of Mary. Lol

pp. 7-12 Technically beasts are animals with tooth and claw but the book is about more. It is extended to wild things that are free to wander hither and thither. Leo the lion is the king of beasts because he will stand up to anybody. Leo comes from the Greek word for lion and it stayed the same in Latin. Their litters are triplets: short ones with curly manes are peaceful. Tall ones with plain hair are fierce.

Pg. 213 goes well with CM's ploughman reference.

They are valued for their spirit, and they know instinctively if a battle will be won or lost. Piebalds are not appreciated.

Pp. 84-88 orses and man have a close affinity. The horse will fight an enemy in battle if its master falls. Many examples from ancient history are given. They live to be 70, which is why Lucretius said centaurs can't exist. Newborns are given a love charm on its forehead and, if taken, the mare's milk will dry up. Horses are judged by four main characteristics. They are fiercely loyal.

Pp. 20-22, 43-44 Technically a rhinoceros is unicorn. they were thought to be small and lowly like Christ. The one horn means unity between the Father and Son. They thought it was small like a kid and had the image of a scapegoat. If a young virgin sits in the woods, it will sit on her lap and is captured. Another kind of unicorn is more like a pony and it has a four-foot horn.

The index and bibliography takes up 26 pages: pp. 271-296.

Pp 82-83 Little Ass is a domesticated donkey. They have no sense and they will give up when surrounded by men. It puts up with work and does not reject work unless it receives a monumental amount of neglect. A wild ass is not domesticated. It is from Africa. One male will run out others and hangs out with a harem of females. On the equinox it brays every hour because the devil knows night and day are equal.

They can have white stripes. Like scorpions, they live in desert places and they can die of hydrophobia when taken to the river! Whoa!!! Water makes them mad and they will die. The hiss of a basilisk can also kill and burn people before biting them.

Even those who did not believe in the cockatrice, believed in the basilisks. Samuel Pepys wrote about seeing a lark flying and then freeze and fall into the mouth of a serpent. He reported that venom was spit at the bird. Now, GET THIS. Weasels and the mongoose can defeat them!!!! “God never makes anything without a remedy.” The basilisk can be hooded and can spit like a cobra.

Here is an interesting thing they did. Apes and Satan have no tail. Cauda means tail. Caudex means book. When Satan lost his tail, it implied that he also lost the book (scripture).
pp. 168-169 Basilisk comes from “Basil” in Greek which means “Rex” in Latin which is king. Basilisk is the king of the snakes. If any person or creature sees or smells a basilisk, it will die--even a bird flying nearby.

pp. 34-36 Monkeys are like humans and the Greek term is for their squashed nostrils. They have no tails (well some don’t) and because Satan lost his tail when falling from heaven he and beings like satyrs and Pan fall in this category. They are put in the category of wild men in the woods, which is like the Wild Man legend connected to the Green Knight. I can see why Lewis chose an ape to be Shift.

pp. 1-6 I read the front matter which included a snippet from Paradise Lost about the creation of beasts.

Jews did not like dogs. To medievals dogs heal when they lick wounds like the wounds of confessed to a priest are healed. Priests are the image of watchdogs, guarding the flock. The tongue of puppies does the work of purification. Dogs are temperate in diet (well, maybe not today). Returning to their own vomit si the image of returning to sin. They will drop food seen in a reflection (silly people).

pp. 61-67 Dogs -- Canis comes from canor (singing) because of dogs baying. They are believed to be wise and loyal because of how they obey, protect, and defend their master, even unto death. Literature is full of references of the loyalty of dogs. Because of their ability to track a scent and back up to the right path when huntiy, they depict finding truth. Think of three dogs in the Santa Maria novella fresco.