This beautiful book is an English version of a 13th-century
illuminated bestiary, MS Bodley 764, in the Bodleian Library,
Oxford, with all the original miniatures reproduced in facsimile.
It is a medieval illustrated encyclopedia of beasts, birds, snakes
and fishes, a blend of natural history, mystical meaning, and moral
instruction: the ant and the bee display humility, obedience and
industry; the viper warns against adultery. The animals vary from
the instantly recognizable, like the cat ('This creature is called
mouser because she kills mice') to the wholly fantastic, like the
monoceros, with the body of a horse, the feet of an elephant, and
the tail of a stag. (The fantastic ones are often based on a grain
of truth - the unicorn may be a Greek traveller's misreading of the
perspective of Persian sculpture, so that two horns are seen as
one.) A good, short introduction explains where this manuscript
fits in the tradition of the bestiary, and the pictures and text
speak for themselves. (Kirkus UK)
A delightful translation of one of the finest, and most beautiful,
examples of a medieval Bestiary. Bestiaries are a particularly
characteristic product of medieval England, and give a unique
insight into the medieval mind. Richly illuminated and lavishly
produced, they were luxury objects for noble families. Their
three-fold purpose was to provide a natural history of birds,
beasts and fishes, to draw moral examples from animal behaviour
(the industrious bee, the stubborn ass), and to reveal a mystical
meaning - the phoenix, for instance, as a symbol ofChrist's
resurrection. This Bestiary, MS Bodley 764, was produced around the
middle of the thirteenth century and is of singular beauty and
interest. The lively illustrations have the freedom and
naturalistic quality ofthe later Gothic style, and make dazzling
use of colour. This book reproduces the 136 illuminations to the
same size and in the same place as the original manuscript, fitting
the text around them. Richard Barber's translation from the
original Latin is a delight to read, capturing both the serious
intent of the manuscript and its charm. RICHARD BARBER has written
many books on the history of and life in the middle ages, from his
Somerset MaughamAward-winning The Knight and Chivalry, by way of
biographies of Henry II and the Black Prince, to an anthology of
Arthurian literature from England, France and Germany, Arthurian
Legends, and an account of the historical Arthur, King Arthur: Hero
and Legend.
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