bestiaries

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | 606 words | Copyright

bestiaries, medieval treatises derived from the Greek Physiologus, which was a collection of about 50 fabulous anecdotes from natural (mostly animal) history, followed by a ‘moralization’ of the anecdotes for a Christian purpose. The Greek original dates from between the 2nd and 4th cents ad, and it was translated into many languages. In the 12th cent. additions began to be made to the Latin version from the popular encyclopaedia of the Middle Ages, the Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville. Those written in England in the 12th and 13th cents were often richly illustrated with miniatures.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "bestiaries." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "bestiaries." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-bestiaries.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "bestiaries." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-bestiaries.html

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