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 Tres 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.
關於作者：
Christian Heck, a senior member of the Institut Universitaire de
France and former curator-in-chief of the Unterlinden Museum in
Colmar, is an authority on illuminated manuscripts.
Remy Cordonnier, a researcher at the University of Lille,
specializes in medieval iconography.
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