'The Bestiary' is a book of animals. The 'Second-family' bestiary is the most important version. This study addresses the work's purpose and audience. It includes a critical edition and new English translation, and a catalogue raisonne of the manuscripts.

A celebration of the visual contributions of the bestiary--one of the most popular types of illuminated books during the Middle Ages--and an exploration of its lasting legacy. Brimming with lively animals both real and fantastic, the bestiary was one of the great illuminated manuscript traditions of the Middle Ages. Encompassing imaginary creatures such as the unicorn, siren, and griffin; exotic beasts including the tiger, elephant, and ape; as well as animals native to Europe like the beaver, dog, and hedgehog, the bestiary is a vibrant testimony to the medieval understanding of animals and their role in the world. So iconic were the stories and images of the bestiary that its beasts essentially escaped from the pages, appearing in a wide variety of manuscripts and other objects, including tapestries, ivories, metalwork, and sculpture. With over 270 color illustrations and contributions by twenty-five leading scholars, this gorgeous volume explores the bestiary and its widespread influence on medieval art and culture as well as on modern and contemporary artists like Pablo Picasso and Damien Hirst. Published to accompany an exhibition on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center May 14 to August 18, 2019.

This is an English translation of the short version of the French Bestiary of Pierre de Beauvais. The original text, the Physiologus was probably written during the 2nd century, in Greek, then translated to Latin, and then translated into Old French by de Beauvais. These are stories of animals given as symbols of Man's eternal fears and hopes. This bestiary can be used as a means of understanding the thought processes of people in the Middle Ages.

White's The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts was the first and, for a time, the only English translation of a medieval bestiary. White provides an excellent appendix that explains how the creatures of the bestiary influenced the development of allegory and symbolism in art and literature.

Publisher description

The medieval bestiary, or moralized book of beasts, has enjoyed immense popularity over the centuries and it continues to influence both literature and art. This collection of essays aims to demonstrate the scope and variety of bestiary studies and the ways in which the medieval bestiary can be addressed. The contributors write about the tradition of one of the bestiary's birds, Parisian production of the manuscripts, bestiary animals in a liturgical book, theological as well as secular interpretations of beasts, bestiary creatures in literature, and new perspectives on the bestiary in other genres. -- Book cover.

Full facsimile reproduction of a 13th century illuminated manuscript, a bestiary, created in England, perhaps in Salisbury, possibly commissed by Roger de Mohaut

The manuscripts known as bestiaries are among the most attractive medieval books, containing depictions and descriptions of all manner of beasts - some real, some imagined.

At one time T.H. White's Bestiary: A Book of Beasts was the first and only English translation of a medieval bestiary. It may no longer be the only one but it still has no equal in its combination of charm and erudition. The University of Wisconsin-Libraries has initiated this project to make the works by T.H. White more accessible to students and scholars.

It argues that through their depictions of animals, medieval writers were not only able to reflect upon their own humanity, but were also able to explore the meaning of more abstract values and ideas (such as civility, sanctity and nobility) that were central to the culture of the time."--BOOK JACKET.