I was looking at medieval bestiaries, and the veracity seems to very greatly, and they seem to largely be based on superstition. Of the actual existing animals, it is written that mice can always be found with gold in their stomach after death, and scorpions are drawn like mammals. Some things seem based on misunderstandings, like hive-building bees being described as coming from animal flesh, which could come from bee-mimic flies who lay eggs in decaying meat. And some are just facts that I wouldn't expect them to know given the quality of information, such as bats giving live birth and producing milk.
So what degree did they attempt research? Did they not care to get the anatomical or behavioral details correct? I know to some degree they were meant to be religious teachings, but it seems like they made no attempt to show reality. Even animals they would have been able to see commonly in Europe have wildly incorrect anatomy. Also, **were any European bestiaries done just for the love of nature, or had that concept not emerged yet? Did writers in other places of the world write more accurate depictions of animals? ** Thank you in advance, I apologize if my questions are too jumbled.
Hello,
First of all, 'research' is hardly the correct word for this as it implies scientific method, wich we know was only employed around the 17th century. Scientific method also implies an empirical and straight-forward view of the subject, very different from the religious view and thought around medieval times. That said, no, the did not attempt research in the contemporary sense of the word.
However, we must first look at the bestiaries to understand how did the anatomical e behavioral details were correct or incorrect. Bestiaries come from a tradition that links it directly to the Physiologus, a (possibly) greek manuscript, and other works such as Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville. Based on that, we can say that the bestiaries are a product of an observation of the nature made by important religious thinkers, wich, in addition, had their own influences.
So, did they care to get the anatomical or behavioral details correct?
The answer is no, because it was not important. The function of the bestiary is to moralize the reader, not to exclusively describe the animal, that, of course, in the bestiaries. Their descriptions of animals did not come from the writer observations, but from copies and copies of other bestiaries, wich in turn came from the Physiologus and religious literature, and those observations were subject to other forms knowledge and observation than we have today.
Were any European bestiaries done just for the love of nature?
Not that I know of, every bestiary was a compilation of moralised beasts. Of course that there are some animals that are only described, but most of them have a form of moralization. The love of nature as we think today had not emerged yet, but they did have a form of contemplation of nature as a contemplation of the work of God. As the animals are a part of this world, they were made by God, and everything made by God could be interpreted as a metaphor to human reflection on the perfection of god or human errors.
Did writers in other places of the world write more accurate depictions of animals?
That depends on what do you consider accurate. If you're talking about anatomical or behavioral details, you can find something in China or in the Middle East, but these treaties on animals can NOT be considered bestiaries since they are not moralised.
If you have any more questions or if you think your question was poorly answered, just post here and I will gladly try to help you.
Sources:
Clark, Willene B. A medieval book of beasts: the second-family bestiary: commentary, art, text and translation. Boydell press, 2006.
Clark, Willene B. "The illustrated medieval aviary and the lay-brotherhood." Gesta 21.1 (1982): 63-74
Mermier, Guy R. "The Phoenix: Its Nature and Its Place in the Tradition of the Physiologus." Beasts and Birds of the Middle Ages: The Bestiary and Its Legacy (1989): p. 69-87.
Muratova, Xenia. "Workshop Methods in English Late Twelfth-Century Illumination and the Production of Luxury Bestiaries." Beasts and Birds of the Middle Ages (1989): 53-68.
Pastoureau, Michel. Bestiaires du Moyen âge. Seuil, 2011.
Rowland, Beryl. "The art of memory and the Bestiary." Beasts and birds of the middle ages (1989): 12-25.
Aberdeen Bestiary, Ms. 24 Aberdeen University Library. http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/