#GOING MEDIEVAL ANIMAL HANDLING HOW TO#

I have often wondered if dragons were always evil and unicorns always a sign of purity?

Why do medieval Europeans put dragons in a negative light in comparison to other cultures?īecause a dragon appears as a representative of Satan in the Bible’s Book of Revelations, and Christianity was such a powerful religion in medieval Europe, the dragon was closely associated with evil (see below left image). The bestiary talks about how the dragon’s ability to topple elephants by winding themselves around their feet is like how the devil tries to bring down righteous people on the path to Heaven. The dragon, as king of the serpents, usually symbolizes the idea of evil or the devil. What do dragons symbolize in medieval history? You can find dragons in Antique works of art as well, like this 5th century B.C. We don’t have any record of people finding dinosaur bones in the Middle Ages, but that didn’t stop people from believing in dragons. Was the myth of dragons created because someone in the Middle Ages found dinosaur bones? Then you can run away fast with the cub! We have some evidence of exotic animals being kept in royal menageries, but not much else to suggest that such animals were “domesticated.” You should throw a mirror at the mother tiger so she is distracted and thinks her own image is her cub.

#GOING MEDIEVAL ANIMAL HANDLING HOW TO#

One of the most popular medieval legends was about how to catch young tigers (presumably to keep them). In this image, a knight and his wife lament over the fact that the fish who live in the moat of their castle have many offspring, while they are left childless.ĭid they domesticate wild animals like tigers or even alligators? I think I might use that the next time I get a cat! Look closely at this manuscript page and you can see Alexander petting his cat underwater! One pet cat name we know of from a medieval text is Cruibne (little paws). The most common pets were cats and dogs, but we also know of people who kept more exotic animals like birds and monkeys. What animals did people have as pets in the Middle Ages? You might never look at these critters the same way again. The depiction of animals in the Middle Ages can be both mystifying and captivating to modern audiences, and we asked you to share your biggest questions on our Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages.Įlizabeth Morrison, senior curator of manuscripts, and Larisa Grollemond, assistant curator of manuscripts, went to work finding the answers. Illustrations helped readers visualize familiar creatures and helped them understand animals they may have never seen before, but the bestiary also provided stories about how animals could be seen as symbols of morality and Christian doctrines.

Illuminated images and descriptions of animals were joined together in the bestiary, a kind of medieval encyclopedia of animals. Animals represented themes and lessons from Christianity and were important characters in allegorical tales for example, elephants and dragons battled as mortal enemies as a symbol for the struggle between good and evil, while unicorns had a penchant for maidens in the forest, an allusion to the birth of Christ from the Virgin Mary.

Going medieval animal handling