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Medieval Bestiary

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celticrose

Gone But Not Forgotten
(ACCOUNT RETIRED)
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Jan 29, 2008
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153
I was linked to this site by a friend, many, many medieval accounts of known and cryptozoological animals. I like the way they tried to force human attributes onto wild animals, and how even really bland known animals like ducks had supernatural powers.

http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast260.htm

A great resource for fans of historical cryptozoology.

Oh, and watch out for the Bonnacon, or at least carry an umbrella....
 
I have the printed version of this (The Book of Beasts). I first checked it out of my college library and it really affected my life! One of my favorites. :)
 
Thanks for the link to the bestiary site, it is fabulous!
 
Yes, thanks for posting the link. It's a wonderful site.

I was particularly taken with the badger page, where it is claimed they use each other as a kind of wheelbarrow! :)
 
Wow!

Thanks so much for introducing me to this! It's fascinating, I love it!

Thanks CelticRose!
 
Upon closer examination, that site has quite a bit of stuff not found in T.H. White's Book of Beasts. That'll teach me to jump to conclusions based on the first page I look at. It makes one wonder how many things that modern man takes for granted are the same sort of superstition...
 
Thats ok guys, I read every single page of it and found it fascinating! :)
 
I wish I had bookmerked or copied it out or something... but I once found on the web an old bestiary by I think Pliny that referenced "hart-wolves" found in Gaul (France), which were unusually fast. It's maybe relevant to the Beast of Gevaudan?
 
"While fleeing, the bonnacon defecated violently. The excrement voided the animal’s body with such explosive force that it could hit targets more than a football pitch away."
bonnacon-12.jpg


https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/bonnacons/
 
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