Bestiaries of the Middle Ages

Lions, unicorns, dragons, elephants, beavers, and phoenixes populated the medieval imagination as vividly as they did illuminated manuscripts. In the Middle Ages, animals were far more than creatures of the natural world: they were moral symbols, theological lessons, and reflections of humanity itself. Through the richly illustrated tradition of the bestiary, medieval readers learned to interpret nature as a vast system of signs.
Michel Pastoureau explores the origins and development of these remarkable books, tracing their roots to classical antiquity and examining how they shaped medieval art, literature, religion, and everyday thought. Blending history, symbolism, and visual culture, he reveals why fantastic beasts stood alongside real animals and how both came to embody ideas about virtue, vice, power, and the divine.
Richly illustrated and deeply informed, Bestiaries of the Middle Ages offers a fascinating introduction to one of medieval Europe's most influential literary and artistic traditions, illuminating a world in which every animal carried a hidden meaning.