Ashmole Bestiary

All true Latin Bestiaries take their origin from the Greek work Physiologus, though the word can colloquially be used with less specificity.

Instead of being naturalist documentation, bestiaries are meant to tell the tale of Christ's work and teachings using the symbolism of various animals as part of the allegory.

Content from Hugh of Fouilloy's sixty chapter De avibus which was written between 1132 and 1152 is incorporated into the text with 29 full colour illustrations.

Scholars believe that way the manuscript is written and the tone and ideas conveyed within it suggest that it was intended to be used in an instructional manner, to teach the lessons of Christianity through the metaphors of the natural world.

[1] Rich colour miniatures of the animals of the compendium are a key part of the medieval bestiary, and what captivates many historians and preservationists.

In keeping with this tradition The Ashmole Bestiary features “real” animals (such as dogs, beavers, and elephants), but also mythical and legendary creatures like a unicorn and a phoenix.

[3] Some of the more common or known animals may still have fantastical elements ascribed to them, like a snake having wings, a dog who can detect lies, or fledgling pelicans coming back to life.

This lavish inclusion is from the biblical book of Genesis from the quote "The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild animals.

The famed medievalist scholar M. R. James considered the Aberdeen Bestiary to likely be a replica of Ashmole based on the quality of the illuminations and artistic style of both artefacts.

It is known through the study of the physical document and the inscriptions there-in that in the mid-1500s the Ashmole Bestiary belonged to William Wright, the vicar of Chipping Wycombe .