Bestiary

A collection of allegories with descriptions of real or imagined animals. In the numerous bestiaries of the Middle Ages, along with some accurate observations of natural history, some common misconceptions were preserved as well. Several modern bestiaries have been published too.(pr. BES-tee-AY-ree)Examples: English, "De scitali serpente; Of the snake called scitalis. De anphivena; Of the anphivena (having two heads, one at each end). De ydro; Of the ydrus" in The Aberdeen Bestiary, late 12th century, this page cited is folio 68 verso, the book is 302 x 210 mm; the text area is 185 x 110/115 mm, University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Its text is in Latin. Because each picture in this bestiary was given a background of burnished gold, it must have been commissioned by a very wealthy patron.