The Book of Beasts : Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century [Paperback]

Terence Hanbury White (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0486246094 | ISBN-13: 978-0486246093 | Publication Date: December 22, 2010

A preeminent medievalist presents a wonderful catalog of real and fanciful beasts, including the manticore, griffin, phoenix, amphivius, jaculus, and many other exotic animals. White's witty, erudite commentary on scientific and historical aspects enhances this survey of proto-zoology on which science is based and pre-scientific perceptions of the earth's creatures. 128 black-and-white illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Latin (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (December 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486246094
• ISBN-13: 978-0486246093
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #338,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 12th Century Biology, October 6, 2000

By 

"bobkytten" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Beasts : Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century (Paperback)

This is indeed an excellent book for those interested in history and biology. ~The Book of Beasts~ is a translation from Latin of a Twelfth century bestiary. It was written as a serious scientific study of zoology, despite giving equal precedence to dogs, horses, lions, dragons, and unicorns. This was the world of wildlife as the people of the 1100's saw it. It includes such beliefs as "when a lioness gives birth to her cubs, she brings them forth dead and lays them up lifeless for three days - until thier father, coming on the third day, breathes in thier faces, and makes them alive." (direct quote) The book also has an extensive appendix, detailing the history of the original manuscript of this bestiary, and information on ancient bestiaries as a whole. Further, the author tells us "No Latin prose bestiary has ever before been printed, even in Latin. This is the first and only English translation in print. . ." This is an invaluable reference to any students of historical sciences, especially biological/zoological sciences, or to any simply interested in the subjects. Very highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and Meta-Amusing, August 15, 2010

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T. Kaske - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Book of Beasts : Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century (Paperback)

This book makes me deliriously happy.

The text is full of gorgeous illustrations, and the author's bizarro witticisms are almost as amusing as the claims that he's translating. While it may not be the right book to base serious, humorless research on--the author, while academic, is adorably distractible--it's a fantastic companion for creative inspiration and amusing reading. I've collected a number of medieval bestiary reference books, and this is by far my favorite.

If you're looking for a pile of facts done analytically and systematically, this is probably not for you. Personally, I have a lot of love for science/academia-gone-awry (which inspired my love of bestiaries in the first place), and this text is a delightful example of exactly that. The unreliability and downright absurdity of the actual content is beautifully reflected in the author's own meandering, quirky voice and footnotes (oh, the glorious footnotes!)--unintentional, I'm sure, but delightful as a piece of art, a portrait of not only 12th-century naturalism but of 20th-century classical academia.

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant, May 13, 2009

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Freyja Eilíf Logadóttir (Iceland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Beasts : Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century (Paperback)

Surprisingly entertaining animalia analysis from the medieval ages, mixed with the moralistic nonsense as expected of that period, with the owl being symbolical of the jews, who "repulse their saviour and thus value darkness more than light", and female vultures generating their offsprings without any conjunction with their male kind "in resemblance of the Virgin Mary"