Simon Ings

The beauty of medieval bestiaries

Spiders, owls, elephants and dragons appear alongside dog-headed men and tusked women in a wealth of texts explaining the world in the most vivid terms then available

Three cats, as depicted in the 12th-century Aberdeen Bestiary [Bridgeman Images]

  • The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary

    Hana Videen

    Profile, pp. 352, £15

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