 British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 57r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.  When is a bat a bird? In a medieval bestiary! British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 55v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source. | Do you know your chaffinch from your bullfinch, your tawny owl from your little owl? The Anglo-Saxon Monk asks if you can identify six of his avian favourites from medieval manuscripts. Birds as evil spirits in an Apocalypse manuscript. British Library, Royal 15 D. ii (England, 1300-1325), folio 183r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source. |
The pelican kills its disobedient offspring then restores them to life with its own blood: an allegory for Christ's redemptive sacrifice. British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 54v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source. Medieval manuscripts are not particularly well known for their ornithological accuracy. Just take a look at the pelican here! And what ever made the compilers of medieval bestiaries decide to lump the bat in with birds? Well, your guess is as good as mine, blessed readers.
In the case of the pelican, of course, an English artist would never have seen one, and so it was more important to visually allude to the allegorical significance than go for naturalism. In case you're wondering, the pelican feeding its young with its own blood represents the redemptive power of Christ's crucifixion.
Quite often the subject matter dictates the way birds are represented. If an artist just needs volume, then flocking birds quite often look generic. It's pretty tough going, for example, to find anything other than a generic bird amid Noah's many arks, apart from when the raven and dove enter the story, but even then the rather slipshod approach to ornithological detail would raise an eyebrow from you blessed birders and twitchers out there.
And if you look at the Apocalypse scene, top right, the artist has not really gone for a particular species to represent these birds-come-evil spirits. There is something parrot-like about them, true, but their serpentine tails take these birds away from naturalism, though of course this artistic choice may well contribute to the desired feel of malevolence.
Well, beloved, I think it's high time you identified the six birds below and demonstrated how well attuned you are to the Lord's avian creation. No shabby responses like 'duck' or 'owl', I want full names, though I will let you off from having to provide them in Latin (nothing to do with my own Latin skills, I hasten to add).
If you feel like slipping into immoderate behaviour, you can have a go at identifying those birds in images 3, 4 and 5 which I have not ringed. But remember, pride comes before a fall.
My sincere apologies to those of you not from Britain, as these are all birds that live at least part of the year in this lovely land, though I must confess that image 1 is rather tricky even for you natives, so here's a clue: this bird is mentioned in the Bible (generous, I know).
Leave your answers in the comments section, and I may think about offering some kind of prize. Answers will be provided in a few days' time.
In the case of the pelican, of course, an English artist would never have seen one, and so it was more important to visually allude to the allegorical significance than go for naturalism. In case you're wondering, the pelican feeding its young with its own blood represents the redemptive power of Christ's crucifixion.
Quite often the subject matter dictates the way birds are represented. If an artist just needs volume, then flocking birds quite often look generic. It's pretty tough going, for example, to find anything other than a generic bird amid Noah's many arks, apart from when the raven and dove enter the story, but even then the rather slipshod approach to ornithological detail would raise an eyebrow from you blessed birders and twitchers out there.
And if you look at the Apocalypse scene, top right, the artist has not really gone for a particular species to represent these birds-come-evil spirits. There is something parrot-like about them, true, but their serpentine tails take these birds away from naturalism, though of course this artistic choice may well contribute to the desired feel of malevolence.
Well, beloved, I think it's high time you identified the six birds below and demonstrated how well attuned you are to the Lord's avian creation. No shabby responses like 'duck' or 'owl', I want full names, though I will let you off from having to provide them in Latin (nothing to do with my own Latin skills, I hasten to add).
If you feel like slipping into immoderate behaviour, you can have a go at identifying those birds in images 3, 4 and 5 which I have not ringed. But remember, pride comes before a fall.
My sincere apologies to those of you not from Britain, as these are all birds that live at least part of the year in this lovely land, though I must confess that image 1 is rather tricky even for you natives, so here's a clue: this bird is mentioned in the Bible (generous, I know).
Leave your answers in the comments section, and I may think about offering some kind of prize. Answers will be provided in a few days' time.
 No. 1: British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 57r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.  No. 3: British Library, Royal 6 E.vi (London c.1360-c.1375), folio 128r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.  No. 5: British Library, Royal 19 B xv (London or East Anglia, 1300-1325), folio 37v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.  Close-up of No. 5 |  No. 2: British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 54v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.  No. 4: British Library, Royal 6 E.vi (London, c.1360-c.1375), folio 167v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.  No.6: British Library, Royal 3 D vi (London, 1283-1300), folio 116r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source. |
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