Animal Names and Symbolism in the English Bestiary Tradition

The English bestiary tradition comprises numerous lavishly illuminated manuscripts written in Latin, as well as shorter and less ornate variants of the Physiologus, the foundational text at the heart of the bestiary genre. This article examines several renowned manuscripts, analysing the structure of the animal chapters and the significance of the accompanying illustrations. The aim is to identify connections and intersections between the texts from various sources and to draw conclusions about how the names of the animals relate to their behaviours. This article explores two primary areas of research. First, it examines the theological significance of the act of naming the animals and its relevance within the context of the bestiary. Second, it highlights the distinctions between the Latin text of the bestiaries and their Middle English and Middle French translations. The article focuses particularly on the description of the siren, as it illuminates certain discrepancies present in the more elaborate Latin bestiaries produced in England, offering potential explanations through evidence drawn from the Middle English version. The study demonstrates how the animal narratives are employed for distinct purposes in each of these texts and how, despite sharing a common source, they developed in different directions and acquired distinct literary and thematic identities. The findings of this research confirm, on the one hand, the distinctive character of each text: the Latin bestiaries exhibit a more encyclopaedic orientation, whereas the French translations display a markedly poetic quality. At the same time, the study offers new insights into the interactions between these texts, which coexisted within the same cultural milieu and temporal framework.