BNF site François Mitterand
Bestiaire Médiéval
BNF Site François Mitterand, until 8 january 2006.
The
animals were the social mirror of the medieval society : An excellent
way of representing without clash the forces and weaknesses of the
human people. The Historial Mirror of Vincent de Beauvais
composed between 1459 and 1463 shows us a lion symbolizing pride,
greediness is made up under the features of a bear, the idleness
becomes a donkey. The animals are represented thus everywhere, in the
armorial bearings of the families or the cities, in the tapestries, let
us remember the Lady to the Unicorn.
The BNF opens to us some ones of these treasures "zoomorphiques".
Bibles, very scientific treaties of fauconnery and of course Romance of
Renart without neglecting celebrates books of hunting, essential in the
social life of the time. Noah's Ark is the starting point of this
immense tale. In these moved back times, all the animals are not
known and the reproductions of the rare travelers deform the visions in
their lending marvelous phantasms. Thus are born the imaginary
animals, the crowned white stag, becomes royal. Ostriches,
elephants, panthers adorn sometimes curious dresses. When with
the characteristics of the animals themselves, tail, manes, claws,
teeth, language, they equip the heraldic scene for better symbolizing
the ambitions of the families. The oldest zoo of the world sleeps
on parchment...