5 Animals Weirdly Represented in the Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, as you know, things were not very good with the sciences. Zoology was no exception. The source of information about animals then was the so-called "bestiaries"The Medieval Bestiary / Flowers of History - illustrated encyclopedias with real and fictional animals.

Basically, these books referred to the works of ancient authors, such as Pliny the Elder, Elian and Solinus, as well as to famous theologians such as Bishop Isidore of Seville and St. Ambrose. To what extent the descriptions of animals in bestiaries correspond to the truth, decide for yourself.

1. Beaver

In the Middle Ages, these animals were hunted not only because of their skin, but also for the sake of the tail, beaver stream and... Well, more on that separately.

The tail was good as food. Especially stewed with horseradish. From the point of view of the Church, it was not considered meat, which means that it could be consumed in fasting. Therefore, some theologians even led

discussionsOnce Upon A Time, The Catholic Church Decided That Beavers Were Fish News and Research / Scientific American Blog Network on the topic "Is a beaver a fish?"

Well, what, he lives in the water, everything converges.

For the same reason, by the way, the Catholic Church in the 16th century in South American settlements recognized fish capybara. To eat lean and not sin.

But back to beavers. Another useful resource harvested from this toothy hairy fish is the beaver-spout glands. It was called "castoreum". In the Middle Ages, this slurry from the back of an animal usedD. Muller-Schwarze. The Beaver: Its Life and Impact inside for health and overall strengthening of the body. Yes, what is there - some even now continue do it.

Castoreum was also useful to perfumers and alchemists because of its strong smell, which many have probably heard of. But a somewhat more unexpected area of ​​​​application for the beaver jet was... beekeeping. Yes, glands taken from a slaughtered animal thrustD. Muller-Schwarze. The Beaver: Its Life and Impact into the hive to increase the amount of honey. Whether it worked or not is hard to say.

But the main value of the beast - both for medieval hunters, and according to the beaver himself - was in his testicles. They served as a cure for all diseases, from impotence to baldness.

Therefore, in many medieval bestiaries there are skits1. Medieval Bestiary / Beaver 2. D. Muller-Schwarze. The Beaver: Its Life and Impactin which a beaver, pursued by a hunter, bites off its testicles and gives them up voluntarily to avoid death. Take it, just leave.

If a beaver eunuch, who had already sacrificed his dignity before, came across another hunter, he lifted his leg, showing that there was nothing left to take from him, and he was left alone.

Scientists still cannot understand what such pictures mean: either the monks who painted them somehow strangely imagine the hunt for this beast, or the last one in their drawings speaksThe Treasured Testicles of the Medieval Beaver / Getty Iris a kind of symbol of a person who abandoned lust for the sake of saving his soul.

2. Bee

By the way, if we are already talking about bees. The inhabitants of Medieval Europe were also credited with various curious characteristics that hardly corresponded to reality.

So, it was believed that bees are birds. Just very small.

But these birds allegedly did not lay eggs, but were born themselves from the decaying corpses of cattle. Isidore of Seville in the 7th century in the book "Etymologies" specifically paintedBee / Medieval Bestiarywhat happens there: bees are born from dead oxen, hornets from horses, drones from mules, and wasps from donkeys. Is it logical? Logically.

It was believed that in the hives there are entire states ruled by kings - it is they, not queens. They were elected from the most noble citizens - democracy! The king is twice the size of the other bees, is brightly colored and has a white spot on its forehead. Periodically, bees wage wars and go on hikes to other hives, followingMedieval Beekeeping / Medievalists behind their military commanders for glory.

Striped birds also had an arch lawsBee / Medieval Bestiarywhich they strictly followed. The police and the law enforcement system were not required: as soon as the bee violated the customs accepted in the hive, she killed herself with a sting, unable to withstand remorse. Very conscious creatures.

3. Mouse

According to the ideas of the brightest scientists minds Middle Ages, not only bees spontaneously generated from carrion. Furry animals also did not lag behind them. By allegationsMouse / Medieval Bestiary mentioned by Isidore of Seville, the Latin word mus ("mouse") has the same root with humus ("humus").

But not all experts were of the same opinion as the Bishop of Seville. Other foundMouse / Medieval Bestiary in the writings of Pliny the Elder, confirmation of the fact that mice breed not by mating, like all self-respecting animals, but by licking each other.

This explains their extraordinary fertility. Imagine what would happen if the genetic material was transmitted by language.

Another wayPliny the Elder. natural history breeding in mice is to lick the salt. If a rodent cannot find a decent pair to create offspring, then it just does it and becomes pregnant! Works for everyone because mice are sexless.

Also, according to Pliny, these animals love to gnaw iron to sharpen their teeth, and there is gold in underground mines. And if you open the animal's stomach, you can find nuggets inside. So if a rodent falls into a trap in your country house, you can check - it's true, we are serious.

Mice from the fields all the time are fightingnatural history. Pliny the Elder to death with forest brothers. And on the full moon, the liver of these animals increases - medieval science could not answer why. As the rodents get older, children tend to them and feed them with “extraordinary love.”

And yes, keep in mind: mice from Egypt walk on two legs. Alpine too. If you see a rodent moving vertically, know that it is a foreigner.

4. Pelican

Have you ever seen how pelicans breed? Not? Medieval monks-scribes and compilers of bestiaries - too. But this did not prevent them from describing the process with detailed accuracy.

So, it is known that young pelicans after hatching startPelican / Medieval Bestiary beat their parents with their beaks in the muzzle. And adult birds, although they love their chicks, strike back at them - and such that they kill them on the spot.

Don't worry, it's for their own good.

For three days the pelican mourns for its children, and then rips apartnatural history. Pliny the Elder breast and sheds blood on them. From this, the chicks are resurrected, becoming even stronger and more beautiful. They also feed on blood from their parents' breasts - this is their natural feeding strategy, everyone is happy.

Pelicans livePelican / Medieval Bestiary in Egypt and are distinguished by incredible voracity. When the chicks are old enough, they begin to eat fish, poisonous snakes, and also crocodiles. Yes, you heard right, huge reptiles for pelicans are just a snack - so, for one tooth.

Such voracity of birds is explained by the fact that they have two stomachs at once: one in the belly, the other in the throat. In addition, pelicans have incredibly fast digestion.

A separate species of these birds, wrote Isidore of Seville, wearsPelican / Medieval Bestiary Latin name onocrotalus because of its long beak. When these birds drink, they make sounds reminiscent of the howls of a donkey.

5. Goats

It would seem that the goats must have been well exploreGoat / Medieval Bestiary in the Middle Ages, because they are extremely common farm animals. Nevertheless, pundits who learned zoology from the works of Pliny and Isidore of Seville managed to find truly incredible properties in these animals.

For example, in their opinion, goats have such a good eyesightPliny the Elder/Natural Historythat they can distinguish who is approaching them from the other side of a large valley - a hunter or a peaceful traveler. In addition, they see just as well at night as during the day. And raw goat liver can restore the sight of a person suffering from night blindness.

And the main feature of goats: they are so lustful that they are ready to have sex with everything they see. And because of this, their eyes become slanted, and their blood is so hot that it melts diamonds.

These animals mate enthusiasticallynatural history. Pliny the Elderthat during this they breathe not with their nostrils, but with their ears, and they are beaten in a feverish attack. If a goat licks an olive tree, it will become barren, and if it bites, it will completely wither. Farm owners, keep this in mind.

A special variety of these animals areIbex / Medieval Bestiary mountain goats. They have all the properties of ordinary ones, but in addition are equipped with incredibly strong springy horns. When a mountain goat wants to jump off a cliff, it does somersaults in the air and lands on them, and the horns completely absorb the blow, no matter how high their owner falls.

The attentive reader may have a question. If the blood of a goat is so hot that it melts diamonds, then how did the peasants manage to slaughter these animals for meat and not burn alive?

Here it is worth considering two points. First: the medieval bestiaries with references to Pliny and Archelaus (the teacher of Socrates) were not written by peasants - they the compilers had little to do with goats, and probably did not bother to observe the slaughter of this breed of cattle.

Second: the authors of encyclopedias had little desire checkMedieval Bestiary: Diamond truth of statements Roman and Greek natural philosophers experimentally, and it was not accepted at that time to question the sayings of ancient authors.