rā

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Hana Videen

rā, m.n: roe deer. (RAH / ˈraː)

roe — Gaston Phébus, Livre de la chasse. France, 14th/15th century. Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Français 616, fol. 23r. [gallica.bnf.fr]

elp

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Hana Videen

elp, m.n: elephant. (ELP / ˈɛlp)

Check out Dēorhord, the medieval and modern bestiary, to learn about the medieval elephant and see illustrations by medieval illuminators and the modern artist James Merry.

hasu-pāda

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Hana Videen

hasu-pāda, m.n: grey-cloaked one (an epithet for the eagle). (HA-zuh-PAH-da / ˈha-zʌ-ˌpaː-da)

heofon-fugol

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Hana Videen

heofon-fugol, m.n: ‘heaven-bird’, a bird of the air. (HEH-oh-von-FUH-goll / ˈhɛɔ-vɔn-ˌfʌ-gɔl)

Birds in Arras Psalter and Hours. France, N. (Arras), c. 1300. British Library, Yates Thompson 15, fol. 96r. More about the manuscript here.

panþer

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Hana Videen

panþer, m.n: panther. (PAHN-ther / ˈpan-θɛr)

Learn about how the panþer was imagined in the Middle Ages (and see a modern artist’s rendition of him) at Dēor-hord, a medieval and modern bestiary.

corn-wurma

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Hana Videen

corn-wurma, m.n: ‘corn-worm’, a weevil. (KORN-WUR-ma / ˈkɔrn-ˌwʌr-ma)

fugel-timber

Posted on July 6, 2016 by Hana Videen

fugel-timber, n.n: bird material (which forms the fledgling), the young bird which develops. (FUH-yell-TIM-ber / ˈfʌ-jɛl-ˌtɪm-bɛr)

pelican — The pelican revives her young with blood from her own breast. Museum Meermanno, MMW, 10 B 25, fol. 32r. France, c. 1450. From The Medieval Bestiary.

haswig-feðera

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Hana Videen

haswig-feðera, adj: having grey feathers, grey-feathered. (HAZ-wee-FEH-theh-ra / ˈhaz-wɪj-ˌfɛ-θɛ-ra)

grey ibis — An ibis. Bestiary. England, 1236-c. 1250. British Library, Harley MS 3244, fol. 52v.

āttor-sceaða

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Hana Videen

āttor-sceaða, m.n: a poisonous destroyer, a venomous dragon, serpent. (AH-tor-SHEH-ah-tha / ˈaːt-tɔɹ-ˌʃɛa-θa)

Harley 4751 f.61 (min) — An asp refuses to listen to a snake charmer’s incantations, pressing one ear against the ground and stopping up the other with the tip of its tail. Bestiary. England, 2nd quarter of the 13th century. British Library, Harley MS 4751, fol. 61r.

draca

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Hana Videen

draca, m.n: a dragon; a serpent (can sometimes indicate the Devil). (DRAH-ka / ˈdra-ka)

Macclesfield-Psalter-43v-Detail-of-Dragon-and-Lion — Dragon and lion in the Macclesfield Psalter at The Fitzwilliam Museum. England (East Anglia), c. 1330.