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Category Archives: animals

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lobbe

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Hana Videen

lobbe, f.n: spider. (LOB-buh / ˈlɔb-bə)

Medieval manuscript written in Latin with the words “de aranea marina” in red and an illustration of a round, black creature with eight squiggly legs.
Sea-spider from Liber de natura rerum; France (Abbaye de Saint-Amand), 13th century; Bibliothèque Municipale de Valenciennes, MS 320, f. 123v. [patrimonie-numerique.ville-valenciennes.fr]

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gūþ-hafoc

Posted on October 21, 2024 by Hana Videen

gūþ-hafoc, m.n: war-hawk (an epithet for the eagle). (GOOTH-HA-vock / ˈguːθ-ˌha-vɔk)

Medieval manuscript image of a multi-coloured eagle surrounded by crosses, with the words “imago aquilae” in red.
The Northumbrian Gospels; England, 8th century; Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 197B, p. 245. [parker.stanford.edu]
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fola

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Hana Videen

fola, m.n: young animal (mainly equine but also the young of camels and elephants). (FOLL-ah / ˈfɔ-la)

Medieval manuscript image of two adult elephants facing one another, one of which stands in water with a baby elephant.
Bestiary; England, 13th century; Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 167, f. 10r. [digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk]
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hwelp

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Hana Videen

hwelp, m.n: cub of a lion or bear; a young dog. (H’WELP / ˈhwɛlp)

Medieval manuscript image of a pair of male lions gently licking three lion cubs.
Northumberland Bestiary; England, c. 1250-60; J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. 100, f. 8r. [blogs.getty.edu]
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hwilpa

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Hana Videen

hwilpa, m.n: bird, probably a curlew. (H’WILL-pa / ˈhwɪl-pa)

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fiþer-fōte

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Hana Videen

fiþer-fōte, adj: four-footed. (FITH-er-FOAT-uh / ˈfɪ-θɛr-ˌfoː-tə)

Medieval manuscript image of goats, cattle, long-horned sheep and camels.
Old English Hexateuch; England (Canterbury), 11th-12th century; British Library, Cotton MS Claudius B IV, f. 48v. [thijsporck.com]
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sǣ-fisca cynn

Posted on July 21, 2024 by Hana Videen

sǣ-fisca cynn, n: sea-fish-kind, any creature that lives in the sea. (SAE-FISK-ah KUEN / ˈsæː-ˌfɪ-ska ˈkyn)

Medieval manuscript image of a variety of fish against a gold background, including long eel-like creatures, one with horns like a goat, one that resembles a horse and another a dragon.
Ashmole Bestiary; England (Peterborough?), early 13th century; Bodleian Library, MS. Ashmole 1511, f. 86r. [digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk]
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mearh

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Hana Videen

mearh, m.n: horse. (MEH-ar’h / ˈmɛarx)

Medieval manuscript image of a blueish horse with golden bridle and hooves kicking at a man behind it, who defends himself with a shield.
Luttrell Psalter; N England (Lincolnshire), 1325-1340; British Library, Add MS 42130, f. 63v. [bestiary.ca]
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ge-rār

Posted on July 14, 2024 by Hana Videen

ge-rār, n.n: the roar of a wild animal. (yeh-RAWR / jɛ-ˈraːr)

Medieval manuscript image of a black lion with a very large mouth roaring at a terrified person.
Rothschild Canticles; Flanders or Rhineland, c. 1300; Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, MS 404, f. 115v. [collections.library.yale.edu]

Posted in animals, sounds + music Leave a comment

fēþe-mund

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Hana Videen

fēþe-mund, f.n: animal paw (‘foot-hand’ or ‘hand for walking’). (FAY-thuh-MUND / ˈfeː-θə-ˌmʌnd)

Cat paw prints in a 15th-century manuscript from the Dubrovnik archives, photo by Emir O. Filipović. [thijsporck.com]

Posted in animals, body + health, deorhord book, hord highlights Leave a comment

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