Horse, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230
In the intricate tapestry of ancient times, horses were not merely creatures of utility but embodiments of power, grace, and enigma. Known by various names like ĕqui and căballi, they commanded awe as well as respect and their very essence intertwined with human history.
Their significance was not merely in their physical prowess but also in their emotional depth. From rejoicing in open fields to sensing the urgency of battle at the sound of a trumpet, horses displayed a range of emotions akin to their human counterparts. Their loyalty and connection with their masters were legendary, with tales of horses like Būcĕphălās and Caesar's mount forging unbreakable bonds with their riders.
Yet, their existence was not confined to servitude alone: horses possessed a vibrant spectrum of colours and characteristics, each denoting strength, beauty, and temperament. From the sturdy bay horse, symbolizing strength, to the elegant myrtle with its purple hue, each colour and trait held significance in the ancient lexicon.
Moreover, horses were not immune to the complexities of love and desire. Mares, with their manes shorn to create love charms, demonstrated a tender vulnerability, while their tears upon the loss of a master echoed a profound connection that transcended mere servitude.
Amidst the splendour of horses lay a realm of mystery and intrigue, epitomized by the notion of hybrids. From mules born of donkeys and horses to the tirus borne of sheep and goats, these creatures blurred the lines of nature, reflecting human ingenuity and curiosity.
The horse was often depicted as symbolic of strength, valour and courage. This symbolism is rooted in its physical attributes and its historical association with warfare. In Christian allegory, the horse represented the courageous soul ready to face spiritual battles against sin and temptation.
Its strength could also symbolize pride and arrogance if not tempered by humility. This interpretation draws from the idea of the horse as a powerful and majestic creature that might become haughty and self-centred if not guided by virtue.
In the Bible, horses are often associated with warfare and conquest. In the Book of Revelation 19:11 , the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse include a rider on a white horse, symbolizing conquest or victory.
The horse also appears in biblical narratives as a symbol of divine intervention and salvation. In the Old Testament, horses are sometimes associated with deliverance and victory, particularly in the Psalm 20:7 and prophetic literature; it also represented the soul's journey through life, with various virtues and vices acting as riders guiding its path towards salvation or damnation.
Transcription
Translation
equabantur. paresque forma similes et cursu copu-
labantur. Caballus autem a cavo pede dictus. prop-
ter quod ungula pressa terra gradiens concavat. quod
reliqua animalia non habent. Inde et sonipes quod
pedibus sonat. Vivacitas equorum; multa. Exultant
enim in campis. odorantur bellum. excitantur sono tu-
be; ad prelium. voce accensi; ad cursum provocantur.
dolent cum victi fuerint; exultant; cum vicerint. In
norvvegia quidam equi custodiuntur tantum ad hoc.
ut proposita equa ante oculos eorum. pro ea provocen-
tur inter se ad bellum. Mirum spectaculum et crude-
lissimum bellum et mauditum tale inter aliquas besti-
as. Pertutiunt. mordent. stantes recte; inter se luctan-
tur. et alter alterum vel vi vel arte si potest proster-
nit. Quidam equi hostes in bello sentiunt. adeo; ut
adversarios petant morsibus. Aliqui etriam proprios
dominos recognoscunt. obliti mansuetudinis; si mutentur.
Aliqui preter dominos; nullum recipiunt. Alexandri enim
regis equs bucephala dictus; accepto regio stramento;
neminem unquam preter dominum portare dignatus est. Docu-
menta eius in preliis; erant multa. quibus alexandrum
crudelissimis certaminibus sospitem ope sua extulit.
ff40: Horses were called ĕqui, for when they were yoked to the quadrigae , they were equal, aequi , in number and the yoke consisted of horses similar in shape and in their way of running. The horse is also called căballus for its concave hoof: its feet slightly bend when the hooves are pressed upon the ground, which other animals do not have. Hence, the word for steed, sŏnĭpēs , also means having resonant feet. The vitality of horses is enormous: they rejoice in the fields, scent battles and are urged to battle by the sound of the trumpet. When incited by voice, they start to run. They grieve when defeated, they rejoice when winning. In Norway, some horses are kept solely for this purpose: a mare is presented before the stallions and the latter are incited to battle for her. It is a wondrous and most savage spectacle and such a cursed battle among some animals. They kick, bite whilst standing upright, fight one another, and one tries to strike the other down either by strength or by skill if it can. Some horses sense the enemies in battle to the extent that they attack their adversaries with bites. Some even recognize their own masters. If they change masters, they forget their own tameness. Some accept no other master. For instance, the horse of King Alexander, named Būcĕphălās, after receiving the caparison , never deigned to carry anyone but his master. There are many accounts of this horse even in the cruellest battles, wherefrom Alexander came out alive and unscathed through its own aid.
ff 40v
recepit. Regem citarum singulari certamine inter-
emptum cum adversarius eius victor spoliare vel-
let; ab equo eius calcibus morsuque laceratus est. Nico-
mede rege interfecto; equus eius adversario ;vitam
expulit. Cum prelio anthiocus. galathas subegisset;
cithareti nomine ducis; qui in aciem ceciderat. equm
insiluit pugnaturus. Isque adeo sprevit eum; ite de
industria cernuatus; ruina pariter et se et equitem
affligeret. Inter equos; mares plus vivunt. Legimus
equm usque ad annos septuaginta vixisse. Equarum libi-
do extinguitur; iubis tonsis. in quarum parte; amo-
ris nascitur veneficium. quod in frontibus preferunt
fulfo colore. carricis simile ypponenses nominatur
Quod sipreraptum statim fuerit; nequaquam mater pul-
lo mater(dots underneath) ubera prebet fellicando. Quo equis sanior fuerit. maiorisque spei; eoque profundius nares mergit bi-
bendo. Interfectis vel morientibus dominis; equi lacri-
mas fundunt. Solum enim equum dicunt propter
hominem lacrimasse et doloris affectum sentire. Unde
et in centauris(corrected from centanris); equorum et hominum natura est permix-
ta. Solent enim ex equorum mesticia vel alacritate even-
tum rei futurum; dimicaturi colligere. In generosis
equis ut aiunt veteres; iiiior. expectantur. forma. pulcri-
tudo. meritum. color. Forma; ut sit validum corpus.
Similarly, the horse of Gaius Caesar, accepted no one on its back except Caesar himself. When the king of the Scythians was defeated in single combat by his adversary, who wanted to plunder him, the king’s horse kicked and bit the enemy. After King Nicomedes was killed, his horse took the life of the adversary . When Antiochus conquered the Galatians, he leapt upon the horse of a general named Centaretus, who had fallen in battle, in order to go on fighting. The horse disdained him to such an extent that it fell headfirst on purpose, injuring both itself and the horseman in the fall. Among horses, males live longer. We read of horses living up to seventy years. The libido of mares is quenched by having their manes shorn, and in that part, a magic love charm is produced, which they prefer displaying on their foreheads: it has a tawny colour similar to sedge and is called hipponenses. If it is removed prematurely, the mare immediately refuses to offer her udder to the foal to suckle it. The healthier the horse is, the more the chance it will dip its nostrils deeper when drinking. When their masters are killed or are dying, horses shed tears. Only horses are said to weep for a human and to feel the emotion of grief. Hence, in Centaurs, the nature of both horses and humans is mixed. In fact, they are accustomed to predicting that which will happen in the future from their sadness or from their alacrity, especially when they are about to fight. As the ancients said, four things are expected in thoroughbred horses: form, beauty, character, and colour. Form means it needs to have a strong and
gum. substrictum. maximi et rotundi clunes. pectus
late patens. corpus omne masculorum; densitate no-
dosum. Pes siccus. et cornu concavo solidatus. Pulchri-
tudo; ut sit exiguum capud et siccum. pelle prope
ossibus adherente. Aures breves et argute. oculi mag-
ni. Nares patule; et erecta cervix. Coma densa et
cauda. Ungularum soliditate fixa rotunditas. Me-
ritum; ut sit animo audax. pedibus alacer. tremen-
tibus membris. quod est fortitudinis indicium. quique
ex summa quiete facile excitatur(changed to excitetur). et excitata festina-
tione; non difficile teneatur. Motus autem equi; in
auribus intelligitur. virtus; in membris trementibus
Color hic precipue spectandus est. Badius. aureus. ro-
seus. mirteus. cervinus. gilvus. glaucus. scutulatus.
Canus. candidus. albus. guttatus. niger. Sequenti autem
ordine; varius. ex nigro badioque distinctus. Reliqus
varius color. vel cinereus deterrimus. Badium autem an-
tiqui validum dicebant. quod inter cetera animalia
fortuis vadat. Ipse est et spadix quem fenicatum vo-
cant. et dictus a colore palme; quam siculi spadicem vo-
cant. Glaucus vero est. veluti pictos habens oculos.
et quodam splendore perfusos. Gilvus autem melinuset medius added colorem. sub-
solid body, its height in proportion to its strength, long and lean flanks, large and rounded haunches, a broad chest and a body knotted together by the density of its muscles. Dry hoof and horn strengthened by a concave shape.
Beauty means having a small and dry head, with its skin adhering closely to the bones. Short and alert ears, large eyes, wide nostrils and an upright neck. Thick mane and tail. The roundness fixed by the solidity of the hooves. Character means being bold in spirit, swift-footed, with trembling limbs, which is an indication of strength, and easily aroused from deep rest and it should not be difficult to control when it is agitated. However, you can understand the movement of the horse by its ears, its strength by its trembling limbs. Colour is particularly noteworthy here: bay, golden, rosy, myrtle, fawn, pale yellow, blue-green, dappled, dun, bright white, white, piebald and black and after these, there come variegated colours based on black or bay. Other variegated colours or ashen colours are not good. The ancients regarded the bay horse as strong, for its pace is stronger among the other animals. The same horse was called spadix or fenicatus named from the colour of the palm, which the Sicels called spadix. The blue-green is like the colour of painted eyes suffused with brightness. The fawn, however, is a mixture of the colour of honey and
tis. Candidus autem et albus; ab invicem differunt. Nam
albus; cumquodam pallore est. Candidus autem est
niveus. et pura luce perfusus. Canus dictus; quia ex
candido colore et nigro est. Scutulatus dictus; vel
vocatus; propter orbes quos habet candidos inter pur-
puras. Varius; quod vias habet imparium colorum
Qui autem tantum pedes habent; petili appellantur. Qui
frontem albam; calidi. Cervinus est. quem vulgo gau-
rantem dicunt. Mirteus est pressus in purpura. Dos-
mus autem dictus; quod sit color eius de asino. Idem
et cinereus. Sunt autem hii agresti genere orti. quos
equiferos dicimus. et proinde ad urbanam dignita-
tem transire non possunt. Mauron; niger est.
Nigrum enim greci; mauron vocant. Mannus vero equs
brevior est. quem vulgo brunium vocant. Veredos
antiqui dixerunt quod veherent. id est ducerent redas
vel quod vias publicas curant. per quas et redas ire
solitum erat. Equorum tria genera sunt. Unum gene-
rosum. preliis et hominibus aptum. Alterum vulgare.
atque gregarium. ad vehendum. non ad equitandum
aptum. Tertium; ex permixtione diversorum ge-
nerum ortum. quod etiam dicitur bigenerum.
quia ex diversis nascitur generibus. ut mulus ex equa
ff42r: an off-white colour. A piebald horse is white mottled with black. The two whites candĭdus and albus differ from each other. The albus white has a sort of paleness, but the candĭdus one is niveous and suffused with pure light. The cānus one is called such, for it is a mixture of white and black. The dappled one takes its name from the white patches it has among the purple ones. The variegated one has stripes of different colours. However, those with white feet are called pĕtĭli, slenderfeet, and those with white foreheads are călĭdi, hotheads. The fawn (or tawny-red) one, cervīnus, has a yellowish colour and is commonly called gauranis. Myrtle is imprinted in purple. The dun one is so called, for its colour is like that of an ass, the colour of ash. However, these are found in the countryside and we call them ĕquĭfĕri, wild horses. Therefore, they are not to be tamed. The maurus horse is black, for the Greek word for black is μαύρος/mávros. The mannus is a foal, a small horse that is commonly called brunicus. The ancients called post horses vĕrēdi, for they pulled carriages or covered public roads, along which carriages usually went. There are three types of horses: the thoroughbred one suitable for battles and for men. The common and gregarious one suitable for carrying weights, not for riding.
et porcis. Tirus; ex ove et hirco. Musmo. ex capra
et ariete. Est autem dux gregis. Mulus a greco trac-
tum vocabulum habet. Grece enim sic vocatur. vel
quod iugo pistorum subactus. tardas in girum du-
cat moas. Iudei asserunt quod anna abnepos esau
equarum greges ab asinis in deserto ipe prius fecerit
ascendi. ut multorum inde contra naturam animalia
nascerentur. Onagros quoque ad hoc missos ad asi-
nas. et ipsum istiusmodi repperisse concubitum. ut ex
hiis velocissimi asini nascerentur. Industria quip-
pe humana diversum animal in coitu coegit;
Sicque adulterina commixtione genus aliud repperit.
sicut et iacob contra naturam colorum similitudines
procreavit. Nam tales fetus oves illius concipie-
bant. quales umbras arietum desuper ascenden-
tium in aquarum speculo contemplabantur. Denique
et hoc ipsum equarum gregibus fieri fertur. ut inge-
nerosos obiciant equos visibus concipientium. quo eorum
similes concipere et creare possint. Nam et columbarum
dilectores. depictas ponunt pulcherimas columbas
isdem locis quibus ille versantur. quo rapiente visu.
The third type originates from the mixing of different types also called bĭgĕnĕr, hybrid, for it arises from various types such as the mule from a mare and an ass, the burdo from a horse and a she-ass. A hybrid originates from wild sows and pigs, the tirus from the sheep and the goat, the mūsĭmo, the mouflon, from the goat and the ram. The word for mule, mūlus, takes its name from the Greek word μῆκος/míkos for tract. It is called thus in Greek, either for it passes under the yoke of the millers or for it makes slow movements in the millstone. The Jews assert that Anah, the great-great grandson of Esau, was the first to create mules by mating his father’s donkeys with horses so that many animals against nature might be born from them. Onagers also were sent to mate with donkeys with the purpose of obtaining the same kind of crossbreeding, so that very swift-footed donkeys could be generated. Indeed, human ingenuity has brought together a variety of animals to mate and thus produced hybrids through adulterous crossbreeding, just as Jacob created hybrids contrary to the nature of colours . Such offspring conceived sheep of the same colour as the rams that mounted them, seeing them reflected in water. Indeed, it is said that this even happens in herds of mares: thoroughbred horses are presented to the sight of those that are about to conceive, so that the latter may conceive and create offspring in the image of the horses. Pigeon lovers also place the most beautiful painted pigeon images in the same places where they flock to catch the birds’ eye, hoping
vidas mulieres nullos intueri turpissimos vultus ani-
malium. Ut zenophalos et simias. ne visibus occurren-
tes. similes fetus pariant(spariant?). Hanc enim ut(dots underneath) aiunt femina-
rum esse naturam; ut quales perspexerint; sive men-
te conceperint; in extremo voluptatis estu; dum conci-
piunt; talem et subolem procreent. Etenim animalia
in usu venerio formas extrinsecus transmittunt intus.
eorumque tipis sacrata; rapit species eorum in propriam qua-
litatem;
In animantibus bigenera dicuntur qui ex diversis nascuntur ut mulus ex equa et asino burdo ex equo et asina hibride ex apris et porcis tyrius ex ove et hirco musino ex capra et ariete est autem dux gregis
they may generate offspring resembling them. Some say that pregnant women do not look at the ugliest faces of animals such as apes and monkeys, lest they conceive children resembling what they have seen. In fact, this is the nature of women: they conceive children just like that which they have observed or formed in their mind at the mercy of voluptuousness as they conceive. Indeed, animals transmit the images they see from without within themselves during sexual intercourse, and, contented with these images, they take on the features of those images as their own. In animals, hybrids are called bĭgĕnĕra, for they are born from the mating of two different species, such as the mule from a mare and an ass, burdo from a horse and a she-ass. A hybrid originates from wild sows and pigs, the tirus from the sheep and the goat, the mūsĭmo, the mouflon, from the goat and the ram is the leader of the herd.
Bibliography
David Badke, The Bestiary Blog: Animals in the Middle Ages, Horse, November 6 2023, https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast212.htm
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Footnotes
1 Revelation NKJV 19:11: “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.”
2 Psalm 20:7: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
3 A chariot drawn by four horses abreast used for racing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadriga
4 The word for horse is ĕquus whereas the word for equal is aequus. In the Classical Latin pronunciation, the difference in sound is between ĕ and ae. If one is using the Ecclesiastical pronunciation, the two words sound the same. In Medieval Latin, the classical ae was replaced by the letter e; therefore, ĕquus and aequus sounded as if it were the same word.
5 The word sŏnĭpēs meant both steed and “having resonant feet/to tap one's foot to the music”.
6 Saddle-cloth.
7 The text is likely to be referring to Darius III and the Battle of Issus 333 BC where Alexander the Great defeated the King of the Scythians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Issus
8 The author of the bestiary has a different story about Nicomedes’s horse, that it took the adversary’s life. In his Naturalis Historia Book 8.64-65, Pliny the Elder tells us that the horse ended its own life by starving to death: “Interfecto Nicomede rege equus eius inedia vitam finivit/when King Nicomedes was killed, ended its own life by starving to death”.
The Latin text of the Aberdeen bestiary also shows “Nichomede rege interfecto equus eius inedia vi\tam expulit/when King Nicomedes was killed, his dog ended its own life by starving to death”.
9 The Sicels, Sicelī or Siculī, were an Indo-European tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily during the Iron Age. They spoke the Siculian language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicels
10 A mule or ass
11 Hybrid between a sheep and a goat, usually called geep or shoat.
12 Genesis KJV 30:40: “And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.”