Panther, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230
The panther was one of the most important animals in Medieval Bestiaries. The panther is indeed the embodiment of Christ. Christian symbolists saw the panther as a chaste animal. Within the beast, they saw the image of Christ, who lived amongst men and amidst sin and was not affected by the contagious corruption.
The Christ symbolism is obvious from the fact that the panther sleeps for three days and then awakens, it roars and its mouth emanates a sweet fragrance and all other animals get closer. Similarly, Christ remains for three days in the sepulchre, then rises from the dead and His Verb emanates a sweet odour.
The panther was described as having a dual nature, both fierce and gentle. Similarly, Christ possessed a dual nature, both divine and human. The gentleness of the panther represented Christ’s mercy and compassion whereas the panther’s fierceness represented Christ’s strength and power.
The beast was also associated with the ability of Christ to fight against sin and evil and to attract souls to him in order to save them and to conquer the forces of darkness.
Transcription
Translation
et mansuetum. Philosogus de eo dicit. qm solum draco-
nem habet inimicum. Cum ergo commederit et sauciatum
fuerit. recondit se spelunca sua et dormit. Post
triduum vero exurgit a sompno(changed from sumpno) et emittit magnum
rugitum. et ab ore eius odor suavissimus exit. velut
omnium aromatum. Cum enim audierint eius
The panther is a multi-coloured, exceptionally beautiful and gentle animal. The Physiologus3 described it as having only one enemy, the dragon. Therefore, after feeding and being replete, it retreats to its cave and sleeps. After three days, it awakes from its sleep and gives a great roar, and its mouth emanates a very pleasant scent, like that of all spices. When other animals hear its
[7v]
ris sequntur eam quocumque ierit. Solus autem dra-
co audiens eius vocem timore perterritus fugit in caver-
nis terre. Ibique non ferens odorem; torpescit. dens de celis eripuit nos de potestate diaboli. et per
incarnationem suam sociavit nos sibi in filios. cepit
omnia. captivamque ducens captivitatem; dedit do-
na hominibus Quod sit animal varium; significa-
tur sicut dictum est per prophetam salomonem de christo. Qui
est sapientia dei patris. Spiritus intelligibilis. Spiritus uni-
cus. multiplex. verus. suavis. aptus. clemens. fir-
mus. stabilis. securus. omnia potens. omnia pros-
piciens. Quia speciosum animal sit. david dicit de
christo. Speciosus forma pre filiis hominum. Mansuetum autem
animal; ysaias quoque dicit. Gaude et letare filia syon
predica filia ierusalem. quia rex tuus venit mansuetus. Cum
saturatus fuerit abscondit se in speluncam suam et
requiescit et dormit. Quia dominus noster
ihesus christus cum satiatus fuisset iudaicis illusionibus
id est flagris. alapis. iniuriis. contumeliis. spinis.
manibus in cruce suspensus. clavis confixus. felle et aceto
roar, they follow it wherever it goes owing to the sweetness of its scent. However, the dragon alone, crazed with fear when hearing the roar, flees into the caves of the earth. Unable to bear the scent, the dragon becomes torpid. Thus, our Lord Jesus Christ, the true panther, descending from Heaven, delivered us from the power of the devil. Through His incarnation, He united us to Himself as sons, “when he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men (Ephesians 4:8)”.
As mentioned by the prophet Solomon, the fact that the panther is multi-coloured signifies that Christ is the wisdom of God, the Father, the intelligible Spirit, the unique Spirit, manifold, true, gentle, fitting, merciful, resolute, stable, secure, almighty as well as all-seeing. Since the panther is a beautiful animal, David says of Christ, 'Thou art fairer than the children of men.' (Psalms, 45:2). Isaiah also says about this gentle beast: 'Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; because your king comes to you, meek ...' (see Isaiah, 62:11; Zechariah, 9:9; Matthew, 21:5).
When replete, the panther hides in its cave, rests and sleeps. When our Lord Jesus Christ had been sated with the Jewish mockery, that is, with whips, slaps, invectives, thorns, hands on the cross, nails pierced through, forced to drink gall and
[8r]
vit in sepulcro. et descendit in infernum. illic mag-
num draconem ligans. Die autem tertio surgit a sompno
et emittit clamorem magnum fragrans suavitatem. Sic et dominus noster iesus christus tertia die resurgens. a
mortuis sicut david(changed from davit) dicit; Excitatus est. tanquam dormi-
ens dominus. tanquam potens crapulatus a vino. et ex-
clamavit voce magna. ita ut audiretur in omni
terra sonus eius. et in fines orbis terre verba eius. Et
sicut de ore pantere odor suavitatis exit. et (odor-
suavitatis underlined) omnes bestie que prope sunt et que lon-
ge conveniunt. eamque sequntur; ita iudei qui aliquando
sensum habuerunt bestiarum sed prope per legem erant.
et que longe. idest gentes que sine lege erant audien-
tes vocem christi; sequntur eum cum propria voce dicen-
tes. Quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua super mel
ori meo. Item de eodem. Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis.
propterea benedixit te deus in eternum. Et salomon. Odor unguentorum tuorum super omnia aromata. Et pau-
lo post. Introduxit me rex in cubiculum suum(changed from suaum); Opportet vos quamcitius. sicut adolescentulas. idest reno-
vinegar, and pierced with a lance, he found relief when he fell asleep in the sepulchre, and descended into hell, binding the great dragon . On the third day, the panther arises from its sleep and gives a loud cry that emanated a pleasant fragrance. Similarly, our Lord Jesus Christ rose on the third day from the dead, as David says, 'He awakened as one out of sleep and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.'(Psalms, 78:65). And Christ cried out in a loud voice, so that his sound was heard throughout the land and his words at the ends of the earth (see Romans, 10:18).
The odour of sweetness emanates from the mouth of the panther, and all beasts that are near and far follow it. Similarly, the Jews who once had an animal disposition but observed the law of Christ closely, and those who distanced themselves therefrom, that is, the nations without the law, follow Him and utter with their own voice when hearing the voice of Christ: 'How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.' (Psalms, 119:103). Again of Christ: 'Grace is poured into thy lips; therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.' (Psalms, 45:2). Solomon says: 'How much better is ... the smell of thine ointments than all spices!' (Song of Solomon, 4:10). Shortly after, 'In the savour of thy good ointments ...we will run after thee.' (Song of Solomon, 1:3-4). A little after that: 'The king hath brought me into his chambers ‘(1:4).
After the consecration of His commandments, it behoves you to run as quickly as possible like maidens, that is, souls purified by baptism. It also behoves you
[8v]
tem domini virtutum et in monte omnium sanctorum. Pantera
est bestia minutis orbiculis superpicta. ita ut ocula-
tis ex fulvo circulis nigra vel alba distinguatur; varieta-
te. Hec semel omnino parturit. cuius cause ratio mani-
festa est. Nam cum in utero matris coaluere tres catu-#
li maturis ad nascendum viribus pollent; odiunt temporum
moras. Itaque honeratam fetibus vulvam tanquam obstan-
tem partu lacerant unguibus. Effundit illa partum. seu
potius dimittit; dolore cogente. Ita postea corruptis
et cicatrice cesis sedibus. genitale semen infusum; non
habet acceptum. sed irritum resilit foras. Nam plinius
dicit. animalia cum acutis unguibus frequenter parere
non posse. Viciantur enim; intrinsecus se moventibus catu-
lis.
to renounce earthly things for heavenly ones, so that the king may lead us into His palace, into the city of Jerusalem, the city of the Lord of virtues, and onto the mountain of all the saints.
The panther is an animal adorned with small circular spots, so that it is distinquished by its black and white colouring with eye-shaped circles of yellow. It gives birth only once, and the reason for this is clear. When three cubs have fully grown in the womb of the mother, they become impatient because they are ready to come out; therefore, they tear the burdened womb with their claws as if they wanted to prevent the delivery. She sheds, or rather releases, the offspring, seized with pain. Thus, after the womb has been torn by the cubs, the genital seed, once infused, is ineffective and springs back outwards. Pliny says that animals with sharp claws cannot give birth frequently, for they are injured by the cubs moving inside the womb.
Bibliography
David Badke, The Bestiary Blog: Animals in the Middle Ages, Panther, November 6 2023, https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast79.htm
Josh Goldenberg (BA 2012) and Matt Shanahan (BA 2014, Logeion, November 2022, https://logeion.uchicago.edu/
Castiglioni, L. and Mariotti, S. (1996). Vocabolario della Lingua Latina: Latino-Italiano Italiano-Latino. Terza Edizione. Loescher Torino
Matthews, J. and Matthews C., (2010), The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, HarperCollins UK, London
Curley, M. J., Physiologus: A Medieval Book of Nature Lore (University of Chicago edition 2009)
Rackham, H., M.A., Pliny Natural History Volume III, Libri VIII-XI (London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1949)
Collins, A. H., M.A., Symbolism of Animals and Birds (New York: McBride, Nast & Company, 1913)
Henderson, C., The Book of Barely Imagined Beings (London: University of Chicago Press, 2013)
White, T. H., The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts (New York: G.P Putnam’s Sons, 1960)
Barney, S. A., Lewis, W. J., Beach A., Berghof O., The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006)
Footnotes
1 Cŏmĕdo in Early Latin.
2 Probably Late Latin for sătĭātum (replete, full up).
3 The Physiologus is a didactic Christian text written in Greek by an unknown author in Alexandria. It describes animals, birds, fantastic creatures, stones and plants, followed by moral anecdotes and allegorical stories. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiologus
4 The dragon is an allegory for Satan or evil in general. The idea of Jesus descending to Hell is associated with the Harrowing of Hell that suggests that Jesus descended to Hell to liberate all the righteous souls.