Sawfish, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230
The sawfish, known as serra, is a remarkable sea creature with immense, wing-like fins. When it spots a ship on the water, it raises its fins high and tries to challenge the vessel, striving against it for thirty or forty stadia. However, the effort proves too great and the sawfish eventually collapses, drawing its fins back and sinking to the ocean depths. Its name reflects its distinctive serrated rostrum (snout), resembling a saw. This creature allegorically represents the struggles and deceptions of the world. In contrast, the ship symbolises the righteous, who, like a well-steered vessel, navigate through life without falling into danger or disaster.
habens immanes. Hec cum viderit navem in
pelago velificantem elevat pennas suas super aquas.
et contendit velificare contra navim stadiis tri-
ginta vel quadraginta. et non sustinens laborem
deficit. et deponens pennas ad se trahit eas. Unde
vero maris iam lassa; reportant eam ad locum suum
in profundum. Et dicitur serra; quia serratam habet
cristam. Hec belua figuram habet huius seculi. Navis vero [in same hand, to go after cristam is qua naves subtus secat.] et perforat iustorum est exemplum. Qui sine periculo et naufragio
There is a sea creature called sawfish, serra, which has enormous wing-like fins. When it sees a ship sailing on the sea, it lifts its wings above the water and attempts to sail against the ship for thirty or forty stădĭa[1]. Unable to sustain the effort, it eventually fails and draws its fins back to itself. As a result, the exhausted sea creature is carried back to its place in the depths of the sea. It is called serra, for it has a serrated rostrum (snout). This creature symbolises the nature of this world. The ship, on the other hand, represents the righteous. Just as the ship navigates without danger and avoids shipwreck, so too do the righteous navigate their lives without peril.
Further Reading
David Badke, The Bestiary Blog: Animals in the Middle Ages, Sawfish, November 6 2023, https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast147.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
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Wikipedia: The Elephant, 28 November 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant
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)
Endnotes
[1] Greek unit of length, around 607 feet, 185m.