Scitalis, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The Scitalis is a serpent which is said to have such brightly coloured markings on its back, that all other creatures, stunned by its appearance, slow down and are caught.

The Scitalis is so hot, that even in winter it will shed its skin and expose its glowing body.

Transcription

Translation

Scitalis est serpens tanta prefulget tergi varie-
tate; ut notarum gracia aspicientes se; re-
tardet. Et quia reptando pigrior est. quos assequi
non valet gressu; miraculo optupentes se et
aspicientes capit. Tanti autem fervoris est. ut dici-
tur. ut etiam hiemis tempore exuvias corporis
ferventes exponat. De quo lucanus. Et scitalis pres-
sis etiam nunc sola pruinis. exuvias positura
suas;

Scitalis are serpents so brilliant that the variety of their back shines; so that, looking at himself with the grace of the marks, he slows down. And because he is slower in crawling, he is not able to reach them by walking; He catches himself admiring himself and looking at the miracle. But it is of such a fervor, as it is said, that even in the winter time it exposes the body's exudate to be boiling. Of which Lucanus And under the pressure of the frost even now alone, he will put his clothes on.

Amphisbaena, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The amphisbaena is a lizard or serpent with two heads, one at the front as normal, and another at the end of its tail.

It can move in both directions. It is often depicted with feathered wings and scaled feet and horns on its head. It has no fear of the cold, and is the first to come out from hibernation.

Transcription

Translation

Est serpens duo habens capita. unum in cau-
da. et alterum in loco suo. et ex utroque ca-
pite currit. Unde dicitur amphivena. quasi ex am-
babus partibus currens. Hec sola serpentium frigori se com-
mittit. it ut hieme eximiam deponat. Unde lu-
canus. Est gravis ingeminum vergens capud am-
phivena. Cuius oculi lucent velut lucerne.

There is a serpent with two heads, one in its tail, and the other in its place, and running from each head. Whence it is said to be amphibious, as if running from both sides. Alone this serpent commits himself to the cold, he goes to lay down the great winter. Hence Lucanus. It is a heavy-headed amphibian. Whose eyes shine like a lamp.

Hydrus, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The medieval bestiary records that the multi-headed hydrus is a creature that lives in the River Nile, and is the enemy of the crocodile.

When it sees a crocodile sleeping on the shore with its mouth open, it rolls in the mud, making it easier to slide into the crocodiles mouth, and allowing the crocodile to swallow it alive. The Hydrus eats its way out through the crocodiles stomach, killing the crocodile and escaping. If bitten by a hydrus the wound can be healed by cattle dung. In medieval Christian tradition, this is allegorical of the resurrection of Christ (the Hydrus), bursting free from Hell (the crocodile).

Transcription

Translation

Est serpens aquatilis qui(changed from que) dicitur ydros.
Greci atuem ydros aquam vocant. A quo ic-
ti; oburgescunt. sed fimo boum morbus me-
detur. Quem morbum quidam bam dicunt
propter predictam proprietatem;
Idra draco multorum capitum aquatilis. fuit in
lerna insula vel palude provincie archadie. Hec lati-
ne exedra dicitur. quod uno ceso tria capita excres-
cebant. Sed hoc fabulosum est. Nam constat ydram
locum fuisse evomentem aquas vastantem visci-
nam civitatem. In quo uno meatu clauso; multi
erumpebant. Quod hercules videns; loca exhau-
sit. et sic aque clausit meatus. Nam ydra ab aqua
dicta est. Sed ydros sive ydrus serpens inimicus est
cocodrillo. et hanc habet naturam et consuetu-
dinem. ut cum viderit cocodrillum dormientem
in littore; (vadit aperto changed to a.v.) ore; et involvit se in luto.
quo facilius possit in faucibus eius illabi. Coco-
drillus igitur subito illum vivum transglutit. Ille
vero dilanians omnia viscera eius; non solum
vivus; sed etiam illesus exit. Sic ergo mors et in-
fernus figuram habent cocodrilli quorum inimicus
est. dominus noster ihesus cristus. Nam assumens humanam
carnem; descendit ad infernum. et dirumpens
omnia viscera eius; eduxit eos qui iniuste tene-

There is an aquatic serpent called ydros. The Greeks also call hydrus water. By whom he was struck; they are drowsy, but cow dung cures disease. Which disease some say bam because of the aforesaid property. Hydra, the aquatic dragon with many heads, was on an island or marsh in the province of Archadia. This is called a living room in Latin, because three heads grew out of one shoot. But this is legendary. For it is evident that there was a watery place that spewed forth waters, and laid waste the neighboring city. In which one passage closed; many broke out. Seeing that Hercules; he drained the places, and thus closed the passages with water. For the hydra was called from water. But the ydros or ydrus snake is the enemy of the crocodile, and has this nature and custom, as when it sees a crocodile sleeping on the shore; he goes with his mouth open; and he wraps himself in mud, so that it may more easily be in his mouth there. Then the crocodile suddenly swallowed him alive. He, however, tearing apart all his entrails; not only alive; but he also comes out unscathed. Thus death and hell have the shape of a crocodile, whose enemy is our Lord Jesus Christ. For assuming human flesh; he descends to hell, and tearing apart all his entrails; he brought out those who were unjustly detained;

Jaculus, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The legendary jaculus is a small winged serpent which perches in trees, and when its prey approaches, throws itself down and kills its victim.

Transcription

Translation

Iaculus serpens est. volans. de quo lucanus. Iaculique
volantes. Exiliunt enim in arboribus. et dum ali-
quod animal obvium fuerit; iactant se super illud
et perimunt. Unde et iaculi dicti sunt.

A jaculus is a flying serpent, of which Lucanus says is a flying dart. For they take flight in the trees, and as long as some animal is encountered; they throw themselves upon it and perish. Whence they were called arrows.

Boa, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

As other medieval bestiaries, the Rochester Bestiary records that the boas is a large snake that follows sheep and cattle. They kill them by hanging from their udders and sucking them dry.

Transcription

Translation

Boas anguis italie inmensa mole; greges
armentorum. et bubalos. et plurimo lac-
te uberibus innectit. et suggens inte-
rimit. Atque inde a boum depopulatione; boas dcitur;

Boas are snakes in Italy that grow to enormous size. They fill themselves with a great deal of milk from the herds of cattle and buffaloes, killing them. And hence from the depopulation of cattle, it is called boas.

Siren, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The mythical venomous siren serpent is said by the Rochester Bestiary to run even faster than horses and also to fly.

Transcription

Translation

In arabia autem serpentes albi sunt cum alis que si-
rene vocantur. que etiam plus currunt ab equis
sed etiam et volare dicuntur. Quorum virus tan-
tum est; ut mors ante morsum insequatur; quam dolor;

In Arabia there are white snakes with wings called sirens, which run even faster than horses, but are also said to fly. Their venom is so much that death follows after the bite and before the pain.

Seps, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The mythical seps is a small snake with a deadly corrosive poison which consumes both the body and bones of any creature it bites.

Transcription

Translation

Seps exiguus serpens que non solum corpus. sed
etiam ossa veneno consumit. Cuius poeta sic me-
minit. Ossaque dissolvens cum corpore tabificus
seps;

Seps are a small snake that consumes not only the body, but also the bones with poison. Whose poet thus remembers. And breaking the bones with the body of the fence.

Dipsa, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The mythical Dipsa is a snake so small that you cannot see it before you step on it, and its venom is so poisonous that it kills its victims before they feel its bite.

Transcription

Translation

Dipsa tante exiguitatis fertur. ut cum calcatur
non videatur. cuius venenum ante extinguit.
quam senciatur. ut facies preventa morte; nec tristi-
ciam inducat morituro. De quo poeta. Signife-
rum iuvenem tyrem sanguinis aulum. torta ca-
pud retro dipsa calcata momordit. Vix dolor
aut sensus dentis fuit;

A dipsa is possessed with such littleness, that when it is trodden upon it is not seen, whose poison is extinguished before it is felt, as if the face were prevented from death; nor bring sadness to the dying. About which the poet said: He bit down on a young man who was trampled with his twisted head and a blood-streaked tyre. There was hardly any pain or sensation in the tooth.

Lizards, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The Rochester Bestiary lists various types of lizards, correctly attributing their cold-bloodedness.

Transcription

Translation

Lacertus sive lacerta dicitur eo quod brachia
habeat. Genera lacertarum sunt plura.
ut Botraca. Salamandra. Saura. Stellio.
Botraca dicta; quod rane habeat faciem. Nam
greci ranam botracam vocant.

Stellio a colore inditum nomen habet. Est
enim in tergore pictus. lucentibus guttis in
modum stellarum. de quo ovidius. Aptumque co-
lori; nomen habet variis stellatus corpore
guttis. Hic autem scorpionibus adeo contrarius
dicitur. ut viso eo pavorem habeant et tor-
porem . Omnes serpentes naturaliter frigi-
de sunt. Non percutiunt; nisi quando calescunt.
Unde et venena eorum que naturaliter frigi-
da sunt; plus die quam nocte nocent. In hieme
in nodos torpent. in estate solvuntur. Nec vene-
num quod frigidum est. prius nocet; quam ad sangui-
nem qui calidus est et fugit venenum per venas

A lizard is called a lizard because it has arms. There are many kinds of lizards, such as Botraca, Salamandra, Saura, Stellio. Botraca is said to have the face of a frog. For the Greeks call the frog botracus. A star has its name given by its color. For it is painted on the back, with shining drops in the form of stars, of which Ovid. And suitable for color; It has a name with various starry drops on its body. But here it is said to be so contrary to scorpions, that when they see it they are terrified and numb. All snakes are naturally cold. They do not strike; except when they are hot. Hence also their poisons, which are naturally cold; they hurt more by day than by night. In the winter they are tied up in knots, and in the summer they are untied. Nor does poison that is cold hurt first; how can the blood, which is hot and flees, reach the poison running through

97r

discurrens perveniat. Omne venenum naturali-
tur est. frigidum. Omnia animantia serpens vi-
vacitate quadam sensus superat. Ferunt autem
quod non potest hominem nocere; nisi venenum
tetigerit sanguinem euis. Unde lucanus. Noxia
serpentum est admixto sanguine pestis. Dicunt
quod serpens hominem nudum non audet atti-
gere. De vivacitate sensus eius legitur in genesi.
quod serpens erat sapientior omnibus pecoribus
terre.

the veins. All poison is natural, cold. The serpent surpasses all living things in a certain vivacity of the senses. But they say that it cannot harm a man; unless the poison touches his blood. Hence Lucanus says a poisonous snake mixed with blood is a pest. They say that a snake dare not touch a naked man. It is read in Genesis that the serpent was wiser than all the cattle of the earth.

Salamander, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The Rochester Bestiary repeats the ancient inaccuracy that salamanders thrown into fires will extinguish the flames.

Transcription

Translation

Salamandra vocatur; quod contra incen-
dia valere. Cuius inter omnia ve-
nenata vis maxima est. Cetera enim singulos
feriunt; hec plurimos pariter interimit. Nam
si irrepserit arbori; omnia poma inficit vene-

There is a creature called a salamander; which is effective against fires. Whose poison is the greatest among all things. For the rest they strike each one; he destroys many alike. For if he crawled up a tree; he infects all the apples

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no. et eos qui ea ederint inficit veneno et sic oc-
cidit. Que etiam vel si in puteum cadat(changed from cadant) vis ve-
neni eius potantes interimit. Ista contra in-
cendia repugnans; sola animalium ignes ex-
tinguit. Vivit enim in mediis flamis; sine dolo-
re. et consumptione. et non solum non uritur;
set extinguit incendium et flammas

with poison, and those who eat them he infects with poison and thus kills. Even if it falls into a well, the force of its poison destroys those who drink it. These are resistant to fires; only animal fires are extinguished. For he lives in the midst of flames; without pain and consumption, and not only does it not burn; he extinguishes the fire and the flames.

Scorpion, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

Worm and spider, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

Millipede, leech, silkworm and caterpillar, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

Frog, moth, flea and hornet, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

Hello, World!

Gnat and mosquito, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

Woodword, emigramus, tapeworm, lice, larinus, recinus, usia and cumex, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

"Leaders of the blind, who refine the gnat and swallow the camel." This phrase emphasises the irony of focusing on minor issues while neglecting major ones. Unlike snakes, worms do not move with a sinuous motion but rather extend and contract their body in a straight line, wriggling and gliding in a more segmented manner.

The Greeks referred to woodworms as τερηδών (teridón), derived from τῆραι (tĕrĕre), meaning to gnaw or to wear out, reflecting their habit of consuming wood. In Latin, these are called tarmĭtes.

Emigramus or hēmĭcrānus are types of head worms, while lumbrīcus denotes the tapeworm, commonly found in the intestines. Pēdĭcŭli refers to lice, named after pĕdĭcŭlus ("little foot"), and those infested are known as pēdĭcŭlōsi. Larinus is a worm associated with lard and racinus is a dog worm found in the ears of dogs, with κύων/kýōn being the Greek word for dog. Usia is a pig worm that causes intense burning and blistering. The cumex is named after a plant with a foul smell and is known for its presence in decaying flesh.

Fish, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

Transcription

Translation

Pisces dicti natant ideo reptilia dicuntur; eoquod rep-
tandi habent speciem et naturam. Quamvis se
in profundum mergant; tamen in natando repunt. Unde
et david ait. Hoc mare magnum et spatiosum val-
de illic reptilia quorum non est numerus. Amphia sunt
quedam genera piscium sic dicta quod ambulandi in
terris et natandi in aquis officium habeant. Am-
phi enim grece; utrumque dicitur. id est quia in aquis et
in terris vivunt. Omnes pisces generaliter frigide sunt
nature; et humide. Quidam habitant tantum in aquis.
Quidam in terris et in aquis. ut phoce. cocodrilli. yppo-
tami. hoc est. equi fluctuales. qui in indie in aquis commoran-
tur. et nocte segetes depascunt. qui prima parte equi
sunt; postrema soluuntur in piscem;

Fishes are said to swim, therefore they are called reptiles; they have the appearance and nature of crawling. Although they sink into the depths; yet in swimming they crawl. Whence also David said. In this large and spacious sea there are many reptiles, of which there is no number. Amphibians are a kind of so-called fish that have the job of walking on land and swimming in water. For Amphi in Greek; they are said to be both, that is, because they live in water and on land. All fish are generally cold by nature; and moist Some live only in water. Some in the land and in the water, such as phoces, crocodiles, hippopotami, that is to say, wave horses, which dwell in the water in the indies, and graze the crops at night, which are in the first part horses; the latter are dissolved in the fish.

Credo quod per indulgentiam domini rerum omnium huius(changed from hiiiiiis)
presciencie munus accepit. Etenim si fenum sic deus ves-
tit. ut miremur si pascit volatilia. siparat corvis escam.
pulli enim eorum ad domini clamant. si mulieribus dedit
texture sapientiam. si araneam quetam subiliter
et docte laxos casses(corrected) suspendit in foribus sapientie non
relinquit immunem(corrected). si ipse equo virtutem dedit et soluit

I believe that through the indulgence of the Lord of all things he received this foreknowledge. Indeed, if God arranges the hay in such a way that we wonder if he feeds the fowls, separates the food for the ravens, for their chicks cry out to their masters, if he gives women the wisdom of the texture, if he suddenly and skillfully hangs up the loose cobwebs in the doorways, if he himself does not leave the horse's courage unscathed. He gave

108r

de cervice eius formidinem. ut exultet in campis. et
occurrens regibus arrideat. odoretur bellum eminus.
excitetur sono tube. Si hec irrationabilia plurimaque
alia insensibilia. ut fenum. lilia. replevit dispositione
sue sapientie. quid dubitamus quod etiam in echinum
contulerit gratiam eius presciencie; Nichil enim inexplo-
ratum. nichil dissimulatum relinquit. Omnia videt;
qui omnia pascit. Omnia replet sapientia qui omnia
in sapientia fecit sicut scriptum est. Et ideo si echinum
visitationis sue exortem non pretermisit. et futurorum
format inditus. tua non considerat. Immo vero consi-
derat. sicut testatur eius divina sapientia dicens. Si
respicit volatilia. si pascit illa. none vos plues estis illis;
nisi(? covered by capita) fenum agri quod hodie est et cras in ignem mittitur
deus sic vestit. quanto magis vos minime fidei;
Lupus marinus alios pisces devorat. et est. ingeniosus.
ita ut reti circundatus; cauda aranas(changed to harenas) arat. Et sic conditus
transire rete. Phagrus ita duros dentes habet; ut ostreis
in mari alatur. Mulus libidinem inhibet commestus

I believe that through the indulgence of the lord of all things this (changed from hiiiiiis) received the gift of foreknowledge. Indeed, if the hay is like this, God wears it. that we may wonder if he feeds the fowls, separates the food for the crows, for their chicks cry out to their masters; , that he may rejoice in the fields, and smile when he meets kings, smell the war from afar, be excited by the sound of the trumpet. If he filled these unreasonable things and many other insensible things, such as hay and lilies, by the disposition of his wisdom, what doubt can we have that he also imparted his grace to the hedgehog with his foresight? For he leaves nothing unexplored, nothing hidden. He sees everything; who feeds all things. All things are filled with wisdom, who made all things in wisdom, as it is written. And therefore if the hedgehog has not foregone the beginning of his visit, and has entered into the form of future ones, he does not consider yours. On the contrary, he considers, as his divine wisdom testifies, saying: If he looks at the fowls, if he feeds them, you are no rain for them; unless the hay of the field, which is today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, is thus clothed by God, how much more you have little faith; The sea-wolf devours other fish, and is, being clever, so encircled by a net; the tail plows the spiders. And so seasoned to cross the net. The pheasant has such hard teeth; as he feeds on oysters in the sea. A mule restrains his lust when he eats his eyes;

108v

oculos habetat. Iin vino necatus(changed from nacat;) tedium vini bibendi
iiiverit hiis; qui ex vino hoc bibunt. Megilis ita est
agilis; quod transvolat rete. et dicitur mugilis quasi
multum agillis. Timallus est specie graus et sapore;
iocundus. Sicut flos fragrat et corpore aspirat odorem;
Escarius; escas ruminat. ingeniosus. In vase vimineo
inclusus; non fronte exit sec cauda foramina facit lata;
ut exeat. Et si alius escarius videt exeuntem; adiuvat
apprehensa cauda(changed from causa) exeuntis. Vranuscopus; habet
oculum in capite quo sursum semper intendit;
Milago quotiens extra aquam videtur avolare; tempes
tatem sedari significat. Anguilla in limo oritur. et
limosa est. ut quinto plus presseris; tanto cicius de manibus
elabitur. Et in gaugen fluvio; sunt.xxx. pedum
anguille. Si in vino necantur. tedium vini prestant
bibentibus ex eo. Murena est tantum feminei sexus.
et concipit ex serpent. Unde a piscatoribus sibilantibus; De h’ supra
capitur. Fuste vix interficitur. ferula protinus. Animam
habet in cauda. Nam in capite percussa; vix interimitur;

who shall drink of this wine. Megilis is so agile; which flies over a net, and is said to be a mule, as if it were very agile.

The timallus is coarse in appearance and in taste; funny As the flower breaks and the body inhales the fragrance. Escarius; he chews the cud, he is intelligent. Enclosed in a wicker vessel; it does not come out in front, but the tail makes wide holes; to come out And if another baiter sees him going out; helps by catching the tail coming out.

Vranuscopus; he has an eye in his head which always aims upwards.

Milago often seems to fly out of the water; it means to calm the storm.

The eel grows in the mud, and it is muddy, so that the fifth is pressed more; so much the faster it slips out of his hands. And in the gaugen river; They are 30 foot eels. If they are killed in the wine, they make the wine boring to those who drink from it. The murena is only of the female sex, and conceives from the serpent. Hence from the fishermen whistling; Of h' is taken over. He is hardly killed by a club, but directly by a cane. It has a soul in its tail. For she was struck in the head; he is hardly killed;

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cauda statim. Colippus est ita ingeniosus; ut
brachiis hamum amplectatur. et sic escam circum-
rodit. Sepia ore concipit sicut vipera. Cuius attra-
menti vis tanta est; ut si lucerne addatur; ethio-
pes facit homines videre. Concharum id est cocleae
multa genera sunt. Et crescente luna; crescunt. et
decrescente; decrescunt; Quedam ex hiis nocturno tem-
pore littora appetunt. et ex celesti rore; margaritam
concipiunt. Murica est coclea maris. dicta conchil-
cum. quia circumscisa ferro; lacrimas(corrected) purpurei colo-
ris emittit. ex quibus purpura tingitur. Cancri sunt
conche. crura habentes. retro incedentes. ostreis iiiiii-
ci. ex quorum carnibus nutriuntur. Explorant enim
quando ostrea claustra testarum aperiunt. et sic latenter
lapillum iniciunt. et sic carnes eorum rodunt;
strea sunt quorum carnis mollicies testa tegitur
que concipiunt lacte musculi coclearum id est mas-
culo coclearum; Et dicuntur musculi quasi masculi;

Nota quod cancer quia aperire clausum ostreum nulla
vi potest. et periculosum est si chelam eius includat; ad ar-
gumenta confugit. et insidias nova fraude molitur. Itaque
quia omnia genera piscium delectatione aliqua mulcentur;
explorat si quando ostreum remotis in locis ab omni vento contra solis
radium aperiat os suum. et referet claustra testarum. ut
libero aere visceris sui voluptatem quandam capiat. et
tunc clanculo calculum immittat qui lapidem conclusio-
nem ostrei inpediat. Ac sic aperta claustra aperiens. inserit che-
las. visceraque interna depascitur. Sic igitur in visi sunt qui
cancri usu in alieno usu circumscriptionis irrepunt. et infir-
mitatem proprie virtutis astu quodam suffulciunt. fratris
bonum vescuntur. et alterius pascuntur erumpna. tu ut dolum
autem propriis esto contentus. et aliena te dampna non pascant
Bonus cibus est simplicitas innocentie. sua bona habens.
Insidiari nescit alienis. nec avaricie fascibus inardescit. cui lu-
men omne ad virtutem dispendium est; ad cupiditatem;
incendium. Et ideo beata est si bonam noverit cum veritate
paupertatem. et omnibus preferenda thesauris. quia melius

the tail immediately.

Colippus is so talented; so that he embraces the hook with his arms, and thus gnaws around the meat.

Cuttlefish conceives with its mouth like a viper. The force of whose ink is great; as if a light were added; Ethiopians make people see.

There are many kinds of shells, that is, snails. And the growing moon; they increase and decrease; they decrease Some of these they desire at night on the shores, and from the heavenly dew; they conceive a pearl.

Murica is a snail of the sea, called a shell, because it is circumcised with a steel; it emits tears of a purple color, from which it is dyed purple.

Crayfish are shell-like, having legs, walking backwards, and eating oysters, from whose flesh they are nourished. For they spy when the oysters open the barriers of their shells, and thus secretly throw in a pebble, and thus gnaw their flesh; They are striae whose soft flesh is covered by a shell, which they conceive with the milk of the muscles of the cochlea, that is, the male of the cochlea. And the muscles are said to be male. Note that cancer, because no force can open a closed oyster, and it is dangerous if it includes its shell; he flees to the evidence, and devises a plot by a new trick. Therefore, since all kinds of fish are filled with some delight; he examines whether, when the oyster is removed from every wind in places against the rays of the sun, it opens its mouth, and brings back the barriers of its shells, so that it may take some pleasure in the free air of its bowels, and then with a clang it throws in a pebble which indents the stone of the oyster's conclusion. And thus opening the gates open, he inserts the shells, and devours the internal viscera. Thus, therefore, there are seen those who, with the use of cancer, creep in the use of a stranger's circumscription, and support infirmity with a certain cunning of virtue, they feed on the good of their brother, and feed on the outbursts of another. having his goods. He does not know how to lie in wait for strangers, nor is he avariciously enflamed by bundles, for whom all light is wasted on virtue; to desire; fire And therefore she is blessed if she knows that poverty is good with the truth, and that it is preferable to all treasures, because a little is better

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est exiguum cum dei timore; quam thesauri magni sine tre-
more. Melior est enim hospitalitas in omnibus cum gratia;
quam vitulorum pinguium preparatio cum discordia. Utamur
ergo ingenio ad querendam gratiam. et salutem tuendam.
non ad alienam circumscribendam innocentiam.

with the fear of God. than great treasures without trembling. For hospitality is better in all things with grace; than the preparation of fat calves with discord. Let us therefore use our intelligence to claim grace and protect salvation, not to limit the innocence of others. Although no

Licet nobis
alienis uti exemplis et etiam maritimis. ad profectum nostre
salutis; et non ad(added) alienum periculum. Tradunt quidam .x.cem
cancris cum ocimi(changed from ocino) manipulo alligatis; omnes qui ibi sunt
scorpiones; ad eundem locum coituros; Duo sunt genera
chancrorum. fluviales et maritimi.
Testudo dictus; quod tegmine teste sit coopertus in
camere modum. Sunt autem quatuor genera testudinum.
Terrestres. maritimi. lutarii id est in ceno et palude vi-
ventes. quartum genus fluctuale. quod in dulci aqua vi-
vit. Tradunt aliqui quod incredibile est; tardius ire navi-
gia; testudinis pedem dextrum vehentia.
Rane a garrulitate dicte. eoquod circa genitales strepunt
paludes. et sonos vocis inportune; clamoribus reddunt.
Ex quibus quedam aquatice dicuntur; quedam palustres

twice to use foreign examples and also maritime ones, for the advancement of our salvation; and not at the risk of others. Some bring 100 crabs tied with a bunch of basil; all that are there are scorpions; they will come together to the same place. There are two kinds of cancer, fluvial and marine. Said to be a tortoise; that he was covered with a covering in the manner of a chamber. Now there are four kinds of turtles. Terrestrial, maritime, and luthers, that is, living in seas and swamps, the fourth kind of waves, which live in fresh water. Some say that it is incredible; the boats go more slowly; the right foot of the tortoise is violent. Say the frog from the chattering, that which makes the marshes rustle around the genitals, and the sounds of the voice are obnoxious; they return with cries. Some of these are called aquatic; some marshes,

110v

quedam rubete. eoquod in veperibus vivunt. Commune
omnium. et viridissime. mute et sine voce sunt. Egdu-
le rane parvule sunt. in sicco vel agris morantes. Unde et
nuncupate; Negant quidam canes latrare quibus in offa
rana fuerit viva data. Innumeri itaque usus; innumera
piscium genera. Alii ova generant. ut varii maiores.
quos tructas vocant. et aquis fovenda committunt. Aqua igitur
animat(corrected) et creat. et adhuc mandati illius tanquam legis
perpetue munus exequitur. blanda quidam mater animan-
tium. Alii vivos fetus edunt de suo corpore. ut cete ingen-
tia. Delphines et phoce. aliaque cetera huiusmodi. que cum
ediderint partus; si quid forte insidiarum terrorisque presen-
serint circa catulos suos; numquam molliri quo tueantur
eos vel tenere etatis pavorem materno affectu compri-
mant; aperire ora. et innoxio(changed from innoxia) dente partus suos suspendere.
Interno quoque recipere corpore feruntur. et alvo ab scondere genitali;
Quis non miretur et stupeat. ut servet natura in piscibus.
quod non servat in hominibus; Plerumque in suspitione no-
vercalibus odiis appetiti; suos occiderunt filios. Alie pre-

some red, and those that live in the brambles, common to all, and the greenest, are mute and speechless.

Egdule frogs are small, living in dry land or fields. Whence and name. Some deny that dogs bark at which a live frog has been shot. Innumerable uses therefore; innumerable kinds of fish. Others lay eggs, such as various larger ones, which they call trout, and begin to foster them in the waters. Water, therefore, animates and creates, and still the office of that commandment is perpetually executed as a law, a sort of soothing mother of the living. Others eat the living offspring from their own bodies, such as the giant whale. Dolphins and porpoises, and other such things, which when they give birth; if, by any chance, they have been present with intrigues and terrors around their cubs; they never soften with which they protect them, or suppress the fear of age with maternal affection; to open their mouths, and suspend their births with a harmless tooth. Internally, too, they are directed to receive the body, and the abdomen from the cleansing of the genitals; Who does not wonder and wonder that nature preserves in fish what it does not preserve in men. Generally, in the suspicion of maternal hatred of the appetite; they killed their children. In other

111r

fame ut legimus proprios partus comederunt. huma-
nis pignoribus mater sepulcrum facta est. piscium proli
uterus parentis sicut muro quodam intimorum
viscerum pignora inoffensa conservat. Nam utique
maius est quod nature colluvione committitur; quam quod
in persone iniuria. Et o homo ista procuras; interpres adul-
terii iumentalis. Et illud animal pretius putas quod
adulterinum quam quod verum est. Ipse genera aliena confun-
dis. diversaque miscens semina. et ad vetitos coitus ple-
rumque cogis invitos. Et hoc industriam vocas. quia de
hominibus hoc facere non potes ut diversi generis com-
mixtio; fetum possit excludere. Tollis homini quod na-
tus est. et virum de viro exuis. abscisaque corporis parte
sexum necas. spadonem efficis. ut quod natura negavit
in hominibus impleret audacia. Quam bona mater
sit aqua; hinc homo considera. Tu homo docuisti pa-
trum in filios separationes. odia. offensas. Disce que sit
parentis et filiorum necessitudo. Vivere pisces sine
aqua non queunt. nec a sue parentis consortio separari.

words, as we read before, they ate their own births, the mother became a sepulchre, with human pledges, the womb of the fish of the offspring, like a wall, preserves the pledges of the innermost viscera harmless. For of course it is greater that nature begins with a shower; than that in the wrong person. And O man, you procure these things; Interpreter of adul-terii umental. And that animal you think is more valuable than what is genuine. He himself confounds foreign races, and mixes different seeds, and generally compels the unwilling to forbidden intercourse. And you call this industry, because you cannot do this about people as a mixture of different types; can exclude the fetus. You take away from man what he was born with, and you take away the man from the man, and by cutting off the part of the body you kill the sex, you make a sword, so that what nature denied in men, boldness may fill. What a good mother water is; hence consider man. You, a man, have taught fathers to children separations, hatreds, and offenses. Learn that there is a relationship between parents and children. Fish cannot live without water, nor can they be separated from the company of their parents,

111v

neque a sue altricis discerni munere. et fit hoc natura
quadam. ut separati; moriantur ilico. Quid autem de den-
sitate dentium dicam; Non enim ut oves aut boves. ex una
parte dentes habent. sed utraque pars armata est dentibus eorum
qui in aqua sunt. et si diutius cibum versarent et non
cito transmitterent; aquarum alluvione dentibus eorum
esca(changed from escam) posset auferri. ac dilui. Inde densos et acutos
habent dentes. ut cito incidant. citoque conficiant cibum.
et ut facile et sine aliqua mora transmittant. Denique
non ruminant. Solus tamen escarius ruminare perhi-
betur; de cuius natura superius tractatur. Sunt pis-
ces qui invicem se devorant. et sua carne pascuntur.
Minor apud illos esca maioris est; et rursus ipse maior
a validiore invaditur. et fit esca alternis; preda
alieni. Itaque usu venit ut cum ipse alium devoraverit
ab alio devoretur. et in unum ventrem utrumque conveni-
at. Hec quoque in signum hominibus sunt. ut in hiis;
nostrorum mori videantur vitia. et eorum caveamus
exempla. Ne quis fortior inferiorem invadat. Da-

nor can they be distinguished from their brood, and this is done by a certain nature, as if they were separated; let them die on the spot. But what can I say about the density of the teeth? For they do not, like sheep or cattle, have teeth on one side, but both sides are armed with the teeth of those who are in the water; the food might be taken away from their teeth by the inundation of the waters. Then they have dense and sharp teeth. so that they may cut down quickly, and prepare the food quickly, and that they may convey it easily and without any delay. Finally, they do not chew. However, only the carrion is given to chew; the nature of which is discussed above. There are fish that devour each other and feed on their own flesh. With them the smaller is the food of the greater; and again the greater himself is invaded by the stronger, and becomes the bait of the alters; prey to strangers And so it came to pass that when he himself had devoured another, he was devoured by another, and both came together in one belly. This also is a sign to men, as in these; Let our faults be seen to die, and let us beware of their examples. Let no one who is stronger invade the inferior. He will give

112r

turus in se potentiori(e erased) exemplum iniurie. Itaque
qui alium ledit; sibi laqueum parat in quem ipse incidat.
Et tu piscis es qui viscera invadis aliena qui demer-
gis infirmum. qui persequeris credentem usque in profun-
dum(corrected from dundum). Cave ne dum alium persequeris incidas;
ipse in validiorem. et deducat(changed from deducas) te in alienas insidias;
qui tuas vitat. priusquam tuam expectet erumpnam;
qui te persequente propriam reformidabat.

a more powerful example of injustice. Therefore, whoever injures another; he prepares a trap for himself into which he himself falls. And you are a fish who invades the entrails of strangers, who drowns the weak, who pursues the believer to the depths. Take care not to fall in pursuit of another; himself into a stronger one, and lead thee into strange snares; he who avoids yours before he waits for your outburst; who, in pursuing thee, shrank his own.

and removed the fear from his neck, so that he may rejoice in the fields, and smile when he meets kings, smell war from afar, be excited by the sound of the trumpet. If he filled these unreasonable and many other insensible things, such as hay and lilies, by the arrangement of his wisdom. What do we doubt that he also bestowed his grace on the hedgehog with his foreknowledge? For he leaves nothing unexplored, nothing hidden. He sees everything; who feeds all things. All things are filled with wisdom, who made all things in wisdom, as it is written. And therefore, if the hedgehog did not miss the start of his visit, and the shape of those to come. He does not consider yours. Indeed, he considers as his divine wisdom testifies, saying If he looks at the fowls, if he feeds them, you are no rain for them; unless (? covered by heads) the hay of the field, which is today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, God so dresses, how much more you who have little faith.

The sea-wolf devours other fishes, and is, being clever, so surrounded as with a net; the tail plows the sand. And so seasoned to cross the net. The pheasant has such hard teeth; as he feeds on oysters in the sea. A mule restrains his lust when he has eaten, he has his eyes; who shall drink of this wine. Megilis is so agile; which flies over a net, and is said to be a mule, as if it were very agile. The timallus is coarse in appearance and in taste; funny As the flower breaks and the body inhales the fragrance. Escarius; he chews the cud, he is intelligent. Enclosed in a wicker vessel; it does not come out in front, but the tail makes wide holes; to come out And if another baiter sees him going out; helps by catching the tail coming out. Vranuscopus; he has an eye in his head which always aims upwards. Milago often seems to fly out of the water; it means to calm the storm. The eel grows in the mud, and it is muddy, so that the fifth is pressed more; so much the faster it slips out of his hands. And in the gaugen river; They are 30 foot eels. If they are killed in the wine, they make the wine boring to those who drink from it. The murena is only of the female sex, and conceives from the serpent. Hence the whistling fishermen. It is taken from above. He is hardly killed by a club, but directly by a cane. It has a soul in its tail. For she was struck in the head; he is hardly killed; the tail immediately. Colippus is so talented; so that he embraces the hook with his arms, and thus gnaws around the meat. Cuttlefish conceives with its mouth like a viper. The force of whose ink is great; as if a light were added; Ethiopians make people see. There are many kinds of shells, that is, snails. And the growing moon; they increase and decrease; they decrease Some of these they desire at night on the shores, and from the heavenly dew; they conceive a pearl. Murica is a snail of the sea, called a shell, because it is circumcised with a steel; it emits tears of a purple color, from which it is dyed purple. Crayfish are shell-like, having legs, walking backwards, and eating oysters, from whose flesh they are nourished. For they spy when the oysters open the barriers of their shells, and thus secretly throw in a pebble, and thus gnaw their flesh; They are striae whose soft flesh is covered by a shell, which they conceive with the milk of the muscles of the cochlea, that is, the male of the cochlea. And the muscles are said to be male.

Note that cancer, because no force can open a closed oyster, and it is dangerous if it includes its shell; he flees to the evidence, and devises a plot by a new trick. Therefore, since all kinds of fish are filled with some delight; he examines whether, when the oyster is removed from every wind in places against the rays of the sun, it opens its mouth, and brings back the barriers of its shells, so that it may take some pleasure in the free air of its bowels, and then with a clang it throws in a pebble which indents the stone of the oyster's conclusion. And thus opening the gates open, he inserts the shells, and devours the internal viscera. Thus, therefore, they are seen to be those who, by the use of cancer, creep into a strange use of circumcision, and support their weakness by a kind of artifice properly so called virtue. They feed on the good of their brothers, and they feed on the slanders of others, but you, as a trick, be content with your own, and do not feed on the harms of others. He does not know how to lie in wait for strangers, nor is he avariciously enflamed by bundles, for whom all light is wasted on virtue; to desire; fire And therefore she is blessed if she knows that poverty is good with the truth, and that it is preferable to all treasures, because a little is better with the fear of God. than great treasures without trembling. For hospitality is better in all things with grace; than the preparation of fat calves with discord. Let us therefore use our intelligence to claim grace and protect salvation, not to limit the innocence of others. It is permissible for us to use the examples of foreigners and even maritime ones, for the advancement of our salvation; and not at the risk of others. Some bring 100 crabs tied with a bunch of basil; all that are there are scorpions; they will come together to the same place; There are two types of cancer. rivers and seas. Said to be a tortoise; that he was covered with a covering in the manner of a chamber. Now there are four kinds of turtles. Terrestrial, maritime, and luthers, that is, living in seas and swamps, the fourth kind of waves, which live in fresh water. Some say that it is incredible; the boats go more slowly; the right foot of the tortoise is violent.

Say the frog from the chattering, that which makes the marshes rustle around the genitals, and the sounds of the voice are obnoxious; they return with cries. Some of these are called aquatic; some marshes, some red; The commonest of all, and the greenest, are mute and voiceless. Egdule frogs are small, living in dry land or fields. Whence and name. Some deny that dogs bark at which a live frog has been shot. Innumerable uses therefore; innumerable kinds of fish. Others lay eggs, such as various larger ones, which they call trout, and begin to foster them in the waters. Water, therefore, animates and creates, and still the office of that commandment is perpetually executed as a law, a sort of soothing mother of the living. Others eat the living offspring from their own bodies, such as the giant whale. Dolphins and porpoises, and other such things, which when they give birth; if, by any chance, they have been present with intrigues and terrors around their cubs; they never soften with which they protect them, or suppress the fear of age with maternal affection; to open their mouths, and suspend their births with a harmless tooth. Internally, too, they are directed to receive the body, and the abdomen from the cleaning of the genitals.

Who does not wonder and wonder that nature preserves in fish what it does not preserve in men. Generally, in the suspicion of maternal hatred of the appetite; they killed their children. In other words, as we read in the preface, they ate their own birth, the mother became a sepulchre, with human pledges, the womb of the fish of the offspring, like a wall, preserves harmless the pledges of the innermost viscera. For of course it is greater that nature begins with a shower; than that in the wrong person. And O man, you procure these things; interpreter of human adultery. And that animal you think is more valuable than what is genuine. He himself confounds foreign races, and mixes different seeds, and generally compels the unwilling to forbidden intercourse. And you call this energy. because you cannot do this about men as a mixture of different races; can exclude the fetus. You take away from man what he was born with, and you take away the man from the man, and by cutting off the part of the body you kill the sex, you make a sword, so that what nature has denied in men, boldness may fill. What a good mother water is; hence consider man. You, a man, have taught fathers to children separations, hatreds, and offenses. Learn that there is a relationship between parents and children. Fish cannot live without water, nor can they be separated from the company of their parents, nor can they distinguish themselves from their brood, and this is done by a certain nature, as if they were separated; let them die on the spot. But what can I say about the density of the teeth? For they do not, like sheep or cattle, have teeth on one side, but both sides are armed with the teeth of those who are in the water; the food might be taken away from their teeth by the inundation of the waters, and I Hence they have dense and sharp teeth, so that they can cut quickly, and quickly prepare food, and so that they can transmit it easily and without any delay. Finally, they do not chew. However, only the carrion is given to chew; the nature of which is discussed above. There are fish that devour each other and feed on their own flesh. With them the smaller is the food of the greater; and again the greater himself is invaded by the stronger, and becomes the bait of the alters; prey to strangers And so it came to pass that when he himself had devoured another, he was devoured by another, and both came together in one belly. This also is a sign to men, as in these; Let our faults be seen to die, and let us beware of their examples. Let no one who is stronger invade the inferior. He will give a more powerful example of injustice. Therefore, whoever injures another; he prepares a trap for himself into which he himself falls. And you are a fish who invades the entrails of strangers, who drowns the weak, who pursues the believer to the depths. Take care not to fall in pursuit of another; himself into a stronger one, and lead thee into strange snares; he who avoids yours before he waits for your outburst; who, in pursuing thee, shrank his own.

Whale, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

As with other creatures, the Rochester Bestiary describes the whale in mainly religious terms.

The whale attracts people through its enormous size. Mariners camp on its back but are drowned when the creature dives into the ocean. Similarly, small fish are attracted by a sweet odour emanating from its mouth, only to be swallowed. The bigger fish keep clear of the whale just as great saints keep away from the world’s temptation.

Transcription

Translation

Cetus sive cethe est belua in mari. quasi fuit
illa que excepit ionam. tante magnitudinis
ut putari posset infernus dicente ipso iona. Exau-
divit me dominus de ventre inferi. Hec in medio
pelagi elevat dorsum suum super undas maris. et
tante est magnitudines. ut de sabulo maris per
ventum agitato; fiat planicies super dorsum eius
et quasi certa terra. et arbusta et virgulta ibi
crescunt. Unde navigantes hanc inmobiliter
stare videntes; putant insulam magnam esse.
et applicant naves et palos figunt quibus naves
alligant. et focos faciunt ut cibos coquant. Que

104r

sentiens ardorem ignis; subito se in aquam mergit et
navem secum trahit. Hec belua figuram diaboli gerit.
qui eos qui spem ponunt in eo et se suis operibus illi obli-
gant. secum in baratrum trahit. Secunda autem natura
huius belue est. quod quando esurit; aperit os suum. et odo-
rem quendam bene olentem exalat de ore eius. cuius
dulcedinem ut sentiunt minores pisces; congregant se in
ore eius. Cum vero senserit os suum repletum; subi-
to claudit os suum et transglutit eos. Magni autem
pisces; fugiunt eam. Sic paciuntur omnes qui sunt modi-
ce fidei. voluptatibus ac lenociniis quasi quibusdam
odoribus diabolicis adescati. subito absorbentur ab
eo. sicut pisciculi minuti. Magne vero fidei sancti in-
telligunt astucias diaboli et fugiunt eas. Unguen-
tis enim et variis odoribus delectantur stulti; ut dicit
scriptura. et sic confringitur anima a ruinis.

Whale or a whale is a beast in the sea, the one that caught Jonah, of such a size that hell could be thought of by saying Jonah himself. The Lord heard me from the bowels of hell. This one in the middle of the ocean raises its back above the waves of the sea, and is as big as the sand of the sea blown by the wind; let there be plains upon its back, and as if it were firm ground, and trees and shrubs grow there. Whence the sailors seeing her standing motionless; they think that the island is large, and they build ships and fix poles to which they tie the ships, and make fires to cook their food. That feeling the ardor of the fire; suddenly he plunges into the water and drags the ship with him. This beast bears the form of the devil, who drags with him into the abyss those who put their hope in him and commit themselves to him by their works. But the second nature of this beast is that when it is hungry; he opens his mouth, and exhales from his mouth a certain sweet-smelling odor, the sweetness of which seems to be felt by smaller fishes; they gather at its mouth. But when he felt his mouth full; he suddenly shuts his mouth and swallows them. But the fish are large; they run away from her. In this way all those who have a little faith, attracted by pleasures and indulgences, as if by some diabolical odors, are suddenly absorbed by him, like little fish. But the saints of great faith understand the wiles of the devil and flee from them. For fools delight in ointments and various scents; as the scripture says, and so the soul is crushed by ruins.

104v

Balena autem satis minor belua est quam cete. sed
inmense magnitudinis. Ab effundendo et imit-
tendo aquas vocata. Ceteris enim bestiis maris altius
iacit undas ab ore suo. Bal enim grece emittere di-
citur. Masculus dicitur balene musculus. Eius enim
coitu; concipit balena.

Now the whale is quite a smaller animal than the cetacean, but of immense size. Called from the pouring out and imitating of the waters. For he casts waves from his mouth deeper than the other beasts of the sea. For in Greek it is said to cast out Bal. The male is called a muscle whale. For his intercourse; he conceives a whale.

105r

Est belua in mari que dicitur serra pennas
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 beast in the sea called a serra, having huge wings. When he sees a ship sailing in the sea, he raises his wings above the water, and strives to sail against the ship thirty or forty furlongs, and not being able to endure the effort fails, and laying down his wings draws them to him. Whence, indeed, the sea was already tired; let them carry it back to its place in the deep. And it is called a saw; because he has a serrated crest. This beast has the shape of this century. But the ship in the same hand, to go after the crest which cuts the ships under, and is an example of the perforators. Who without danger and wreck.

Dolphin, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

Transcription

Translation

Delfines certum habent nomen. quod voces homi-
num sequantur vel quod ad simphoniam grega-
tim conveniunt. Nichil in mari velotius istis. nam ple-
rumque naves salientes transvolant. Quando autem
ludunt in fluctibus et undarum se mollibus saltu pre-
cipiti feriunt; tempestates significant. Hii proprie sal-
mones nominantur. Est et delphinum genus in nilo flu-
mine dorso serrato qui cocodrillos tenera ventrium
secantes interimunt;

Dolphins have a certain name, because they follow the voices of men, or because they gather in groups for a symphony. Nothing in the sea is faster than these, for usually the ships fly over by leaping. But when they are playing in the waves and the waves hit them with a soft jump of the precipice; they mean storms. These are properly called salmon. There is also a race of dolphins in the river Nile with serrated backs who kill crocodiles by cutting their tender bellies.

Porpoise, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The Rochester Bestiary describes the porpoise as a sea pig. Similarly to their terrestrial counterparts, sea pigs feed by using their snouts to dig up food in the underwater sand.

Transcription

Translation

Porci marini qui vulgo vocantur suilli; qui-
dam dum escam querunt; ore suo sub aquis
terram fodiunt. Circa guttur enim habent oris
officium. et nisi rostrum arenis inmergant;
pastum non colligunt.

Some of the sea-pigs, which are commonly called pigs, dig the earth under water with their beaks while they are hungry for food. For they have the duty of the mouth about the throat[?], and unless they sink their beaks into the sand, they do not gather food.