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Elliot Thompson
The Composite Creatures of Medieval Bestiaries
Much like the centuries preceding it, the late Middle Ages were often characterized by
mystery and fear. It was also filled with newfound curiosity and discoveries, however. In this
regard, it’s easy to imagine a tale such as the following whispered into eager ears of the time:
One day, a farm boy noticed two men on the edge of the forest, staggering toward his
village, although, at first, it was hard to tell if these were even men at all. The boy immediately
hailed his father, and the two carefully made their way toward the visitors. It was soon all too
apparent that these men had suffered something horrific.
Once brought inside, the two soldiers collapsed. Everything from their mangled limbs to
their hairless heads was charred black. What was left of their clothes was in tatters and one
soldier, though he could hardly speak a word, fiercely gripped the handle of a singed wooden
plank, presumably once a sturdy shield. These men were severely burned, but that was not all.
They were covered in something more than just charred skin, and its putrid stench could only be
described as breath from the Mouth of Hell. Within hours, the two soldiers were dead, but not
before one was able to share his account of what had happened.
While traveling from battle, the soldiers entered a nearby forest to hunt for food.
Expecting to find a boar, they instead found a beast previously unseen to their eyes. The curious-
looking creature was the size of an ox, yet had the mane of a horse; even stranger, the pair of
horns atop its head were so curled that they seemed a useless defense. Seizing their opportunity,
the men crept up to the beast, which fixed its eyes upon them. Knowing the horns were no match
for their swords, the soldiers went in for the kill. Soon, however, they realized the beast
possessed a far more brutal and repulsive weapon. The creature quickly spun around and
buckets upon buckets of excrement, covered in balls of fire, exploded from its backside. The men,
along with an acre of forest behind them, were scorched by this ungodly substance. If it had not
been for their shields, they surely would not have lived long enough to tell the tale ...
This story, constructed by this author for the purpose of this paper, describes a beast
known as the bonnacon. It is one of many creatures found in medieval manuscripts devoted to
the various beasts of the earth, also known as a “bestiaries.”
Toward the later part of the Middle Ages, the popularity of bestiary manuscripts greatly
increased. While these works included descriptive texts and illustrated miniatures of
commonplace creatures, such as cows, dogs, or horses, as well as exotic, but still real-life,
animals, such as camels, elephants, and hyenas, many also gave equally straight-faced accounts
of creatures that were purely fictional, if not downright inconceivable. This paper seeks to further
examine the latter category, often referred to as “composite creatures” in medieval historical
literature1. The term is used to indicate made-up beasts assembled from features plucked from
several different creatures. In addition to their physical construction, most composite creatures
have equally bizarre abilities.
Like most medieval bestiary subjects, these creatures are normally accompanied by moral
or religious allegories, which explains the reasoning behind their inclusion in the manuscripts. Of
1 Janetta Rebold Benton, The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages. New York: Abbeville Press, 1992, 16.
course, while the symbolism behind some of the composite creatures is explicit, deeper meaning
for others is not always as apparent.
It should also be noted that although there is an entire subsection in medieval bestiaries of
creatures that are composites of human and beast, this paper focuses solely on all-beast
composite creatures.
Bestiary Origins
Other than the bible, it’s not often that one can determine a single source of inspiration
for an entire classification of manuscripts, but, by most accounts, this is the case with the
medieval bestiaries. This original source is known as the Physiologus. Although any knowledge
of its author has been lost to time, the text is said to have originated in the early antiquity period,
circa 200 AD, most likely in Alexandria.2
What indicates the Physiologus is the clear influential source of medieval bestiaries is not
just the animal content, but how the book approaches the subject. Unlike a standard zoological
textbook, the Physiologus focuses more on animal lore than biological science. Each creature,
which included even trees and rocks, is given a brief description and usually some type of fable
or myth.
Although originally written in Greek, the oldest manuscript copies of the Phsyiologus
that remain today are in Latin. In the centuries since the original copy, Christianity grew
exponentially, which explains why the language of the text shifted and, more importantly, also
explains why the allegories attached to these creatures shifted toward Christian values3.
2 Nona C. Flores, editor, Animals in the Middle Ages. New York: Routledge, 1996, 103. 3 Willene B. Clark and Meradith T. McMunn, editors, Beasts and birds of the Middle Ages : The Bestiary and Its Legacy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989, 2-3.
The earliest versions of this text also lacked illustrations. From an art history standpoint,
this proved to be a blessing, of course, because it allowed illuminators to use their imagination to
the fullest.
While illustrated versions of the Physiologus appeared as early as the 9th century, the
heyday for medieval manuscripts really began around the 12th century and finally began to trail
off around the 15th century4. The bestiaries referenced in this paper all fall into this time period
-- the earliest being the Worksop Bestiary (1185)5, now housed at the Morgan library in New
York, and the latest being an untitled French bestiary (1450), which can be found at the Museum
Meermanno in The Hague, Netherlands.6 The styles of illustrations vary wildly throughout these
few hundred years, and unlike such animals as dogs, horses or even elephants, the composite
creatures have no real-life visual standard of appearance to which they must remain faithful.
Each miniature is that particular illuminator’s interpretation of a written description and so, in
turn, the viewer is treated to some of the most bizarre, grotesque and genuinely fascinating
illustrations found in any medieval manuscript.
Ancient Composite Creatures
The idea of a “composite creature” was around long before any medieval bestiary. Pagan
societies such as the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans celebrated all sorts of imaginary beasts. Not
all of those creatures, however, made it into the medieval bestiary. In fact, very few did. But the
ones that did can be grouped as “ancient composite creatures.”
4 The Aberdeen Bestiary, “What Is a Bestiary?” The Aberdeen Library, http :// www . abdn . ac . uk / bestiary / what . hti , (accessed May, 2012).5 COSAIR: The Online Catalog of the Pierpont Morgan Library, “MS M.81Worksop bestiary,” The Pierpont Morgan Library, http :// utu . morganlibrary . org / medren / Manuscript _ images . cfm ? ACC _ NO = M .81 , (accessed May, 2012)6 Museum Meermanno: Interactive Presentation Manuscripts, “Den Haag, MMW,” 10 B 25, Museum Meermanno http :// collecties . meermanno . nl / handschriften / showmanu ? id =1466 , (accessed May, 2012).
The griffin, also spelled gryphon, is one example. Griffins appear in Greek mythology,
pulling the chariots of Zeus, as well as in the art of ancient Persia. In fact, a statue of a double-
sided griffin from the 4th century BC still stands today in Persepolis in Iran.7 More important to
this paper, the griffin also happens to be one of the more ubiquitous composite creatures of the
medieval bestiaries.
The simplest description of a griffin is a creature that is half lion and half eagle.
Typically, it’s the front half that is eagle, including the head and beak, wings and two front
talons, while the backside is all lion with two powerful back legs and a long tail.
The two examples provided [Figs.1]89 of the griffin depicted in medieval bestiaries are
from The Ashmole Bestiary (early 1200s), now in the Bodleian Library, and the Untitled French
bestiary (1450), mentioned earlier. Although centuries apart, the two images are fairly similar.
Both depict a majestic griffin clenching a smaller creature in its talons. Stylistically, it appears
that the illustrator of the latter of the two chose a more literal approach. There is almost an exact
point in the chest of the griffin where the lion part of the body fades into the eagle half. The
Ashmole griffin, on the other hand, seems to be a more harmonious combination of beasts. For
instance, the illustrator chose to give the eagle half the same shade of gold typically associated
with a lion’s coat, but he or she also gave the illusion of a mane of fur streaming down the neck
of the griffin. The ears, as well, appear more cat-like than bird.
7 Patrick Hunt, “Achaemenid Persian Griffin Capital at Persepolis," Stanford University: Archeolog, entry posted October 21, 2008, http :// traumwerk . stanford . edu / archaeolog /2008/10/ achaemenid _ sculptural _ stone _ te . html (accessed May, 2012).8 COSAIR: The Online Catalog of the Pierpont Morgan Library, “MS M.81Worksop bestiary,” The Pierpont Morgan Library, http :// utu . morganlibrary . org / medren / Manuscript _ images . cfm ? ACC _ NO = M .81 , (accessed May, 2012)9 Museum Meermanno: Interactive Presentation Manuscripts, “Den Haag, MMW,” 10 B 25, Museum Meermanno http :// collecties . meermanno . nl / handschriften / showmanu ? id =1466 , (accessed May, 2012).
Fig. 1. Bodleian Library, MS. Ashmole 1511, Folio 15v
Fig. 2. Museum Meermanno, MMW, 10 B 25, Folio 5r
It isn’t difficult to deduce the symbolism of such a creature. With their strength, vision
and speed, both the eagle and the lion are powerful beasts. A combination of the two is
undoubtedly an animal worthy of respect. It is also an animal worth fearing, as seen in the two
miniatures. In fact, a majority of the bestiary illustrations show the griffin conquering some other
helpless creature. In terms of Christian symbolism, the duality of the griffin as graceful yet
powerful made it a common symbol of God/Christ and his ability to protect or punish10.
The following two examples of ancient composite creatures found in medieval bestiaries
are some of the most legendary imaginary beasts in popular culture today -- the unicorn and the
dragon. They are also examples of some of the few composite creatures that can be found in the
Old Testament, which makes it easy to understand their inclusion in medieval bestiaries.
The unicorn dates as far back as ancient Greece, where chroniclers such as Aristotle
spoke of a creature that was similar to a small horse, but also had a single, long horn protruding
from its head.11 As previously mentioned, the unicorn makes several appearances in the Old
Testament, in both the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate versions.
Just as most illustrations of the griffin depicted it mid-preying, nearly all visual portrayals
show the unicorn in the arms of a maiden, usually while being stabbed with a spear by pursuing
hunters. The unicorn appears in this manner in the 12th century Worksop Bestiary [Fig. 3].12
Although one soldier carries an ax in this miniature, it is always the spear that inflicts damage to
the unicorn. The second example is from the Der Naturen Bloeme (c. 1350), now located at the
Koninklijke Bibliotheek in the Hague.13 In this illustration there are no miniatures, but a very
similar maiden is present, holding the unicorn’s head. While the first image, from the 12th
century, shows more artistic use of color, painting the unicorn blue, the second, from the mid-
14th century, contains much more expressive facial expressions in both the maiden and the
10 Janetta Rebold Benton, The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages. New York: Abbeville Press, 1992, 129-130.11 University of Adelaide: eBooks, “On the Parts of Animals, by Aristotle, Book 3” The University of Adelaide, http :// ebooks . adelaide . edu . au / a / aristotle / parts / book 3. html , (accessed May, 2012).12 COSAIR: The Online Catalog of the Pierpont Morgan Library, “MS M.81Worksop bestiary,” The Pierpont Morgan Library, http :// utu . morganlibrary . org / medren / Manuscript _ images . cfm ? ACC _ NO = M .81 , (accessed May, 2012).13 Museum Meermanno: Interactive Presentation Manuscripts, “Den Haag, MMW,” 10 B 25, Museum Meermanno http :// collecties . meermanno . nl / handschriften / showmanu ? id =1466 , (accessed May, 2012).
unicorn. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the latter was scribed and illustrated by Jacob van
Maerlant, a Flemish poet -- not a monk like most scribes of earlier manuscripts.14
Fig. 3. Morgan Library, MS M.81, Folio 12v
Fig. 4. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, KA 16, Folio 63r
The standard myth surrounding unicorns is that they are creatures of immense cunning
and speed. The only they way in which any hunter can catch one is to place a virgin in its path. It
14 Koninklijke Bibliotheek: Expositions & Collections, “Der Naturen Bloome,” Koninklijke Bibliotheek, http :// www . kb . nl / galerie /100 hoogtepunten /006- en . html , (accessed May, 2012).
is said that the unicorn, out of love and respect for the virgin, will immediately stop and place its
head in her lap15. In this way, these illustrations contain some of the most explicit allusions to
Christ of all the bestiary miniatures. The spear piercing the defenseless creature’s side is a visual
that every Christian associates with Christ on the cross being stabbed by Longinus. When you
combine this with the imagery of the “virgin” maiden, clearly an allusion to Mary, mother of
Christ, caressing this sensitive creature, allusion to Christianity must have been unavoidable for
even the most ignorant of observers.
Finally, there is no shortage of references to the ancient composite creature known as the
dragon. This menacing beast has appeared in mythology around the globe from the Greeks and
the Persians to as far off as East Asia.16 Not surprisingly, it is in the Book of Revelation that the
dragon makes his biblical cameo.
In medieval bestiaries, the dragon is mostly defined by its personality traits. These
include a hatred of elephants, the dragon’s sworn enemy. It also includes the beast’s vulnerability
to the peridexion tree, particularly its shadows, which make the tree ideal for sheltering small
creatures such as doves17. Aside from the fact that the dragon is a giant serpent, there are only a
few standard physical traits associated with it, most commonly a long powerful tail and a set of
wings, both of which allow the creature to be an even more effective predator. Because of these
lack of specifics, however, visual depictions of dragons tend to vary from manuscript to
manuscript.
15 Janetta Rebold Benton, The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages. New York: Abbeville Press, 1992, 74.16 Janetta Rebold Benton, The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages. New York: Abbeville Press, 1992, 42-43.17 Michael J. Curley, Physiologus: A Medieval Book of Nature Lore. University of Chicago Press, 2009, 28.
The first example comes from the French Bestiaire of Guillaume le Clerc (late 13th
century) [Fig. 5], now located at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris.18 It depicts the
dragon roaring angrily beside a peridexion tree while two birds reside under its shade and remain
unharmed. The second example appears in the earlier Aberdeen Bestiary (c. 1200) [Fig. 6],
which still remains today at the library in the city of its origin, Aberdeen, Scotland.19 In this
miniature, the dragon surrounds its enemy, the elephant, in serpent-like fashion, as he takes a bite
out of its shoulder. Although these two depictions are roughly a couple of centuries apart, they
prove that there was no exact standard for what a dragon should look like.
Fig. 5. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, fr. 1444b, Folio 254r
18 Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des Manuscrits: Division occidentale, “fr. 1444b Bestiaire of Guillaume le Clerc,” http :// visualiseur . bnf . fr / CadresFenetre ? O = COMP -1& I =65& M = imageseule , (accessed May, 2012).19 The Aberdeen Bestiary: Folio 65v Translation and Transcription, The Aberdeen Library, http :// www . abdn . ac . uk / bestiary / translat /65 v . hti , (accessed May, 2012).
Fig. 6. Aberdeen University Library, Univ. Lib. MS 24, Folio 50r
As with the unicorn, the idea behind the dragon in Christian mythology is obvious. The
serpent, with its role in the Garden of Eden, represents the root of all evil, and so the idea of a
king of the serpents was certainly something of which to be terrified. To quote the Aberdeen
Bestiary, “Be as careful as you can that you are not caught outside the doors of that house, that
the dragon, the serpent of old, does not seize you and devour you, as Judas was at once devoured
by the devil and perished, as soon as he had gone forth from the Lord and his brother apostles.”
20
Medieval Composite Creatures
20 The Aberdeen Bestiary: Folio 65v Translation and Transcription, The Aberdeen Library, http :// www . abdn . ac . uk / bestiary / translat /65 v . hti , (accessed May, 2012).
While it’s hard to label fictional beasts such as those described here with any verifiable
date of origin, there are several composite creatures that made no appearance whatsoever in any
recorded ancient mythology, yet appear with descriptions and illustrations in medieval bestiaries.
So, for purposes of organization, it’s easiest to label these creations as “medieval composite
creatures.”
Although some of the specifically “medieval” composite creatures are quite unique,
others are clearly based on ancient predecessors. For instance, two medieval composite creatures
whose creation was obviously influenced by the idea of the dragon are the cerastes and the
jaculus.
The main difference between the cerastes and the dragon is the fact that the cerastes has
no wings. This beast does, however, possess a set of ram-like horns on its head as part of its
arsenal. The visual example provided is another miniature from the Flemish Der Naturen Bloeme
manuscript from the 14th century [Fig. 7].21 Here, the illustrator chose to use color to
differentiate the head from the rest of the body, almost making it appear as though the entire
head belonged to that of a ram.
21 Koninklijke Bibliotheek: Expositions & Collections, “Der Naturen Bloome,” Koninklijke Bibliotheek, http :// www . kb . nl / galerie /100 hoogtepunten /006- en . html , (accessed May, 2012).
Fig. 7. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, KA 16, Folio 123v
While the cerastes may not have the intimidating presence of the dragon, it is just as
deadly, and in craftier ways. The lore behind the cerastes is that the beast hides in the ground
with only its horns poking out in order to lure unsuspecting victims. When they approach, the
cerastes erupts from the earth and sinks its poisonous fangs into the passers-by22.
Unlike the cerastes, the jaculus was similar to the dragon in that it did have a pair of
wings along with the ability to flythe ability to fly. Unfortunately, the jaculus was without any
other limbs, which in a way made it the most serpent-like of the three. The miniature provided is
another from the Worksop Bestiary from the late 12th century [Fig. 8].23 Similar to the Aberdeen
Bestiary account of the dragon, which was illustrated within the same 20-year time frame, the
22 Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth. W. W. Norton & Company, 200123 COSAIR: The Online Catalog of the Pierpont Morgan Library, “MS M.81Worksop bestiary,” The Pierpont Morgan Library, http :// utu . morganlibrary . org / medren / Manuscript _ images . cfm ? ACC _ NO = M .81 , (accessed May, 2012).
jaculus is painted a dark blue. One could hardly argue, however, that this miniature features a
beast equally as intimidating as the one strangling an elephant in the Aberdeen Bestiary.
Fig. 8.Morgan Library, MS M.81, Folio 86r
Like the cerastes, however, the jaculus has its own crafty means of attack. The winged
creature lurks among the branches of trees, where it waits for just the right moment to launch
itself, fangs-first, into victims below. In fact, both the name “jaculus” and the word “javelin”
share the same latin root as something that quickly darts out24.
The religious symbolism behind the two medieval composite creatures are in sync with
the warnings of the deadly dragon. Just as the devil has many faces and many helpers, so does
the dragon.
The serra, on the other hand, also sometimes referred to as the saw-fish, is an example of
a medieval composite creature that does not have a particular ancient mold from which it was
cast. That is not to say that the serra is completely out-of-this world -- the creature is basically a
large fish with wings.
Just like previous examples of the cerastes and the jaculus, the illustrations of the serra
provided are also from Der Naturen Bloeme [Fig. 9]25 and the Worksop Bestiary [Fig. 10].26 The
24 Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth. W. W. Norton & Company, 200125 Koninklijke Bibliotheek: Expositions & Collections, “Der Naturen Bloome,” Koninklijke Bibliotheek, http :// www . kb . nl / galerie /100 hoogtepunten /006- en . html , (accessed May, 2012).26 COSAIR: The Online Catalog of the Pierpont Morgan Library, “MS M.81Worksop bestiary,” The Pierpont Morgan Library, http :// utu . morganlibrary . org / medren / Manuscript _ images . cfm ? ACC _ NO = M .81 , (accessed May, 2012).
former, another interpretation by the 14th century scribe/illustrator Jacob van Maerlant, shows
the serra in about as simplified a depiction as possible. The wings, which are not only a different
color from the rest of the fish, seem to be made of completely different material. In fact, the
unnatural way in which they are attached to the fish almost gives the impression that they were,
in fact, ripped off some bird and stitched to a fish. This would, of course, make it a true
composite creature.
Fig. 9. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, KA 16, Folio 109r
The next example, from 12th-century Worksop Bestiary, seems to merge the composites
with a little more grace. The serra displayed in this miniature glides in the air over a small boat
while the two voyagers, who appear to be monks, point and watch.
Fig. 10. Morgan Library, MS M.81, Folio 69r
Christian symbolism, especially in the latter example, is at the core of the serra and its
inclusion in medieval bestiaries. In a translated quote from the French Sloane Bestiary, (13th
century), now at the British Library, the serra, or “saw-fish,” is described as such: “The saw-fish,
that is that beast which availed not to beat the ship in sailing, affords a symbol of those persons
who at first eagerly engage in good works, but who afterwards do not persevere in them, and are
led astray by faults of different kinds (that is, of greed, pride, drunkenness, and luxury), which
toss them about as it were upon the waves of the sea and plunge them down to the depths of
hell.”27
In this way, the serra reminds us that not all bizarre beasts are ones to fear. The serra is a
example of the way in which the minds behind the medieval bestiaries used these creatures to
27 George C. Druce, “On the Legend of the Serra or Saw-Fish,” Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Second Series 31 (1919)
reflect the nature of mankind. And although this allegory ends in failure of sorts, it still possesses
a motivational message, as opposed to one driven by fear.
Finally, we return to the beast mentioned in the tale at the very beginning of this paper --
the bonnacon. As described, the bonnacon is an ox-sized creature with curled horns, which emits
flaming dung from its bowels as a way of protecting itself.
The first example provided here comes the same 15th century untitled French bestiary as
the earlier miniature of the griffin. It displays two hunters fleeing in horror from a stream of
excrement shooting from the bonnacon’s backside [Fig. 10]28. We can assume that because the
soldier closest to the beast is covering his nose and mouth, there is an unpleasant odor included
with the attack. This detail, along with the almost pleased look of the bonnacon, suggests a hint
of light-heartedness to this particular miniature. Since the manuscript was created in the 15th
century, it’s possible that the legend of the bonnocan was not was quite as frightening as in
previous centuries.
Fig. 11. Museum Meermanno, MMW, 10 B 25, Folio 8r
28 Museum Meermanno: Interactive Presentation Manuscripts, “Den Haag, MMW,” 10 B 25, Museum Meermanno http :// collecties . meermanno . nl / handschriften / showmanu ? id =1466 , (accessed May, 2012).
The second visual depiction, however, comes from the Ashmole Bestiary from the early
12th century, over 200 years earlier [Fig. 11]29. The scene is less comical, and although the
soldiers are still suffering from the bonnacon’s attack, they are protecting themselves with a
shield, and they have still manage to strike a blow with their spear into the beast, who appears
more distressed than the one in the previous miniature.
Fig. 12. Bodleian Library, MS. Ashmole 1511, Folio 18r
The bonnacon is an interesting case -- not just because of the revolting and bizarre
method of attack, but because the symbolism is not as clear as with other composite creatures
such as the unicorn, dragon or the serra. Though judging from a purely aesthetic standpoint, it’s
remarkable how similarly constructed the miniature of the Ashmole bonnacon is to that of the
unicorn miniature in The Worksop Bestiary, created around the same time period. Viewing them
side-by-side reveals that one is almost a mirror image of the other.
29 COSAIR: The Online Catalog of the Pierpont Morgan Library, “MS M.81Worksop bestiary,” The Pierpont Morgan Library, http :// utu . morganlibrary . org / medren / Manuscript _ images . cfm ? ACC _ NO = M .81 , (accessed May, 2012)
Both contain two soldiers, one with an axe and one with a spear, the latter of which has
been plunged into the side of the creature. Of course, there is no evidence that the bonnacon has
any religious symbolism similar to that of the unicorn, but the visual similarities are there
nonetheless. The bonnacon’s inclusion in many bestiaries may just be an example of the readers’
curious nature and thirst for the new and exotic; and any visual similarities with the Ashmole
Bestiary unicorn are there simply because certain religious imagery was an artistic reflex. If one
compares it to the later 15th century miniature, that bonnacon seems to be on display more for its
bizarreness than anything else.
Conclusion
To reiterate an earlier point, the medieval bestiaries were never intended to be interpreted
as scientific textbooks. Those who produced them did so for the allegorical meanings behind
them. There must have been, however, a reason behind the bestiaries rise in popularity between
in the late Middle Ages other than that the public suddenly became more interested in religious
or moral allegories.
To fully understand the popularity of the bestiary, one must consider the context of the
time period. After the turn of the millennium, a huge change began to sweep over Europe.
Because the world had in fact not ended when 1000 AD came around, as many had predicted and
believed would happen, people began to travel more, and western cities began to grow. This time
period was also at the heart of an event that affected nearly everything in the world: The
Crusades. Legions of soldiers throughout Europe were deployed to the Middle East, and those
who returned surely brought back their share of exotic tales, so that even those who would not
get the chance to travel to such places were at least getting first- or second hand accounts.
It would, therefore, not be a stretch to assume that these factors led to a rise in curiosity
among the medieval public and so in turn, led to a rise in popularity of these, literally and
metaphorically, colorful manuscripts.
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