Representation of animals in western medieval art – Wikipedia

Plate known as “terrestrial paradise”, ivory (around 870-875) collections of the Louvre

The animal representation in medieval art is rich in the diversity of artistic forms and animals represented, whether real or imaginary. These medieval representations are greatly influenced by Christianity: they are decorative, but above all symbolic. Animals represent creation, good and evil, God or the devil. They flourish in churches, on stained glass, bas-reliefs or pavanes, only learning media for the illiterate which makes up the majority of medieval society ^{[ first ]} . Thus, we find the animals sculpted on the capitals of the churches or the plates of ivory, painted in the illuminations of the manuscripts or in frescoes of the churches, as well as in works of goldsmith, seals, tapestries and stained glass.

The interpretation of animals is complex. Indeed, it happens that they are difficult to identify or that the same animal has several symbolics, sometimes even opposite, such as the lion symbol of Christ but also of the Antichrist.

The art of the Middle Ages is mainly a sacred art which reflects the privileged relationship between God and man, created in his image ^{[ 2 ]} . The submissive and imperfect animal often appears confronted or dominated by man, but a second current of thought from Saint Paul and Aristotle which develops mainly from the XII ^{It is} century included in the same community of living creatures animals and man.

During the Christian era, the attachment of the Church to make paganism disappear leads to a renewal of symbolic art. The representations of Romanesque art are always fanciful and reflect the weak bond uniting man and animal at that time. The animal becomes an allegory, for example the dove represents peace ^{[ 3 ]} .

Creature of God, animal helps man to interpret the world, in a symbolic and moralizing role, particularly represented in bestiaries and volukranges. Then from the XIII ^{It is} A century, the encyclopedias developed, partly following the translation of Aristotle’s works. The animal has its place in these inventories which are gradually unmounting moralizations, and some develop practical aspects for animal farm.

In fact the animal is very present in the life of the Middle Ages, as evidenced by the representations of the months in the books of hours but also the tales, fables and satires, like the novel of Renart, the novel of Fauvel or the fables of Marie de France.

In religion [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The Christian history of animals begins with their creation described in Genesis. In the first account of Genesis, God creates animals as an ornamentation of the world before creating man and women in his image. The fish of the sea and the birds of the sky are created on the fifth day, followed by the animals of the earth on the sixth day ^{[ 4 ]} .

In the second account of Genesis, God destines animals to help man ^{[ 4 ]} . Adam calls animals, thus ensuring his superiority ^{[ 5 ]} .

• The Garden of Eden
• Noah’s ark
• L’Apocalypse
• man created in the image of God opposed to the animal
• community of living beings (Aristotle), animal creature of God, trials made to animals ^{[ 6 ]}
• Companion of the saint, golden legend, historial mirror by Vincent de Beauvais ^{[ 7 ]}

In knowledge [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• Bestiaires, Aviarum
• Encyclopedias

To describe wildlife, man of the Middle Ages attaches the allegory and the symbolism of animals than to observation. The transmission of knowledge is done through the ancient authors who are authoritative. To the XII ^{It is} A century, we see in the English bestiaries a first taxonomy which distinguishes quadrupeds, birds, fish and reptiles. Then, from the XIII ^{It is} century, the notions of science and natural history are beginning to develop ^{[ 8 ]} . Thus the Emperor Frédéric II dares to question Aristotle and use observation and experimentation to develop his fazony treaty, The art of hunting with birds ^{[ 9 ]} .

In the descriptions of bestiaries, the distinction between pets and wild, common or exotic, real and imaginary animals does not take into account ^{[ 8 ]} . In fact, the very existence of animals, in particular those who appear in the Bible such as the dragon or unicorn, will not be called into question until much later: Edward Topsell still appears in his History of Four-Footed Beastes (1607) ^{[ ten ]} . In addition, some exotic animals such as crocodile may have been familiar with ancient authors (the Physiologos source of bestiaries has been written near Alexandria) while the lion, by its presence in menageries is much less exotic than you might think ^{[Ref. necessary]} .

The list of animals known in the Middle Ages includes a number of hybrid beings such as sirens, centaurs ^{[ 11 ]} Or the Bonnacon, a horse’s head horseman with ram horns ^{[ twelfth ]} . By the presence of numerous chimeras, animal representation goes even beyond the so-called species, as on the northern portal of the Rouen cathedral or over a hundred creatures do not seem to correspond to a known species ^{[ 11 ]} .

In the society [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• Hunting books
• Fables
• Seals: The seals of the Middle Ages are supports on which found their place of many animals present in the medieval literature. Birds, fish, mammals or even snakes populated these imprints, as well as the hybrid creatures mentioned above. Among these seals, let us quote that of Jean de Franquerue ( XII ^{It is} century), which seems to present a grylle, a man leaning against a head and horse legs and an eagle head, accompanied by a quintefuille, on the Croisettes field ^{[ 13 ]} . On the seal of Philippe III of Burgundy, we can also see two lions supporting the shield of the Duke. As we can notice thanks to these examples, these figures occupy a second -order place (heraldic support), as well as of first order on the object. Animal iconography was therefore well accessible and widespread within medieval society. It has, in addition to a symbolic function, with an identity role, the seal being the imago of man, his personal image, the one who prolongs him, emblemly and symbolizes him, that which is both himself and doubles him himself ^{[ 14 ]} .

Evolution and influences of animal representation during the Middle Ages [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

During the Middle Ages, animal representation will evolve passing from a codified imaging resulting from multiple influences to a naturalist representation as evidenced for example the sketches according to nature made in the menagerie of the visconti or Frédéric II, as the lion of Villard de Honnecourt.

Most animal descriptions are based on the Physiologus , ancient bestiary written in Greek at II ^{It is} or III ^{It is} century in Alexandria, then translated into Latin in IV ^{It is} century ^{[ first ]} . The West has also received the eastern influence and dragons and griffons are grafted on Western animals. Pets are represented in particular through scenes from peasant life in the hours of hours of XV ^{It is} century ^{[ 15 ]} .

Inheritance and influences [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Art Palitrics:

Islamic art

Bol with Bahram Gûr, hero of Shahnama (Book of Kings) and Azadeh, the harp player. Iran, end XII ^{It is} , beginning XIII ^{It is} Siècle. Metropolitan Museum of Art (with 57.36.14).

From the IX ^{It is} century, Muslim aniconism is respected for religious spaces with rare exceptions, in particular Anatolian mosques ^{[ 16 ]} . Figurative illustrations are present in profane works, in illuminated manuscripts and in the art of ceramics.

Influence orientale

High Middle Ages (500 – 987) [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Art byzantin

Mosaic of the phoenix, detail, antioche, WE ^{It is} century, Louvre museum

• Mosaic-Tapis, antioche WE ^{It is} century

Migration art

Man struggling with two ferocious animals, Bronze corner of Torslunda (Öland, Sweden), VII ^{It is} century

Style animal

Art préroman

In Merovingian illumination, we see zoomorphic lettrines appear ^{[ 15 ]} . Fish and birds decorate for example the sacramentary of Gellone from the end of VIII ^{It is} century ^{[ 17 ]} .

Art roman [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The novel artist is inspired by pagan ancient motifs which he reinterprets according to the current of thought of the time. Meaning becomes religious and moral, which sometimes gives rise to a modification of ancient forms ^{[ 18 ]} .

From the point of view of meaning, the siren, ancient seductive, finds itself associated with lust. It retains its ancient aspect of Sirène-Oiseau with wings and greenhouses, an image that Isidore of Seville justifies by the fact that “Love flies and claws” . In parallel, the reason for the mermaids appears, the result of assimilation with the Tritons. It is presented in two forms, with a single tail or bifid ^{[ 18 ]} .

Cistercian art [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Book of the beginning of Cistercian art, the Bible of Etienne Harding consists of a first volume decorated with golden initials and a second volume with rich illuminations ^{[ 19 ]} . But with Saint-Bernard an austere art is announced. In 1140, he protested against the decorations of the cloisters, in particular the sculpted bestiary: “But what do you mean in your cloisters, where religious reads, these ridiculous monsters, these horrible beauties and these beautiful horrors?” What good is it, in these places, these filthy monkeys, these ferocious lions, these chimerical centaurs, these half-men, these colorful tigers, these fighting soldiers and these hunters who give horn ^{[ Note 1 ]} ? » .

The statutes of Cîteaux (1150-1152) proclaim “We prohibit that we do sculptures or paintings in our churches or in other places in the monastery, because while we look, we often neglect the usefulness of good meditation and the discipline of religious gravity ^{[ 20 ]} » . Cistercian art is then characterized by stripped decorations, possibly stylized plants. In manuscripts, gold is banished, only a different color can be used for initials. Before the Gothic explosion, the figuration gradually returns with for example the modillions of the Abbey of Flaran, the Culots of Silvacane, or the Cloître de l’Abbaye de Valmagne ^{[ 19 ]} . Henri are Focillon “The Cistercians expelled from religious art, which was still splendid and oriental mystery ^{[ 21 ]} »

Gothic art [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Lion and Porc Epic, France, 1230. Villard de Honnecourt album, National Library, Paris, Ms Fr. 19093

Posterity [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Painter from the beginning of the Renaissance, Jérôme Bosch brings strange animals and creatures into some of his works, especially in The Jardin des Délices ^{[ Note 2 ]} . The artist uses animals to criticize the society in which he lives ^{[ 22 ]} .

The lion, king of animals [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Lion devouring a sinner, Cathedral Sainte-Marie d’Oloron, XII ^{It is} century

In the Middle Ages, the lion holds its title as king of animals both of the Bible and a Greco-Roman inheritance as evidenced by the Scriptures, the Fables, the Encyclopedias and the Bestiary ^{[ 23 ]} . The lion is usually identifiable with its tail and its mane, it happens that as king it is crowned ^{[ 24 ]} . In fact, the lion is clearly associated with medieval royalty through the nickname of Richard Lion’s Heart de Richard I ^is from England ^{[ 25 ]} .

• nobility
• Geoffroy de Plantagenet, heraldry

In the Old Testament, the lion is confronted with the man on three occasions: killed with bare hands by Samson, a swarm of bees settles in his corpse ^{[ 26 ]} , struck by David to protect his father’s sheep ^{[ 27 ]} and in the scene of Daniel and the lions pit ^{[ 28 ]} .

Samson’s fight against the lion interpreted as the victory of Christ against Satan. It is a scene often represented in the Middle Ages, for example on the tympanum of churches in the form of bas-relief, carved on capitals, in illuminated manuscripts or on the enameled altarpiece of Nicolas de Verdun created for the abbey from Klosterneuburg. Samson’s scene collecting honey in the mouth of the dead lion appears on the sculpted chamber of Wiligelmic style of the abbey of Nonantola, the lion then becomes a Christ symbol ^{[ 29 ]} .

The scene of David young shepherd shows the lion or the bear. The version with the lion appears for example on the lantern of Bégon of the treasure of the abbey of Conques ^{[ 30 ]} And is one of the fourteen illustrations in full page of the Psaultier de Paris, Byzantine manuscript of the IX ^{It is} century ^{[ Note 3 ]} .

Lion of Saint Marc, Bible d’Etienne Harding , 15-29v, XII ^{It is} century, Dijon municipal library.

Daniel in the lions pit, sometimes only entitled “Daniel between the Lions” is a scene often represented. It appears on a Visigoth marquee from WE ^{It is} century of the church of San Pedro de la Nave, in multiple Romanesque churches ^{[ thirty first ]} And on the portal of the Saint-Trophime church, in Arles.

The image of the lion can be more terrifying illustrating psalm 22, verse 22 “Save me from the lion’s mouth” , so there are sculptures where lions devour men ^{[ 32 ]} as on the portal of the Cathedral Sainte-Marie d’Oloron ^{[ 33 ]} , another negative connotation is associated with him by a passage of stone referring to Satan who wanders like a lion looking for a prey to devour ^{[ 34 ]} . Psalm 91, verse 13 “You will walk on the aspic and the basil, you will trample the young lion and the dragon” is at the origin of the figure of Christ walking on animals (in) , as on the diptych of GenoelSelderen ^{[ 35 ]} or the blessing Christ of the Portal of the Cathedral of Amiens ^{[ 36 ]} .

Illumination representing a lion on heights, the birth of the lion cubs and the resuscitation of these by the father. Bestiaire the ashmole , XIII ^{It is} century, Oxford, Bodleian library

In the Physiologos Then in the bestiaries, it is said that the lion can sleep with open eyes, which entrusted the lion a role of guardian who materializes by his presence at the entrance of churches or rooms, as on the trumeau of the abbey Saint-Pierre de Moissac ^{[ 33 ]} . Illuminated manuscripts represent the lion according to the three fundamental characters given in the Physiologos : he stands at the top of the mountains, his eyes are open even when he sleeps ^{[ Note 4 ] , [ 37 ]} , he brings his lion cubs born to life after they spent three days in limbo ^{[ 33 ]} . The latter characteristic associates him with the resurrection: he therefore also has a role of protection of men in death is thus found at the feet of gisants ^{[ 33 ]} .

The lion is also portrayed through the positive images of Saint Jérôme and his lion, of the tetramorph (lion of Saint Marc) ^{[ 3 ]} . The winged lion is very represented in Venice: it is the symbol, and the legend attributes to the city to keep the body of Saint Marc ^{[ 37 ]} . Thus, the lion very often returns to the Catholic churches because it represents the strength of the believer fighting sin, and in objects: bracelets in lion’s leg, episcopal seat sculpted with the effigy of the lion, on the base of the candlesticks, the church portals ^{[ 37 ]} …

The bull [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Considered the wildest of domestic animals, it symbolizes strength and fertility.

Lamb [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The deer, enemy of the snake [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The deer was renowned For Kill the snakes, which obviously makes them a Christ animal. In addition, its woods that fall and repel each year associate it with the resurrection. During the Middle Ages, the hunt for deer became noble hunting par excellence due to the forfeiture of the bear.

The bear, fallen king [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Representation of the devil in the form of bear in a Bavarian lectionary, around 1260-1270.

We know that the bear was celebrated and venerated during antiquity and the High Middle Ages, in particular by the Celts and the German-Scandinavians: the Christian authorities therefore endeavored to fight against these animist cults by attacking the symbolism of the bear who, from the king of animals, went to the status of a bent, silly and tamped during the XII ^{It is} century ^{[ 38 ]} . This depreciation of the bear passed through the physical struggle against the animal and the festivals dedicated to it, but also, and above all, by hagiography and representations. Indeed, hagiography abounds with examples where saints tame bears, such as Saint Blaise, Saint Colomban and Saint Gall. All of them had to fight against pagan cults linked to the bear ^{[ 39 ]} . At the same time and according to Michel Pastoureau, many medieval theologians were inspired by Saint Augustine and Pliny the Old to draw a diabolical portrait of the bear and devalue it ^{[ 40 ]} . Thus associated with the devil, the bear became its favorite animal or one of its forms. In Christian iconography, the devil often has the feet, the muffle and the coat of a bear ^{[ 41 ]} . The hairy appearance of the bear and its brown color became a sign of diabolical bestiality ^{[ 42 ]} , and the animal was responsible for capital sins ^{[ 43 ]} .

Fox [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• Biblical animal which symbolizes cunning and wisdom.

The Unicorn [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Representations [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The first unicorns of medieval bestiaries rarely looked like a white horse, but rather a goat, a sheep, a doe, even a dog, a bell and even a snake ^{[ 44 ]} . They were of various colors, including blue, brown and ocher, before the white color and the twisted shape of the horn are generalized ^{[ 45 ]} . Often confused with the rhinoceros, the descriptions of the two “animals” merge from Pliny the old one who describes that the unicorn exists in two varieties, one, very discreet, looks like an antelope or a goat with a single horn On the forehead, the other is an enormous incredible animal, with very hard skin ^{[ forty six ]} . The generalization of its form both goat and horse and its white color would be the result of symbolism and the allegories attributed to it ^{[ 47 ]} .

Young wild woman with a unicorn, around 1460-1467

The unicorn becomes at the end of XII ^{It is} century and at the beginning of XIII ^{It is} century one of the favorite themes of bestiaries and tapestry in the Christian West ^{[ 48 ]} , and to a lesser extent, sculptures. Two series of tapestries representing unicorns remain famous: Unicorn hunt And The Lador with a unicorn .

Unicorn hunt is a famous series of seven tapestries executed between 1495 and 1505, which represent a group of nobles pursuing and capturing a unicorn. This series, probably executed for a French sponsor (perhaps during a great wedding) by the Brussels workshops ^{[ 49 ]} or cork ^{[ 50 ]} , was then owned by the La Rochefoucauld family, before being bought by John D. Rockefeller, who donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she is today.

The Lador with a unicorn is a series of six tapestries dated from the end of XV ^{It is} century and exhibited at the Cluny Museum in Paris. On each of them, a lion and a unicorn are represented on the right and on the left of a lady. Five of these representations illustrate a meaning ^{[ Note 5 ]} And the sixth tapestry, on which we can read the formula “My only desire” on a tent, is more difficult to interpret ^{[ 51 ]} .

Symbolism [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

There are hundreds, even thousands of unicorns miniatures with the same staging inspired by Physiologos : the beast is seduced by a virgin line and a hunter pierces her side with a lance ^{[ 52 ]} . The “Capture of the unicorn” seems to come from the culture of courteous love ^{[ 53 ]} , linked to respect for women, delicate leisure, music and poetry ^{[ 48 ]} And all these illustrations are of Christian inspiration, the unicorn representing betrayal towards Christ, flank pierced by a lance as in the biblical episode of the passion of Jesus Christ ^{[ 54 ]} . According to Francesca Yvonne Caroutch, the unicorn would appear the divine beast whose horn captures cosmic energy and fruitful the Madonna in the many “Annunciations to the unicorn” ^{[ 55 ]} .

According to the Dictionary of Symbols, works of art that have two unicorns competing would be the image of a violent inner conflict between the two values ​​of the unicorn: virginity and fertility ^{[ 56 ]} . From the XV ^{It is} century, wild men and women become frequent in iconography ^{[ 57 ]} And the unicorn is associated with wild animals, sometimes ride by sylvains ^{[ 58 ]} , although only a virgin can mount it ^{[ 44 ]} . This idea according to which the unicorn can only live away from men, in the wild and in a remote forest from which it cannot be torn away, in which case it dies of sadness, will be taken up by other authors Much later, especially by Carl Gustav Jung ^{[ 59 ]} .

Jérôme Bosch, Le Jardin des Délices, left panel, v.1500, Madrid, Prado museum: fish and chimeras

“Pisces” [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• The dolphin, king of fish
• The whale

Mermaid [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The Dove [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The Phoenix, symbol of the resurrection [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Phoenix symbolizes longevity and immortality

The dragon, king of snakes [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Saint Georges terraging the dragon, a portable Byzantine mosaic, Louvre museum, first half of the XIV ^{It is} century

Coming from Celtic and Asian traditions, the dragon appears from Paleochrétien art. We find it in Byzantine art, Slavic icons, gargoyles and illuminated manuscripts ^{[ 60 ]} .

The medieval dragon is a malicious and hideous monster always associated with evil. As in Latin, draco means both dragon and snake, the dragon is linked to the serpent and in particular to the tempter of the Genesis , who pushed Adam and Eve to taste the defended fruit ^{[ sixty one ]} . Medieval encyclopedias therefore classify it as a snake ^{[ 62 ]} .

The dragon is represented in various forms ^{[ 63 ]} , most often with two scratches, a long reptile tail and sometimes wings, even several heads ^{[ 62 ]} .

In the Apocalypse, Saint Michael and his angels fight the dragon:

“And there was a fight in heaven; Michel and his angels faced the dragon … and the great dragon was struck down, the serpent of the ancients, the one called Devil or Satan ^{[ sixty four ]} »

The dragon is struck by many saints in fights which symbolize the triumph of good on evil, even the victory of Christianity over paganism. Thus, in certain versions of Saint Georges and the dragon, the saint only accepts to kill the monster if the villagers are baptized. In the legend of Saint Marguerite d’Antioche, the dragon who swallows the saint and from which she comes out intact thanks to a cross is the devil.

Marthe de Bethany uses holy water to master a dragon ^{[ sixty four ]} , the Tarasque, a six -legged dragon which according to the golden legend gives its name to the city of Tarascon.

The griffin [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The griffin is a winged animal half lion (lower part)- mi eagle (upper part).

Horse [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The horse is one of everyday animals in the Middle Ages. It is the attribute of the knights and is the subject of a specific vocabulary: Palefroi, Destrier or Roncin designate types of horses with various uses. Since antiquity, wonderful horses such as Pegasus have popular stories and legends. In the Middle Ages, the heroes of gesture song ride Horses-Fées such as Bayard or exceptional Palefrois, as beautiful as intelligent which serve courtyard ^{[ 65 ]} .

Notes [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

References [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Bibliography [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

: document used as a source for writing this article.

Primary sources

• Bernard clairvaux , Apology to William St. Theoderic Abbot, PL 182, Coll. 893-918 trad. fr. Giving oeuvres complès de Saint Bernard, translation Nouvelle par M. L’Abbe charpentier , t. II, Paris, Louis de Vivès bookstore, 1866 ( read online )

General works and publications

• Marcel Brion , Animals, a great theme of art , Paris, Horizons de France, October 27, 1955
• (in) Wile B. Clark ( trad. you latin), A Medieval Book of Beasts : The Second-Family Bestiary. Commentary, Art, Text and Translation , Woodbridge, UK/Rochester, NY, Boydell & Brewer Inc, 2006 , 344 p. (ISBN  978-0-85115-682-8 , read online )
• (in) Wile B. Clark , ‘ The Illustrated Medieval Aviary and the Lay-Brotherhood » , Advantage , International Center of Medieval Art, vol. 21, n ^O 1, 1982 , p. 63-74 ( read online )
• Rémy Cordonnier, Christian Heck, Le Bestiaire Medieval, Paris, Citadelle & Mazenod, 2011 (ISBN  2850885134 )
• Rémy Cordonnier, “The illustration of the bestiary ( XI ^{It is} – XIII ^{It is} century): allegorical identity and identity allegory “, in: Christian Heck (dir.), The allegory in the art of the Middle Ages. Forms and functions. Inheritances, creations, mutations, Turnhout, Brepols, 2008, p. 157- 170
• Marcel Hard « The animal world and its iconographic representations of XI ^{It is} century to XV ^{It is} century », Proceedings of the Society of Medieval Historians of Higher Education , Toulouse, n ^O 15 “The animal world is its representations in the Middle Ages ( XI ^{It is} century – XV ^{It is} century) ”, 1984
• Gaston Duchet-Suchaux and Michel Pastoureau , The medieval bestiary: historical and bibliographic dictionary , Paris, the golden leopard, 2002 , 167 p. (ISBN  978-2-86377-176-1 And 2-86377-176-0 )
• Jannic Durand , Art in the Middle Ages , Paris, Larousse-Bordas, September 2009 , 143 p. (ISBN  978-2-03-584341-8 )
• Jean Claude Falcon « The representation of the animal by Marco Polo », Medieval , Voice and signs, n ^O 32, 1997 , p. 97-117 (DOI  10.3406/medi.1997.1384 , read online , consulted the April 12, 2010 )
• (in) Pamela Gravestock , « Did Imaginary Animals Exist? » , in Debra Hasig, The mark of the Beast , New York, Londres, Routledge, 1999 (ISBN  0-8153-2952-0 )
• Josysy Marty-Dufaut , Middle Ages: real & mythical , Gémenos, other times, 2005 , 195 p. (ISBN  2-84521-165-1 )
• Stavros Lazaris, Greek physiologus , t. I. The rewriting of ancient natural history , Firenze, 2016 (Micrologus Library 77) [first]
• Janetta Rebold Benton ( trad. Michèle Vebubet), Medieval bestiary: animals in the art of the Middle Ages , New York Paris Londres, Abbeville, 1992
• Marie-Hélène Tesnière , Medieval bestiary: illuminations , National Library of France, 2005 (ISBN  978-2-7177-2337-3 )
• Franck Thénard-Duvivier « Hybridization and metamorphoses at the threshold of cathedrals », Re-viewed images , n ^O 6, 2009 ( read online )
• Michel Pastoureau, Bestiaries of the Middle Ages , Éditions du Seuil, Paris, 2011, 235 p. (ISBN  978-2-02-102286-5 )
• Christian Delacampagne and Ariane Delacampagne , Strange and fabulous animals: a fantastic bestiary in art , Citadelles & Mazenod, 2003 , 199 p. (ISBN  978-2-85088-197-8 )

Artistic movements

• Jan Bialostocki ( trad. from English), The art of XV ^{It is} century, talking to Dürer , Paris, Pochothèque, 1993 , 526 p. (ISBN  2-253-06542-0 ) , p. 372-377
• Gilles Dislodge , Mystery and beauty of Cistercian abbeys , Toulouse, Privat, 1996 , 157 p. (ISBN  2-7089-9092-6 )
• Frank Horvat and Michel Pastoureau , Roman figures , Paris, Seuil, 2001 , 286 p. (ISBN  978-2-02-093384-1 )
• John On top , “Saint Bernard and monsters” , in Elisabeth Caballero de Del Sastre, Beatriz Rabaza, Carlos Valentini, Monsters and Wonders in Latin and Medieval Literatures and their readings , Rosario, Homo sapiens editions, 2006 , 299-312 p. (ISBN  9789508085016 , read online )
• Jean Paul Roux « Anatolian mosques with a carved figurative decor », Syria , t. 57 booklet 1, 1980 , p. 305-323 (DOI  10.3406/syria.1980.6689 , read online )
• Édouard Translation « On some tutelary images of the Merovingian Gaul. Oriental contributions and Sumerian survival », Syria , t. 23 3-4 booklet, 1942 , p. 201-243 (DOI  10.3406/syria.1942.4284 , read online )

Lion

• Robert Favreau « The iconographic theme of the lion in medieval inscriptions », Reviews of the sessions of the year 1991-Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, 135 ^{It is} year , n ^O 3, 1991 , p. 613-636 (DOI  10.3406/crude.1991.15027 , read online )
• (in) Margaret Haist , « The Lion, Bloodline and Kingship » , in Debra Hasig, The mark of the Beast , New York, Londres, Routledge, 1999 (ISBN  0-8153-2952-0 )
• Christine Denis-Huot and Michel Denis-Huot ( trad. Italian), The art of being lion , Paris, Gründ, mars 2002 , 220 p. (ISBN  2-7000-2458-3 )

Ours

Unicorn

• Bertrand Astorg , The lady’s myth with unicorn , Paris, Éditions du Seuil, 1963 (ISBN  978-2-02-002598-0 , read online )
• Bruno Faidutti , Images and knowledge of unicorn: (end of the Middle Ages- XIX ^{It is} century) , t. 1, Paris, doctoral thesis of Paris XII University (Literary and Human Sciences), November 30, 1996 , 362 p. ( read online )
• Mire Dider , Ethnozoology research note: sea unicorn or land unicorn: the narval , University Paris V Sorbonne, Masters of social and cultural anthropology, 1996 ( read online )
• Francesca yvonne Caroutch , The mystery of the unicorn: in search of lost meaning , Dervy, 1997 , 534 p. (ISBN  978-2-85076-845-3 )

Phoenix

• (in) Valerie Jones , « The Phoenix and the Resurrection » , in Debra Hasig, The mark of the Beast , New York, Londres, Routledge, 1999 (ISBN  0-8153-2952-0 )

Pisces

• Jean Fingering « Tobia and fish in Western literature and iconography ( III ^{It is} – IN ^{It is} century). From funeral symbolism to Christian exegesis », Review of the history of religions , t. 190, n ^O 2, 1976 , p. 113-126 (DOI  10.3406 / RHR.1976.6354 , read online )
• (in) Lois Drewer , ‘ Fisherman and Fish Pond: From the Sea of Sin to the Living Waters » , The Art Bulletin , College Art Association, vol. 63, n ^O 4, December 1981 , p. 533-547 ( read online )

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