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The Book of Beasts: Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century

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The Book of Beasts: Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth CenturyIf a serpent swallows the spittle of a fasting man, it dies. Trees felled in the wrong season breed termites. If eels are drowned in wine, those who drink it get a loathing for liquor. These and similar flights of fancy were articles of faith in the twelfth century the era of the fascinating Latin prose bestiary translated in this volume. The translator is T. H. White, author of The Once and Future King and outstanding medievalist. Of The Book of

If a serpent swallows the spittle of a fasting man, it dies. Trees felled in the wrong season breed termites. If eels are drowned in wine, those who drink it get a loathing for liquor.
These and similar flights of fancy were articles of faith in the twelfth century -- the era of the fascinating Latin prose bestiary translated in this volume. The translator is T. H. White, author of The Once and Future King and outstanding medievalist. Of The Book of Beasts, White writes: No Latin prose bestiary has ever before been printed, even in Latin. This is the first and only English translation in print.
The bestiary was a bestseller in the Middle Ages, a kind of natural history cum-zoological survey that presumed to describe the animals of the world and to point out the human traits they exemplified. Combining the surprisingly accurate with the endearingly phantasmagorical, the bestiarists came up with a bewildering array of real and exotic creatures. The behavior or attributes of the animals often functioned as a metaphor for teaching religious, moral, and political precepts.
In addition to a multitude of real mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish, described here with varying degrees of zoological accuracy, the bestiarist introduces a swarm of fanciful denizens thought to haunt the Dark Ages: manticore, a creature with a man's face, a lion's body, and a ravenous appetite for human flesh; dragon or draco, the biggest serpent and the embodiment of the Devil; amphivia, a fish that could walk on land and swim in the sea; jaculus, a flying serpent; the familiar phoenix; the griffin; and other exotic fauna. Much of the charm of this edition lies in the copious footnotes compiled by T. H. White. With immense erudition, wit, grace, and a singular lack of condescension, the author illuminates literary, scientific, historical, linguistic, and other aspects of the bestiarist's catalog. He further enhances the volume with informative discussions of the history of the bestiary from its origins in remote oral traditions; through Herodotus, Pliny and Aristotle; during the medieval period and the Renaissance; and up to Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors (1646). Both amusing and amazing, The Book of Beasts is not only a rich survey of the proto-zoology on which much of our later science is based, but also a revealing, illustrated examination of how pre-scientific man perceived the earth's creatures.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 12/22/2010
ISBN: 9780486246093
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 8.24h x 5.66w x 0.69d
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SKU: 62677757601

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Love this frame!! I'm so in love with the new type of frame backing this one had! I hate those frames that have those tiny thin metal tabs that stick out where you have to bend up/down to remove backing but not this one! It has these really easy to use metal springs that you push down & turn & it easy pops out! Wish frames all came w actual glass! I thought this one had glass but was wrong, it has the thin plexiglass type covering where you remove the clear stickers from front/back. It will work but because I have it used in a bathroom, I will need to get a glass replacement eventually. Love the gold color, it's a really pretty gold, not overly yellow. Overall, I think its a nice frame & such a great value.
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Gorgeous Distressed Bronze Frame, Easy to Hang
Color: Bronze, Size: 18x24, Color: Bronze, Size: 18x24
This bronze frame looks really, really good—honestly, it passes for real bronze at a glance. It has a nice distressed finish that gives it some character without overdoing it. It’s also surprisingly lightweight, which makes it much easier to hang on the wall. The overall build feels solid, and I don’t see any issues with it coming apart or feeling cheap. I especially like the back—everything is well thought out, from the sawtooth hangers to the tabs that make it easy to open and insert your print. I didn’t have my print yet to put in it, or I would’ve included a photo of it fully set up, but I added some pictures to show the detail and the back hardware. Great-looking frame, well made, and easy to work with. Definitely happy with it.
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Quality picture frame, with mat at amazing price point
Color: Black, Size: 11x14
Nice black frame- high quality appearance - no glass to shatter if there if it were to fall- the back secures with several easy to use securing clips- hangs vertically or horizontally- great price point -super happy with this product and would purchase again.
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Color: Black, Size: 8x10
I purchased two of these frames in black. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice they are given the price was so low. I removed the film on both sides of the plexiglass as instructed and it was crystal clear. These are not high quality frames if that's what you are looking for.....real wood or glass. However, they are awesome for the price and what I needed them for. I would purchase them again.
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West Palm Beach, US
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Perfect for my neefs
Color: Black, Size: 8x10, Color: Black, Size: 8x10
I got this to hang a photo in my office and it was perfect for my needs. It was very easy to open the back and install the photo and the enclose back up. It is very well made and it looks great. It hangs nice and neatly on my wall and is great for displaying my 8x10 photo I needed to show off.
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