The Ormesby Psalter
The Ormesby Psalter (Bodleian Library MS. Douce 366), is not a bestiary. It is a psalter, a collection of Psalms meant for contemplative reading. The wealthy would commission such manuscripts, and many of them are richly illustrated. Some of them used bestiary themes in their marginal illustrations (the Queen Mary Psalter has most of a bestiary in its margins) or in historiated initials. The Ormesby Psalter has a few beautiful animal illustrations, like this one.
Bodleian Library MS Douce 366 f128r - click for larger view
While a knight methodically chops the heads off a multi-headed dragon (perhaps the hydra, or the Beast of the Apocalypse), two rabbits do mock battle with sword and mace, and a dog sleeps peacefully amid the carnage.
Another dog waits patiently for his master to stop having a symbolic conversation with a strange man she met while out walking her hound and squirrel. Quite what is going on here is beyond me, but perhaps the man, with a suggestive sword sticking out of his side and a very large ring, is proposing to the woman that they merge their menagerie in holy matrimony.
Bodleian Douce 366 f131r
The dog looks amused by all this, but probably just wants to get on with the walk.
The illustration I like most is of the unicorn.
Bodleian Library MS. Douce 366 f055v - click for larger view
Here we have a spirited unicorn, that despite his wound turns to take on the cruel knight who spears him. Perhaps the unicorn will yet bag himself a knight to hang on his trophy wall. The maiden seems distressed, as well she should be, since she got the beast into this mess in the first place. At least she is gesturing to the knight to stop his attack; maybe the unicorn will spare her when he finishes off his attacker.
Filed in Articles,Manuscripts 8 Comments so far
Toni on 26 Jan 2011 at 11:18 am #
this is a really wonderful blog, and so is the bestiary website you keep up.. thank you for all the work it is much appreciated!! all the best from berlin
Colin on 12 Jun 2011 at 8:36 am #
Wonderful blog and website – just discovered it.
The pictures are beautiful though to me he maiden in the third picture looks to be calling to the knight to slay the unicorn. Did the authors/artists who wrote these kinds of texts ever porvide description of the pictures or did they just put them in undescribed?
Miguel on 19 Sep 2011 at 8:58 am #
I agree with Colin. What about this text by Leonardo da Vinci to explain the image?
“The unicorn…because of its intemperance, not knowing how to control itself before the delight it feels towards maidens, forgets its ferocity and wildness, and casting aside all fear it will go up to the seated maiden and sleep in her lap, and thus the hunter takes it.”
Of which a drawing (“Young woman seated in a landscape with a unicorn”) can be seen here: http://www.universalleonardo.org/work.php?id=438
Congrats for the blog and site!
Natalia on 08 Oct 2011 at 6:13 pm #
I like your blog a lot! can you post something about snakes?
Beastmaster on 09 Oct 2011 at 9:44 am #
I’ll sssssssee what I can do.
Alla on 10 Nov 2011 at 6:12 am #
Hello Beastmaster,
I found your web site while looking for medieval illustrations of goblins, gnomes and similar creatures. I haven’t found a bestiary containing any of those, though phoenixes, satyrs and unicorns are present. Have you ever stumbled upon any pictures of goblins or suchlike?
Beastmaster on 13 Nov 2011 at 11:23 am #
Goblins and the like are more folklore than bestiary. Some bestiaries and other medieval documents do include the “monstrous races” that were said to live in Ethiopia, India and other edge-of-the-world places. They are called “monstrous” because they are sort of human but with non-human attributes. Some of them are goblinesque. Do a Google search on “monstrous races” to see many examples.
Alla on 28 Dec 2011 at 12:52 pm #
Thanks a lot. Let’s see what I can find.