This thesis examines the textual development of the medieval Latin prose bestiary throughout Europe over the course of the Middle Ages and uses this, in conjunction with a detailed study of the manuscripts, to propose new theories about bestiary users and owners. The Introduction describes previous bestiary research, focusing on that which concerns the relationships between manuscripts and the different textual versions, or bestiary ‘Families.’ This is used to justify my research and show how it is more comprehensive than that which has been done before and concentrates on English illuminated bestiaries. Part One takes a wider look at the bestiary in terms of geography and utilisation. The bestiary is shown to have been found across Europe in a variety of manuscript types, disproving the assumption that the bestiary is primarily an illustrated English text. Several manuscripts, both English and Continental, are then examined in greater detail to show how the physical qualities of the manuscript, along with the text, may be used to suggest (sometimes unexpected) bestiary users. Part Two makes an in-depth examination of the early development of the bestiary text, from various sources, into the different Families. A comparison of the bestiary texts allows the manuscripts of each Family to be grouped according to both the textual characteristics and place of production. - [Abstract]

Language: English