In his Liber de natura rerum, Thomas de Cantimpré says of the giraffe (oraflus) that it is impossible to convey the variety of colors with which it is marked (pellem vero ita diversimode notatam omnium colorum generibus, ut frustra homo temptet artificio naturalem eius pulcritudinem imitari). The image illustrates a handwritten witness to the versified translation into Middle Dutch by Jacob van Maerlant of Thomas1's Liber de natura rerum. This translation is faithful to the Latin original for the passage that interests us; the miniaturist (who had probably never seen a giraffe) tried to take literally what the text says, and represented the multi-colored appearance of the quadruped with distinct bands, blue, yellow, green and red. This difficulty in describing and representing the color and structure of the giraffe's coat was common in medieval times.

Language: French

978-2-86906-788-2; HALId: halshs-03437206