...examines the significance of animals in early Christian thought, tradition, text and art. ...explores the diverse sources from the encyclopedic cataloging of Aristotle and Pliny to the Biblical story of the snake in the Garden of Eden, the Roman letter of Clement drawing on the fabulous phoenix as proof of the resurrection of Christ, and the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles with their exotic tales of friendly lions and considerate insects, through to the fanciful tales collected in the Physiologus and finally to the systematic studies of animals in Isidore of Seville's Etymologies. ...provides fresh translations of these key sources, namely the Physiologus, Basil's Homilies, and Isidore's Etymologies... illustrations from various illuminated manuscripts and from the Physiologus..." - [Cover]

213 pp., 22 illustrations, index, bibliography

Language: English

ISBN: 0-415-20204-3