"This book illustrates the crucial importance [of the depiction and symbolism of animals] in medieval art from the sixth to the eleventh centuries, and descibes their use in sculpture, manuscripts, embroidery and metalwork. It shows how the underlying Celtic and Germanic traditions combined with Mediterranean influences to produce a far stronger animal art in Britain than anywhere else in Europe. ...by studying animal subjects in the whole of the British Isles rather than in one region in particular, the artistic links between the Picts, Anglo-Saxons and Irish gradually emerge. ...uncovers the origins of the fantastic beasts of the bestiary, and draws conclusions about the transmission of motifs and ideas in general." - cover copy

309 pp,; black & white illustrations throughout; index.

Language: English

ISBN: 0-7486-0428-6