"Struck by the richness of medieval animal epic on the Continent and its paucity in England until Caxton's translastion from the Dutch, Kenneth Vary went in search of the iconographic evidence of that epic in pre-Caxton England. His finding constitute this new study of English fox lore and Reynard the Fox stories during the Middle Ages. ... This richly illustrated guide to all the various appearances of Reynard is divided into sections dealing with typical episodes as well as the ongoing fortunes of Wynken de Worde's 1495 cycle of woodcuts, which were clearly inspired by those of the Haarlem Master." - publisher

Contents: The Fox and the Cock; The Fox-Preacher and Religious; The Trial of the Fox for Adultery and Rape; The Tribulations of a Bear, a Cat, and a Village Priest; The Fox's Death and Resurrection; The Fox and the Wolf in the Well; The Fox-Devil; The Fox-Physician and the Lion-Patient; The Fox and the Ape; The Fabulists' Fox; The Fox's Triumph; The Enduring Fortunes of Wynken de Worde's Picture Cycle.

Appendix 1 is a list of the drawings and paintings of foxes in manuscriptes kept in Britain.

Appendix 2 is a list of carvings and paintings of foxes in buildings.

Appendix 3 is a list of all extant illustrated histories of Reynard the Fox from Wynken de Worde (c.1495) to A Soulby (c.1800) which are kept in United Kingdom libraries.

340 pp., 269 illustrations, bibliography, index.

Language: English

ISBN: 90-5356-375-X