"This essay links phoenix imagery in the bestiaries to contemporary beliefs concerning the resurrection at the end of time. In medieval literature and exigesis, the ancient myth of the phoenix's self-immolation and subsequent revival was adopted as a metaphor for Christ's self-sacrifice and resurrection, a metaphor transferred to and further developed in the bestiary phoenix entries. The essay explores how the phoenix images functioned as pictorial allusions to Christ and to Christian ideas of sacrifice and salvation, providing insight into views on the resurrection predominant at the time of their production as well as into more general beliefs regarding the ultimate fate of humankind." - introduction

Language: English

ISBN: 0-8153-2952-0