"The Beast Within offers a unique exploration of the use and attitude toward animals in medieval society. Joyce E. Salisbury surveys the ways in which inhabitants of Western Europe thought of and dealt with their animals from the 4th to the 14th centuries. She explores the impact of Christianity on our view of animals, and demonstrates the rediscovery, in the 12th century, of the idea of an animal side to humans that made people start thinking of themselves as animals. The Beast Within illustrates how, as property, food and sexual objects, animals in the middle ages had a distinct, and at times, odd relationship with the people and the world around them. In the process, the volume provides an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, weaving a historical narrative that includes economic, legal, theological, literary and artistic sources." - publisher

238 pp., black & white illustrations, bibliography, index.

Language: English

ISBN: 0-415-90768-3