"This study of the use and function of animals in medieval English vernacular literature covers a period of roughly seven centuries (c. A.D. 700-A.D. 1400). It provides a general historical survey of medieval animal literature, its roots, its various genres and its relation to the history of ideas. Focussing in particular on three main traditions in medieval vernacular literature (which are the Physiologus tradition, the typically English genre of 'bird debates', and the 'beast epic and beast fable' tradition), the study follows a rough chronology and introduces, step by step, the ideas and concepts which are relevant for the analysis and appreciation of the later (an usually more sophisticated and complex) animal-poems. The study is rounded off by a brief survey of the subsequent development of the three main traditions and a final evaluation of the different genres treated in the main part." - publisher

Originally presented as the author's thesis, University of Zurich, 1994/95.

288 pp., illustrations, bibliography, index.

Language: English

ISBN: 3-7720-2432-7; LC: PR313.A64H6