I was looking for images for a paper and happened upon your site. Just thought I’d pass on what I’ve learned.

The image of the man and woman with the dog is from the border of Psalm 101. It is a secular reference to accompany a spiritual one. The story is a betrothal with the man handing a ring to the woman as a symbol of eternity just as we often think today. The man’s dagger is an obvious phallic symbol while the woman holds a squirrel which was the medieval equivalent to our slang word pussy. The dog is a symbol of marital fidelity. I am not sure about the parrot but I think it might be a reference to eternal life which tied in to the betrothal through the couple having many kids and therefore many heirs leading to the continuity of their family line and wealth.

I hope this is interesting for you.

Amy 🙂

Goblins and the like are more folklore than bestiary. Some bestiaries and other medieval documents do include the “monstrous races” that were said to live in Ethiopia, India and other edge-of-the-world places. They are called “monstrous” because they are sort of human but with non-human attributes. Some of them are goblinesque. Do a Google search on “monstrous races” to see many examples.

I found your web site while looking for medieval illustrations of goblins, gnomes and similar creatures. I haven’t found a bestiary containing any of those, though phoenixes, satyrs and unicorns are present. Have you ever stumbled upon any pictures of goblins or suchlike?

I’ll sssssssee what I can do.

“The unicorn…because of its intemperance, not knowing how to control itself before the delight it feels towards maidens, forgets its ferocity and wildness, and casting aside all fear it will go up to the seated maiden and sleep in her lap, and thus the hunter takes it.”

Of which a drawing (“Young woman seated in a landscape with a unicorn”) can be seen here: http://www.universalleonardo.org/work.php?id=438

Congrats for the blog and site!