Digital Text Library

The Digital Text Library is a collection of mostly out of print and difficult to find books and articles relating to animals in the Middle Ages. The originals of the texts listed here are believed to be in the public domain. They have been scanned from the original sources and most have been converted to digital text (not page images), then carefully proofread and corrected. Any images have been digitally enhanced and are shown at high resolution. Most of the texts are fully searchable, and since they are real text, not page images, portions can be copied and pasted into other documents.

Some texts are taken from other sources (Google Books, Internet Archive, etc.). These may include only images of the original book pages and may not be searchable. In some cases the relevant sections have been extracted from longer or composite works or journals. These texts are listed here for ease of access; links to the original full texts are given in the descriptions.

The digital text catalog below is listed by title in alphabetical order. Clicking on the title will take you to the introduction page of the text, from where you can view or download the file.

Title Author Year
An Account of the Mermecoleon or Ant-lion Druce 1923
Animal Symbolism in Ecclesiastical Architecture Evans 1896
Animals in English Wood Carving Druce 1914
Beast Imagery and the Bestiary Kemp-Welch 1903
Bestiaire d'amour en vers Långfors 1924
Le Bestiaire de Gervaise Meyer 1872
Bestiaries and Lapidaries Kuhns 1896
The Bestiary James 1931
A Bestiary (Middle English Physiologus) Wright 1845
The Bestiary (Eton College Speech) James 1932
The Bestiary of Philippe de Thaon Wright 1841
Birds And Beasts of the Greek Anthology Douglas 1928
The Caladrius and its Legend, Sculptured Upon the Twelfth-Century Doorway of Alne Church, Yorkshire Druce 1912
The Early English Bestiary Morris 1872
The Elephant in Medieval Legend and Art Druce 1919
An Encyclopedist Of The Dark Ages: Isidore Of Seville Brehaut 1912
The Fabulous Natural History of the Middle Ages Wright 1845
Hildeberti Cenomanensis Episcopi Physiologus Migne 1854
The History of Reynard the Fox Morley/Caxton 1889
Icelandic Physiologus Möbius 1877
Introduction to Queen Mary's Psalter: Miniatures And Drawings by an English Artist of the 14th Century Reproduced from Royal MS. 2 B. VII in the British Museum Warner 1912
Jacob and the Mandrakes Frazer 1917
On the Legend of the Serra or Saw-Fish Druce 1919
The Medieval Bestiaries Allen 1885
Melanges d'archeologie, d'histoire et de littérature - Bestiaire Cahier 1847+
On the Norman Doorway at Alne in Yorkshire Allen 1886
Notice sur les manuscrits du "Liber floridus" de Lambert de Saint-Omer Deslisle 1906
The Old English Physiologus Cook/Pitman 1921
Physiologus Latinus Versio Y Carmody 1944
Physiologus: A Metrical Bestiary Of Twelve Chapters Rendell 1928
On the Religious Symbolism of the Unicorn Hirst 1884
Reynard the Fox Guerber 1896
S. P. N. Epiphanii, Episcopi Constantiæ Cypri, ad Physiologum Migne 1864
Some Twelfth-Century Animal Carvings and Their Sources Collins 1940
Symbolism of Animals and Birds Represented in English Church Architecture Collins 1913
The Symbolism of the Goat on the Norman Font at Thames Ditton Druce 1908
Der Waldensian Physiologus Mayer 1890