The Ecbasis cuiusdam captivi per tropologiam ("The escape of a certain captive, interpreted figuratively", more commonly called Ecbasis captivi) is a 10th century Latin animal fable by an unknown author. It is a poem of 1229 rhymed lines.

Manuscripts, Editions, Translations

There are two manuscripts containing the Ecbasis captivi text, both in Brussels. The manuscripts have letter codes commonly used to identify them.

A	Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, Ms. 10615-729
B	Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, Ms. 9799-809

There are several editions of the text based on the two manuscripts. All include full transcriptions of the poem. Some also have English, German, French or Dutch translations.

• Jacob Grimm, Ecbasis Cujusdam Captivi per Tropologiam (1838)
• Ernst Voigt, Ecbasis captivi, das älteste thierepos des mittelalters (1876)
• Karl Strecker, Ecbasis cuiusdam captivi per tropologiam (1935)
• Edwin H. Zeydel, Ecbasis cuiusdam Captivi per Tropologiam: Escape of a Certain Captive Told in a Figurative Manner (1964), with English translation.
• Winfried Trillitzsch & Siegfried Hoyer, Ecbasis Cuiusdam Captivi Per Tropologiam. Die Flucht eines Gefangenen (Tropologisch) (1964), with German translation
• Charles Munier, L'évasion d'un prisonnier (Ecbasis cuiusdam captivi) (1998), with French translation
• Gabri van Tussenbroek, De ontsnapping van een gevangene: Nederlandse prozavertaling van het Middeleeuwsw dierenepos Ecbasis cuiusdam captivi per tropologiam (1999), with Dutch translation

Analysis

The poem Ecbasis captivi is the oldest known medieval animal epic, written by an anonymous monk from the Saint-Evre monastery in Toul, Lorraine, during the reign of Otto I (10th century). The poem, composed of 1,175 hexameters with leonine rhyme [in the text there are 1229 lines, though the author of the poem says there are 1170], is a fable that allegorically reflects the monk's personal struggles and redemption. The story centers on a calf, representing the monk, who escapes captivity, encounters a wolf (symbolizing the devil), and is ultimately saved by a holy flock. The narrative incorporates Christian themes, typological interpretations of the Bible, and elements of classical literature, including influences from Aesop's fables, Phaedrus, Horace, Prudentius, Ovid, and Virgil. The poem is notable for blending classical and Christian traditions, portraying animals as monks, and using monastery life as a backdrop. It features intricate literary techniques, such as leonine rhyme and parody through borrowed passages from ancient texts. The work is significant for its historical and literary value, as it represents a unique fusion of ancient animal fables with Christian theology and monastic culture. - [Adapted from Adolf Ebert]

Synopsis

In the first 68 lines the author explains his reasons for writing the poem. The rest of the text is a fable embedded in another fable. The outer fable runs from line 69-391 and resumes at line 1098. The inner fable is told in lines 392-1097.

The outer fable starts with a calf (the "captive") tied to a post in a barn. The calf wants to run free, and by much effort breaks his bonds and escapes the barn. After a time of running around in a field, the calf enters a forest, where he encounters a wolf who presents as a monk, but is determined to eat the calf. The wolf takes the calf to his cave, and allows him one more day of life. During that day, the wolf prepares a meal for the calf, to fatten him up for "sacrifice". An otter and hedgehog, messengers of the wolf, arrive with food for the meal; the otter brings fish and the hedgehog brings fruit that it has carried on its spines. The wolf falls asleep and has a dream, which he asks his friends to interpret. The interpretation warns the wolf not to harm the calf, because if he does he will end his seven year record of abstaining from blood sacrifice. The wolf chooses to ignore the warning. Meanwhile a dog has reported the capture of the calf to the animals of the village where he had been captive, and they come to the cave to rescue him. The wolf says he is particularly afraid of the fox among the rescuers, and asks his friends to resist the intruders, but they ask why the wolf and fox are enemies.

The wolf explains his feud with the fox with the inner fable. Some time before, a lion, the king of the animals, became ill and summoned his subjects to court to provide a cure. Only the fox failed to appear, and was condemned to hang for that offense, at the suggestion of the wolf, who prepared the gallows. A panther carried this news to the fox, who after performing some religious rites came to court, claiming to have been unable to appear when first summoned because he had been on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He said he did have a cure for the lion's illness: the king was to have various salves applied to him, and the wolf was to be skinned and the skin used as a blanket for the lion. Because of this advice the fox became the favorite at court. The leopard was appointed majordomo; he instructed the other animals in the care of the king and assigned their duties. The unicorn recited St. Jerome's story of Malchus. The nightingale and blackbird sang a sad song about the king's suffering, comparing it to the passion of Christ. The animals go to bathe in the Gironde estuary, where they are joined by a parrot and a swan. On return to court they all participate in a lavish feast. The king is cured of his illness, at the expense of the wolf, who is dying. The nightingale sings the lion into a three day sleep. Finally the king and his subjects leave the court, and the fox writes the wolf's epitaph, and goes to the property that is his reward for the cure.

The outer fable resumes with the animals of the village besieging the wolf in his cave. The cowardly otter dives into a river to escape and the hedgehog hides, but on the advice of the fox the wolf shows himself to the hostile crowd, and is gored to death by a bull. The fox writes the wolf's epitaph. The calf escapes and returns home with his mother, telling her of his adventures.

Sources

The Ecbasis is a type of poem known as a cento, a poem constructed in part or in whole of lines taken from older poems, adapted to fit the poet's intent. Says Edwin H. Zeydel (page 13):

It is surprising that Grimm and after him Voigt misunderstood almost completely the use of entire lines, partial lines and phrases from about forty poets of antiquity and the early Middle Ages, primarily Horace, Virgil and Prudentius. The Ecbasis contains about 230 borrowings (ranging from slight to word-foreword) from Horace, 90 from Prudentius, 50 from Virgil, fewer from Ovid and other Roman writers, and about one hundred from late Christian authors other than Prudentius. It is a mosaic, so to speak.

The edition by Karl Strecker has extensive references to the source poets, including a table of cross references (page 46-49) to individual lines. Some of the poets and the number of borrowings:

Similar Fables

The inner fable of the Ecbasis captivi, sometimes called "The sick lion", appeared in other texts, though they are not the source of the Ecbasis. Similar tellings of the fable are found in Aesop's Fables, Ysengrimus and the Roman de Renart. Extracts from these later fables can be found under the Texts tab above.

Zeydel (Appendix, page 97-101) identifies another Latin animal fable with resemblances to the inner fable of the Ecbasis, but says the Ecbasis author likely had no knowledge of it. The fable poem begins Aegrum jama fuit. It is attributed to Paulus Diaconus, and is dated from the late eighth century. Zeydel's translation of the opening of the poem shows the similarities to the inner fable of the Ecbasis:

• Once the rumor went about that the lion lay ill
• And had almost reached his last days.
• When this most sad report reaches all the beasts,
• Namely that their king is suffering unbearable pain,
• They all come together weeping and calling for physicians,
• So that they may not be without the great help of their chief.

Animal Characters

There is a large cast of animals involved in both the inner and outer fables.The following is a representative list of references to the animals. The quotes from the poem are taken from the translation by Edwin H. Zeydel.

Badger: The badger is an incidental character.

• Line 1137: "The badger, accustomed to dwell in spacious chambers, / Made it his care and toil to hide amid the gravel."
• Line 1215: "The shrewd badger, one of the many servants, / Was instructed by Herod to cut up the flesh of the calf..."

Bear: In the inner fable, the bear participates in the flaying of the wolf, assisted by two lynxes.

• Line 499: "...let him be flayed down to his toenails. / The bear can do this more readily with two lynxes."
• Line 508: "...the bear arose with his characteristic growling; / As they flay they spare only his head and feet..."

Beaver: The beaver is an incidental character.

• Line 642: "And let the otter bring spring water, the beaver river water. / So let it be done, so let it be; their nature demands it."

Blackbird: In bestiaries the blackbird is said to be kept in a cage in a house because of it wonderful singing. In the poem the blackbird is ordered to sing with the nightingale; they together sing such a sad song that the leopard is annoyed.

• Line 817: "Let the blackbird approach, making music together with filomena [nightingale]..."
• Line 925: "They [nightingale and blackbird], moist with tears, soiled with the dust of the earth, / At the order of the panther go together to bathe in the stream."

Boar: The boar is an incidental character in the outer fable and one of the gathered animals in the inner fable.

• Line 368: "Let only the boar stay away and especially the horn-bearing stag, / To them the horn, together with the sharpness of the tooth, is the terrible means of warfare."
• Line 630: "Lest the hunters throttle us like foes: / There is a lofty beech-tree nearby, let the squirrel ascend the height, / Let him keep his eye upon them, while I [the boar] will do the rest with my power of scent."

Bull: The bull is the calf's father. He appears in the outer fable, where he rouses the villagers to battle with the wolf, and later gores the wolf who is holding the calf captive.

• Line 350: "The bull, eminent in strength and larger than the others who were gathered there, / Arouses them, flatters them, and fills (the air) with his bellowing..."
• Line 1163: "But the wolf is impaled by the bull on a high tree-trunk."

Calf: The calf is the "captive" who escapes; he also represents the monk who is writing the poem. As the calf wants freedom from his restraints, so the monk wants to be free of the cloister. In the end the calf returns home, representing the repentant monk returning to the cloister.

• Line 78: "The calf is shut in at home, grieving that his neck is tied. / There is no joy outdoors, within there is pressure of grief."
• Line 88: "He strives (through the device of flight) for a chance to run far away; / He champs, licks, and at last releases the thongs in this manner, / Leaps forward with exultation and stamps the earth with his frail hoof, / Suppressing his lowing, and seeks the greening meadows again."
• Line 96: "When he tires of that, he seeks the shelter of the forest, / And meeting him, the forester (wolf) utters a song of joy..."
• Line 104: "And presently, ordered to go to a cavern-like retreat, / The calf is led to a nook full of foul odor."
• Line 117: "The calf begins the following, speaking few words amid sobs, / Childish shyness forbade him to say more: / (Calf to himself) "Jupiter, thou who givest and takest away great labors, / Spread night over my sins, and a cloud over my deceit."
• Line 139: "(Calf to wolf) "Why do you feign to be a friend and greet me with amiable deceit?"
• Line 235: "The calf was present among these, in the midst of a noble song..."
• Line 248: "The unhappy calf, bound with an unwelcome fetter, / Will go forth free to the field when he knows that war [against the wolf] has arisen."
• Line 1157: "...the vile fellow-slave [calf] whom the sharp ax / Hinders, released the bolt which had locked the door, / And thus the calf runs out, seeks his father and mother, / And when he suckled his mother's breasts, he clung happily to her."
• Line 1199: "As they return home together, the mother speaks such words: / 'Why do you not relate, child, what the dreadful host did?' (Calf) 'O, mother, you do wrong in bringing up the sad song again; / It is repugnant to me to go through the infamous anxieties of the cave...'"
• Line 1207: "I had an ally [otter] who wept bitterly, / Often begging for me, he shed bitter tear..."
Line 1121: "Praise be to the Lord who saved me from the teeth of the wolf! / I am brought hale and safe to the arms of my mother. / May the holy name of Christ the Lord be blessed!"

Coot: The coot is an incidental character in the inner fable.

• Line 446: "When the coot was flying across the sea of Gennesaret, / It saw me [fox] and returned and presently revealed such words about you [lion]..."
• Line 459: "Speaking thus, the coot left again and gave me the kiss of peace."

Cow: The cow is the calf's mother.

• Line 327: "The talkative cow lows, also the bull, daring with his horns, / They show their loss and conduct a search for their son among the various animals."

Dog: The dog reports the location of the calf the villagers are searching for.

• Line 329, 342: "But the dog of the Vosges, familiar with the cavernous forests rich in game, / Had come into their midst and uttered this reliable report ... If perchance he [the calf] is sought in the cave, he will be returned to the stable."
• Line 344: "And the well-trained dog, in accord with the canine power of scent, / Hastened to keep her step ahead, but not to outdistance the crowd..."

Fox: The fox appears briefly in the outer fable, and as a major character in the inner fable he causes the downfall of the wolf, and becomes the duplicitous advisor to the king.

• Line 370: "(Wolf) But I fear that the fox will unsettle the firm tar. / If he cannot do it alone, he will take pleasure in enlisting more in his cause..."
• Line 402: "There are absent from the rest the medicines of the clever fox. / The fox's eager foe [wolf] soon bears this to the ears of the king, / And worse things than these he reports: that the fox is trying to betray the king."
• Line 414: "When the fox had learned the news, he raised up both his hands / And implores the Alpha and Omega (God) to spare him that torment..."
• Line 417: "He [fox] gives the panther enough to eat and pledges to him with wine of Treves..."
• Line 436: "With measured step the fox had approached the cave [of the lion]. / With trembling heart he stood at the outer limits..."
• Line 468: "(Fox) Let the inquisitor come, let him disclose my whole guilt that has been mentioned..." [for several line the fox complains of his infirmities]
• Line 481: "To find health for you I traversed the breadth of the earth."
• Line 514: "Woe, horde of bad faith, united in ill-ordered trust / How rashly you sanction a judgment unfair to yourselves!" [the fox continues to berate the assembled animals for several lines]
• Line 539: "The sick king is hungry, burdened by fatigue and lack of food: / Let him, as a banqueter, recline and languidly lean on his elbow..." [there follows a long description of the banquet]
• Line 620: "(Fox to leopard) 'None of our ancestors has given better counsel, / Nor has anyone trembled for better food at such a time.'"
• Line 1001: "(Lion to panther) 'Never leave the shrewd fox from your side.' / Then the fox skillful in stratagems, takes on a sad mien / Because of so much favor of the king, although he is happy in everything."
• Line 1006: "(Fox) 'There is a cave in the woods under the brow of a high hill. / I ask that I be given this cave with a written deed of enfeoffment.' / The kings confirm what the crafty fox petitions, / And through such witnesses the deed is assured to the fox."
• Line 1171: "Soon entering his native halls, he drives out the enemy..."

Hedgehog: The hedgehog has attributes taken from the Physiologus, where he carries apples or grapes home to his family by sticking them to the spines on his back.

• Line 150: "The hedgehog runs and comes back laden with apples..."
• Line 176: "The hedgehog, clad in a thorny fleece..."
• Line 206: "The arms-bearing hedgehog, covered with a nail-studded garment..."
• Line 657: "The active hedgehog, covered with a thick fleece, / Shall bring apples, sing of miraculous deeds, and offer almonds..."
• Line 661-672: [The hedgehog objects to being ordered to do menial tasks] "'Who am I to you, and of what quality? I am of the race of great Cato; / If you trace my lineage in a long line from my ancestors, / You will learn that I am of the blood of great kings, / To me the excellency of ancient forebears has come down. / Considering my ancestry you will revoke such disgraceful commands, / Enjoin the practice of menial service in accordance with the state of one's birth.' / (Leopard) 'Indeed, it is fitting that you respect such a lot.' / (Hedgehog) 'Because of this I must live more contemptible to the rest of the populace.' / (Leopard) 'The rank of your lineage will be proclaimed in due time.' / (Hedgehog) ''I will not obey that order, and beseech you, leopard, / Never to give me any disgraceful command.'"

Leopard: In the inner fable, the leopard is a servant of the king but follows the orders of the fox.

• Line 549: "(Fox) Let the master instruct the leopard to serve him, / And let the leopard bring what is expended by the sea and grown in the earth..."
• Line 565: "[The fox] gave the sign that the leopard as majordomo should hasten / To provide with speed what befitted the palatial hall:"
• Line 608: "(Leopard to fox) 'I am sorry for the retinue, for three days now they are holding out in the cave, / They are hungry and thirsty, they are exhausted, with famished stomach..."
• Line 626: "Let cabbage sufficiently greased with rich bacon be served, / Nor is it enough to take away fish from an expensive stand..."

Lion: Most of the inner fable is about the search for a cure for the sick lion.

• Line 393: "The life of the lion in the woods is tortured by pains of the kidney."
• Line 405: "The sick king commands that whoever is a loyal friend / Should seize the fox and tear him limb from limb."
• Line 467: "(Lion to fox) 'Many things fly about concerning you which besmirch your life with crime.'"
• Line 511: "The sick king is anointed, enveloped in the hide [of the wolf] and made warm again."
• Line 552: "(Lion to fox) "You keep the house in order, lest anyone disturb me, sick man..."
• Line 558: "(Lion to animals) 'Run along in peace and learn to know the commands of the fox: / Whoever venerates the master should venerate his minister in everything.' / He had granted the wielding of the scepter to the fox."
• Line 605: "Now the hand of the fox supports the limbs of the lion / And the flank of the sick king, leading him through the lilies of the field; For the foot of the invalid cannot walk, nor is his neck very strong..."
• Line 730: '(Lion) I shall go to the table and ask for very strong wines. / I have a thirst for five-year-old wine grown this side of the sea."
• Line: 740: "(Lion to fox) "If you were eager to betray, you would not risk such danger, / See, I owe you a reward for the weighty service you have performed."
• Line 993: "Then the lion, when he was heated with wine, spoke as follows: / 'The shrewd fox had arranged these matters prudently / And has restored me and my house to the height of extreme honor, / He has refreshed the body of me, the sick man, with the glow of health, And he does not tire of giving me, half dead in my limbs, back to the joys of the table. / He has asked that the panther be assigned to rule as my successor, / And according to his wish we have consecrated him as king, / Now my kingdom shall pass to the panther, and after the panther, to the fox.'"
• Line 1062: "What is mine as a realm I shall leave to the panther when I depart from here."
• Line 1069: "(Fox to lion) 'The page of the book assures what is natural for you, / That you will sleep three days...'"
• Line 1072: "When the three days were expired, the king soon departed from the cave / And sought the Black Forest, revisiting the Alemannic regions, / And straightway the panther takes over the treasures of the house."

Lynx: Two lynxes are ordered to assist the bear in flaying the wolf.

• Line 499: "...let him [wolf] be flayed down to his toenails. / The bear can do this more readily with two lynxes..."
• Line 507: "As the fox had ordered, the lynxes strive to carry things out, / And with them the bear arose with his characteristic growling; / As they flay they spare only his head and feet, / And they denude him from up on the shoulders all the way down."
• Line 653: "The lynxes with the deer, they shall be the king's guard..."

Monkey / Ape: The monkey and ape are incidental characters.

• Line 654: "...the dark-blue long-tailed monkey shall care for the bed of the invalid."
• Line 656: "..the ugly ape shall put new candles into the candelabra..."

Nightingale: The nightingale is one of the birds that come to sing to the lion. The song is so sad that the panther is disturbed, but the nightingale in a multi-line passage defends the choice of song.

• Line 818: "Let the blackbird approach, making music together with filomena [[nightingale], / And may the nightingale mollify the melody the blackbird sings."
• Line 829: "(Lion to Filomena) 'Eat a little so that you may be able to utter your song.' / (Filomena) 'If it is something untried, let it be saved for us til the last; / Yet now let us seek something serious and set levity aside, / Let Christ be my food and drink - He who is called the Anointed / Shall be present in my mouth and let me pluck the song on a sweet lyre!'"
• Line 840: "They are near to death, stopping the flow of their breath; / They modify their voices as sadness disturbs their song of praise, They digress from the song as they sing of the wounds of Christ, And recounting the crucifixion of the Lord, they are dissolved in grief."
• Line 848: "The followers of the king were stunned by the emotion of these birds, / And the panther was disturbed to lose so welcome a boon."
• Line 861: "(Philomena) 'I could not refrain, I wept over the indignities suffered by Christ.'"
• Line 916: "(Panther) 'I ask you clearly to repeat the sad things of which you sang.' / (Philomena) 'I use you only as witnesses how much sadness there is on earth...'"
• Line 907: "(Panther) 'You have treated the many wounds of the suffering Christ enough now; / Stop, my dear, I pray, now stop pouring forth your laments, / Rejoice with us, banishing sadness with jubilation.' / (Philomena) 'Now i beg you to tell me why you asked me to rejoice. / Why, I wonder, do you persuade me to spare my sad mind? To be sure, I have joys, but I bear such a heavy weight...'"
• Line 925: "They [nightingale and blackbird], moist with tears, soiled with the dust of the earth, / At the order of the panther go together to bathe in the stream."

Otter: In the outer fable the otter is a servant of the wolf. He brings fish to the wolf, and guards the calf in the cave. He advises the wolf to release the captive and warns of the consequences if he does not. The otter also befriends the calf and provides comfort to him.

• Line 151: "The otter, the fisherman, hastens, the buyer of fish."
• Line 175: "These things the otter brought, the beloved and gentle servant."
• Line 188: "I [wolf] am burdened by old age, I leave all my possessions to you, / ...to the otter the stream for fishing."
• Line 203: "(Wolf) That he [calf] may not deceive us, let that be your constant care. / You will be dear to me if you are present as a cautious guard." (Otter) "This I will follow, this I will keep preserved in my steadfast heart."
• Line 215: "Now the otter refreshes the calf while the beast (the wolf) snores, / The otter takes down sweets and in addition poured forth these exhortations:.."
• Line 238: "(Otter to wolf) These horrors to your foes! There is nothing you should fear; / Trust my advice, you will be saved from the dream-vision / Provided you allow the tender calf to go free..."
• Line 293: "(Otter to wolf) "Ah, perversity flourishes, law and order are exhausted."
• Line 296: "(Otter to wolf) "If you are wise, you will swallow such words with a silent mouth. / Taught by paternal love, take advantage of your lot./ For seven years now you lead the life of a peasant; / The inside of your stomach has avoided every kind of meat,...
• Line 318: "(Otter) 'Discreetness of word should wing from the tongue of a monk.' / (Wolf) 'If I am dear to you, put a curb on your tongue.' / (Otter) 'He has an idle task who pitches a vat that is full of water: / Unless the vat is clean, what you pour in will turn sour.'"
• Line 642: "And let the otter bring spring water, the beaver river water. / So let it be done, so let it be; their nature demands it."
• Line 1014: "(Otter to wolf) "The fathers commit sin, and their descendants make good the wrongs."
• Line 1098: "(Otter to wolf) "The story would truly suffice, if he were perchance not present. /Yet you have done well in thus disclosing to us / What was long concealed, baring secrets with plain words."
• Line 1103: "The otter approaches the hill which is close by the cliff / And sees the fox bearing the written parchment..."
• Line 1120: "The otter had heard the chiefs impose these rules; / Frightened by these threats and seized with madness, He repeats all he had seen and spreads it out in order / And urges the wolf to let the calf go. / (Wolf) "I do not fear human kind, nor does terror of the fox shake me." / (Otter) "You shun advice, (although) the sword threatens your neck, / You will be seized forthwith under judgment of death..."
• Line 1134: "The otter, the pupil [of the wolf], falling from the top of the hill, / Dreading the enemy and leaving the castle which had been possessed, / And fearing destruction, dove to the bottom of the river."
• Line 1207: "I [calf] had an ally who wept bitterly, / Often begging for me, he shed bitter tears, / The fun-loving otter he is called, famous of name, / Splashing about in the water, the heir of the fishy flood. / He wiped from my eyes the signs of fear / And in the night warmed his cold friend at the hearth."

Panther: The panther warns the fox of the king's order that he should be killed. Later he is made the king's heir, on the advice of the fox.

• Line 410: "The panther alone in the gathering of brethren was sorry, / He went on a run to report the order of the king. / After five hundred stadia had been completed, / The fox happened to meet the panther as he was almost exhausted / What he saw he reports, nor does he conceal the tortures."
• Line 713: "Good traits accompany this panther like friends. / He is not mendacious nor mean and quick-tempered, / He is friendly and cultured, devout in spirit, and calm in speech..."
• Line 749: "(Lion) 'I am surprised that the panther makes himself so rare to our sight.' / (Fox) 'Do not be disturbed, father: the foreign brother will soon come, / And at his entrance everything harmful will vanish.' (Leopard) 'I am steeped in bitter tears over the brother's delay; If perchance he has perished, no one better than he has remained...'
• Line 759: "(Fox) 'Who, I know would always endure such restless toil. / He asks only what may be helpful, he wants to know what is amusing.' / (Lion) :'...Like your wish, it is also mine to extol the panther. / I will not take food until he receives the crown.' / (Fox to panther) 'Do not be a cause of delay to the king, run with your famous bound: / You are recorded as second to the king, the prefect for the realm.'"
• Line 780: "He is anointed as king after hearing the praises of his brothers. / Watching the royal doings, the palace of the kind was happy."
• Line 787: "The shrewdness of the fox had made the panther the royal heir!"
• Line 809: "While dining the lion questions the panther for news: / 'Why do you withhold yourself from your comrades, I wish you would tell me; / You have delayed a long time; I want to have a definite answer.' / (Panther) 'Sleep flees you, sleeplessness tortured you; / I was sorry for you; not sparing myself, I brought appropriate help...'

Parrot: The parrot, boasting of his abilities, offers to sing for the lion.

• Line 932: "A parrot approaches and asks if the king has recovered..."
• Line 938: "(Parrot) 'For your sake I would endure the trials of war; / I myself will accompany the tune of the harp of David. / Dark cares will be lessened through the solemn song. / Now you begin, and I will surpass the Sirens with my singing.'
• Line 955: "(Parrot) 'As far as those living at the Ocean the report of the sick king is carried; / Because it is a divine order to visit the bed of the invalid, / We, blinded by tears, wept and wrung our hands.'"
• Line 986: "(Parrot) 'I ask with a hoarse voice whether the flask is broken / Because no beakers of wine are given to me at my bidding...'"

Phoenix: The phoenix is only mentioned in passing. The Physiologus says the phoenix lives for 500 years, then burns itself to ash and rises again with its youth restored.

• Line 480: "I shrivel up, as the happy Indian crow (phoenix) is wont to do..."

Sphinx: The sphinx is an incidental character.

• Line 172: "The sphinx, fished in the river Petrosus, thinks it is better than the crowd. / It was sharp and drove away the scaly throngs with its points."

Squirrel: The squirrel serves as a guard in the inner fable.

• Line 651: "There is a lofty beech-tree nearby, let the squirrel ascend the height, / Let him keep his eye upon them..."
• Line 660: "(Hedgehog) 'How the squirrel gathers acorns for us!'"

Stag: The stag is an incidental character in the outer fable and one of the gathered animals in the inner fable.

• Line 368: "Let only the boar stay away and especially the horn-bearing stag, / To them the horn, together with the sharpness of the tooth, is the terrible means of warfare."
• Line 647: "...let the stag pass out the goblets..."

Stork: The stork is an incidental character in the inner fable.

• Line 463: "There came the mourning stork with his huge bill. / He, sighing, repeated what the coot had said..."

Swan: The swan is known for the quality of its voice, and is one of the birds gathered to sing for the lion.

• Line 940: "A swan is also there to learn of the life of the invalid."
• Line 942: "The whole race of men will I conquer with the blare of the trumpets, / Far surpassing the custom of the horn-bearing Franks."

Unicorn: In the Physiologus the unicorn is lured to its death by a maiden; in this poem the unicorn is presented as the maiden herself.

• Line 586: "Let the unicorn, energetic in this, bring these things together. / Let her delight the hearts of the clergy with her maidenly voice, / Delighting the table companions and at the same time admonishing them, / And let her take a mixture (of food), lest weak as she is, she may grow worse."
• Line 790: "When the unicorn had finished the noteworthy deeds of Malchus..."

Wolf: The wolf is a major character in both the outer and inner fables. In the outer fable it is the wolf who holds the calf captive and intends to eat him. In the inner fable, the wolf (who is an ancestor of the wolf in the outer fable) is the enemy of the fox, and is stripped of his skin by the fox's order to help cure the lion.

• Line 98: "And meeting him [calf], the forester [wolf] utters a song of joy, / As is customary for monks returning from a long journey. / 'May the servant, 0 Christ, be blessed who is sent to me. / As he trusts in You, may he rejoice in the Lord Himself. Here he will have restful hospitality under the peace of night, / But later, tomorrow, he shall consecrate our tables with blood.'"
• Line 106: "Then the wolf, rejoicing that he can satiate himself at will, / Uttered this verse glowing with all dutiful kindness..."
• Line 140: "(Wolf to calf) Banish your hunger and sit on the chair to eat, / And do not demand too many different foods for a palate that craves variety..."
• Line 188: "I am burdened by old age, I leave all my possessions to you, To the hedgehog the cliff, to the otter the stream for fishing."
• Line 183: "(Wolf to otter) "Since he [calf] spurned the stable, he turns to our cave / And remains sleepless, under the control of our reins."
• Line 251: "(Wolf to otter) "Woe is me! What shall I do and what words shall I repeat? / What goods shall I distribute, what assistance shall I seek? / You beg on behalf of the calf, you threaten on behalf of one about to perish..."
• Line 259: "That he [calf] escaped into the open is no concern of ours, / But he should be cut to pieces by us now that he has entered here."
• Line 268: "(Wolf to hedgehog) "Soon after the sixth hour take the captive's life; / What he has asked, I did, and carried out what I had scarcely promised."
• Line 289: "And this I will follow and return to my old ways. / If I now devour meat, I shall shout the glorious word, / The meat of a calf is preferable to gudgeons..."
• Line 315: "(Wolf to otter) Tell these things to one who has deaf ears, / For the loins of an ass will be joined to the tail of the calf: / Thus Mother Nature has bid us spend our days."
• Line 353: "The wolf leaps up, buried in sleep and wine, / And calls together his bearers of arms, strangers to the rules of fighting. He hopes that those skilled only in sluggishness will now become fighters..."
• Line 389: (Said to the wolf by his friends) "Whatever may be the cause of your fear about the treachery of the fox, / I mean the fear lest they cast javelins which the assembled crowd is brandishing, That is what we desire to learn, because the sore is hidden..."
• Line 407: "When my ancestor learns it, he demands remarkable torture: / A lofty cross is hung for the fox from a high tree."
• Line 497: "It is the wolf that is meant, much hated by the shepherds / 'Let him be led discreetly before the gates of the Court, lest it affect / The viscera of the king, but then let him be flayed down to his toenails.'"
• Line 507: "As they flay [the wolf] they spare only his head and feet, / And they denude him from up on the shoulders all the way down."
• Line 742: "The tongue of the wolf had set calumny in motion with duplicity. / He was hurriedly preparing a terrible death on the cross for you [fox]. / See, the rogue lies there; let no one take care to pick him up. / He has deserved this punishment, you in the end, have avoided wrong doing."
• Line 1010: "(Wolf of outer fable to otter) 'This is the same cave given [to the fox] at that time under those kings; / Because of the committed crime which the fox perpetrated unjustly / Against my ancestor, the castle was taken away from him. / A descendant has stepped into his place, and a perverted heir has succeeded him.'"
• Line 1042: "Soon large and small took delight in mocking the wolf, / And the throng of such happy creatures came closer to him; / They show by their expression what it means to watch one's tongue..."
• Line 1123: "[The otter] urges the wolf to let the calf go. / (Wolf) 'I do not fear human kind, nor does terror of the fox shake me.' / (Otter) 'You shun advice, (although) the sword threatens your neck, / You will be seized forthwith under judgment of death...'"
• Line 1141: "He [wolf] is allured by the blandishments and laments of the fox."
• Line 1163: "But the wolf is impaled by the bull on a high tree-trunk. / The fox applauds this as sport..."