Today on History Undressed we have guest author, Joyce DiPastena, posting on Medieval Bestiaries--a topic not previously discussed on HU, and I think you will find quite interesting! Enjoy!
MEDIEVAL BESTIARIES
by Joyce DiPastena
Bestiary: a collection of drawings or paintings of animals,
real or imagined, accompanied by their physical and allegorical descriptions.
Illumination: The medieval art of
decorating books with miniatures or ornamental designs painted in brilliant
colors or silver or gold leaf to “illuminate” or bring light to the pages.
Medieval bestiaries play a small role in my
medieval romance, Illuminations
of the Heart. My heroine’s brother “illuminates” a
bestiary to prove to his illuminator father that he’s ready to be advanced from
apprenticeship in their shop. After her brother and father die, my heroine,
Siri, practices her own drawing skills in the gardens of her new guardian, Triston
de Brielle, while sitting with Triston’s young son Perrin and cousin Acelet.
While conversing with them both about her new home, she draws a bee with a
crown hovering above it in the air, and explains to Perrin that swarms of bees
are led by a king bee. Yes, it’s the very opposite of what we know about bees
today, and a friend who read my book challenged my writing of this scene. I had
to explain to her that in the Middle Ages, people not only believed that bees
were lead by a king rather than a queen, but that bees, like most of the animal
kingdom, represented some kind of allegory, or moral story, to the people of
the Middle Ages.
The scene in my story, with the allegory of
the bee, went like this. (A note: The Young King refers to the eldest son of
King Henry II of England, who was crowned co-ruler with Henry in his lifetime.)
Politics were never
spoken of at the table. But Acelet knew no such restraint when he joined Siri
in the garden.
“I caught a glimpse of
him once,” Acelet said one morning.
He lay sprawled in the
grass beside the dog Talbot, while Perrin leaned against Siri and watched her
sketch a swarm of honeybees hovering over an array of flowers. This time Acelet
had added vertical slashes to the breast of his surcote as well as the sleeves,
exposing the bright green tunic beneath. It was, he had informed Siri
earnestly, the way the young knights had dressed at the Court of Poitiers when
his mother sat in the Queen’s circle. Lucianna muttered over her stitchery that
they must have looked like devils. Siri thought lunatics a more apt word. She
distracted herself with Perrin before the laughter that bubbled inside her
could escape.
“Soon I will show you
my paints,” she told the boy. “Then we will turn these flowers yellow and red
and green. Who did you catch a glimpse of, Acelet?”
“The Young King. Three
years ago, just after I came to Vere. Triston had been commanded to join Duke
Richard’s siege of Chateauneuf, but he was ill, so he sent his brother,
Etienne, in his place. The Young King was at Chateauneuf as well. When word
came that he left before the siege was over and that Etienne and some other
Poitevins had left with him, Triston sent me to inquire as to the rumor’s
truth. I found Etienne with Sir Raynor de Molinet in the Young King’s camp.
Etienne refused to return, and as I watched them ride away, I saw the Young
King in the forefront.”
His voice hushed, as
if in awe of his memories. “He was glorious, rubies sparkling from his coronet,
his gold hair gleaming in the sun, his tall frame draped in scarlet and gilt…
His every movement was one of charm and grace, and when he turned his head and
I saw the beauty in his face—”
“Why did you do that,
Lady Siri?” Perrin pulled on Siri’s sleeve as she finished drawing a small
crown over one of the bees. She guessed that he had heard his cousin’s
breathless recital too many times before to be impressed with it now.
“Because bees are led
by a king, as are we,” she said, ignoring the resentful glance Acelet sent at
the boy. “He is a most benevolent ruler, leading by example and never turning
his sting upon malefactors. He has only to demonstrate to them the error of
their ways, and in shame they will turn their own stings upon themselves.”
“Papa says King Henry
is a benevolent ruler.”
“Ha!” Acelet’s
scornful laugh woke the dozing Talbot. The hound gave a bark. Acelet pulled
gently on one of Talbot’s ears, but said, “The old king is a tyrant, crushing
our people through his war-hungry son. We were a free people before the
Angevins came. Now they seek to take away our liberties, and because we do not
want to surrender them, the King sets Duke Richard to ravage us like a wolf
among the sheep.”
In the medieval world, each animal, like the
bee, represented some sort of moral example or symbolism that humans were
encouraged to follow if the symbolism was good (like the bee), or avoid if the
symbolism was bad (like the crocodile, which represented hypocrisy with the
“false tears” it shed after eating any unfortunate human who stumbled across
its path).
In her book, Medieval Beasts, Ann Payne
recreates a medieval bestiary complete with over seventy full-color
illustrations borrowed from actual medieval bestiaries found in The British
Library. She covers animals (lion, tiger, elephant, camel, hedgehog, ants, the mythical
leucrota—bred from a hyena and a lioness!—and more); birds (eagle, vulture, ostrich, phoenix, siren,
bats and bees—yes, the latter two were considered to fall into the “bird
family”—and more); reptiles (viper, asp, boa, salamander, dragon, basilisk, and more); and fish (fish, sera, dolphin, and whale).
If you are interested in sampling a modern
reproduction of a medieval bestiary, Medieval
Beasts by Ann Payne is a delightful place to start!
ABOUT ILLUMINATIONS OF THE HEART:
“Clothilde.”
He spoke the name on a breath like a prayer. Then he lowered
his head and kissed her.
Her heart is lost in that first embrace, her world shaken to
its foundations. There is just one problem. Her name is not Clothilde. It is
Siriol de Calendri.
Trained in the art of illumination in the far off city of
Venice, Siri is directed by her late brother’s will to the county of Poitou in
France, where she enters the guardianship of her brother’s friend, Sir Triston
de Brielle. Once in Poitou, Siri hopes to find employment in an illuminator’s
shop—until Triston unexpectedly snatches her heart away with a kiss.
Triston is a man of quiet honor and courage, but the guilt
he carries for the death of his late wife, Clothilde, has left him numb and
hesitant to love again. Worse yet, Siri bears an uncanny resemblance to his
lost love. Or does she? Her merry laughter and twinkling eyes are very
different from his late wife’s shy smiles and quiet ways. Yet when he gazes
into Siri’s face, all he is able to see is Clothilde.
Then Triston’s past returns to threaten them both. Will his
tragic life with Clothilde be repeated with Siri? Trapped between the rivalry
of the king’s sons on the one hand and a neighbor out for vengeance on the
other, Triston realizes it would be safer to send Siri away. But how can he
bear to lose her again?
Siri is determined not to be cast off and not to live in
another woman’s shadow. She has illuminated many a priceless book with pen and
paint. But can her own vibrant spirit illuminate the darkness in Triston’s soul
and make his heart beat for her alone?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Joyce DiPastena moved from Utah to Arizona at the age of two
and grew up to be a dyed-in-the-fur desert rat. She first fell in love with the
Middle Ages when she read Thomas B. Costain’s
The Conquering Family in
high school. She attended the University of Arizona, where she graduated with a
degree specializing in medieval history. Joyce loves the Arizona Renaissance
Festival, where she does annual book signings, and which she has not missed
once in its twenty three years of existence. (She was making annual treks long
before she had a book to sign.)
Illuminations of he Heart tells the story of Triston, a
character from Joyce’s first medieval romance,
Loyalty’s Web. Her third
medieval romance,
Dangerous Favor, will be released in January 2012. You can read
more about her books on her website at
http://www.joyce-dipastena.com,
find out “what she’s up to now!” on her JDP NEWS blog (
http://jdp-news.blogspot.com) or
follow along while she researches her novels at
Medieval Research with Joyce (
http://medievalresearch.blogspot.com).
I have a confession...this blog
will not deal with spies who made any impact on the events of nations...nope, these
spies weren't even real. My blog this month is a tribute to spies in literature
and film. I've always been a fan of spies in literature, movies and television
shows. Even now, I do a little glee-filled dance each time a disc with old
episodes of the Avengers arrives in the mail. I love the characters of Emma
Peel and John Steed, and must admit that I am among those in the world who
loved the Avengers movie with Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes, regardless of the
critics' opinions. Intrigue, sophistication, and secrecy...delightful!
Nothing against Americans in
espionage...Jack Ryan and Jason Bourne can certainly speed my pulse...but my
favorite cloak and dagger characters are Brits through and through. The
combination of a suave demeanor, English accent, and daring exploits is utterly
irresistible.
