Physiologist. Bestiary, Background Bestiary Aragones. Architecture, stone, Romanesque Gothic Renaissance painting sculpture nature.

Iron Age Fibula Provincial Museum of Zaragoza

Silver zoomorphic fibula
Iron Age 1,8 x 2,9 cm
Museo Provincial de Zaragoza
Photographs J. Garrido

The Physiologist

The physiologist is a book, apparently, originally written in Greek, in Alexandria, according to researchers in the second century, according to others between II and V. The Physiologist originally written in Greek, was attributed to Peter of Alexandria, Epiphanius, St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, Athanasius, St. Ambrose and even San Jeronimo.

Nor is it clear whether it is a single text or a literary genre, or a character if the «Physiologis» (naturalist), nor whether its origin was Alexandria or Syria.
One of its variants was printed in Rome in 1587 as a work of Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus died in 402.

It is a short book that deals with animals and stones, description and characteristics; often fantastic properties are attributed, moralizing or symbolic meanings, or Christian comparisons, etc.
Had much success throughout the Middle Ages, translated into Greek, Latin, Armenian, Syriac, Arabic, etc., always different and varied in all different manuscript families. The first Latin versions speak of the V century, but not earlier manuscripts are preserved in the eighth century; versions were made in all languages and adapted to all genres, leaving to be in sole possession of theologians and exegetes; it became property of the people and became a source of Christian literature (so, for example, in 1252 Richart of Fournival type Bestiary of Love).

It has similarities with texts Horapollo, St. Augustine, the Etymologies of Isidore and St. Ambrose.

As was usual in the dissemination of other moralized versions, we can consider that along with various collections of natural history, served as inspiration for literary recreations of animals in the Romanesque.

Some manuscripts were magnificently illustrated, as preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the work of the mid-twelfth century.

Essentially is a symbolic book, the manner of medieval mentality, where everything is in the service and glory of God; is scientifically repetition previous contents, often exaggerated; its generic sense will be incorporated in the medieval encyclopedists as Rabanus (844), Honorio Augustodunensis (mid-eleventh century) or Vincent of Beauvais (mid-thirteenth century), etc.

Its widespread in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, allowed the plastic influence of those centuries, in a symbolic atmosphere and oriental influence (as highlighted by scholars of earlier this century); He has suggested that these monstrosities that were used as a moral example in the doctrinal sermon preachers, as an example of the aesthetics of ugliness in the service of evil and sin, in the same way that animals considered beautiful embodied various Christian virtues.

Some examples:

The lion

Jacob, in blessing his son JDA said: Lion cub, Judah. The physiologist who drafted these speeches said the lion has three characteristics ... So our Savior, spiritual lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, sent by the Eternal Father, covers his spiritual footprints ... (Guglielmi)
... Listen with certainty the significance of this: The Lion means the Son of the Virgin Mary ... the tail, according to the sacred text is the justice hanging over us ... (M.)
... When in the woods and someone walks past and humbles himself before he humbly respected (Bt)

Oters informations

Ample your information on Aragon

If you want Ample your information on Aragon you can begin crossing some books.

Also Aragon enjoys a diverse and varied Nature where passing by plants, animals, or landscapes we can arrive at a fantastic bestiario that lives in its monuments.

The information will not be complete without a stroll by its three provinces: Zaragoza, Teruel and Huesca ans us varied Regions, with shutdown in some of its spectacular landscapes like Ordesa or the Moncayo or by opposition in the valle of the Ebro.

The "Naturaleza de Aragon" project is an extension of the Aragón project is like that, and tries to collect and relate all possible types of documentary information about Aragon: texts, books, articles, maps, illustrations, photographs, narrations, etc., and proceed to its publication and diffusion.

Physiologist. Bestiary, Background

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