https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325466.php#1
For a minute, I want you to picture all the animals you can think of.
Did you picture a cat? A mouse? A dog? A platypus? Did you picture a human at any point? After all, we’re ultimately classified as animals, regardless of our cognitive abilities.
On the flip-side, would you ever regard an animal as human?
Despite our tendency to regard humans and animals as separate, we have nonetheless spent thousands of years depicting animals as humans. We’ve seen this practice in cartoons, books, and other forms of media, like Spongebob Squarepants and Charlotte’s Web. The concept of giving animals human qualities is known as anthropomorphism.
The Bodleian Bestiary is one of the earliest manuscripts detailing the practice of anthropomorphism. Here, animals from the mighty lion to the teeny mouse are all categorized separately, with each folio denoting their humanistic traits and abilities.
In spite of its almost-encyclopedic qualities, however, I must warn that the bestiary is not meant for educational purposes. According to Professor Rebecca Davis of UCI, this “book of beasts” was written for an ideological purpose – particularly dealing with Christianity. This is evident in the fact that many of the entries contain biblical allusions, such as the panther symbolizing Jesus Christ and the wolf symbolizing the devil.
It’s impossible for me to describe the bestiary in it’s entirety to you. Instead, I’ve drawn a collage describing the wolf and dog’s portrayals in the bestiary, which you can scroll down to see. Before we delve into the collage, I’d like to give you an opportunity to check out the links below, where you’ll find digital copies of the Bodleian and Aberdeen bestiaries.
Given their biological similarities, I was surprised to note that these animals are described as near-opposites in the bestiary. Further research has lead me to attribute their descriptions to their respective upbringings.
Being a domesticated animal, the dog is virtuous as a result of being influenced by mankind – who, as described in the Bible, is considered to be God’s greatest creation. Thus, this closer connection to the divine world is what grants the dog its holy traits, such as harboring fierce loyalty and having the ability to cleanse “wounds of sin”. The dog could be an allusion to Christ, who sacrificed himself for humanity so that their sins could be forgiven.
Meanwhile, being a wild animal, the wolf lacks this godly connection, ultimately resulting in its association with the devil. Unlike the dog who is dependent on man, the wolf is “envious of man”, a possible allegory to Lucifer and his jealousy towards mankind, which is what ultimately resulted in his fall from grace. The bestiary depicts the wolf as violent and an enticer of sin, seeking to corrupt others’ souls.
In summary, despite their biological relations, the Bodleian bestiary chooses to place these two animals on opposing ends of the biblical spectrum – the dog as a forgiver of sin and the wolf as a tempter of sin.
Works Cited
Lupton, Julia. “Into the Animated Woods.” Humanities Core Lecture. Anteater Learning Pavillion, Irvine. 5 November 2019. Lecture.
Humanimals 