THE MEDIEVAL NATURALIST. 229 



matters as might be of interest and instruction to Royal 

 Students." 



Not dwelling further on the history of these times and 

 the cause of the production of this old book, termed in 

 lyatin Bestiary — as all books on zoology were called in the 

 Middle Ages — -I will do as did this quaint author, " plunge 

 into his subject without further delay," and, as he also 

 did, first bring into view the lion, using his, to us, queer 

 symbolism and drawing from his text. 



The lion, which he describes as the " king of beasts," 

 has a frightful face, a great hairy neck, the breast square, 

 hard}^ bold, slender flanks, a large tail, flat legs, large 

 cloven feet, long claws and is "combatant." It has an 

 omnivorous appetite, devouring animals without discrimi- 

 nation, especially when hungry or angry. The author, 

 however, excepts the ass of all animals who has spirit 

 and courage enough to object violently to this propensity 

 of King lyco ; with true asinine perversity it " resists and 

 brays, kicking up its heels in dissatisfaction " and braying 

 out its protest. This sounds very much like the original 

 of one of ^sop's fables, with which the author was appar- 

 ently familiar. 



Bear in mind that most of the then current ' ' knowl- 

 edge " of Natural History was based on fable and sailors' 

 yarns, as some of it is yet. One, if not the main object of 

 nature study, is to remove such errors as may yet lin- 

 ger, by inciting a deepened and loving interest in the study 

 of nature, animate and inanimate, and in the higher 

 planes, the spiritual and loving as well as the material. 



Anenl» the lion, our author further tells us that when 

 hungry, this kingly beast trotted to a convenient place, 

 traced out an enclosure by trailing his tail on the ground, 

 leaving an opening between the point of beginning and 

 ending. From a neighboring looking place he cautiously 

 watched \\ns> gap in the '' tayle trace" or mark, it being 



