Dr. Jeremy Wasser

In the North African city of Alexandria, sometime between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE, a Christian scholar put pen to parchment and produced a manuscript known as the Physiologus. The title of the work speaks directly to the identity of this unknown author and is often translated to mean “the naturalist” or “the natural historian.” But someone who was referred to as a physiologus in that ancient time was not a biologist or zoologist in the modern sense. Rather, in the words of translator and scholar Michael Curley, a physiologus was “…one who interpreted metaphysically, morally, and finally mystically the transcendent significance of the natural world.”
In the hands of its original Greek-speaking Christian author, the Physiologus was a book of natural history whose stories served as a moral exegesis of the Bible. The work is composed of approximately 48 chapters; each one describing an animal, plant or mineral, whether real or mythological. The sources for these tales go back to even earlier folk legends from Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Hebrew and Indian cultures. Though the original Greek Physiologus was lost in antiquity, numerous copies were produced, some with additional stories. The earliest known translation dates from the 5th century and is written in Ethiopian while the oldest surviving Latin manuscripts date from the 8th century. Versions of the Physiologus appeared in many languages including Anglo-Saxon, Icelandic, French, German and Arabic.
More than just moral fables, the Physiologus also refers to the medical and magico-medical properties of the flora and fauna described. A chapter, for example, is devoted to the (mythical) charadrius bird whose excrement can cure blindness. Even more extraordinary, if brought before a sick patient, the charadrius will predict if the patient will survive. If the bird faces towards the patient, he will live. If the bird faces away the patient will die. Beginning in the 12th century these stories served as the primary source material for the manuscripts that we now call bestiaries.
Bestiaries are books of natural and unnatural histories. These collections, many fantastically illuminated, show us what was thought to be true about the biology of the animals and plants and the geology of the minerals described including details on their use in medicine.
In this talk I will trace the connections between the Physiologus and medieval bestiaries as a way of illustrating the understanding of natural science and medicine in the Middle Ages. We will explore manuscripts from across Europe and examine the Islamic/Middle Eastern tradition of natural historical works. Come and take a walk on the wild side as we explore these medieval books of beasts and their important role in medieval medicine!