A bestiary (or bestiarum vocabulum) is a compendium of animals or other items that typically included its natural history and illustration accompanied by a moral lesson, especially in a Christian context. The earliest example in the form in which it was later popularized was an anonymous 2nd century Greek volume called the "Physiologus," which summarized accounts from classical authors such as Aristotle, Herodotus, and Pliny the Elder. Bestiaries were particularly popular in England and France around the 12th century. By that time, the Psalter, which monks and nuns were required to recite, had developed into the breviary, with weekly cycles of psalms, prayers, hymns, and readings which changed with the liturgical season. This, in turn, evolved into smaller volumes that used just a selection of texts, known as books of hours (horae). They were usually written in Latin, though they often were entirely or partially written in vernacular European languages, especially Dutch; the ones in English were called primers. These were the most common type of medieval illuminated manuscripts. Illustration was mainly restricted to decorated capital letters at the start of a psalm and prayer, though books made for wealthy patrons were often extremely lavish, with full-page miniatures. The Latin "Enschedé Abecedarium" of the late 15th century (the "Salisbury Prymer") was the 1st printed example and presented the alphabet and several prayers.
Aladdin (ʻAlaʼ ad-Din) was one of the most popular characters associated with the ʾAlf layla wa-layla (One Thousand and One Nights) but was actually added to Antoine Galland's volumes IX and X of his translation into French (1710). Aladdin was a poor boy who acquired an oil lamp that contained a jinni; whenever he rubbed the lamp the jinni had to grant his wish.
A bestiary (or bestiarum vocabulum) is a compendium of animals or other items that typically included its natural history and illustration accompanied by a moral lesson, especially in a Christian context. The earliest example in the form in which it was later popularized was an anonymous 2nd century Greek volume called the "Physiologus," which summarized accounts from classical authors such as Aristotle, Herodotus, and Pliny the Elder. Bestiaries were particularly popular in England and France around the 12th century. By that time, the Psalter, which monks and nuns were required to recite, had developed into the breviary, with weekly cycles of psalms, prayers, hymns, and readings which changed with the liturgical season. This, in turn, evolved into smaller volumes that used just a selection of texts, known as books of hours (horae). They were usually written in Latin, though they often were entirely or partially written in vernacular European languages, especially Dutch; the ones in English were called primers. These were the most common type of medieval illuminated manuscripts. Illustration was mainly restricted to decorated capital letters at the start of a psalm and prayer, though books made for wealthy patrons were often extremely lavish, with full-page miniatures. The Latin "Enschedé Abecedarium" of the late 15th century (the "Salisbury Prymer") was the 1st printed example and presented the alphabet and several prayers.
ReplyDeleteAladdin (ʻAlaʼ ad-Din) was one of the most popular characters associated with the ʾAlf layla wa-layla (One Thousand and One Nights) but was actually added to Antoine Galland's volumes IX and X of his translation into French (1710). Aladdin was a poor boy who acquired an oil lamp that contained a jinni; whenever he rubbed the lamp the jinni had to grant his wish.