MEDIEVAL SYMBOLISM

n medieval art everything stood for something else. A dog was never just a dog, a lily never just a lily.There was an elaborate symbolic code familiar to all. in which animals and plants each containeddifferent moral messages for humans, often based on physical traits or behavior.

AnimalUnicorn

PantherLionGoatWolfHareFoxDogLambHeron

PartridgeMagpieRabbitFalcon

Physical Trait/BehaviorSingle horn; savage; loyal

Sweet breathKing of the Beasts; strongLikes high hills; keen-sightedStrong chest, weak legs; ravenous, cunningSwift and timidDoesn't walk in a straight lineClever; loves its masterPure: innocent; blamelessFlies high to avoid storms; white & grey

Steals each other's eggsNoisy, likes shiny thingsReproduces oftenGood eyesight; love of master

SymbolizesChrist; pure & invincible; also thebridegroomJesus Christ; the WordCourageous, strong, faithfulChrist-like; all-knowingDevilFearful of GodDevious, cleverFaithful & loyalChristSouls of the saints above earthlythings; innocent & penitentTreacherousGossip; thievingFertilityTotal vision; faithful

PlantPomegranate

Strawberry

ColumbineLily of the ValleyFoxgloveCarnationRosesMintDaisvPansy

Physical TraitRed seeds

Flower & fruit at same time; anti -toxin

Three-leaf clustersWhite"glove of the Virgin"Used in bridal wreathsQueen of flowersSettles stomach; anti-toxinFlowers at EasterThree colors

SymbolizesChrist's drops of blood, the church,fertilityRebirth; Christ; unicorn; alsoworldly enticement (wealth, fame)Holv TrinityPurity; Virgin Mary-Virgin MaryBetrothalVirgin Mary; also lovePurificationResurrection; also fertilityHoly Trinity

Romanesque (and later) art was full of religious stories and fairy tales. It created a world full of fanciful animals, often with bodies consisting of acombination of different bodies of real or existing living creatures. Symbols of Good and Evil fought between themselves and against men. There weregriffins, enormous birds with hooked beaks, bippogriffs, winged horses with bird heads, unicorns, horses with billy-goat heads, dragons and monsters withseveral heads. They were pictured in full detail so as to look as real as possible and were very popular and well-known by the people. But where did all thosestrange creatures come from? Some were the result of Medieval imagination, others instead, were taken from ancient texts well-known at the time. One of themost important texts written between the second and third centuries in Alexandria in Egypt by an unknown author was the "Physiologist" - "A Discourse onNature" in which a number of animals were described in simple and straightforward language, together with their particular characteristics and behavior. The"Physiologist" which became a source of inspiration for many animals sculptured in stone, painted on walls or embroidered on tapestry met with such acclaimthat it was translated into many oriental languages as well as into Latin.