Griffin (detail), from Book of Flowers, 1460, Unknown, tempera colors on parchment. Koninklijke Bibliotheek/National Library of the Netherlands, The Hague, Ms. 72 A 23, fol. 46
Medieval Bestiaries and their Original Purpose
GETTY CENTER
Harold M. Williams Auditorium
This is a past event
Bestiaries are medieval European encyclopedias of both real and fantastical animals and are among the most enchanting and endearing of all illuminated manuscripts. Renowned manuscript expert Christopher de Hamel looks at what a bestiary comprises and where these manuscripts were made. He asks the bigger question of what their original purpose was and how bestiaries were used by their owners. The answers take us into the medieval understanding of the creation of the world.
