ABSTRACT
From Genesis to Revelation, the many creatures mentioned in the Bible ensured the importance of animals in medieval Christian art. Study of medieval animal iconography has been largely oriented around the bestiaries, medieval books that picture and describe real and imaginary creatures, holding up many – but not all – as examples of good and bad moral behavior. Animal symbolism grounded in Scriptures lies at the heart of early Christian art, in which it provided visual shortcuts to the nature of God, the nascent religion, and its followers. Animal motifs inherited from pagan Celtic and Germanic traditions were creatively redeployed in early medieval metalwork, carved stones, and illuminated manuscripts. In the medieval language of heraldry, animals were a primary means by which elite individuals constructed their public identities: on a third of all arms, the main charge is an animal.
