Bestiaries
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: Bestials
Books very popular in the llth, 12th, and 13th centuries, containing accounts of the supposed habits and peculiar- ities of animals, which, with the legendary lore connected with them, served as texts for devotional homilies. They were founded on the old Physiologi^ and those in English were, for the most part, translations of Continental originals.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Bestiaries” mean?
Books very popular in the llth, 12th, and 13th centuries, containing accounts of the supposed habits and peculiar- ities of animals, which, with the legendary lore connected with them, served as texts for devotional homilies. They were founded on the old Physiologi^ and those in English were, for the most part, translations of Continental originals.
Is “Bestiaries” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.