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The Book of Beasts: Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth CenturyIf a serpent swallows the spittle of a fasting man, it dies. Trees felled in the wrong season breed termites. If eels are drowned in wine, those who drink it get a loathing for liquor. These and similar flights of fancy were articles of faith in the twelfth century the era of the fascinating Latin prose bestiary translated in this volume. The translator is T. H. White, author of The Once and Future King and outstanding medievalist. Of The Book of
If a serpent swallows the spittle of a fasting man, it dies. Trees felled in the wrong season breed termites. If eels are drowned in wine, those who drink it get a loathing for liquor.These and similar flights of fancy were articles of faith in the twelfth century -- the era of the fascinating Latin prose bestiary translated in this volume. The translator is T. H. White, author of The Once and Future King and outstanding medievalist. Of The Book of Beasts, White writes: No Latin prose bestiary has ever before been printed, even in Latin. This is the first and only English translation in print.
The bestiary was a bestseller in the Middle Ages, a kind of natural history cum-zoological survey that presumed to describe the animals of the world and to point out the human traits they exemplified. Combining the surprisingly accurate with the endearingly phantasmagorical, the bestiarists came up with a bewildering array of real and exotic creatures. The behavior or attributes of the animals often functioned as a metaphor for teaching religious, moral, and political precepts.
In addition to a multitude of real mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish, described here with varying degrees of zoological accuracy, the bestiarist introduces a swarm of fanciful denizens thought to haunt the Dark Ages: manticore, a creature with a man's face, a lion's body, and a ravenous appetite for human flesh; dragon or draco, the biggest serpent and the embodiment of the Devil; amphivia, a fish that could walk on land and swim in the sea; jaculus, a flying serpent; the familiar phoenix; the griffin; and other exotic fauna. Much of the charm of this edition lies in the copious footnotes compiled by T. H. White. With immense erudition, wit, grace, and a singular lack of condescension, the author illuminates literary, scientific, historical, linguistic, and other aspects of the bestiarist's catalog. He further enhances the volume with informative discussions of the history of the bestiary from its origins in remote oral traditions; through Herodotus, Pliny and Aristotle; during the medieval period and the Renaissance; and up to Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors (1646). Both amusing and amazing, The Book of Beasts is not only a rich survey of the proto-zoology on which much of our later science is based, but also a revealing, illustrated examination of how pre-scientific man perceived the earth's creatures.
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 12/22/2010
ISBN: 9780486246093
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 8.24h x 5.66w x 0.69d
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★★★★★ 5
Stepbrothers, Secrets, and Sizzling Heat
Format: Kindle
Twisted Lies by Roxy Collins is a wild ride through family secrets, amnesia, and a steamy stepbrother romance. When Kelly discovers her life is built on lies, she ends up tangled with three alpha stepbrothers and an assassin who once helped her through a heat.
The tension? Off the charts!
The heat is real, and the complications are messy in the best way. Full of twists, secrets, and fated mates? You'll be hooked from page one!
Love omegaverse drama with a dash of taboo? This one's for you!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2024
★★★★★ 3
Good read
Format: Kindle
The book has some good twists and turns, but truthfully I was so confused on some things. It didn't have a good flow for me personally. Not sure if it's due to typos or using him/her wrongly, but I thought Kelly was both a guy and a girl. Actually I still don't know, and it made me incredibly frustrated. It would refer to Kelley as him or he, and then again in another part of the story as her she and sister. On to the next book, I hope there is some clarity and a smoother flow. This is a slow burn, and I just don't know how much I care for the Alphas yet. Idk if I recommend.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2023
★★★★★ 5
the lies
Format: Kindle
This is amazing fast pace read that is full of plot twists and lies that keep getting bad. This is a story we’re a omega has been lied to by her mother and finds out that someone is slowing dieing. 3 alpha take the omega and feed her more lies so they can use her against her father so they can find their mate Kelly. This is a dark read and ends in a cliffhanger and so good.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2023
★★★★★ 4
Hot twists
Format: Kindle
This will keep you on your toes toes in a hot twisty mess. You want to love, hate and root for whom is the big question. I’m quickly getting the next book because it ends on a cliffhanger and damn, it’s got me ready to tear into it!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Ends in a cliffhanger
Format: Kindle
Thankfully, the next book is already available.
Roxy Collins is the queen of omegaverse slow burn. This particular series is omegaverse with wolf shifters.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book! Lots of suspense and trying to figure out what is true and what's really going on. I loved it!
Pretty spicy once the action starts. Heats are pretty much always spicy. There is a little bit of male interaction, but not full-on shmex.
Definitely recommend.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2025