medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>> To mention some of the 'significatio' of the elephant which I do
remember: As everyone knows, an elephant has no knees. Therefore the
hunter cuts halfway through a tree. The elephant leans against the
tree, which snaps, and the elephant falls over. The elephant (having,
as aforesaid, no knees) cannot get up by itself. So a group of twelve
elephants gathers around and tries to lift it, but they cannot. Then a
small solitary elephant comes along and easily lifts the fallen beast
back onto its feet. <<
this is from the aberdeen bestiary:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/translat/10r.hti
[De Elephante]
animal grandius videtur. In eis enim Perse et Indi ligneis
turribus collati tanquam de muro iaculis dimicant. Intellectu
et memoria multa vigent, gregatim incedunt, murem fugiunt,
aversa coheunt. Biennio autem parturiunt, nec amplius quam
semel gignunt, nec plures sed tantum unum. Vivunt autem annos
trescentos. Si autem voluerit facere filios, vadit ad orientem
prope Paradisum, et est ibi arbor qui vocatur mandragora,
et vadit cum femina sua, que prius accipet de arbore et dat
in masculo suo. Et seducit eum donec manducet, statimque
in utero concipit. Cum vero tempus pariendi venerit, exit
in stagnum, et aqua venit usque ad ubera matris. Elephans
autem custodit eam parturientem, quia draco inimicus est
elephanti. Si autem invenerit serpentem, occidit eum, quem
conculcat donec moriatur. Est enim formida bilis tauris
elephans, tamen murem timet. Hec est natura eius, si
ceciderit non potest surgere. Cadit autem cum se inclinat
in arborem ut dormiat. Non enim habet iuncturas
geniculorum. Venator autem incidit arborem modicum,
ut elephans eum se inclinaverit, similiter cum arbore
cadat. Cadens autem fortiter clamat, et statim magnus
elephans exit, et non potest eum levare. Tunc clamant
ambo et veniunt duodecim elephantes, et non possunt
levare eum qui cecidit. Deinde clamant omnes, et statim
venit pusillus elephans, et mittit os suum cum permusicla
subtus magnum elephantem, et elevat eum. Habet autem
pusillus elefans hanc naturam, ubi incensum fuerit de
capillis et ossibus eius, necque aliud mali accidit neque
draco. Magnus elefans et mulier eius personam habent
Adam et Eve. Cum enim carne essent placentes deo,
ante ipsorum privaricationem non sciebant coitum,
necque intelligen
[Of the elephant] ... no larger animal is seen. The Persians
and Indians, carried in wooden towers on their backs, fight
with javelins as from a wall. Elephants have a lively intelligence
and a long memory; they move around in herds; they flee from
a mouse; they mate back-to-back. The female is pregnant for
two years, and gives birth no more than once, and not to several
offspring but to one only. Elephants live for three hundred
years. If an elephant wants to father sons, it goes to the East,
near Paradise; there the tree called mandragora, the mandrake,
grows. The elephant goes to it with his mate, who first takes
fruit from the tree and gives it to her male. And she seduces
him until he eats it; then she conceives at once in her womb.
When the time comes for her to give birth, she goes out into
a pool, until the water comes up to her udders. The male
guards her while she is in labour, because elephants have
an enemy - the dragon. If the elephant finds a snake, it
kills it, trampling it until it is dead. The elephant strikes
fear into bulls, yet fears the mouse. The elephant has this
characteristic: if it falls down, it cannot rise. But it falls
when it leans on a tree in order to sleep, for it has no joints
in its knees. A hunter cuts part of the way through the tree,
so that when the elephant leans against it, elephant and tree
will fall together. As the elephant falls, it trumpets loudly;
at once a big elephant goes to it but cannot lift it. Then they
both trumpet and twelve elephants come, but they cannot lift
the one who has fallen. Then they all trumpet, and immediately
a little elephant comes and puts its trunk under the big one
and lifts it up. The little elephant has this characteristic,
that when some of its hair and bones have been burnt, nothing
evil approaches, not even a dragon. The big elephant and its
mate represent Adam and Eve. For when they were in the
flesh pleasing to God, before their sin, they did not know
how to mate and had no understanding (Translation &
Transcription Copyright 1995 © Colin McLaren & Aberdeen
University Library)
___ .
mata kimasitayo
kimasita(at)bloomington.in.us
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non ridere, non lugere,
neque detestari, sed intelligere.
-- b. spinoza
(tractatus politicus, cap. I, par. 4)
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----- Original Message -----
From: Bill East
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 3:11 AM
Subject: Re: [M-R] RE Monday, March 15, 2004 12:04 AM RE [M-R] wood sculpture in breme...
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
--- Nancy Spies <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > medieval-religion:
Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
>
>
> yes, thanks nancy. and if an elephant (scil. somewhat
> fabulous to the carver) then why an elephant? why
> should such an object be in a cathedral? could it
> depict a biblical event/episode?
Nancy is no doubt correct in suggesting an elephant. The image rings a
distant bell, but I cannot now remember the significance. The key will
be the Physiologus, the medieval text assigning moral and religious
significances to the various animals, fabulous and real. There is a
popular translation, T.H. White, "The Book of Beasts" and I am pretty
sure that this will answer your question.
To mention some of the 'significatio' of the elephant which I do
remember: As everyone knows, an elephant has no knees. Therefore the
hunter cuts halfway through a tree. The elephant leans against the
tree, which snaps, and the elephant falls over. The elephant (having,
as aforesaid, no knees) cannot get up by itself. So a group of twelve
elephants gathers around and tries to lift it, but they cannot. Then a
small solitary elephant comes along and easily lifts the fallen beast
back onto its feet.
The fallen elephant represents fallen mankind, deceived by the wily
hunter (Satan) and the tree in the Garden of Eden. The twelve elephants
who try unsuccessfully to raise it are the prophets, signifying the Old
Testament. The small elephant is of course Christ, who raises fallen
mankind and restores it to its former dignity.
This story is from the Physiologus; the story you want will be there
too, I promise you.
Bill.
=====
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