Fantastic Fish of the Middle Ages

NAVIGATION BAR

FANTASTIC FISH TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page One

Page Two

Page Three

Page Four

Page Five

Page Six

Page Seven

Page Eight

Page Nine

Page Ten

Page Eleven

Page Twelve

Page Thirteen

Page Fourteen

Page Fifteen

Page Sixteen

SEE ALSO:

A Boke of Gode Cookery

Jeanne La pucelle and the Dying God

Medieval Macabre

Medieval Woodcuts Clipart Collection

Mythical Plants of the Middle Ages

The Pestilence Tyme

Pilgrims Passing To and Fro

Scenes of the Known World

Tales of the Middle Ages

The Worker's Café

Gode Cookery Table of Contents

Gode Cookery

GOODE COOKYS

PLEASE VISIT:

The Gode Cookery Bookshop

Medieval Cookery Books for sale at the Bookshop!

A translation of Lawrens Andrewe's
"The noble lyfe & nature of man, Of bestes, serpentys, fowles & fisshes y be moste knowen"

A late-medieval manuscript translated into modern English, with period illustrations.

Here are the fantastic and incredible fish of the Middle Ages, which populated both the waters and the imagination of the medieval world. Real creatures still familar to us, such as the salmon and the crayfish will be found here, but you will also read of such fabulous specimens as the Abremon, which propagated without intercourse, the Ezox, so large that a four-horsed cart could not carry one away, and the Nereydes, sea monsters that cried whenever one of them died.

Fantastic Fish of the Middle Ages is from Lawrens Andrewe's "The noble lyfe & nature of man, Of bestes, serpentys, fowles & fisshes y be moste knowen" as reprinted in The Boke of Nurture by Frederick J. Furnivall, 1894. Andrewe's original work was printed sometime between 1400 & 1550.

The modern English translations of Andrewe's text are by James L. Matterer.

The illustrations come from two Dover Books: Curious Woodcuts of Fanciful and Real Beasts & Medieval Life Illustrations.

fishline

And now here is Lawrens Andrewe's "The noble lyfe & nature of man, Of bestes, serpentys, fowles & fisshes y be moste knowen" as reprinted in Frederick J. Furnivall's 1894 edition of The Boke of Nurture:

Extracts about fish from
The noble lyfe & nature of man
Of bestes, serpentys, fowles & fisshes y be moste knowen

"A very rare black-letter book, without date, and hitherto undescribed, except perhaps incorrectly by Ames (vol. 1, p. 412, and vol. 3, p. 1531), has been lent to me by Mr. Algernon Swinburne. Its title is given above: 'The noble lyfe and natures of man' is in large red letters, and the rest in smaller black ones, all surrounded by woodcuts of the wonderul animals, mermaids, serpents, birds, quadrupeds with men's and women's heads, a stork with its neck tied in a knot, and each other beatss 'y be most knowen.' The illustrations to each chapter are wonderfully quaint. The author of it says in his Prologus:

'In the name of ower sauiour criste Iesu, maker & redemour of al mankynd, I Lawrens Andrewe of the towne of Calis haue translated for Johannes does-borrowe, booke prenter in the cite of Andwarpe, this present volume deuyded in thre partes, which were neuer before in no maternall langage prentyd tyl now .'

As it is doubtful whether another copy of the book is known, I extract from from the Third Part of this incomplete one such notices of the fish mentioned by Russell or Wynkyn de Worde, as it contains, with a few others for curiousity's sake."

Frederick J. Furnivall, 1894.

Here after followeth of the natures of the fisshes of the See whiche be right profitable to be vnderstande. Wherof I wyll wryte be the helpe and grace of almighty god, to whose laude & prayse this mater ensueth. - Lawrens Andrewe

Page One:

The Abremon; The Anguilla; The Alee; The Aspidochelon; The Aaurata; The Ahuna

Page Two:

The Borbotha; The Botte; The Brenna; The Balena

Page Three:

Cancer the Creuyce; The Caucius; The Capitaius; The Carpera; The Cetus; The Conche; The Cochele; The Conger; The Coretz

Page Four:

The Delphinus

Page Five:

The Echeola; The Echynus; The Ezox

Page Six:

The Focas

Page Seven:

The Gladius; The Gastarios; The Glaucus; The Gobio; The Grauus

Page Eight:

The Halata

Page Nine:

The Lucius

Page Ten:

The Mus Marinus; The Musculus; The Mustela; The Murena; The Mulus

Page Eleven:

The Nereydes

Page Twelve:

The Orchun; The Ostren

Page Thirteen:

The Pagrus; The Pauus maris; The Percus; The Pecten; The Pinna; The Playce; The Polippus

Page Fourteen:

The Rumbus; The Rubus; The Ryache

Page Fifteen:

The Salmo; The Salpa; The Serra; The Scilla; The Syrene; The Solaris; The Solea; The Solopendria; The Scorpion of the see; The Sturio; The Se Craues; The Squatinus

Page Sixteen:

The Teena; The Tintinalus: The Torpido; The Trncka; The Testudo

Visit our companion site
Mythical Plants of the Middle Ages

Our Favorite Letter!

Subject: fish Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 From: Simon Lachance

Do you not know that some while do sing when one of them die you say that like if it where some sort of strange thing that does not happen in nature. And yes there are anamils that "propaget without intercourse, and about the Ezox try to lift or even move one with "a four-horsed cart" and then you a bulldoures so to say that this creatures do not live is very fool-hearted of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks! ...I think....
Jim Matterer

1300 Real and Fanciful Animals:
From 17th C. Engravings
by Matthaeus Merian

Fantastic and Mythological
Creatures: 1087 Renderings
by Richard Huber

Recommended:

Curious Woodcuts of Fanciful and Real Beasts: A Selection of 19O Sixteenth-Century Woodcuts from Gesner's and Topsell's Natural Histories by Conrad Gesner, Konrad Gesner, Edmund V., Jr. Gillon (Editor)

Looking for a specific recipe, food, or ingredient at Gode Cookery?
Search Gode Cookery courtesy of Master.com

Gourmet medieval & Renaissance cookies from Gode Cookery, perfect for feasts, weddings, receptions, & more. In dozens of delightful & authentic designs.

http://www.godecookery.com/cookies/cookies.html