Beast poetry
Encyclopedia
Beast poetry, in the context of European literature
and Medieval studies
, refers to a corpus
of poems written in Latin
from the 8th to the 11th century.
These poems draw upon an ancient literary tradition of anthropomorphic animals dating back into antiquity
and exemplified by Aesop
. They are the immediate foundation for the flowering of Reynard
literature that occurred in the 12th century. Elements from beast poetry have been adapted into subsequent works ranging from the Canterbury Tales to contemporary movies made with computer animation
.
Although it makes sense to discuss beast poetry as a single corpus of literature, they do not form a genre
but rather:
European literature
European literature refers to the literature of Europe.European literature includes literature in many languages; among the most important of the modern written works are those in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Polish, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Czech and Russian and works by the...
and Medieval studies
Medieval studies
-Development:The term 'medieval studies' began to be adopted by academics in the opening decades of the twentieth century, initially in the titles of books like G. G. Coulton's Ten Medieval Studies , to emphasize a greater interdisciplinary approach to a historical subject...
, refers to a corpus
Text corpus
In linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
of poems written in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
from the 8th to the 11th century.
These poems draw upon an ancient literary tradition of anthropomorphic animals dating back into antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and exemplified by Aesop
Aesop
Aesop was a Greek writer credited with a number of popular fables. Older spellings of his name have included Esop and Isope. Although his existence remains uncertain and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a...
. They are the immediate foundation for the flowering of Reynard
Reynard
Reynard is the subject of a literary cycle of allegorical French, Dutch, English, and German fables largely concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure.-Etymology of the name:Theories about the origin of the name Reynard are:...
literature that occurred in the 12th century. Elements from beast poetry have been adapted into subsequent works ranging from the Canterbury Tales to contemporary movies made with computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
.
Although it makes sense to discuss beast poetry as a single corpus of literature, they do not form a genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
but rather:
The medieval Latin poems have few immediately discernible traits in common with one another. They were not the products of the same time or region. They range greatly in length...In structure, a beast poem can be as humble as one speech by a bird struggling to fly home safely...but then again it can intertwine a dozen main stories and another dozen visions, reminiscences, and divagations....The beast poems were created for many occasions and audiences...to be pored over in the library..., read aloud, sung, and staged....Some were perhaps scripts for schoolroom performances...others for recitation in the refectory.
Some examples
- De lupo (The Wolf)
- Species comice (Comic Visions)
- De pugna avium (The Battle of the Birds)
- De vulpecula involante gallinam (The Fox and Hen)
- Quod cycni faciunt (What Do the Swans Do?)
- Flete, canes (Weep, Dogs)
- Pulicis et musce iurgia (Quarrel of the Flea and the Fly)
- De asino ad episcopum ducto (The Ass Brought before the Bishop)
- Gallus et vulpes (The Cock and the Fox)
- De pulice (The Flea)
- De Lombardo et lumac (The Lombard and Snail)
- Testamentum asini (The Donkey's Testament)
- Testamentum porcelli (The Piglet's Testament)
- Altercatio nani et leporis (Altercation of the Dwarf and Hare)
- Altercacio aranee et musce (Altercation of the Spider and the Fly)