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Bestiaries or Bestials

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Books very popular in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, containing the pictures of animals and their symbolisms.

“The unicorn has but one horn in the middle of its forehead. It is the only animal that ventures to attack the elephant; and so sharp is the nail of its foot, that with one blow it can rip the belly of that beast. Hunters can catch the unicorn only by placing a young virgin in its haunts. No sooner does he see the damsel, than he runs towards her, and lies down at her feet, and so suffers himself to be captured by the hunters. The unicorn represents Jesus Christ, who took on Him our nature in the virgin’s womb, was betrayed to the Jews, and delivered into the hands of Pontius Pilate. Its one horn signifles the Gospel of Truth… .”—Le Bestiaire Divin de Guillaume, Clerc de Normandic (13th century).

 

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

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Besom
Bess
Bess o Bedlam
Bess of Hardwicke
Bessemer Iron
Bessie Bell and Mary Gray
Bessus
Best
Best Man (at a wedding)
Best Things (The Eight)
Bestiaries or Bestials
Bête
Bête Noire
Beth Gelert
Bethlemenites
Betrothed (The)
Better
Better kind Friend, etc
Bettina
Bettina
Betty