Medieval Lions and The Bestiaries

15th Century illustration

Lions have long and undeniably been a part of world culture and heritage. Here, I confer an aspect of the rich and varied involvement of lions in European Medieval symbolism and literature.

In Europe, Bestiaries, or descriptions of the characteristics of animals in illustrated volumes, became popular in the Middle Ages – especially around the 12^th century in England and France. The often fanciful metaphors of the natural history of each animal were accompanied by moral lessons, reflecting the belief that every animal was created by God and thus that all animals had their own special meaning in symbolism of early Christian art and literature.

The earliest Bestiaries compiled “knowledge” of the animals from early naturalists like Aristotle, Herodotus, and Pliny the Elder who had this to say about lions in the 1^st century:

“ Lions are found in Europe only between the rivers Achelous and Mestus; these lions are stronger than those of Syria and Africa. There are two kinds of lions: a timid kind, with curly manes; and a long-haired kind that is bold. They drink infrequently, and eat only every other day, sometimes fasting for three days after a large meal. If a lion eats too much, it will reach down its throat with its claws and pull out the meat from its stomach. The lion is the only animal that spares people who prostrate themselves before it. When angry it attacks men, not women, and only attacks children when extremely hungry. A lion’s greatest strength is in its chest, and its blood is black. When a mother lion is defending her cub from hunters, she looks at the ground so as not to be intimidated by the sight of the hunter’s spears. Lions are frightened by turning wheels, empty chariots, crowing cocks, and fire.”

St Isidore of Seville, writing in the 7^th century (Etymologies, Book 12, 2:3-6), among others, creatively expanded on the early texts to include religious messages and moral content in the Bestiaries. Their imaginary stories about these animals, however, were generally accepted as true:

“The lion is the king of all beasts, thus its name in Greek (leo) means “king” in Latin. The kind of lion with a curly mane is weak, but the ones with straight hair are larger and more violent. Their courage is seen in their front and tail; their endurance is in the head; and their strength is in the chest. If they are surrounded by hunters with spears, they look at the ground so as not to become frightened. They are afraid of the sound of wheels but even more so of fire. They sleep with their eyes open. When lions walk, they erase their tracks with their tail so hunters cannot follow them. When they give birth to a cub, it is thought to sleep for three days and nights, until the place where it sleeps is shaken by the roar of the father, which wakes it. Lions can fight with their claws and their teeth even while they are cubs. Lions will only attack a man when they are extremely hungry; otherwise they are so gentle that they cannot be provoked unless they are struck. They spare anyone who prostrates himself and allow captives to return home.”

As the lion was considered the King of Beasts, their description usually comes first in all Bestiaries, and is given the longest treatment of all species by the authors.

Lions were supposed to have three “natures”: they would erase their tracks with their tails when hunted, they always slept with their eyes open, and their cubs were born dead (only to be brought back to life on the third day when the male roared over them). Other authors of Bestiaries said the newborns slept for three days until the male roared or the female breathed on them.

These three “natures” – all untrue of course – assumed considerable meaning in the Christian allegory of Medieval times. Lions erasing their tracks represented the way Jesus obscured and concealed his divinity except to his trusted followers. Lions sleeping with their eyes open had many meanings – either representing God who never sleeps as he watches over his children, representing Jesus as the Lion of Judah as being always alert and watchful, or representing Jesus physically dead after the crucifixion while spiritually alive in his divine nature. And the cubs being born dead and revived after three days by the male roaring over them represented God waking Jesus after three days in his tomb.

Lions were also supposed to exemplify moral living – lions would not attack a man lying down, would allow captive men to leave, would not attack women (children occasionally, but only when very hungry!), and were not easily angered. In short, people should reflect these behaviours by being slow to anger and quick to forgiveness.

Of course, by Medieval times, all lions had been eradicated from Europe. Herodotus might have seen a lion, but certainly St Isidore would not have laid eyes on one unless he travelled from Seville to Morocco on perhaps the equivalent of a 7^th century safari. Lions became icons, represented in heraldry and symbols, always representing steadfastness, bravery, nobility, and strength. Doubtless embellished by their Bestiaries in the Middle Ages, the tradition of lions continues to play a major role in our culture.

Their eradication, however, carries on to this day. Rather than fanciful and religiously motivated tales, we now have to rely on considered conservation programs enforced by African countries to keep lions alive. We must take action or we might soon relegate lions to a Bestiary that includes the dodo, the passenger pigeon, the quagga, and the bluebuck.