Fantastic Beasts of the Middle Ages

<p>In the Middle Ages, animals were often the means for survival and the source of great wealth.&nbsp;No wonder then that in the medieval imagination, animals are not just animals.&nbsp;Animals were thought to have traits and characteristics that meant that they could be sorted into moral categories - good and bad, righteous and evil - that dominate the Christian imagination.&nbsp;Ants could be monsters and panthers could be your friend, dog-headed men were as real as elephants and whales were as sneaky as wolves.&nbsp;</p><br><p>In this episode of <em>Gone Medieval</em>, Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Hana Videen, author of <em>The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary</em> to discuss animals, language, and how - when it comes to thinking about the animal kingdom - we actually have a lot in common with our Medieval ancestors.&nbsp;</p><br><p>This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Joseph Knight.</p><br><p><strong>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code MEDIEVAL - sign up&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey&nbsp;<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>