Introduction
Jill Mann
The Introduction provides a concise survey of the historical development beast literature in western Europe, which will serve as background for later chapters. It traces medieval tradition fable from its origins late Roman writer Phaedrus (first century ad), and Avianus (fourth/fifth through Latin adaptations expansions, to translation into vernacular languages Europe. In contrast venerable ancestry fable, epic is purely creation: some narrative material can be glimpsed short animal‐poems dating back Carolingian period, but real starting point Ysengrimus (1148 × 1152), gave rise French de Renart other epics, making Reynard household name. A final section deals with essentially independent bestiaries.
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