Folio 48v - the swallow, continued. De ciconia; Of the stork.
of the swallow, it signifies, unless I am mistaken, the lament of the penitent soul. The swallow does not feed on the ground but eats what it catches in the air, as those who have no love for earthly things, seek, far away from them, the things of heaven. It is said to twitter, like those who frequently take pleasure in plaintive pleas. It flies in winding circles, as those who bend their minds in submission to the rules of obedience. The swallow is expert in building nests and bringing up its young. In constructing a nest, it resembles those who fix their hope in the faith of Christ's passion. It is skilled in bringing up its young, that is, like those who are skilled in teaching the brethren in their charge. The swallow has a kind of foresight, because it tells us which buildings which are about to fall by refusing to nest on their tops. Those who are truly penitent have a kind of foresight, in that they flee from the fall of this world and seek life without end. It is not harassed by other birds and is never their prey. Birds of prey never fall upon it, in the same way that the contrite of heart are never the prey of devils. The swallow flies across the sea, as the truly penitent long to quit the sorrows and commotions of this world. There it stays during in winter. As, when winter assails us, and the cold comes, the righteous man migrates to the warm region of love. There he waits patiently until the coldness of temptation passes from his mind. The pious bird knows how to proclaim, in witness of its coming, the beginning of spring. The swallow returns after the cold of winter to announce the beginning of spring. Likewise, the righteous man returns after the coldness of great temptation to the temperate climate of a well-regulated mind, in order that, having escaped the cold of temptation, he may ascend by means of good works to summer, that is, the warmth of the due measure of love. This, then, is the nature of the swallow, that is to say, of the penitent soul: it longs all the time for the beginning of spring, as the soul holds to the way of good judgement and moderation in all things. See how something simple, like the swallow, can teach those to whom divine providence from the beginning gave the capacity of discernment. Of the stork Storks get their name, ciconie, from the creaking sound they make, like crickets, cicanie. The sound comes from their mouth rather than their voice, because they make it by clashing their bills. Storks are the heralds of spring; they share a sense of community;
Folio 48v - the swallow, continued. De ciconia; Of the stork. | The Aberdeen Bestiary | The University of Aberdeen