Folio 15v - Bear, continued. De leucrota; the leucrota.
by virtue of the shagginess of their hair. Bears are bred in the same way, wherever they come from. They do not mate like other quadrupeds but embrace each other when they copulate, just like the couplings of humans. Winter arouses their desire. The males respect the pregant females, and honour them by leaving them alone; although they may share the same lair at the time of birth, they lie separated by a trench. Among bears the time of gestation is accelerated. Indeed, the thirtieth day sees the womb free of the cub. As a result of this rapid fertility, the cubs are created without form. The females produce tiny lumps of flesh, white in colour, with no eyes. These they shape gradually, holding them meanwhile to their breasts so that the cubs are warmed by the constant embrace and draw out the spirit of life. During this time bears eat no food at all in the first fortnight; the males fall so deeply asleep that they cannot be aroused even if they are wounded, and the females, after they have given birth, hide for three months. Soon after, when they emerge into the open, they are so unused to the light that you would think they had been blinded. They attack beehives and try hard to get honeycombs. There is nothing they seize more eagerly than honey. If they eat the fruit of the mandrake they die. But they prevent the misfortune from turning into disaster and eat ants to regain their health. If they attack bulls, they know the parts to threaten the most, and will not go for any part except the horns or nose: the nose, because the the pain is sharper in the more tender place. Of the leucrota The beast called leucrota comes from India. It is the swiftest of all wild animals. It is as big as an ass, with the hindquarters of a deer, the chest and legs of a lion, the head...
- Commentary
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Commentary
Text
The bear. The leocrota.
Illustration
The leocrota is a swift animal born in India. It is the size of an ass with the hindquarters of a stag, the chest and legs of a lion, [a horse's head and a mouth split open as far as its ears. It has a continuous jawbone instead of teeth].
Comment
The last part of the description is absent from this text but is clearly illustrated and occurs in other versions. Pricking and ruling are visible. Based on the contents of the Ashmole Bestiary, there are pages missing for leocrota, crocodile, manticore, and start of parander.
Folio Attributes
- Transcription and Translation
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Transcription
taxat villis profundioribus. Nam genitura par est, quoquo loco ge\nuerint. Coeunt non itidem quo quadrupedes alie, sed apti\ amplexibus mutuis velud humanis coniugationibus co\ pulantur. Desiderium veneris hyems suscitat. Secreti\ honore verentur, mares gravidas, et in isdem licet foveis\ partius tamen per scrobes se cubationibus dividuntur. Lu\cine illis properativum tempus est. Quippe uterum tricesimus dies liberat.\ Unde evenit ut precipitata fecunditas informes creat p\artus. Carnes paxillulas edunt, quibus color candidus, o\culi nulli. Has lambendo sensum [PL: sensim] figurant et interdum\ ad pectoratas fovent, ut assiduo incubitu calefacte, a\nimalem trahent spiritum. Interea cibus nullus sane diebus\ primis xiiii, mares in sompnum ita concidunt ut nec\ vulneribus excitari queant, enixeque ternis latent mensibus.\ Mox egresse in diem liberum, tantam paciuntur [patiuntur] inso\lentiam lucis, ut putes obsitas cecitate. Insidiantur\ alvearibus apum, maxime favos appetunt. Nec avidius\ aliquid quam mella captant. Cum gustaverint mandra\gore mala, moriuntur. Sed eunt obviam ne malum in perni\tiem convalescat, et formicas devorant, ad recuperandam\ sanitatem. Si quando tauros adoriuntur, sciunt quibus potissimum\ partibus minorantur, nec aliud quam cornua, aut nares pecunt.\ Nares ut acrior dolor sit in\ [loco] teneriore.\ De leucrota\ In India nascitur\ bestia nomine\ leucrota. Que velocitate prece\dit feras universas. Ipsa asini\ sit magnitudine, cervi clunibus\ pectore ac cruribus leonis, capita [A: capite]\Translation
by virtue of the shagginess of their hair. Bears are bred in the same way, wherever they come from. They do not mate like other quadrupeds but embrace each other when they copulate, just like the couplings of humans. Winter arouses their desire. The males respect the pregant females, and honour them by leaving them alone; although they may share the same lair at the time of birth, they lie separated by a trench. Among bears the time of gestation is accelerated. Indeed, the thirtieth day sees the womb free of the cub. As a result of this rapid fertility, the cubs are created without form. The females produce tiny lumps of flesh, white in colour, with no eyes. These they shape gradually, holding them meanwhile to their breasts so that the cubs are warmed by the constant embrace and draw out the spirit of life. During this time bears eat no food at all in the first fortnight; the males fall so deeply asleep that they cannot be aroused even if they are wounded, and the females, after they have given birth, hide for three months. Soon after, when they emerge into the open, they are so unused to the light that you would think they had been blinded. They attack beehives and try hard to get honeycombs. There is nothing they seize more eagerly than honey. If they eat the fruit of the mandrake they die. But they prevent the misfortune from turning into disaster and eat ants to regain their health. If they attack bulls, they know the parts to threaten the most, and will not go for any part except the horns or nose: the nose, because the the pain is sharper in the more tender place. Of the leucrota The beast called leucrota comes from India. It is the swiftest of all wild animals. It is as big as an ass, with the hindquarters of a deer, the chest and legs of a lion, the head...
