A Scavenging Beast of Prey or a Harmless Reptile? The lacta as a Puzzling Problem of Animal Classification in the Encyclopedia of Thomas of Cantimpré

0577070 - FLÚ 2024 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Šedinová, Hana
A Scavenging Beast of Prey or a Harmless Reptile? The lacta as a Puzzling Problem of Animal Classification in the Encyclopedia of Thomas of Cantimpré.
Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch. Roč. 58, č. 2 (2023), s. 204-255. ISSN 0076-9762
Institutional support: RVO:67985955
Keywords : Thomas of Cantimpré * Liber de natura rerum * ancient and medieval zoology * latin lexicography * medieval encyclopedias * quadrupeds * reptiles * illuminated bestiaries
OECD category: Specific languages
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://doi.org/10.36191/mjb/2023-58-2-2

Of the twenty books of his work Liber de natura rerum, the 13th-century encyclopedist Thomas of Cantimpré devoted six to animal world. He intended not only to educate his readers about ordinary animals, but especially to amaze them with his descriptions of various strange creatures. This is most clearly visible in chapters where he described several animals whose names are often hard to explain, both etymologically and semantically. One of such enigmatic terms is the name “lacta” which modern scholars believe refers to hyena. The study explores the possibility that it was originally a different animal that Thomas wrongly placed under the new name among viviparous terrestrial quadrupeds, and then enriched the brief passage taken from his source with his own ideas about the physical appearance and the diet of the creature. As a result, Thomas´s efforts gave birth to a completely new, albeit unreal animal.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0346479