[Manuscript:] Arundel 292, British Museum: on vellum, 200 × 130 mm.: late thirteenth century. Its miscellaneous contents, English, Anglo-French, and Latin, are described in Altdeutsche Blätter, ii. 141-148. The Bestiary is written continuously, but the initials of the lines and, in the long metres, of the half lines are mostly rubricated. In most cases the long lines are divided into half lines by a space and a stop, sometimes one or both are missing. At ll. 439, 493, two words are carried below the last full line of the folio. Final g of ll. 42, 43, 316, 317, 332, 333, 338, 339, 358, 359, 463, 464, 475, 476, 477, 478, 542, 543, 662 has a stroke or hook added, which appears to be merely ornamental: similarly the g of wrengðe 69, among 147, ðing 392, strong 509; h and b are much alike; ƿ is open at the top as in Genesis and Exodus. Latin headings are in red, some are on the margin, the others at the head of their sections. As will be seen from the footnotes, the manuscript was much corrected or altered over erasures, and that after it was finished, for the substituted words do not always fill the gaps left by the scraper. The first leaves of the exemplar were probably damaged at the lower margin, since defective or difficult passages occur at regular intervals, so l. 32, ll. 89-92, 120, 121, 143, 144, 173, 200, 201.
[Editions:] Wright, T., Altdeutsche Blätter, Leipzig, 1836, 1840, ii. 99-120; Reliquiae Antiquae, London, 1841, i. 208-27. Mätzner, E., Altenglische Sprachproben, Berlin, 1867, i. 55-75. Morris, R., An Old English Miscellany, 1872, 1-25.
[Literature:] (1) of the English Bestiary. Hallbeck, E., The Language of the M. E. Bestiary, Lund, 1905. Holthausen, F., Archiv, lxxxviii. 365-9 (emendations). (2) of the Bestiaries in general. A detailed bibliography will be found in Anglia, Beiblatt, x. 274-87, xii. 13-23, xiii. 18, 19, 236-9. The following will provide an introduction to the subject: Ahrens, K., Zur Geschichte des sogennanten Physiologus, Ploen, 1885; Carus, J. V., Geschichte der Zoologie, München, 1872; Land, J. N. P., Encyclopaedia Britannica, s.v. Physiologus; Lauchert, F., Geschichte des Physiologus, Strassburg, 1889; Mann, M. F., Französische Studien, vi. Heft 2, Heilbronn, 1888; Peters, E., Der Griechische Physiologus und seine orientalischen Uebersetzungen, Berlin, 1898.
[Source:] With the exception of the last section, the English poem is generally an adaptation of the Latin Physiologus, written in a variety of verse forms as the concluding line informs us, by one Tebaldus or Thetbaldus, who is variously described in the headings as Italicus, Senensis, Placentinus episcopus, and is identified by some with the Abbot Theobald who presided over Monte Cassino from 1022 to 1035. The poem is extant in a large number of manuscripts and early printed editions, the first of which latter with place and date is that of Antwerp, 1487. It will be found printed in Hildeberti Turonensis Archiepiscopi Opera, ed. D. A. Beaugendre, Paris, 1708, p. 1174, from which it is repeated in Migne, P. L., tom. 171, p. 1218, and also as Appendix i, p. 201 in An Old English Miscellany, ed. Morris. The text is very unsettled, apparently scribes and editors felt themselves free to rewrite it on occasion. The passages where the English adapter notably departs from his original are pointed out in the notes. He was, no doubt, acquainted with one of the older Latin prose versions of Physiologus enumerated by M. F. Mann in Anglia vii. 443-6; there is no positive evidence that he knew the Bestiary of Philippe de Thaün.
[Phonology:] Oral a is a, dareð 310, late 453; a before nasals is a, bane 370, man 194, ðan 157, ðanne 13, wan 386, wanne 10, wankel 446; a before lengthening groups is o, among 147, folde 33, fondeð 532, stonden 497, but gangen 110 (3 times), gangeð 153, 177, gangande 530, standen 531 with Anglian shortening; in gandre 532 d is inorganic; funt 93 (OE. fant) descends from OE. *funt, its use here possibly influenced by Anglo-Fr. funt. æ is mostly a (82 times), barlic 192, fast 161, fasteð 109, qual 598 r. w. al, togaddre 482, 525, ðat 3 &c., was 26 &c.; the exceptions mostly descend from OE. forms in e, or are due to analogy, defte 23 (gedeftan), dele 4 (comp. dell), festeð 438, festen 417, feste 143, 160 (comp. feste adv., Scandinavian influence is also possible), heruest 177 (herfest), meche 586 r. w. reche (gemečča, but make 574, 576, 578, gemaca), nese 3, 223 (næs-), resteð 178, 504 (restan), steppeð 6 (steppan), steppes 5 (stepe), weder 270, 521 (hweþer): togiddre 282 has e raised to i before a dental, wos 628 is *hwās with vowel from hwā. e is e, be 588, fel 109; before lengthening groups, felde 307, lengðe 437, trendled 606, but bi 4, 24 (bi); wilc 4, swilc 248, swilk 338, sille 449 (syllič) r. w. ille, represent forms with y; tetireð 318 (to-teran) has i from Fr. tirer, as in tireð 336, possibly helped by the contracted sing. 3, tyrþ; seie 613 (4) r. w. haliweie, seien 385 imitate other parts of the verb without c, similarly leigeð 272. i is i, biddan 101, is 384, 414 r. w. fis, 509 r. w. fuligewis, mirke 80 r. w. kirke, wile 71 r. w. bile, wille 607 r. w. stille; before lengthening groups i, finden 7, singeð 448, but es 183 r. w. gres, nes 518, merk 341 r. w. werk (due to labial influence), wulle 634, wullen 314. o is o, bodes 136, nos 303 r. w. gōs; before lengthening groups, hornes 236, sorgeden 559 (without i-umlaut), word 35, but forwurden 108, wulde 74 (4), wuldest 385 by consonant influence; ouese 362, eaves, is without i-umlaut, comp. ofesc, owisc and modern Essex dialectal oavis, but in Layamon eouesen. u is u, cumeð 40 &c., dure 134, wude 181, wune 281; before lengthening groups, bunden 443, hunger 306, but towrong 42 r. w. strong, with o before n, ðrist 231, 428 r. w. list (analogy of þyrstan, þyrstig). y is i, dine 646 r. w. wiðerwine, fille 373 r. w. stille, mankin 168, 243 r. w. win, 569 r. w. dim, pit 624 r. w. offrigt, stireð 11 (4), unride 389, 507 r. w. wide, 522 r. w. side, wirm 106 (4); before lengthening groups, birdene 289, minde 263 (3); but dede 171, elp 522 (3) (comp. OE. elpend), stereð 309, furg dat. with u from the nominative, hungren 428, hungreð 390 (analogy of hungor), sundren 577 (analogy of sundor), tunder 419 r. w. wunder (once ‘tunderi,’ Oldest E. Texts 570; comp. also OWScand. tundr), vuemest 639 (ufemest), come 664 r. w. nome. ā is regularly o, cof 124, invariably non 494 r. w. bon, no 148, on 490 (7) r. w. gon, 635 r. w. bon, one (āna) 579 (3), ston 66 r. w. on; before two consonants, bitokneð 152, golsipe 245, gost 214; but a, an frequently, anoðer 262 (unstressed shortened ā), atter 121, 241 with shortened ā extending from the oblique cases (Bülbring § 344), gast 435 r. w. stedefast, 640 r. w. vuemest, which Morsbach, ME. Gr., § 135, anm. 8 deduces from shortened a, nummore 208, 455, through loss of stress, comp. ‘wumme’ 235/21, 121/133. ǣ1 is e, hete 56 r. w. wete, mene 248 r. w. ouerwene, rede 38 r. w. guðhede, stel 419 (stǣli), wete 190, 209; before two consonants, fles 114, 435, eure 402, neure 16, but haliweie 612, through association with hālig, most 501, moste 384 from māst, goð 66 (5) with o from the plural, oni 378 from ānig, ilk 82 (4), ilc 256, ilkines 180 from ylc. ǣ2 is also e, dede 82 r. w. mede, forleteð 191, leteð 114, 658, let 156, sed 180 r. w. wed, 658 r. w. ned, slepen 452 r. w. waken, ðer 19 (17), ðere 207, 369, were 61 (8), weren 80 (4), wete 57 r. w. hete, 615 r. w. swete; before two consonants, neddre 107 (3), but lat 327, 328, lateð 271 r. w. wadeð, ðar 8 (7), ðore 81, 88 r. w. lore (þāra), wor 514 (5) from hwāra, wore 578 r. w. more, broken 242 in both of which o represents ā. ē is e, let 642, mede 84 r. w. dede, swetnesse 613; boke dat. 665 has the vowel of the nominative, doð 141 (8) the vowel of the plural. ī is i without exception. ō is o, but kam 29, 352, cam 564, te 107. ū is u without exception. ȳ is i, briche 293, 592 r. w. heuenriche, fir 123, ðirl 112; before two consonants, filðe 156, wissing 246.
ea before r + cons. is a, art 139, dar 647, narwe 113, sarpe 318; before lengthening groups, harde 499 (4), forðward 160, but e in ern 73, ernes 37, flerd 351, middelerd 352 and u in wurð 566 (wearþ) by confusion with the present tense. The i-umlaut is a in chare 457, char 519 (see 359/4), warmen 421, but derne 21, 75, dernelike 326. ea before l + cons. is a, al 116 &c., fallen 56, galle 654, half 460, salt 155; before lengthening groups o, biholdeð 365, kold 495, holdeð 573, olde 581, told 459, twifold 322, wolden 139, wolde 482, but the contracted? bihalt 520, biwalt 521 have shortened a; in helden 136 e is probably miswritten for o: the i-umlaut is a in falleð 58 (5), 526 r. w. calleð, e in elde 40, 108, elded 139, eldere 171, 241, unwelde 41, all before lengthening groups, welle 46, 253. eo before r + cons. is regularly e, berges 481, bergen 8, fer 265, herte 136 (3), stert 6, werc 340; before lengthening groups, erðe 20 (3) and its compounds. To the wur group belong forwurðes 138, forwurðe 196, wurðeð 59 and other forms of weorþan, wurði 346, wurðlic 173, but not forwerpen 257, werpeð 236. The i-umlaut is seen in hirde 33, 34 (hirde), tirgen 275 (not original); hertien 277 is very doubtful: a wyr word is wurdi 145, without umlaut. The u- and å-umlauts of a are wanting, bale 172, 379, care 563, but heuekes 664: o in noule 444 (*nafola, contrast ‘neauele’ 120/98) is ascribed by Morsbach, ME. Gr. § 87, anm. 4, to the influence of v, but a diphthong appears to have developed, the modern East Anglian dialectic word is nowle. The u- and å-umlauts of e are also wanting, forgelues 138, hert 218 (3), heuene 49 &c., werlde 106, fele 297, 463. eo, u- and å-umlaut of i is e, here 280 (5), senden 63, 441, seuene 50, 652, clepeð 221, leneð 510, 523, but limes 41 (3), niðer 4, 500, niðerward 444, siðen 227 r. w. swīðe, liuen 412: widue 578 is Anglian widwe, but wude 181 (*wiudu) has normal u (Bülbring § 264). ea after palatals is a, chaueles 397, sal 16 &c., sakeð 193, sadue 524 r. w. togaddre, but seftes 356; before nasal, same 193, 339, 346 r. w. name, and before lengthening group, o in sonde 431. ie after ġ is e, geld 338, gelt 316, bigeten 490, 494, forgeten 451, but giueð 291; after sc, also e, seld 130 (but scildan gives silden 34, sildeð 130), sending 339, seppande 356 (i-umlaut of ea after sc). EWS. gief is gef 274 (5), if 35 (9): if is used from l. 35 to l. 265 and once again at l. 578, gef, which is probably the author’s form, begins at l. 274. eo after ġ is u in gungling 543, guðhede 39, i in ging 162, gingen 259, gingid 238, after sc, u, sulde 123, suneð 193, sunen 210, 285 r. w. munen, sulen 203 (4). heom is hem 281 &c.
ēa is regularly e, ches 586, ded 26 (9), slep 635, lefful 585, queðsipe 298; the i-umlaut is e (Anglian), gemen 260, here 2 &c., leueð 85, nede 100 (9), nedeð 113, 164, remeð 527; before two consonants, bekneð 213. ēo is also e, be 21 &c., bet 213, bitwen 281, crepeð 111 (3), deuel 164 (5), der 322 r. w. her (4), undergede 568 r. w. manhede, wel 600 (Ang. hwēl, Bülb. § 217) r. w. wel; before two consonants, brest 117 (4), helde 173, but diuel 21, an early instance of this shortening, cripelande 111 from crypel; the i-umlaut is e, strenen 485, ten 109. gesīene is sene 356, gīet, get 62, 385 r. w. flet. ēa after palatals is e, ger 492 r. w. her, sep 34, 483.
a + g is ag, dages 607, drageð 6, sage 475, but daies 109, 635; mugen 323 has the form of the subjunctive mugon; sei 159 descends from sege, seieþ 347 from segeþ, seit 577 from segð. æ + g is divided between ai and ei, dai 29 (7), 582 r. w. ai, daies 109, 635, faier 629, lai 28, 633, mai 110 (9), maig 64 (3), mainles 110; breid 548, breides 344 (bregd), dei 216, 576, deies 309, meiden 23, 442, seide 191, 353, seid 549: fagen 394, 415 r. w. dragen is Anglian fagen; muge 126, 187 descends from LWS. muge. e + g is ei, weie 4; forbredes 138 comes from forbrēdan, agen 185, 457 from agēn: e + h is seen in hightes 135, 161, hightest 133. i + g: the spirant has been absorbed in lieð 15; final ig is i, mani 429, manie 441, wurði 346. i + h is ig, idigt 364, sigte 92, wigt 235. o + h is og, ðogt 501, 559, but forbroiden 108, not from -brogden, but -brōden, with a variation which perhaps mimics the alternation of the ME. infinitives breden (brēdan) and breiden (bregdan), see NED. s.v. broiden. u + g is ug, fugeles 308, mugen 503, 643, but the spirant has disappeared in fules 305, 312. y + h is ig, drigten 26 (3), fligt 43, 54, offrigt 625 (late North. fryhta). ā + g, h is og, og 263 (3), ogen 210 (4), ogt 623 (āht), but ovt 560 r. w. ðogt 577, out 521, forms due to the scribe: steg 639 (stāh) has borrowed e, as often elsewhere, from the third class of strong verbs. ǣ1 + g, h is ag, agte 477, er, meaning or, 99 (9) is descended from ǣgþer, while er, before, 191 (4) is ǣr: neggen 122, negge 3 represent genēgan. ǣ2 + g is seen in haliweie 612 (wǣg). ī + g: in sti 152 r. w. bi, g has disappeared. ō + g, h is og, inog 118, ðogte 354, nogt 122 (9), but nout 11, 593, 622 r. w. ogt, nowt 192, 214, forms due to the scribe. ȳ + g, drie 615. ea + h, ht is seen in magt (mæht) 426, magti 175, waxe 196, waxeð 124, waxen 445 (wæxan); the i-umlaut in migt 234, 532 r. w. wiht, migte 21 (3), nigt 47, but sloð 329 (WS. sliehþ) r. w. loð, corresponds to North. slāþ, influenced by OScand. slá. eo + ht is igt, brigt 55 r. w. fligt, figtande 128, rigt 52, rigten 102, rigteð 125, but sexe 50 (Anglian sex), bitwixen 293 (betweohs); without umlaut is seð 49 r. w. teð (WS. siehþ) as if from sēoþ. ēa + g, h is eg (Anglian), egen 16 (5), heg 18, hege 562; eilond 387, 414 (īegland) is from Anglian ēgland. ēo + g is also eg, fleges 366, flegeð 48 (3), legeð 350, 577; ēo + h, ligtlike 315; without i-umlaut are fleð 123, 165 (comp. flēð, Durh. Rit.), teð 48 r. w. seð, 274, but ligten 20, 289. ā + w is ow, ou, ov, knoweð 106, sowles 103, soule 158 (4), knov 133, but soge 386 as if from *sāhe, sawen 599, possibly miswritten for sowen. ī + w, appears in newe 60 (5), neweð 39 (5), newe 141, all from Anglian forms with ēo. ō + w: nowor 35 represents *nōwar, nōwer from nāhwǣr, nāhwār. ēa + w is seen in ðewes 143 and finally in deu 7: ēo + w in rewen 437, rewe 206, reufulike 528, speweð 116, finally in gu 549 (4): tre 508, 516, 524, 551 r. w. we, is Anglian tre(o): the i-umlaut is wanting in trewe 163, 589, untrewe 61, 96.
In syllables without stress o is levelled to e, wankel 446, hunger 203, siker 207, wunder 194, sumer 176, te 107. a appears for e in mereman 442, influenced by man. An e, generally unmetrical, has been inserted in deuẹles 436 (but deules 665), folegen 269, folẹgeð 431, 620 (but folgen 439, 643), fugeles 308, lagelike 573, steuẹne 561, husebondes 299, sineginge 149, wisedom 324, and i similarly in hardilike 177, fulịgewis 508 (comp. fuliwis 445), haliweie 612 (‘haleweie,’ L 23072), sinịging 256: e is omitted in biforn 62, 68, 268, but metre requires everywhere biforen. The prefix be- is bi-, bisetten 167: ge- is i in imong 476, it appears also in uniemete 459 (ungemǣte) with ie for i as in attrie 228, perhaps an Anglo-Norman interchange of these symbols. But ge- is generally lost, as in bodes 136, minde 263, vnride 389, unwelde 41. on- is a in among 147, to-, te in tetireð 318. redi 125 (3) is a ME. formation from gerǣde + ig, the termination in sille is -lic; -ung is ing, drowing 567, groning, woning 662, lesing 478.
Geminated final consonants are invariably simplified as web 363, coc 300, stoc 224, fel 109, hil 18, spel 335, den 8, fen 630, mankin 168, sin(ful) 82, win 244, char 519, dar 647, fer 265, pit 624; often too medially as rr, chare 457, dure 145; nn, wiðerwine 645, cune 148, cunen 457; þþ, siðen 41 (5); cc, fecheð 179, reche 585, meche 586. For w, u is written in sadue 524. r is doubled in warre 456; metathesis occurs in ðrist 231, 428. n is added in hauen 183, boðen 181, boden 525, doubled in drigtinnes 242, vnneðes 113, omitted in euelike 213, and frequent o for on. p is doubled in steppes 5, inserted in sampnen 484. f between vowels and vowellikes is u, rauen 311, geuelic 173, ouese 362, culuer 650, derue 205, once v in weveð 360 (but weueð 363), otherwise it is f. f is doubled in off prep. 104, 241, 264, 616, while the adverb appears as of 657. t is doubled in little 200, 432, beside litel 131, lost in beste 514, for it th is written in cethegrande 383: ts is sc in giscing 245, c in milce 151. d is doubled in togaddre 482, gaddreð 180, omitted in selcuðes 441, as already in OE. selcūþ and in sille 449, but already syllic in OE. For d, ð is written in ðon 328, faðer 13, queðsipe 298, seð 191, for þ, d in boden 525, broder 287, dede 31, 625, filde 160, lodlike 357, swide 360, swideð 54, dat 634, de 165, dridde 29, drowing 567, wurden 250, mostly due to the scribe’s failure to complete ð: þ is t in forsaket 81, wit 136: after voiceless t, s pronominal words begin with t instead of þ, tanne 216, tat 18, te 209, (at) te 134, 361, 586, ter 329, tin 161, tine 159, tis 73, 154, tu 133 (7), tus 77 &c., but de 192, once after d, tu 150. In forðward 160, ð has been wrongly inserted. sć is s, initially, sadue 524, sakeð 193, sal 16 &c., same 193 (3), sarpe 318, seftes 356, seld 130, sending 339, sep 34, seppande 356, silden 34, sinen 12, sipes 411, sonde 431, sop 356, sulde 123, suneð 193, sures 203, once sc, scrifte 159, once sk, skinbon 272, NED compares NFris. skenbiin, WFris. skynbonke; medially, golsipe 245, queðsipe 298, but ss in wissing 246 (*gewȳscung); finally, fis 383, fles 114, 435. The stop c is k before e and i and in combination with other consonants, forsaket 81, kinde 10, bitokneð 152, drink 158, but craft 111, in other positions mostly c, cam 564, uncuð 396, blac 598, swic 149, but kam 29, 352, unkuð 97, swik 344, suk 454, smake 3 (ME. formation from smæcc): cc is ck, necke 303. č is ch, chaueles 397, ches 586, erðchine 308, chare 457, char 519, briche 293, 592, eche 139, quenchet 256, riche 480, but ic 38 &c., sekeð 46, kirke 78, Scand. in form, kolde 486, kold 495, mirke 80, merk 341 (see Björkman 146), micle 536, mikle 542 (comp. OWScand. mikil), wilc 4, swilc 248, swilk 338, ilik 343, lic 662. čč is cch, dreccheð 88, feccheð 301, but fecheð 179, reche 585, meche 586 and fetchen 265, witches 427, early instances of tch, but ?wikke 468. cw is qu, qw, quenchet 256, qwemeð 190, queðsipe 298, quike 253. Palatal g is written g, bigeten 490, forgeten 451, gemen 260, geld 338, forgelues 138, ger 491, get 62, ging 162, gingen 259, gingid 238, giueð 291, gu 549, gungling 543, guðhede 39, undergede 568 (undereode); it is doubled in negge 3, neggen 122, lost in if 35 &c. The voiceless spirant is also represented by g, as in egen 16, ðogte 354, soge 386, furg 307, inog 118, ðurg 3: doubled in suggeden 559 (in Orm suhhghen), now dialectal, mostly Northern, sough, soo. h is lost in ire 183, added in heten 421: hl is l, lene 110, lepeð 230, lides 16, list 585, listen 74, louerd 19, lude 377; hn is n, necke 303; hr, r, raðe 317, rem 13, remeð 527, rewen 437; hw, w, wan 386, wat 95, weder 270, wel 600, wete 190, wilc 4, wile 648, wite 599, wos 628, wu 20 &c., and qu in qual (Northern).