Description
This bestiary, known as the “Dicta Chrysostomiâ€, was written by Hugh of Fouilloy (prior of St-Nicholas-de-Regny) although the title suggests that its author was St John Chrysostom. The medieval bestiary is illustrated with 24 representations of a variety of animals, including both real and imagined creatures (such as lion, panther, dragon, unicorn, crocodile, hyena, elephant, monkey, sawfish, viper, deer, goat, fox, beaver, ant, hedgehog, salamander, basilisk, and others). Besides being a type of book that gathers together descriptions of animals, most bestiaries have a moralizing tone: animals receive a symbolic meaning.
The image shows a boat in the sea with three sailors, a siren (depicted as a woman with the tail of a fish) luring and pulling a sailor from the boat by the hair, while another sailor blocks his ears to avoid hearing the siren's enchanting singing voice, and below an onocentaur (which combines the body of a human with that of an ass) holding a bow, who apparently also participates in attacking the boat.
What possible relations can there be between these animals and Christian morality? The sirens “sunt mortiferaâ€: they charm and lull sailors to sleep with their sweet melodies, and then attack and kill them, tearing their flesh. Sirens symbolize the temptations of evil: those not able to resist worldly pleasures will be vulnerable to the devil and will fall into sin. The onocentaur, on the other hand, is a symbol of male lust: the creature has a dual nature, the upper part being rational but the lower part wild and, because of this, two forces command his choices, allowing him to preach good but do evil.
