Medieval Bestiary : Encyclopedia : Tuscan Bestiary

Tuscan Bestiary

The Tuscan Bestiary, written in the Tuscan dialect of Italian, is fourteenth century compendium of moralized animal lore. It is similar to the Latin bestiaries, but adds a collection of fables. The authors or compilers of the text are unknown. This bestiary, translated into the Catalan language, is known as the Catalan Bestiary.

Manuscripts and Editions

Manuscripts

There are 17 known manuscripts containing all or part of the Tuscan Bestiary texts. Most of these are held in Italian institutions, though one is in Paris and another in London.

Tuscan Bestiary manuscripts have been categorized using codes to identify each manuscript. The codes come from two principle texts (Goldstaub & Wendriner and McKenzie), with additional codes from Checchi. These codes are used in the text and tables below to refer to the manuscripts. Checchi further categorizes the manuscripts by redaction (version): "Redazione breve" (Short Redaction - RB) and "Redazione lunga" (Long Redaction - RL); these category codes are shown in [brackets] below.

Ch1	Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Chig.M.VI.137 [RB]
Ch2	Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Chig.M.V.117 RB]
Cor	Biblioteca dell'Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei e Corsiniana, Cors. 44.G.27 [RB]
L1	Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Ashb. 649 [RB]
L2	Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut.90 inf.47 [RB]
L3	Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Ashb.299 [RB]
L4	Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Ashb.520 [RL]
Lo	Wellcome Collection, MS.132 [RB]
N	Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli, XII.E.11 [RL]
P	Bibliothèque Nationale de France, ital. 450 [RB]
Pad	Biblioteca Civica di Padova, CM 106 [RB]
R1	Biblioteca Riccardiana, Cod. 2260 R.IV 4 [RL]
R2	Biblioteca Riccardiana, Cod. 2281 [RL]
R3	Biblioteca Riccardiana, Cod. 1357 P. III. 4 [RL]
R5	Biblioteca Riccardiana, Cod. 1475 [RB]
Sn	Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati, I.II.4 [RB]
St	Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, BNCF, II.VIII.33 [RB]

Notes on manuscripts

Goldstaub & Wendriner (page 80-81) included Biblioteca Riccardiana, Cod. 2183 (designated by them as manuscript R4) as a copy of the Tuscan Bestiary, but later scholars have disagreed. McKenzie (page 381) mentions the manuscript but says he does not include it because it is an isolated version that is related only in a very general way to the other Italian, as well Waldensian and French bestiaries. R4 is not mentioned at all by Checchi.

Goldstaub & Wendriner (page 81-82) also included a manuscript they say is at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze. They give the shelfmark as "cl. XXI cod. 135 der Strozz.-Magliabech." (designated by them as manuscript St). It is probably Biblioteca Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, Classe 21.135. This manuscript is not listed by later scholars as the Tuscan bestiary; it contains a copy of the Fiore di virtù..

Editions

There are three main editions of the Tuscan Bestiary manuscripts. In order by date:

There are several other partial editions and transcriptions of parts of the text; see the Bibliography tab for a list.

Ancestry and Sources

The Tuscan Bestiary is based on earlier works. In addition to known sources, it is thought that there was a now lost common ancestor for the text as it now exists. Nothing is known about that lost work, but the correspondences between the various manuscripts strongly suggests there was some original Italian text, in addition to some earlier Latin source texts. See Davide Checchi, Le fonti del «Libro della natura degli animali» for a more detailed examination of the sources of the Tuscan Bestiary.

Manuscript Hamilton 390

Hamilton 390 (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Ms. Ham. 390) is not part of the Tuscan Bestiary genre, but it is an important link in history of the text. Hamilton 390 is a mid-thirteenth century Latin text that includes a collection of exemplum, stories and images that often use bestiary animal properties to explain a moral teaching. Several of the animal accounts show a correspondence with the animals in the Tuscan Bestiary, and there are fables that closely match the fables in the Italian text. An example is the fable of the frog and the ox, shown below. (The Latin text of Hamilton 390 is from the edition by Meneghetti and Tagliani (page 53); the Tuscan text is from the edition by Garver and McKenzie (page 75-76). The English text is machine translation with manual corrections.) See the "Ham" column in the Bestiary Animal Chapters and Fable Chapters tables below for other corresponding chapters.

Hamilton 390

Rana cum videret bovem grassum iacentem, desiderans fieri magna sicut bos, inflavit se et dixit ad filios suos: « Videte, filii, sum ego tam grandis sicut bos? ». Et ili dixerunt: « Non ». Postea rana inflavit se multum ut possit fieri grandis sicut bos, et cum inflaret se fracta est pellis eius et mortua est. Hec fabula significat quod nulus homo debet se facere maiorem quam sit, quia qui facit se maiorem quam non sit perdit se ipsum.

When the frog saw a fat ox lying down, he desired to become as big as an ox, and he puffed himself up and said to his sons: “Look, sons, am I as big as an ox?” And they said: “No.” Later the frog puffed himself up so much that he could become as big as an ox, and when he puffed himself up, his skin burst and he died. This fable signifies that no man should make himself greater than he is, because he who makes himself greater than he is loses himself.

Tuscan Bestiary

Quando la rana vide lo buoe grasso giacere, desiderava d'essere così grande como lo buoe, e fecese infiare e disse a li filioli suoi: Tenete mente se io sono così grande como lo boe. Disseno che none. lora s ' infioe l'altra volta più, e disse loro: E aguale sono cosi grande como lo boe ? Disseno non. Poi si infioe molto e tanto, che la pelle se rupe e crepò. Questo dicto significa che nullo homo non si dee fare magiore che elli sia; ché chi se fae magiore ch'elli non é, cade de quello che era. E in altro modo, che nullo non se dee glorificare in vana gloria, avegna ch'elli sia buono o riccho; ché chi se glorificarae, si s'abassarae, cioè chi si exaltarae si humiliarae, e chi se umiliarae, sì s'exaltarae.

When the frog saw the fat ox lying there, he wished he were as big as the ox, and he made himself swollen up and said to his children: Consider whether I am as big as the ox. They said no. Then he became even more swollen up again, and said to them: And am I as big as the ox? They said no. Then he became very swollen, and so much so that his skin cracked and split. This saying means that no man should make himself greater than he is; for he who makes himself greater than he is falls from what he was. And in another way, that no one should glorify himself in vain glory, even if he is good or rich; for he who glorifies himself, humbles himself, that is, he who exalts himself, humbles himself, and he who humbles himself, humbles himself.

Bestiaire d'amour

There is some correspondence between the first part of the text (the bestiary) and the Bestiaire d'amour by Richard de Fournival. According to Radicula and Checchi, there are similarities between a north Italy redaction of the Bestiaire (similar to manuscript Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Ashb.123) and some of the bestiary chapters. The Bestiaire d'amour is not a normal bestiary with the animal properties being used to suggest moralizations or allegories; instead the Bestiaire uses the animal properties to further Richard's amorous pursuit of an unnamed lady. It is in the animal properties described and the chapter order that the similarities appear.

In the table below, the "LdN" column is the Libro della natura degli animali chapter number and the "BdA" column is the Bestiaire d'amour chapter number, where * indicates chapters that were added in the northern Italian redaction, not found in the original text. (Table based on Checchi, page 535-536.)

LdN	Name	BdA
4	Gallo [cock]	1 (8.10)
5	Lupo [wolf]	3 (11.1); 7 (15.4)
6	Asino selvatico [onager]	2 (10.3)
7	Cicala [cicada]	4 (12.5)
8	Cigno [swan]	5 (13.3)
9	Cane [dog]	6 (14.9); *51
10	Vipera [viper[	8 (17.4)
11	Scimmia [ape]	9 (19.4); 41 (74.4)
12	Corvo [crow]	10 (21.8); 11 (23.3)
13	Leone [lion]	12 (23.9); 28 (49.1); 31 (54.4); *63
14	Donnola [weasel]	13 (26.8); 30 (53.6)
15	Calandruzzo [caladrius]	15 (28.2)
16	Sirene [siren]	16 (29.9)
17	Arpis (aspide) [asp]	17 (31.7)
18	Quattro elementi [elements]	19 (35.3); 21 (36.7)
19	Tigre [tiger]	23 (40.10)
20	Unicorno [unicorn]	24 (42.7)
21	Pantera [panther]	25 (45.1)
22	Gru crane]	26 (46.4)
23	Pavone [peacock]	27 (48.1)
24	Rondine [swallow]	29 (53.2); 35 (62.11)

LdN	Name	BdA
25	Riccio [hedgehog]	36 (63.8)
26	Calcatrice [crocodile]	37 (65.7); 38 (67.5)
27	Vipera [viper]	2 40 (72.9)
28	Virgilia [sawfish]	42 (77.9)
29	Pellicano [pelican]	32 (55.4)
30	Castoro [beaver]	33 (57.9)
31	Picchio [woodpecker]	34 (59.7)
32	Cicogna [stork]	46 (86.10)
33	Falconi [falcon]	*53
34	Avvoltoio [vulture]	20 (36.2); 54 (101.1)
35	Aquila [eagle]	*55
36	Cavallo [horse	*57
37	Colombi [dove]	51 (96.1)
38	Struzzo [ostrich]	45 (85.10)
39	Balena whale]	52 (98.4)
40	Volpe [fox]	53 (99.7)
41	Fenice [phoenix]	*54
42	Elefante [elephant]	*60; 50 (94.10)
43	Pappagallo [parrot]	*71
44	Pernice [partridge]	44 (82.1)
50	Tortora [turtledove]	43 (81.1)

De proprietatibus rerum (Bartholomaeus Anglicus)

The third part of the text, the Additional Animal Chapters, is derived in large part from Bartholomaeus Anglicus, De proprietatibus rerum, Book XVIII (Garver & McKenzie, page 4-7; Checchi, page 571-576). See the chapter table below for a list of the matching chapters. Some of the chapters only have hints of Bartholomew's influence, and some are from other sources entirely, but many are clearly based on De proprietatibus rerum, with matching chapter order and/or text. An example of a matching text is that of the bear (from Checchi, page 573; English version is machine translated).

De proprietatibus rerum, XVIII, 111

Ursa autem bestia est saevissima, et maxime quando catuli sui rapiuntur. Nam illi cura est de salute filiorum, ideo eos diligentius lambit, lactat et nutrit, et circa illos defendendos saepe potenter pro viribus se opponit. Impregnata a masculo se dividit, et usque ad filiorum informationem ulterius non accedit, ut dicit idem. In tempore luxuriae se abscondit, et videri amoris tempore erubescit. Masculi etiam eis tunc temporis parcunt, et volptatis gratia eas infra partus tempora non accedunt [...]. Ursi [...] non lambunt potum, ut bestiae habentes serratos dentes, nec sorbent ut habentes continuos sicut oves et homines, sed aquam morsu vorant.

But the bear is a very ferocious beast, and especially when its cubs are taken. For it is concerned about the safety of its children, so it licks them more diligently, suckles and nourishes them, and often opposes enemies as powerfully as it can to defend them. When impregnated, it separates itself from the male, and does not go further than the education of its children, as the same says. In the time of lust it hides itself, and in the time of love it blushes to be seen. The males also spare them at that time, and for the sake of pleasure do not approach them during the time of childbirth [...]. Bears [...] do not lick to drink, like beasts having serrated teeth, nor do they suck like they have continuous ones like sheep and men, but they swallow water by biting.

Tuscan Bestiary

Orsa est molto malvagia e spesiale mente quanto li filliuoli li sono tolti, perciò che spesialmente che a·llei est la cura e la guardia dela sanità di loro, perch’ella pió diligente mente li leccha e di lacte li nodrisce. Ma quando [è] ella inpregnata dal maschio adesso si parte e mai pió ali filii pió non torna. E a quello tempo che è in calura d’amore per vergongna s’apiatta dal maschio, e al tenpo che·lla calda volontà li è passata allora se li mostra.llui. E l’orso e l’orsa àno diverse nature di bere: sono che bevendo lecchano l’acqua e prendela cola lingua e ànno serrati li denti quelle che cusì leccano, e altre sono che surbiscono al modo che fa l’omo e la pecora, e questi àno li denti continui, ma ecco la diversità de l’orso e de l’orsa che l’acqua mordeno sì chome fusse cibo bevendola.

A bear is very wicked and especially when her offspring are taken from her, because it is especially her responsibility to care for and guard their health, so she licks them more diligently and nourishes them with milk. But when she is pregnant, she leaves the male and returns to her offspring. And at the time when she is in the heat of love, out of shame, she withdraws from the male, and when the hot desire has passed, then she shows herself to him. And the bear and the she-bear have different natures of drinking: there are those who lick the water while drinking and take it with their tongue and those who lick it in this way have clenched teeth, and others are those who drink in the way that man and sheep do, and these have continuous teeth, but here is the difference between them and the bear and the she-bear: they bite the water as if it were food while drinking it.

The Parts of the Text

In many manuscripts the bestiary is divided into two or three parts. Part 1 is the bestiary itself, with between 22 and 61 chapters. Part 2 is a group of fables, with between 2 and 16 chapters. Part 3 is another set of animal descriptions, with up to 28 chapters, found only in three manuscripts. In some manuscripts the parts are clearly separated, but in others they run together with no break.

Part 1: The Bestiary

Part 1 is a fairly standard bestiary, with up to 61 animal chapters. The animal descriptions are much like those in the Latin bestiaries and in the Physiologus, with some minor variations and additions. The animal names are mostly Italian (Tuscan dialect), though some are very similar to the Latin names. The moralizations that follow the descriptions are the usual didactic lessons about Christian doctrine and warnings against sin, along with some more general allegories and symbolism.

The author in his prologue to the bestiary says:

All things that men in the world know and can know are known by two principal paths, which are these: the first path is wisdom, and the second is knowledge; and each of these paths has two noble companions with it. These companions are these: the companions of wisdom are one, the grace of God, and the other, knowledge through reason; and the companions of science are one, the instruction of the Scriptures, and the other, understanding with good intellect. ... It is certainly true that man can name wisdom and science; the former, that is, wisdom, natural, and science, that is, accidental. And yes, you must believe that what men know naturally and accidentally is what God, who is our heavenly father, has granted us to know by his holy grace. ... And this is the reason why our Lord wants men to know and understand by nature and by accident; for everything He did was done for the benefit of men in its proper sense.

Bestiary Animal Chapters

The table below is adapted from the bestiary chapter lists in Goldstaub & Wendriner (page 82-89), McKenzie (page 407-408), Garver & McKenzie (page 12-14), Checchi (page 535-536) and Martín Pascual (page 176-177), with additions and corrections based on analysis of manuscript facsimiles (note that there are disagreements between the sources). No chapter list is yet available for L3, L4 and R5 (facsimile not published). The "Ham" column refers to manuscript Hamilton 390, included here only for reference; it is not a Tuscan Bestiary manuscript itself (see the Hamilton 390 note above).

The chapter order follows manuscript R1 and the table in McKenzie. The chapter numbering also follows Mckenzie, who combines chapters 44 and 45; chapter 45 is therefore shown here as [44] to preserve his chapter number sequence.

Symbols:
• The animal appears in the manuscript
◦ The animal probably appeared in the manuscript, but the folio it was on is missing or damaged
- The chapter list is not available; the presence of the animal is undetermined

Animal Name	Ch1	Ch2	Cor	L1	L2	Lo	N	P	Pad	R1	R2	R3	Sn	St	Ham
Formica [ant]	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•	•
Apa [bee]	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•
Ragno [spider]	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•	•
Gallo [cock]	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•
Lupo [wolf]	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•
Asino selvatico [onager]	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•
Cicala [cicada]	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•		•	•	•
Cecero [swan]	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Cane [dog]	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Vipera [viper]	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Scimia [ape]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Corbo [crow]	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Leone [lion]	•		•	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Bellulla [weasel]	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Calandruzzo [caladrius]	•	•	•	•	•	◦	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Serena [siren]	•	•	•	•	•	◦	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		•
Arpris [asp]	•	•	•	•	•	◦	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Quattro Creature [four creatures]	•	•	•		•	◦	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Tigro [tiger]	•	•	•		•	◦	•	•	•	•	•	•		•
Unicorno [unicorn]	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Pantera [panther]	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Gru [crane]	•		•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Paone [peacock]	•		•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Rondine [swallow]	•		•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Riccio [hedgehog]	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Calcatrice [crocodile]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Vipera dragone [viper]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Virgilia [sawfish]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Pullicano [pelican]	•			•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Chastorio [beaver]	•			•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Picio [woodpecker]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Cichogne [stork]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Falconi [falcon]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Avoltoio [vulture]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Aquila [eagle]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•			•
Caballo [horse]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•
Columbi [dove]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Cholombi e dragone [peridexion tree]	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Tortora [turtledove]	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•			•
Struzzo [ostrich]	•			•	•	•		•	•	•					•
Balena [whale]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Gholipe [fox]	•		•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•
Fenice [phoenix]	•		•	•		•	•	•		•	•	•
Leofante [elephant]	•		•	•		•	•	•		•	•	•			•
Pelo del Leofante [hair of elephant]	•						•	•		•	•
Paghallo [parrot]	•			•		◦	•	•	•	•	•	•
Pernici [partridge]	•		•	•		•	•	•		•	•	•			•
Biscia [snake]	•					•	•	◦	•	•	•	•			•
Cerbio [stag]	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•			•
Anghuilla [eel]							•			•		•
Spido [asp]	•					•	•	•		•		•		•
Basilisco [basilisk]							•			•		•
Serpente feminie [female snake]							•			•		•
Draghone [dragon]							•			•		•
Salamandra [salamander]							•			•		•
Centula [antelope]							•			•		•
Notticora [owl]							•			•
Ibes [ibis]							•			•		•
Nibbio [kite]							•			•		•
Fuligia [coot]							•			•		•
Iena [hyena]										•
Pesci [fish]										•		•
Chapter Count	50	20	40	32	40	49	58	50	42	61	40	58	24	22	13

Variant Animal Names

There are variations in the animal names used or in their spelling among the manuscripts.

Cholombi e dragone: albero peredision, arbore, peridision
Apa: api, ape
Arpris : arpia, arpis, aspis, iaspis
Asino selvatico : Asino salvatico
Avoltore : avoltore
Bellulla : belula, donnola, donola
Biscia: serpente
Calandruzzo : calandruçço, calandrusso, chalandruzzo
Caballo: cavallo
Calcatrice : calchatrice, chalchatrice
Cane: chane
Cecero: ciecino
Cerbio: cervio, cervo
Chastorio : castorio, castoro
Cholombi: colombi, colonbi
Cicala : cichala
Cichogne: cicogna
Corbo: chorbo
Falconi: falcon, falcone
Formica: formiga
Gallo: ghallo
Gru: grua, grue, gruve
Leofante : lefante
Leone: lione
Paone: paghone
Paghallo: papagallo, pappagallo
Pernici: perdice, pernice
Pullicano : pelecano, pulichano
Picio: picchio
Quattro Creature (four creatures or elements) : mole (earth), frog (water), chameleon (air), salamander (fire)
Ragno: ragnatelo, rango
Riccio: spinoso
Rondine : rondina
Scimia : scymia
Biscia: serpente
Spido: aspido
Struzzo : struçço
Tigro : tigre, thygro, thyro, tyro
Tortora : turtula
Unicorno : unicornio; unichorno
Gholipe: Volpe

Part 2: Fables

In most cases the bestiary is combined with several animal fables. Some manuscripts (Ch2, Cor, L1, L2, R2 and St) do not included the fables at all, and the number of fables included in the others varies from 2 to 16. Many of the fables are also found in manuscript Hamilton 390, an early Latin text linked to the Tuscan Bestiary. Manuscript L1, while not including the fables common to most of the other manuscripts, does include 57 unrelated fables, Italian translations of the fables of Marie de France.

The 16 fables of the Tuscan Bestiary do not appear as a collection in any other manuscripts except for Hamilton 390. Some of the fables appear to be unique to this collection, though six of them are based on the fables of Avianus. Says McKenzie (page 383):

It must have seemed a natural and obvious expedient to round out a bestiary, or collection of descriptions of animals arranged for a didactic purpose, by adding to it a collection of fables, or tales about animals, which were universally used in the Middle Ages for the same purpose; and in general these two branches of animal-lore mutually influenced one another, and were drawn on indiscriminately by the compilers of such works as the Fiore di virtù, and by sculptors and miniaturists in search of subjects both decorative and symbolic.

Though this collection of fables is not found elsewhere, some of the individual fables are found in other fable collections. For example, the fable "Leone, vacca, pecora, capra", commonly known as "The lion's share", is found in various forms in several other texts.

Fable Chapters

The table below is adapted from the fable chapter lists in Goldstaub & Wendriner (page 88-89), McKenzie (page 408), Garver & McKenzie (page 14), with additions for Ch1 and Lo from a manuscript facsimile. No chapter list is yet available for L3 and L4 (facsimile not published). The "Ham" column refers to manuscript Hamilton 390, included here only for reference; it is not a Tuscan Bestiary manuscript itself (see the Hamilton 390 note above).

Symbols:
• The fable appears in the manuscript
◦ The fable probably appeared in the manuscript, but the folio it was on is missing or damaged
- The chapter list is not available; the presence of the fable is undetermined

Short Title	Ch1	Ch2	Cor	L1	L2	Lo	N	P	Pad	R1	R2	R3	R5	Sn	St	Ham
Pescatore e pesce [Fisherman and fish]	•					•	•	•	•	•		•				•
Leone e tori [Lion and bulls]	•					•	•	•	•	•		•				•
Arbore in su monte [Tree on a mountain]	•					•		•	•	•		•				•
Capra e lupo [Goat and wolf]	•					•	•	•	•	•		•	•			•
Villano in su carro [Peasant in his cart]	•					•	•	•	•	•		•				•
Cicale et formiche [Cicada and ant]	•					•	•	•	•	•		•	•			•
Lupo e cerbio [Wolf and stag]	•					•	•	•	•	•		•
Ladrone e leone [Thief and lion]	•					•	•	•	•	•		•				•
Rana e bue [Frog and ox]	•					•	•	•	•	•		•		•		•
Topo e gatta [Mouse and cat]	•						•	•	•	•		•		•		•
Pastore e serpente [Shepherd and snake]							•			•
Volpe e cerbio [Fox and stag]	•					•	•	•		•		•				•
Cornacchia e uccelli Crow and the birds]	•						•			•		•
Cavallo grasso e uno magro [Fat horse and thin horse]	•					•	•	•		•		•				•
Toro, leone e becco [Bull, lion and goat]	•					•	•	•		•		•
Leone, vacca, pecora, capra [Lion, cow, sheep and goat]	•					•	•	◦	•	•						•
Chapter Count	15	0	0	0	0	13	15	14	11	16	0	14	2	2	0	12

Variant Fable Titles

There are variations in the titles of the fables among the manuscripts.

Pescatore e pesce : D'uno peschatore e d'un pesie; D'uno pescatore
Leone e tori : Del leone e del tori; De la compagnia de li quattro tori
Arbore in su monte : Dell' albero a del vento; D'uno arbore
Capra e lupo : Della chapra e del lupo; D'una capra
Villano in su carro : Del villano e de buoi; De uno villano
Cicale et formiche : Del chicalle e delle formiche; Del dimando che fe la cicala a la formica
Lupo e cerbio : Del lupu e del cierbo; Del iupo
Ladrone e leone : Del ladrone e del leone; D'uno crudelissimo ladrone
Rana e bue : Della rana e del bue; Della rana
Topo e gatta : Del topo e della ghatta; Del topo
Pastore e serpente : Del pastore e de serpente; D'uno pastore
Volpe e cerbio : Della volpe e del cierbio; Della volpe
Cornacchia e uccelli : Della chornachia et altri ucielli
Cavallo grasso e uno magro : Del chavallo grasso e del magro; D'uno cavallo grasso et uno magro
Toro, leone e becco : Del toro e del lione e del becho; Del toro
Leone, vacca, pecora, capra : Del lione e della vacha e della pechora ella chapra e del cierbio ("The lion's share")

Part 3: Additional Animals

The set of up to 30 addition animal chapters appears in only three of the Tuscan Bestiary manuscripts: Ch1, Lo and P. Some of the animals described also appear in the bestiary section, or as part of a fable.

From the Part 3 prologue:

Wonderful figures are found and distributed differently in animals. Not only in humans, nor in sensible animals, nor in things without soul, but even in animals that are both brute and non-brute, that is, clean and not clean, there are many marvels. And therefore we will speak of the natures and the figures and the marvelous things that are in animals, both to have abundance and knowledge of them, and also to be able to speak and understand figuratively...

The primary source of the materials in the section is Bartholomaeus Anglicus, De proprietatibus rerum (DPR), Book XVIII (Garver & McKenzie, page 4-7; Checchi, page 571-576).

Additional Animal Chapters

The table below is adapted from the chapter lists in Garver & McKenzie (page 14-15) and Checchi (page 572-572). A number in the DPR column indicates the chapter matches the numbered chapter in De proprietatibus rerum.

Symbols:
• The animal appears in the manuscript
◦ The animal probably appeared in the manuscript, but the folio it was on is missing or damaged

Animal Name	Ch1	Lo	P	DPR
Leone [lion]	•	•	◦	63
Leone e monaci [lion and monk]	•		•
Leone e Golfier de Lastour [lion]	•		•
Leonessa [female lion]	•	•	•	64
Leopardo [leopard]	•	•	•	65
Lonza [probably female leopard - see McKenzie]	•	•	•	65
Artalupo [antelope]	•		•
Orso + miracolo Cerebonio [bear and miracle of Cerebonio]	•		•
Lupo + favola lupo e agnello [wolf and fable of wolf and lamb]	•	•	•
Lupa [wolf]	•	•	•
Elefante [elephant]	•	•	•	41
Volpe [fox]	•	•	•	112
Orsa [bear]	•	•	•	111
Vipera [viper]	•	•	•	115
Montone [ram]	•	•	•	2
Agnello [lamb]	•		•	3, 4
Porco selvatico [wild boar]	•	•	•	6
Asino/corvo [ass/crow]	•	•	•	7
Serpenti 1 [snake]	•	•	•	8
Aspide [asp]	•	•	•	9
Serpenti 2 [snake]	•	•	•	9
Ragno [spider]	•	•	•	10
Ape [bee]	•	•	•	11
Bue [ox]	•	•	•	12
Basilisco [basilisk]	•	•		15
Cammello [camel]	•	•		18
Camaleonte [chameleon]	•	•		20
Capriolo [capreola]	•	•		22
Cane [dog]	•	•		24
Castoro [beaver]	•	•		28
Chapter Count	30	25	24

Notes on chapters

Lion chapters: Manuscript Lo has only a single lion chapter, instead of three. The single chapter is condensed and does not appear to include all of the text from the three chapters. Manuscript P is missing the first lion chapter, though it most likely originally included it.

Lonza or loncia: This is probably the female leopard, though there was some confusion as to its identity (see McKenzie). The illustration in manuscript Lo shows a weasel-like animal. Manuscript Ch1 shows a more leopard-like animal in mid-leap.

Wolf (male and female): In manuscript Lo the male wolf (lupo) and female wolf (lupa) chapters are reversed, and there is an additional wolf chapter.

Ass/crow: In manuscript Lo the ass and crow are in separate chapters; in other manuscripts they are combined in one.

Snake: In manuscripts Ch1 and Lo there are three snake chapters.

Spider: In manuscript Ch1 and Lo there are two spider chapters.

Bee: In manuscript Ch1 there are three bee chapters; in Lo there are two.