Should anyone one day tell me that I don’t know my ass from Medieval history, in a very short time from now I shall be able to reply with confidence that thanks to having read Dr. Kathryn L. Smithies‘ Introducing the Medieval Ass I most certainly do.
The most recently published addition to the University of Wales Press’ Medieval Animals series, Introducing the Medieval Ass joins Introducing the Medieval Dragon in bringing to a general audience reliably-researched and well-written presentations of iconic animals as they were understood – both as creatures in and of themselves, and as metaphors, characters, and in other representative forms – by the people of the Middle Ages.
I first learned of this delightful series from The Folklore Podcast Book Club – also available as a YouTube channel – where reviewer Hilary Wilson discussed the Dragon volume with the book’s author Professor Thomas Honegger. The combination of Medieval history interwoven with both folklore and natural history, and intelligently discussed by two highly literate and knowledgable people effectively had my undivided attention from the opening minutes, and I highly recommend taking the time to listen to or view this interview for yourself.
Thus I shall be reading Introducing the Medieval Ass with high expectations (which I’m very confident will be not only well met but exceeded if the Dragon volume is a reliable predictor), and eagerly awaiting the publication in early 2022 of the third volume to the series, Introducing the Medieval Swan by Dr. Natalie Jayne Goodison. What may follow that? The possibilities are many: dogs, cats, rats, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, bears, griffons, perhaps even eels… I shall most certainly be looking forward eagerly to them all.
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