I've recently discovered the BBC Program Churches: How to Read Them. In one part, the host, Richard Taylor, mentions that there is a lot of cryptic animal sculpture and art in medieval churches that can be better understood with a trip to medieval 'bestiaries'. These are medieval books about animals, filled with allegorical stories, fables and myths about animals to help teach us important lessons.
Fortunately for me, a quick search turned up The Medieval Bestiary, a valuable and extensive online resource filled with these stories, image galleries, and even links to original manuscripts.
These bestiaries naturally bring to my mind these Character Sketches, published by the IBLP; neither is very concerned with actual science, but as animal-based life lessons, have some value.
The artwork is likewise entertaining, though apparently, medieval artists didn't always have National Geographic photos of exotic creatures to work from, so their interpretations of animals are wonderfully bonkers.
To my mind, these stories are wonderful, and can still be useful tools for education, but while doing so, it's incredibly important to point out that these stories are almost entirely fictional, and should encourage further research, into both actual science, and ancient history.
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