The Physiologus in Anglo-Saxon England

What is it about?

The Physiologus has survived in two mauscripts of English origin: Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 448, and Exeter, Cathedral Library, 3501. The latter codex, also known as the Exeter Book, contains a verse Physiologus (fols. 95v–98r) in Old English. In turn, the Cambridge manuscript provides a Latin prose Physiologus (fols. 88r–89r). These two texts bear witness to the knowledge of the Physiologus in the late Anglo-Saxon period and constitute the central piece of evidence extant for the dissemination of this work in England. Even though the two versions are formally and stylistically different, the manuscripts in which they occur are roughly contemporary and both of them are of Southern provenance. Each of these Physiologi comprises three chapters describing three animals: lion, unicorn and panther in the case of the Cambridge Physiologus, and panther, whale and an unknown bird – whose identification is problematic due to a textual gap – in the Exeter codex.

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Why is it important?

Despite the striking affinities observed in the Cambridge and the Exeter Physiologi, no scholarly work has offered a comparative study of these two works, with the exception of Andrea Rossi-Reder’s unpublished PhD dissertation (1992), and only passing reference has been made to the Cambridge Physiologus in discussions of the better‑known Exeter text.

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