"EB - Rosalind M. and Martin H. Greenberg - Christmas BestiaryUC - Compilation" - читать интересную книгу автора (Greenberg Martin H)

ral characteristics of a real or imaginary plant or
animal (including the phoenix and the unicorn). Al-
though the stories of the Physiologus were tied to
biblical texts (in fact, the book's nearest rival in circu-
lation was the Bible) and intended to provide moral
instruction, today we might look upon this text as the
first collection of fantasy tales.

Although translations and adaptations of the Physi-
ologus abounded in early medieval times, one is not
likely to run across a copy in the modem bookstore-
The reason for this seems fairly straightforward: We
live in a more sophisticated world than our forebears
knew, and no longer depend on myths and supersti-
tions to guide us down the correct path of moral
conduct.

In truth, though, the bestiary is still very much with
us today in the form of fantasy literature. One can
trace a line of descent from the Physiologus to some

8 Stefan Dziemianowicz

of the most distinguished and beloved works of imagi-
native fiction of the past century: Rudyard Kipling's
The Jungle Books, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of
the Apes, George Orwell's Animal Farm, J. R. R.
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Richard Adams'
Watership Down and The Plague Dogs, and John
Barth's Chimera. In fact, a reader from the Middle
Ages might find himself overwhelmed by the variety
of imaginary creatures that have been added to the
bestial register since his time: the leprechaun, the
pixie, the gremlin, the troll, the hobbit, the wendigo,
the werewolf, the vampire, and the golem are just a
few representatives of folklore and mythology from
around the world that have become a part of fantasy's
literary legacy.

The regard in which we hold the fantastic bestiary
is evident from the symbolic association some of its
members have with traditional holidays. In America,
for example, we still count on the instinctive wisdom
of the groundhog to forecast the approaching Spring,
while the rabbit and the turkey have become folk em-
blems of, respectively, Easter and Thanksgiving.
Christmas is a feast day particularly rich in beast lore,
ranging from the attendance of the ox and the lamb
in the traditional Christian manger scene, to the par-
tridge of popular song, and the folk myth of one very