On the Fabulous Animals in Bulgaria in 13th – 14th Century Western European Treatises and Encyclopaediae: Unicornia, Tigrides and Castoria
On the Fabulous Animals in Bulgaria in 13th – 14th Century Western European Treatises and Encyclopaediae: Unicornia, Tigrides and Castoria

Summary/Abstract: The paper examines the sources of the information on wild animals living in the Bulgarian lands – unicorns, tigers and beavers – described in Anonymi Descriptio Europae Orientalis (1308 or 1310 – 1311). A comparison is made with animals living in countries close to or neighbouring on Bulgaria, described in the same publication, notably: Albania, Serbia and Hungary, with a view to revealing the approach of the anonymous author to these issues. According to the author of the present paper, the information on these fantastic (unicorns) and real (beavers) representatives of the Balkan fauna was taken from The Book of the Treasure by Brunetto Latini or from Mirror of Nature by Vincent of Beauvais. An analysis is made of the mechanism with which the medieval author from Western Europe has sought and found a suitable place for the fantastic unicorn in the remote and unknown lands of Eastern Europe.

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