Wordsmithery: Bestiary

But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.
~ Job 12:7-10

I have always like reading fantasy but my love for sci-fi dominates. Yet, much of the sci-fi I have loved the most had more mysticism that science, like the Dune books by Frank Herbert. I have been considering how one would explain the difference between the two, which often cross boundaries resulting in nearly indistinguishable differences. My thoughts are that sci-fi adds futuristic ideas or the suggestion of technology beyond what we currently have, like interplanetary travel, or technology with a scientific basis, whether known or fabricated. Fantasy, for the most part, relies on a more earthly nature and its unexplanable traits with magic secreted and protected, for the most part, by an elite few, whether learned using elements in special ways or a natural ability or a combination. To me, sci-fi, for the most part, has more logic and unless I am in the mood for it, fantasy can frustrate me a bit, until I understand its rationality, which probably defeats its purpose and beauty. However, when I am in the mood for it, I am engulfed by its surrealism.

The Princess and I are currently reading through a fantasy chapter book, so I wrote all this to explain that fantasy based on magic, beyond a few children's books like the Oz series and a movie now and then, is basically untried territory for me, so when I read a fantasy book, I am destined to find words unfamiliar to me that are probably very well-known to most fantasy readers. To those of you, I apologize for my naiveté and request that you add your thoughts in the comments area to enlighten me further on this subject or make suggestions of fantasy books worth reading. (I am ashamed to say that I have not read C.S. Lewis's Narina series, even though we have them and my husband read them all to the Princess at bedtime over a year ago, nor have I picked up a book leading into the world of Lord of the Rings, but I enjoyed the movies very much.)

I was aware that in medieval times there were real books handwritten in Latin and with amazing drawings of mythical creatures of all sorts, I just did not know they were called: bestiaries. The origin of the word is the Latin bestia from where we get the modern English word "beast." In short, a bestiary is a book of beasts, but...there is a interesting history with bestiaries intertwined with Christianity.

Around the sixth century, the Catholic Church began using bestiaries as books of learning with examples of animal lore to teach Christian values, in a similar fashion as Aesop's Fables. Combining observations of nature, zoological commentaries, and imaginative illustrations, as well as moral and religious lessons, bestiaries then became an intriguing mingling of fact, fiction, and Christian morals pointing the way to salvation. One such bestiary is Louis Charbonneau-Lassay's Le Bestiaire du Christ (The Bestiary of Christ). The author as Roman Catholic scholar published this collection of animal symbolism and religious symbols gleaned from sources as diverse as ancient Egypt, classical Greece and Rome, early and medieval Christianity, the Kabbalah, Gnosticism, and various spiritual schools of the Near and Far East.

~ My Lord, thank you for our imaginations where we can create entire worlds in our minds, a taste of what You enjoyed in creating this world. In all our fantasies, may we see Your messages, so they are used according to Your Will. ~