Here Be Dragons: A Fantastic Bestiary

by Ariane Delacampagne, Christian Delacampagne

Sphinxes, hydras, chimeras, dragons, unicorns, griffins, sirens, and centaurs--fantastic animals can be found in works from Greek vases to paintings by Bosch, Goya, and Picasso, from folk art to comic strips, advertising, and Hollywood movies. Here Be Dragons is a lavishly illustrated compendium of the marvelous menagerie of imaginary animals that humans have conjured up over the ages. Ariane and Christian Delacampagne take us on a visually and intellectually riveting journey through five thousand years of art, examining the symbolic meanings of such creatures and what they say about the unconscious life of the human mind.


In the Middle Ages, "bestiary" referred to an edifying poem, in Latin or French verse, in which the moral characteristics of real or imaginary animals were highlighted. With the passing of time, this once-flourishing genre disappeared. We have ceased to equate animals that can be observed with those we only dream of, but neither science nor mass culture has managed to chase away imaginary beasts. Such creatures continue to haunt us, just as they haunted our ancestors.


In the first book to explore this subject with such cross-cultural and chronological range, the Delacampagnes identify five basic structures (unicorn, human-headed animal, animal-headed human, winged quadruped, and dragon) whose stories they relate from prehistory to the present day. They also provide fascinating sociological and psychoanalytical insight into the processes through which artists have created these astonishing animals and how they have been transmitted from culture to culture.


Contrary to what people once believed, the fantastic exists only in the mind. And yet, as Here Be Dragons shows us, it is one of the mind's most sophisticated, mysterious, and inspiring creations.

Genres: Art, Fantasy, Dragons, Mythology, Reference

200 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2003

Reviews

[Ann Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here Be Dragons traces the development of bestiary from ancient times, from a period as early as the Neo-Sumerian period in 2150 BC to modern times. Within its pages, the reader encounters strange creatures with the bodies of animals and human heads or vice versa. There are also unicorns and chimeras, minotaurs, dragons, sphinxes and demons from all cultures.

Bestiary is a worldwide phenomenon. It is the extension of the human mind, a manner for our brains to understand and make sense of things which seem too impossible to comprehend. Marco Polo's Book of Marvels documented both dragons and unicorns for example and the ba of the dead fluttering over a corpse was drawn in Egypt's Book of the Dead. Ancient Persian art depicts a flying ibex and a beautiful statue from 1840 shows Roger and Angelica mounting a Hippogriff, a mythical creature born of the union between a mare and a griffin.

Sixteenth century Vietnamese ceramics depict images of a dragon fish, while the Batak people from Indonesia created house ornaments in the shape of a singa. A beautiful bronze chimera from fifth century China stands toe to toe with the Dog of the Seven Sleepers from Mughal India. The Temptation of St. Anthony from 1487 shows the saint literally being pulled apart by demons.

This book documents the development of these creatures of fantasy across the globe. Indeed, griffins, dragons and a host of other bestiary are alive in our modern world, too. We have only to close our eyes to imagine the impossible.

[Audry]

I've been reading a lot of bestiaries, but of the ones written in recent decades, this is my favorite. Large hardcover with beautiful color pages and compelling writing.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures were amazing, would have liked to have more about dragons. Also more from Oceania and other cultures.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great images that could inspire some fun knitted critters.