Mythical creatures in bestiaria

The antalops, also known as antalope or tragelafus, is a mythical hoofed beast with long, curved horns with serrated teeth, which the animal can use to saw off the upper branches of trees so that it can eat the leaves. The beast is already mentioned in the Physiologus, a Christian bestiary from the 3rd or 4th century. This text attributes a special significance to the two horns, which are said to represent the two testaments, the Old and the New Testament.

According to the Physiologus, the antalops represents the Christian man, who is brought into trouble by the temptations of the devil, particularly drunkenness and lust. The temptations are symbolized by small bushes in which the animal becomes entangled. The hunter who strikes to kill the animal is, in turn, a representation of the devil, to whom the animal (thus the Christian man) falls prey. Just as the antalops must use its horns to force its way out of the thicket, so man must use the testaments to free himself from vices.

Dragons are closely related to large snakes and they have wings made of fur like a bat, with which they can fly. They inhabit rocky areas and live in caves. Jacob van Maerlant further mentions in his *Der naturen bloeme* that the dragon is the largest beast of all animals that exist, but that its mouth is relatively small. They roar so loudly that it frightens people, but if you beat a drum close to a dragon, it thinks it is thundering and gets startled.

In various mythical and biblical stories, a human does battle with the dragon. A well-known dragon slayer from Greek mythology is Cadmus, a prince who, in Ovid's Metamorphoses, seeks his abducted sister Europa and kills a dragon. In the Bible, the devil regularly takes the form of a dragon. For example, it is described that Saint George of Cappadocia kills a dragon as a symbolic victory of Christianity in the conversion of a pagan land or city. Archangel Michael, as commander of the heavenly army, defeats the devil in the form of a dragon. And Saint Margaret of Antioch was swallowed by Satan in the form of a dragon, but she managed to escape alive because the beast could not bear the cross she carried.

The griffon is also known as the bird of prey or Gryphon. It is a combination of an eagle and a lion: the two most powerful animals have fused into one. The immortal griffon is ruler over heaven and earth, which is why it can be seen as a symbol of Christ. 

In his Der naturen bloeme, Jacob van Maerlant once again cites Jacob van Vitry, who claims that the bird is so large that it can attack and kill armed people. In India, griffons are said to guard a difficult-to-access area where gold and precious stones are to be found, and they kill people who come there ‘as if they were made by God to ward off greed’. 

When a male griffon mates with a mare, she will give birth to a hippogriff: an animal with the eagle-like parts of the griffon and the hind legs and tail of a horse. This mythical creature has become known again in the 21st century thanks to the appearance of the hippogriff Buckbeak in the Harry Potter books and films.