In Disney’s The Lion King, little Simba grows up to become the ‘King of Beasts’ – but where did this idea come from? The answer lies in the medieval bestiary, along with a host of other wondrous and exciting discoveries 🦁
What is a bestiary? Well, it was a ‘book of beasts’ that included descriptions of the characteristics and habits of animals. An early medieval natural history encyclopedia if you will.
Unlike our modern equivalents, however, which explain habitats, scientific classifications, and eating preferences, creatures in the bestiary were associated allegorical moral lessons, used as evidence of God’s divine plan for the world.
Well, this #ScienceWeek, let us introduce you to Bede 'the Venerable', and his scientific treatises (and computus) exploring the mathematical and physical basis of time ⌛
The idea of science in the early Middle Ages is a broad one, encompassing many subjects. The root of the word ‘science’ comes from the Latin scientia, meaning ‘knowledge’. In the Middle Ages, a person’s ‘science’ referred to his understanding of a particular topic.
Among the earliest and most widespread mathematical texts and diagrams are those that dealt with time-reckoning: determining moveable feasts, which involved using both arithmetic and astronomy through computus.
This year we all need that warm, fuzzy Christmas feeling. So for the next twelve days we’ll be sharing an updated rendition of a Christmas classic with a British Library twist (deep breath) 👇
“On the first day of Christmas the Library gave to me… a world of ideas and discovery” #BLThanksYou
And though you’re special, this year we opened up this world of inspiration to 5.9 million online learners who consulted 3.1 million collection items. And our events were streamed to 45,000 living rooms in 1,134 locations around the globe. Phew!