Popular treatises on science written during the Middle Ages, in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English / Edited from the original manuscripts by Thomas Wright.

Thomas Wright

Date:: 1841

Credit: Popular treatises on science written during the Middle Ages, in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English / Edited from the original manuscripts by Thomas Wright. Source: Wellcome Collection.

135/164 (page 115)

$Tj^ENIX signefie Jhesu le Fiz Marie, Ke il out pouste murir de sun gre, E de mort vent a vie, fenix 5eo signefie ; Pur sun pople salver se volt en croiz pener. Fenix dous eles ad, signefiance i ad: Par ces eles entent dous lais veraiement. La velz lai e la nuvele, ki mult est saint e bele ; Ceo vint Des pur emplir, pur sum pople guarir. Or fine la raisun, altre cumencerum. Pulli ejus oculos eruere volunt, quapropter interficit. T)ELLICANUS est nun de oisel [de] tel fa9un, Ceo est grue en verte, en Egypte est trove; Dous maneres en sunt; de juste le Nil vunt; L’une en eves abite, de peissun est sa vite; L^altre manjue es files lesardes, cocodrilles. Serpent, pullentes bestes, mult sunt de malveis estres ; Honocrotalia en Griu itel nun ha, En Latine sermun §eo est lignum costrum, (S1C) En Franceis lunc bee est; e de tel nature est, Quant vent a ses oisels, j il sunt granz e bels, E le volt joir, de ses eles cuverir, Li oiselet sunt fer, prenent le a becher, Volent le devorer e ses dous oilz crever ; Dunt le [s] bech e prent, sfis ocit a turement, E puis les lesse atant, mort les lesse gisant, Puis repaire al terz jur, mort les trove a dolur, Dune en fait dol si fort quant ses oisels vait mort, De sun bee fert sun cors que li sancs einst fors, Phoenix signifies Jesus the Son of Mary,—that he had power to die of his own will,—and from death came to life, Phoenix signifies that;—to save his people he chose to suffer on the cross.—Phoenix has two wings, there is a meaning in it:— by these wings are meant the two laws, truly,—the old law and the new, which is very holy and beautiful ;—God came to fulfil that, to cure his people.—Now ends the subject, we will begin another. Pellicanus is the name of a bird of such make,—that is the crane in truth, it is found in Egypt; there are two kinds ; they live close to the Nile ;—the one dwells in the wrater, it fives upon fish ;—the other eats in the isles lizards, crocodiles,— serpents, stinking beasts, they are of very bad nature ;—it has the name ovoicpo- tci\os in Greek,—in the Latin tongue that is longum rostrum,—in French it is long-beak; and of such a nature it is,—when it comes to its young birds, and they are great and handsome,—and it will fondle them, cover them with its wings, —the little birds are fierce, take to pecking it,—desire to eat it and pick out its two eyes ;—then it pecks and takes them, and slays them with torment,—and thereupon leaves them, leaves them lying dead,—then returns on the third day, is grieved to find them dead,—and makes such great lamentation when it sees its little birds dead,—with its beak it strikes its body that the blood issues forth,— i 2$