The stag (hert)

The stag or hart (hert in Middle English) is a male deer. You probably didn’t think of deer upon seeing James Merry’s illustration, but he had a very difficult description to work from this time. Remember that he receives the translated text below with the name of the animal redacted. He doesn’t learn the animal’s true identity until he reads this blog post.

According to medieval bestiary lore, the stag is a gentle, lovable creature. Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) says that deer are “simple animals, surprised at everything” and claims you can charm them with music (a song or shepherd’s pipe will do nicely). They can cross large bodies of water doing a follow-the-leader sort of maneuver that is described in the passage below.

Stags are not fond of snakes. When a stag finds a snake hole, it will spit water down into it, draw the snake out with its breath, and then trample it to death. If the stag is old or infirm, it swallows the snake, drinking copious amounts of water to overcome the poison, and then it feels much better.

Deer in bestiaries are associated with Christ, since when running they are said to run to “Christ, the true spring”. They also trample upon their enemy, the snake, who represents the Devil.

This animal comes from the Arundel Bestiary, which was made in the east of England (possibly Norfolk) in the late 13th century. The text is from the Middle English Physiologus*, the same as the elephant, spider, and eagle.

Translation and glossing by Hana Videen. Hover over words to see how they’re pronounced. More about this project here.

The hertstag pulls a serpent up through his nesenose continuously, from a stoctree trunk or from a stonstone (for the serpent will go under it). He sweleðswallows it quite well. When he does this, he burns himself and has a brenningburning pain inside from that attrie ðingvenomous thing.

Then he lepeðrushes with great dexterity because of a ðristthirst for swet waterfresh water. He drinkeðdrinks water gredilikegreedily until he has completely recovered. The venom has no miʒtpower to harm him — not at all.

He also casts away his horneshorns in the wood or in the ðornesthorns and is rejuvenated thus — this wilde derwild animal — as you have now learned here.

The hertesstags have another characteristic that should be in all of our minds. They are all of one modemind because if they fecchenfetch food from far away and go across water, none will desert another in distress. Instead, one will swim bifornin front and all the others will follow.

Whether he swimmeðswims or wadeðwades, none in distress leaves another behind but places his chin-bonjawbone on the lend-bonhaunch of another.

If it happens that the one who goes bifornin front grows tired, all the others cumencome with him and help to pull him. They berencarry him from the water-grundriver bottom up to the land all heilhealthy and sound and providing for his needs. They have this wunepractice among them even when there are one hundred togiddretogether.

We ought to consider the hertesstag's habits. No one ought to shun another but instead luuenlove everyone as if he were his broðerbrother, be steadfast towards his winefriend, lighten him of his birdeneburden, and helpenhelp him when he is in nedeneed.

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Notes:

* The Middle English text is from The Middle English ‘Physiologus’, ed. by Hanneke Wirtjes (Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 10-11, lines 192-209a, 230-248. The translation is my own.