{"title":"Series: Medieval Animals","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eMedieval Animals\u003c\/strong\u003e series offers a captivating exploration of creatures as they appear throughout history, culture, and imagination. Readers can expect a thoughtful blend of \u003cem\u003ehistory and philosophy\u003c\/em\u003e, revealing the symbolic and practical roles animals played in medieval societies, alongside engaging narratives that bring these fascinating connections to life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCombining perspectives from \u003cem\u003ehistory, art, and storytelling\u003c\/em\u003e, this collection invites both adult and younger audiences to discover the enduring impact of animals on culture and human understanding. Whether through illustrated tales or scholarly insight, the series opens a window into a world where animals shaped belief, economy, and adventure alike.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"introducing-the-medieval-ass-by-kathryn-l-smithies-9781786836229","title":"Introducing the Medieval Ass","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIntroducing the Medieval Ass\u003c\/em\u003e presents a lucid, accessible, and comprehensive picture of the enormous socioeconomic and cultural significance of the ass, or donkey, in the Middle Ages and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn medieval times, the ass was a vital, utilitarian beast of burden, rather like ubiquitous white delivery vans today. At the same time, however, the ass had a rich, paradoxical reputation. Its hard work was praised, but its obstinacy condemned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt exemplified the good Christian, humbly bearing Christ to Jerusalem, but also represented sloth, a mortal sin. It had a potent sexual reputation—in one literary work, an ass had sex with a woman—even as it was simultaneously linked to sterility.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver time, the ass also became synonymous with human idiocy, a comic figure representing foolish peasants, students too dull to learn, and their asinine teachers. This trope of foolishness was so prevalent that by the eighteenth century the word \"ass\" began to be replaced by \"donkey.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIntroducing the Medieval Ass\u003c\/em\u003e offers a wide-ranging account of the importance, and often surprising cultural prevalence, of this common domesticated animal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000651202796,"sku":"9781786836229","price":42.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/4891333482824.jpg?v=1763293768"},{"product_id":"introducing-the-medieval-bear-by-karen-sullivan-9781837723751","title":"Introducing the Medieval Bear","description":"Since the Middle Ages, bearshave mostfrequentlybeen seenas objects. For many centuries, Europeans regarded bears as pests to be eradicated because of the danger theyposedto human beings and livestock, whilst in recent decadestheyhaveincreasingly been seenas victims to be protectedfromhuman violence. When a bear attacks, thecontemporaryresponse is typically to blame human beings' failure,eitherto signal their presence inbears' habitatsor to bear-proof their backyards.Forclimate change activists, thepolar bear has becomeemblematic of the threatposed byhumans to the natural world,even thoughthe polar bear'spopulation has steadily increasedin recenttimes.At two extremes, bears have been objects of predation or pity.\n\nInmedievaltimes, however,bears were not objects but subjectsviewedascreatures of God. They were seen as beingin possession of something analogous to rationality, whichenabledthem to display surprising intelligence: aswarriors endowed withbothstrength and courage to whichhumanscould only aspire; asfierce competitors in bear-baiting spectacles, like prize-fightersengagedin a bloody sport; or aslovers, inclined to abduct women and have children with them. People treated bearsasthey expected to be treatedthemselves, andexpectedthemtobehave ashumanswould;not as passive victims of human action, but as active subjects.","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47351237869804,"sku":"9781837723751","price":69.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/e9935077e2745b05a002205d00a05fdb.jpg?v=1772537934"},{"product_id":"introducing-the-medieval-fox-by-paul-wackers-9781786839886","title":"Introducing the Medieval Fox","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA wide-ranging account of the fox in medieval culture.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy turns enchanting and erudite, \u003cem\u003eIntroducing the Medieval Fox\u003c\/em\u003e traces the cultural history of the sly vixen back to its source in early modern Europe. Through fables and stories about the fox’s cunning escapades across epic poetry, bestiaries, paintings, statues, and stained glass, Paul Wackers offers the broadest introduction to the fox’s role in medieval culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47596682248428,"sku":"9781786839886","price":30.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/cc7e8f0624c346eeb4e6a533e0dccf7b.jpg?v=1777939943"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/series-medieval-animals.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}