The Worksop Bestiary, also known as the Morgan Bestiary (MS 81), most likely from Lincoln or York, England, is an illuminated manuscript created around 1185, containing a bestiary and other compiled medieval Latin texts on natural history. The manuscript has influenced many other bestiaries throughout the medieval world and is possibly part of the same group as the Aberdeen Bestiary, Alnwick Bestiary, St.Petersburg Bestiary, and other similar Bestiaries. Now residing in the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, the manuscript has had a long history of church, royal, government, and scholarly ownership.
Description
The manuscript was made in England around the year 1185. The manuscript consists of 124 pages, 106 of which have circular miniature illuminations measuring 21.5cm high by 15.5cm wide. The manuscript is written in a black letter minuscule book hand. The current binding dates to the nineteenth century. The manuscript is considered to be the earliest example of the so-called Transitional Family line of bestiaries. It combines a compilation of the 2nd-century Greek Alexandrian Physiologus bestiary as well as Imago mundi of Honorius Augustodunensis, the Etymologiae of St. Isidore of Seville, extracts from the Book of Genesis, and other works included in various bestiaries of its time. It also contains the text of a sermon on Saint Joseph, which was previously assumed to be written by Saint Augustine.
Style
Stylistically, the Worksop Bestiary is a part of a larger group of similar "sister" manuscripts all based on the Greek Physiologus. Other very similar manuscripts to the Worksop Bestiary include:
St.Petersburg manuscript Q.v.V.1
British Library MS. Royal 12 xix. Ashmole Bestiary MS. 1511 Aberdeen Bestiary MS. 24 Harley Leningrade State library's BM. 4751 Alnwick Bestiary MS.447
In comparison to the Worksop Bestiary, the Alnwick Bestiary (formerly Northumberland Bestiary MS.447) features eight illuminations of Adam's creation and ends with a section on fish that is different from both the Worksop Bestiary or the very similar Bright Royal Library's MS. 12. There are similarities in the fish sections of the Worksop Bestiary and the Ashmole Bestiary, but overall, these two manuscripts show very different artistic techniques. The newer Radford Bestiary is considered to be a copy of the Worksop Bestiary.
Provenance
The book is now held by the Morgan Library & Museum, New York (MS. 81). The manuscript was presented to the Augustinian Worksop Priory Church of Saint Mary and Saint Cuthbert, by Philip Apostolorum, a canon of Lincoln Cathedral, along with a map of the world and many other books, on September 20, 1187. This was intended for use by the monks at the priory. Later owners of the manuscript include the dukes of Hamilton, the Prussian government, as well as the designer William Morris who acquired the book shortly before his death in 1896 for £900. Later, the book was purchased by Richard Bennett of Manchester, from whom the Pierpont Morgan library acquired the text in 1902.
Illumination
Much like the British Library's MS. Royal 12 manuscript, the Worksop Bestiary features similar content, with extracts from the De imagine mundi, Genesis, Isidore's De pecoribus et iumentis and De Avibus, as well as other sermons that are irrelevant to the bestiary. The manuscript is divided into sections, classifying animals as beasts, birds, and fish, all derived from the Physiologus. Animals are associated with Biblical virtues and vices. Three unique sections of the Worksop Bestiary that can be found in no other known bestiaries include: St. Isidore's De aquis, De terra, and a sermon on Joseph ascribed to St. Augustine.