Editing Bestiary (section)

== Religious significance ==
[[Image:AberdeenBestiaryFolio005rAdamNamesAnimalsDetail.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Adam]] naming the animals, in a detail from the 12th century [[Aberdeen Bestiary]]]]

The significance shown between animals and religion started much before bestiaries came into play.  In many ancient civilizations there are references to animals and their meaning within that specific religion or mythology that we know of today. These civilizations included Egypt and their gods with the faces of animals or Greece which had symbolic animals for their godly beings, an example being Zeus and the eagle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Animal Symbolism (Illustrated) |url=https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2505&context=ocj |website=Open SIUC}}</ref> With animals being a part of religion before bestiaries and their lessons came out, they were influenced by past observations of meaning as well as older civilizations and their interpretations.

As most of the students who read these bestiaries were monks and clerics, it is not impossible to say that there is a major religious significance within them. The bestiary was used to educate young men on the correct morals they should display.<ref name=Lippincott1981>{{cite journal |last1=Lippincott |first1=Louise W. |title=The Unnatural History of Dragons |journal=Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin |date=1981 |volume=77 |issue=334 |pages=3–24 |doi=10.2307/3795303 |jstor=3795303 }}</ref> All of the animals presented in the bestiaries show some sort of lesson or meaning when presented. Much of the symbolism shown of animals.{{Incomprehensible inline|date=April 2025}} Much of what is proposed by the bestiaries mentions much of paganism because of the religious significance and time period of the medieval ages.

One of the main 'animals' mentioned in some of the bestiaries is dragons, which hold much significance in terms of religion and meaning. The unnatural part of dragon's history shows how important the church can be during this time. Much of what is covered in the article talks about how the dragon that is mentioned in some of the bestiaries shows a glimpse of the religious significance in many of these tales.<ref name=Lippincott1981/>

These bestiaries held much content in terms of religious significance. In almost every animal there is some way to connect it to a lesson from the church or a familiar religious story. With animals holding significance since ancient times, it is fair to say that bestiaries and their contents gave fuel to the context behind the animals, whether real or myth, and their meanings.