The beavers (castor) is so named from being castrated. Beavers are hunted for their testicles, which are good for medicine; when a hunter comes near they bite off their testicles to save themselves.
- Etymologies, Isidore of Seville (quote from here)
[The beaver] puts more trust in paths through the water than through the earth
- Historia Norwegie (translated by Peter Fisher)
The myth of the self-castrating beaver is very old and can be found already in the fables of Aesop. Through the conduit of the ancient writers like Pliny the Elder and Cicero, this legend remained vibrant in the Middle Ages and were repeated by such various figures and the encyclopedically minded Isidore, the admonitory Bernard of Clairvaux and the journalistic Gerald of Wales – not to mention the numerous bestiaries. The latter has brought us one of the most expansive and detailed accounts of the life of the beaver in his Journey Through Wales. In this blogpost, however, I will present an account of the beaver as rendered in the anonymous 12th-century Historia Norwegie.
Beaver escaping the hunter
MS Royal 12 C XIX, 1st quarter of 13th century, English bestiary
Courtesy of British Library
This last creature is
astonishingly wary and because it is often pursued by hunters with their
hounds, it digs itself three underground tunnels leading to the water. As the
water rises it keeps to the middle or the upper one, but as the level subsides
and the dogs get near, it sets a slave at one entrance, leaving it to confront
the pack, while it seeks the lowest lurking-place with its female and pups as
if this were its home, since from that point there lies easier access to the
water. It puts more trust in paths through the water than through the earth.
When the beavers have sweated a good deal gathering their winter provisions,
they saw round lofty elms with their teeth (they are particularly fond of
chewing the bark of this tree), and load the wood on to one of their slaves,
who lies on his back holding a log between his forepaws; in this way, using him
as a cart, they drag home a large stack of timber, for by gripping the log with
their jaws on each side, they help to drag their porter along. You see, there
is a certain menial type of beaver, very poorly valued, whose fur is worn quite
threadbare through the incessant repetition of this drudgery.
Besançon - BM - ms. 0551, 13th century, Miracles de Notre Dame by Gautier de Coinci
Courtesy of enluminures
Courtesy of enluminures
This account is
in certain ways similar to that of Gerald of Wales, and both draw on commonplace
ideas of how beavers live. One of the perhaps most interesting distinctions, is
that while Gerald invokes three sources for his knowledge – Cicero, Isidore of
Seville and Bernard of Clairvaux – the anonymous author of Historia Norwegie does not mention any source to this knowledge.
Furthermore, both these authors remarks that some beavers are used as vessels
for timber, but while Gerald notes that these live vessels are “obeying the
dictates of nature” when they give themselves up as rafts (quoted here). The anonymous author of Historia, however, calls them slaves and presents a hierarchy of
labour in the world of the beavers, a hierarchy emphasised by the role of some
beavers as dispensable when danger lurks. Most significantly, however, is that
the anonymous author does not include the widely-circulated myth of the
self-castrating beaver.
Although the author of Historia Norwegie presents an image of the beaver similar to much of what has been handed down by tradition, he also adds some traits whose sources are not clear. That he does not talk of the etymology of the beast and does not refer to its legendary self-castration, could suggest that his sources are not written as he neither confirms nor counters this belief. However, the many similarities between his account and that of Gerald of Wales is a strong argument against this. Whether he relies on oral accounts and eye-witnesses is probable, but can not be ascertained. Nonetheless, that this is included in an account of the many weird and wonderful things of the Northern part of Norway, gives us an interesting window into the minds of a twelfth-century writer.
Although the author of Historia Norwegie presents an image of the beaver similar to much of what has been handed down by tradition, he also adds some traits whose sources are not clear. That he does not talk of the etymology of the beast and does not refer to its legendary self-castration, could suggest that his sources are not written as he neither confirms nor counters this belief. However, the many similarities between his account and that of Gerald of Wales is a strong argument against this. Whether he relies on oral accounts and eye-witnesses is probable, but can not be ascertained. Nonetheless, that this is included in an account of the many weird and wonderful things of the Northern part of Norway, gives us an interesting window into the minds of a twelfth-century writer.
Self-castrating disguised, as it seems, like a deer
BL MS Sloane 4016, c.1440, Italian herbal
Courtesy of British Library
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