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Worksop Bestiary
England, possibly in Lincoln or York
ca. 1185
215 x 155 mm
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) in 1902
MS M.81, fols. 15v–16r
Description:
Hydrus (left)
A hydrus (winged snake) is being swallowed alive by a fantastic crocodile, only to break out from the belly of the beast unharmed.
Hydra (right)
The hydra—a snake with regenerating heads associated with Hercules—is one animal the bestiary text tells us is not real.