MS M.81, fols. 60v–61r

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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. 60v–61r
Description: 

Caladrius
The pure white caladrius bird turns away from a sick person when he is going to die, but if, as here, the bird looks directly at him, it takes on the person’s sickness and burns it off in the sun, thus curing the sufferer.