Bestiary: the catoblepas and the basilisk
The head-heavy catoblepas whose gaze kills, and the diademed basilisk that routs all serpents.
A full text page of the bestiary in mirror script, written with the notebook inverted and without illustration. It opens by finishing the tiger tale from f. 23v, then gives the catoblepas of Ethiopia, a sluggish beast whose head is so heavy it stays bent to the ground, providentially, since its gaze kills. The basilisk of Cyrenaica follows: no longer than twelve fingers, marked on the head like a diadem, driving off every serpent with its hiss and standing erect rather than moving in coils. The basilisk entry breaks off mid-sentence, continued on the next folio.
On this page
The catoblepas whose gaze brings death
Born in Ethiopia near the spring Nigricapo, this sluggish beast bears a head so heavy it is always bent toward the ground. The text explains this is providential: whatever its eyes fall upon dies at once, so a raised head would make it a great plague to men.
The basilisk crowned like a diadem
The basilisk of Cyrenaica is no longer than twelve fingers and bears a white mark on its head resembling a diadem; with its hiss it drives off every serpent. Unlike a snake it does not move in twists but holds itself erect from the middle forward. The entry breaks off mid-sentence, continued on the following folio.