Miniature of a satyr
Tempera and gold leaf on parchment, 22 x 26 cm (page), anonymous, c. 1200–1210
The British Library, London

Detail from folio 15v of the English manuscript Royal 12 C XIX, an illustrated bestiary with theological texts. One of many creatures appearing in bestiaries, where each animal or hybrid is paired with a moral lesson, this satyr raises a staff, representing the pull of unruly instinct and bodily appetite inherited from classical origins. In bestiaries and Christian writing, such a creature came to stand for moral disorder and temptation, since satyrs were long associated with excess, lust, and a lack of restraint, and were even linked with demonic forces or the figure of Satan.