Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2008

The Renaissance was an extraordinary period of change in the West, fuelled by changing cultural formations, shifting empires, the growth in exploration, and developments in science and technology. A Cultural History of Animals in the Renaissance presents a broad overview of the changing role of animals in the economy, culture and thinking of the period.

Covering the period 1400 to 1600, the volume explores a wide range of topics: the symbolic role of birds in early modern writing; hunting rites and animal rights; the domestication of animals; the popularity of performing animals; the development of illustrated works of natural history; changing philosophical views of animal nature; and artistic practice in the visual representation of animals.

A Cultural History of Animals in the Renaissance presents an overview of the period and continues with essays on the position of animals in contemporary symbolism, hunting, domestication, sports and entertainment, science, philosophy, and art.