The Lizard Relief. Church in Saint-Denis. XII century
Lizard /lacerta/ medallion 5.4 cm in diameter
The text, which was borrowed from Isidor /XII. IV.34—35/, enumerates several kinds of lizards. Listed among them are salamandras, tritons and frogs. The early Latin versions of the “Physiologus” included the tale about the sunny lizard /saura/ in the chapter about the lizard.
Albert the Great gives a detailed description of lizards /XXV.II.37/. Among his sources he names Pliny, Jorah and Avicenna.
The little lizard on the miniature may often be seen in Roman manuscripts where the stylized animal coils in the shape of initials.
