Wyld Kingdom: bonnacons

Of the bonnacon: In Asia an animal is found which men call bonnacon. It has the head of a bull, and thereafter its whole body is of the size of a bull’s with the maned neck of a horse. Its horns are convoluted, curling back on themselves in such a way that if anyone comes up against it, he is not harmed.

A Bonnacon †

But the protection which its forehead denies this monster is furnished by its bowels. For when it turns to flee, it discharges fumes from the excrement of its belly over a distance of three acres, the heat of which sets fire to anything it touches. In this way, it drives off its pursuers with its harmful excrement.

Strange yet True.

† A Bonnacon, about 1250 - 1260, English
Digital images courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program
Text on this page from translation of Aberdeen Bestiary, copyright 1995, Aberdeen University

~ this page pub. 19 December 2013 ~
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