Among the most popular books of the time, bestiaries were filled with real and mythical animals and their lore, the protagonists of intriguing stories symbolizing human virtues and faults. SCULPTED IN ...

Unknown artist, "Snail" (c. 1350), The Netherlands, illumination on parchment from Jacob van Maerlant's Der naturen bloeme (image via Wikimedia Commons) "Very often, people think that they're laughing ...