A fox imitates a dog

Abstract

Most medieval bestiaries and encyclopaedias recount the fox’s famous trick of feigning its death to capture unsuspecting birds that perch naively upon it. However, despite this story’s popularity, medieval sources do not always present it in the same way. This article discusses several medieval bestiaries which, in addition to the standard narrative, include various interpolations, whether in the form of verse or as ‘distinctions.’ Particular emphasis is placed on a group of manuscripts in which the texts contain an anonymous exemplum. In these texts, the fox demonstrates new skills by first, imitating a dog, then by flattering the dog, and finally, by the fox representing a hypocritical person. This article is devoted to an analysis of this particular version of the traditional fox story.