From Sutton Hoo to the Book of Kells, animal ornament has always been fascinating. This book shows its crucial importance in medieval art from the sixth century to the eleventh. It describes the depiction and symbolism of animals in sculpture, manuscripts, embroidery, and metal work, with examples from the Bayeux Tapestry, St. Ninian's Hoard, Pictish stones and Irish high crosses.Hicks shows how underlying Celtic and Germanic traditions combined with Mediterranean influences to produce a far stronger animal art in Britain than anywhere else in Europe, drawing links between the Pictish, Anglo-Saxon, and Irish traditions. "Animals in Early Medieval Art" uncovers the origins of the fantastic beasts of the bestiary, drawing profound conclusions about the transmission of motifs and ideas in general.