The Salamander in Texts and Images between 1100 and 1450

Philine Helas

We meet the salamander in the arts in many different forms: as a snake, dragon, winged quadruped, bird, hairy or furry and lizard-like animal. Since antiquity, it has been associated with legendary qualities, above all poisonousness and resistance to fire, which were also depicted. In book illumination, it was illustrated in various religious, encyclopaedic, and literary texts, particularly between the 12th and 14th centuries. The depiction of the salamander as a furry animal or bird can be explained by the fact that, from the 12th century onwards, the fire-resistant animal was associated with a fire-resistant material, which was believed to be made from either its skin, wool or feathers. The properties that had been associated with asbestos or amianto in antiquity were transferred to the salamander, and its name itself became synonymous with a fire-resistant material. It was not until the 15th century that the first natural reproduction of a fire salamander was depicted in a Tractatus de herbis. The project examines this fusion and confusion between mineral and animal in the visual evidence between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.