Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways: Get help with access Institutional accessĪccess to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. This recognition of birds as “distinctly unhuman” while possessing convergent traits persists in modern ecological theory, enabling productive transhistorical comparisons (7). Thus, although medieval writers might identify with birds in ways that trouble species boundaries, birds also resist assimilation into anthropocentric frameworks. According to Warren, birds merit particular attention because medieval philosophers viewed these vocal, bipedal beings as strikingly similar to humans, while recognizing their morphological differences. Warren therefore argues that literary scholars stand to benefit from addressing the philosophical and ecological contexts of medieval poetry, since the actual characteristics of animal species often underlie their metaphorical functions. Despite this orthodox position, however, many writers describe animals in detailed and sympathetic terms, providing insight into close interspecies relationships. As Warren observes in his introduction, medieval texts present unique obstacles to research on nonhuman animals, since premodern writers generally assumed an absolute distinction between humans and other species. Warren’s Birds in Medieval English Poetry is the second installment in a promising new series, Nature and Environment in the Middle Ages, and an inspiring contribution to critical animal studies.
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