Dove, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The dove, a simple bird, symbolises the ideal qualities of holy preachers. Just as the dove lacks bile and stirs love with its gentle kiss, preachers are free from anger and bitterness. Even when they express anger, it is always measured and just. The dove's cooing, far from worldly melodies, echoes the preachers’ lament for sin, both personal and communal. Unlike aggressive birds, the dove does not harm with its beak, reflecting how preachers faithfully preserve the purity of the Scriptures, avoiding the distortions of heresy. The dove wisely selects the best seeds, much like preachers who choose the most edifying passages of Scripture to share. Just as the dove nourishes the chicks of others, preachers, through their sermons, nurture those lost in sin, guiding them back to Christ.

The dove's habit of hiding by streams to escape hawks is mirrored by preachers who, when faced with temptation, immerse themselves in Holy Scripture to find refuge. Defending itself with its wings, the dove represents preachers who arm themselves with the teachings of the Church Fathers. Its nest in the clefts of rocks symbolises preachers who find refuge in the wounds of Christ, building a spiritual shelter for themselves and others. The dove's ability to recover lost sight reflects the preachers’ role in restoring lost Church doctrine through the Holy Spirit, as seen in David's recovery of his prophetic spirit.

Doves fly in flocks, symbolising how preachers, united in the Catholic faith, move together toward good deeds and virtues. The more they engage in these good works, the closer they draw to God.

They were seen as symbolic of purity and innocence. Their white feathers and gentle nature made them perfect symbols for virtues like chastity and meekness. In Christian art and literature, they were often depicted as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, based on the New Testament description of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove during the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:16 , Mark 1:10 , Luke 3:22 , John 1:32 ).

Doves also symbolised peace, both in the sense of inner spiritual peace and in the broader context of peace among nations. This idea comes partly from the story of Noah’s Ark, where a dove brought back an olive branch as a sign that the floodwaters had receded and peace was restored to the Earth (Genesis 8:11 ).

In Christian iconography, it is most often associated with the Holy Spirit, as mentioned earlier. It also represents the soul’s aspiration toward God and the peace that comes from divine grace. The dove’s nesting in safe places, as described in medieval bestiaries, symbolises the believer’s refuge in the wounds of Christ and its ability to recover lost sight reflects the restoration of spiritual vision through divine intervention.

Columba simplex avis est, felle caret, et osculo;
amorem concitat. Ita predicatores sancti carent
ira. et amaritudine, quia licet irascantur; tamen
non dicitur ira cum rationabiliter irascantur.
Habet gemitum pro cantu. Ita predicatores pro-
cul a moto cantus et amore seculi; gemunt pro
suis et aliorum peccatis. Nec lacerat rostro. Et

The dove is a simple bird. It does not have a bile[7] and arouses love through its kiss. Similarly, holy preachers are lacking in anger and bitterness; although they may become angry, their anger is not regarded as true anger when it is reasonable. Doves coo when they cry. Thus, preachers are far from the melodious singing and love of the world; they lament for their own sins and those of others. The dove does not harass you with its beak.

hoc bene convetit predicatoribus qui sanc-
tas scripturas non corrumpunt sicut hereti-
ci faciunt. Meliora grana eligit. Eodem modo ipsi
meliores sentencias scripturarum eligunt. Alie-
nos pullos nutrit. Ita predicatores filios huius secu-
li alienatos a deo per peccatum suis predicatio-
nibus nutriunt trahentes eos ad christum. Iuxta
fluenta sedet ut viso accipitre; se demergat;
et sic evadat. Similiter iuxta sanctas scripturas
predicatores habitant, ut viso impetu et tempta-
tione diaboli in illis scripturis demergantur,
agendo scilicet iuxta precepta scripturarum
et sic evadant. Alis se defendunt. Ita predicato-
res sententiis patrum se muniunt et defendunt
In foraminibus petre nidificant, sic et predicatores
in vulneribus id est in fide vulnerum christi de quo dicitur,
petra autem erat christus; nidum id est indumentum sibi et illis
faciunt. Habet et hanc naturam ut visionem amis-
sam recuperet. Ita predicatores ecclesie rationem inter-
missam per aliquod peccatum; dono spiritus sancti
recuperant. Sic et david qui spiritum prophetie quem

This suits preachers well who do not corrupt the holy scriptures as heretics do. The dove chooses better seeds. Similarly, preachers select the better passages of the scriptures. The dove nourishes the chicks of others. Similarly, preachers, through their preaching, nourish those alienated from God by sin, drawing them to Christ. The dove sits by the streams to hide underwater from hawks. Similarly, preachers always carry the Holy Scriptures so that, upon seeing the onslaught and temptation of the devil in those scriptures, they may immerse themselves therein, acting according to the precepts of the scriptures and thus escape. The dove defends itself with its wings. Similarly, preachers arm and defend themselves with the teachings of the Church Fathers. The dove nests in the clefts of a rock. Similarly, preachers dwell in the wounds, that is, in the faith of Christ’s wounds whereof it is said: “the rock was Christ” ; they make a nest, that is, a covering for themselves and for others. The dove also has the ability to recover lost sight. Similarly, preachers regain the doctrine of the Church, lost through sin, by means of the Holy Spirit. Thus, David, who had lost the prophetic spirit, recovered it.

amiserat; recuperavit. Item, gregatim volat. Sic
predicatores gregatim fidem catholicam tenentes
tendunt gressibus bonorum operum atque virtutum.
Nam quot bona opera facimus; tot gressibus ad deum
properamus.

Furthermore, the dove flies in flocks. Similarly, preachers, clinging to the Catholic faith in flocks, direct their steps toward good deeds and virtues. The more we perform good deeds, the more we get closer to God.

Further Reading

David Badke, The Bestiary Blog: Animals in the Middle Ages, Dove, November 6 2023, https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast253.htm

Mynott, J, Birds in the Ancient World (New York: Oxford University Press 2018)

Josh Goldenberg (BA 2012) and Matt Shanahan (BA 2014), Logeion, November 2022, https://logeion.uchicago.edu/

Castiglioni, L. and Mariotti, S. (1996). Vocabolario della Lingua Latina: Latino-Italiano Italiano-Latino. Terza Edizione. Loescher Torino

Curley, M. J., Physiologus: A Medieval Book of Nature Lore (University of Chicago edition 2009)

Rackham, H., M.A., Pliny Natural History Volume III, Libri VIII-XI (London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1949)

Collins, A. H., M.A., Symbolism of Animals and Birds (New York: McBride, Nast & Company, 1913)

Henderson, C., The Book of Barely Imagined Beings (London: University of Chicago Press, 2013)

White, T. H., The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts (New York: G.P Putnam’s Sons, 1960)

Matthews, J. and Matthews C., The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z of fantastic beings from myth and magic (London: HarperElement, 2005)

Barney, S. A., Lewis, W. J., Beach A., Berghof O., The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006)

Endnotes

[1] Matthew NKJV 3:16: When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

[2] Mark NKJV 1:10: And immediately, coming up [a]from the water, He saw the heavens [b]parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.

[3] Luke NKJV 3:22: And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

[4] John NKJV 1:32: And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.

[5] Genesis NKJV 8:11: And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

[6] Fĕl means bile/gall in the literal sense in Latin but means rancour, wrath or bitterness in the figurative sense.

[7] The notion of the dove being without bile likely originated from the symbolic representation of the dove as a symbol of peace, purity and innocence. Bile, associated with bitterness and anger in ancient and medieval medicine, was believed to be absent in creatures considered pure or peaceful, like the dove. This is more of a metaphorical or symbolic idea rather than a biological fact.

[8] 1 Corinthians NKJV 10:4: and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. In this passage, the Apostle Paul is drawing a parallel between the Israelites in the Old Testament, who drank water from the rock provided by God during their wilderness journey, and Christ as the spiritual source of life for believers. The "Rock" in this verse symbolises Christ as the foundation and source of spiritual sustenance.