Bonnacon blasting hunters with burning dung
About the work
Imported from the workbook's Full reassessment sheet, revised 7 October 2026 (record ID 56). The assessment below is the workbook's comparative judgment under its stated criteria; source links and limits are retained.
Workbook assessment: Spread only
Date or witness: Medieval bestiary tradition; cited illustration c.1200–1220
Region: European bestiaries; cited manuscript England
Workbook date-sort bounds: 1200 CE to 1220 CE; these bounds are not automatically invention or disappearance dates.
Description
A bull-like animal defends itself by spraying fiery excrement. Artists repeatedly depict the blast and the hunters' disgust or alarm.
Evidence of adoption or transmission
The bonnacon tale and excrement defence recur in bestiaries and illustrated natural-history traditions.
What remains uncertain
Repeated copying in learned books establishes transmission. Neither strangeness nor a comic depiction proves grassroots popular uptake.
Workbook revision note: Reassessed using grassroots criteria