Beaver biting off its own testicles
About the work
Imported from the workbook's Full reassessment sheet, revised 7 October 2026 (record ID 105). 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 model book c.1230–1250
Region: European bestiaries; cited model book Paris
Workbook date-sort bounds: 1230 CE to 1250 CE; these bounds are not automatically invention or disappearance dates.
Description
A hunted beaver supposedly sacrifices its testicles to escape. A surviving model book preserves pin-pricks used to transfer animal outlines onto other pages.
Evidence of adoption or transmission
A model book preserves transfer marks for copying the beaver scene, offering direct evidence of artistic replication.
What remains uncertain
This is particularly clear evidence of a professional production mechanism; it does not establish independent ordinary-person adoption.
Workbook revision note: Reassessed using grassroots criteria