In my random wanderings of the internet today i came across a Medieval Bestiary with some very interesting images of medieval artwork, mainly from Europe, depicting many different fictional and non-fictional beats. As i was going through i came across a Basilisk, which i always thought was just a large snake that had a lethal gaze. Well it turns out there are two descriptions of a basilisk one is that, a snake, not even necessarily that large, that has a lethal gaze, and is so poisonous that is scorches the ground around it. Another description which is normally seen in Western Europe is of close kin to the the Cockatrice, a creature i am familiar with, which is a beast that has the head of a rooster, and the body of a reptile (mainly a snake) and most often is depicted with wings, the difference i am seeing is that the Basilisk does not have wings, and the Cockatrice does not have a lethal gaze. they are kin in that one is a snake that is roosted by a cock, and the other is a rooster that is roosted by a snake. very interesting i must say.
You can look through the medieval artwork yourself, the website kinda sucks, but oddly has cooliris capabilities... which is nice. http://bestiary.ca/beasts.htm GO!
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