Nel Medioevo ogni animale era un simbolo | Franco Cardini

In the Middle Ages, an animal was never just an animal. The wolf could represent ferocity, intelligence, marginalization, or reconciliation; the lion, royalty and strength; the dragon, evil, but also more ancient powers. Franco Cardini presents his "Bestiary" and introduces us to a universe populated by real and fantastic creatures, all charged with meaning. The volume brings together twenty-seven animals. Even the number is symbolic: three times nine, within a culture that viewed creation as a network of correspondences. Cardini thus begins with a fundamental question: what is a symbol? Not a sign with a single meaning, but something that refers to something else and acquires meaning in the cultural system in which it is placed. Humans are "symbolic animals": they think, speak, and organize the world through names, images, and stories. From medieval bestiaries to Aesop, from heraldry to contemporary media, symbols enable us to understand reality, but they can also become tools of persuasion and domination. The wolf emerges at the center of the dialogue. Cardini reconstructs its intelligence, its closeness to humanity, and its presence in the imagination. Even the famous wolf of Gubbio can be interpreted as a real animal, a brigand, a figure of the worst citizens, or a symbolic transfiguration of the encounter between Francis of Assisi and the Sultan. The conversation then moves on to tigers and cats, Ingmar Bergman's "Seventh Seal," Umberto Eco, the pilgrim as an image of existence, and the animals of heraldry. In the final game, the eagle, deer, chimera, dragon, phoenix, scorpion, and serpent compete, culminating in the inevitable victory of the unicorn. Franco Cardini presented the book: "Bestiary. Real and Fantastic Animals in Medieval Culture" on September 24, 2026, at the Gubbio Medieval Festival. Chapters 00:00 How the new Bestiary was born 02:38 Twenty-seven animals and a symbolic number 03:49 What is a symbol, really? 5:14 Humans are symbolic animals 8:05 From medieval bestiaries to Aesop 9:03 Symbolism and the power of names 10:38 We live surrounded by symbols 11:47 The Middle Ages and the civilization of images 12:17 When symbols become instruments of domination 1:07 Who invented the Middle Ages? 15:12 The false myth of the feudal pyramid 20:05 The wolf in the Bestiary 21:55 How intelligent is the wolf? 27:54 The wolf in the human imagination 28:52 What did the wolf of Gubbio represent? 34:07 Cardini and the Mongolian Tiger 36:15 Why Cats Have No Owners 39:59 The Middle Ages of the Seventh Seal 43:01 The Middle Ages as a Human Condition 45:16 Life as Pilgrimage and Battle 49:17 The Tournament of Animals 57:19 Animals in Heraldry 1:01:24 Scorpion, Snake, and Tortoise 1:02:59 The Unicorn Wins Cardini's first lecture at the Festival, in 2015: Why the Middle Ages Don't Exist: Perché il Medioevo non esiste | Franco Car...