Evidence For An Old West European Fox Type

 

 When you look at Medieval Beastiaries it does not matter whether they are from Germany, France, Belgium or any other part of Western Europe the fox is depicted the same way. Colouration can show a greyish (Autumn/Winter coat?) or a sandy/yellowish -the latter we know were colour traits in Old British foxes and there are taxidermy examples of some. The main colouration is, however, brown or reddish brown with a lighter underside.

The fact that these details match should not be surprising. When Doggerbank -the land link to Britain was submerged approx 10,000 years ago any Old type foxes trapped here would have been the same as those in Europe but had to develop and adopt to a more compact landscape. In fact we know that the Mountain fox could be seen as an equivalent to the European jackal or American coyote and was the largest of the three types. The hardy and robust Hill fox adapted to the hills and valleys and the rugged lifestyle.  The Cur or Common fox developed an almost symbiotic relationship with humans and lived near towns and villages disposing of waste food as well as rodents (as jackals do in India).

When the land bridge between Britain and what was to become Ireland flooded and foxes there were of the Old type but had to adapt and Mountain foxes were well known there. It may well be that these foxes would not be classed as Vulpes sp. -we have the taxidermies but no one is interested in  carrying out DNA testing so until that is carried out we will not know.  Experts have argued that the ancient wolf that was also trapped in Britain by the flooding was of the Grey wolf species and that it's need to adapt to island life would have made it a sub-species.  The same would apply to Old foxes with those in Western Europe being the ancestor species and those in Britain developing into a sub-species and those in Ireland adapting and becoming a further sub-species.

All of the evidence exists such as drawings and paintings that show no black socks (feet and paws), no black "tear stain" marking on the muzzle and no black behind the ears. We have seen 19th century taxidermies show up that conform to the Old fox type.  We even know that this Old type of fox existed in Norway and that is was trapped and exported to Britain for hunting. It was said to be larger than the Mountain fox -it is called "the Norwegian Mountain fox" in newspaper, magazines and accounts in hunting books of the 19th century. We know some of the ports they arrived in as well as something about their journeys to hunting counties -this was all information newspapers felt that their readers would be interested in. It seems that the only people who do not know any of this are Norwegian specialists who doubted what I wrote and on providing sources and references....I never heard from again.

Dogma is pretty strong in any field of academia. Providing examples and sources the "expert" (he had researched foxes for 30 years) at one Swiss museum refused to even look at their collection unless there was a peer reviewed paper on the subject: "Obviously, this is a prerequisite for us to justify the effort of consulting our scientific collections."  No one has spent 50 years studying foxes and delving into newspaper archives and hundreds of books on the matter apart from me and there is no institution in the UK carrying out such research or willing to be associated with the work so how do you peer review -and peer review a paper that would not be considered because I am not a "Dr" or "Prof" at a university.  Why get up off your overpaid backside and apply scientific curiosity when a find might lead to even more lucrative funding and name checks? 

Dogma is king. Dogma is comfy jobs and nice salaries and not rocking the good ship Dogma.

Below from The Bestiary of Anne Walshe (Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek Gl. kgl. Saml. 1633 4˚) is a Latin bestiary of English origin, produced circa 1400-25. 

Below Birds on a Dead Fox (detail) in a bestiary, 1278–1300, unknown illuminator, Franco-Flemish. Tempera colors, pen and ink, gold leaf, and gold paint on parchment, 9 3/16 × 6 7/16 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XV 4, fol. 84v. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program

Below Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Gall.16 (Psalter of Isabelle of France), folio 13r 14th-century

Below Detail of a miniature of a fox, afflicted with dropsy, being cured by a weasel, in Ulrich von Pottenstein, Spiegel der Weisheit: Salzburg, c. 1430 (London, British Library, MS Egerton 1121, f. 109v).

Below Bestiaire of Pierre de Beauvais Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Ms-3516 (L'Image du monde / Bestiaire of Pierre de Beauvais), folio 204v 13th c

Below The fox pretends to be dead to lure birds close enough to catch. From Manuscript PhysiologusBayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 6908 (Liber de natura rerum / Fürstenfelder Physiologus), folio 82r 14th century

Below The Aberdeen Bestiary, folio 16r, De vulpe, is a 12th century English illuminated manuscript bestiary, and while it was first listed in 1542, it likely originated in the 13th century. 

above  Museum Meermanno - MMW, 10 B 25 - Facsimile  Manuscript

Museum Meermanno, MMW, 10 B 25, folio 13v c 1450 Western France

Above Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, gr. IV. 35 (Greek Physiologus), folio 62r  1500s

Below In this marginal illustration a fox tries to reach an unidentified bird that is high in a tree. Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, MS 404 (Rothschild Canticles), folio 116r produced in French Flanders around 1300

Above Aberdeen University Library Online Collections Univ. Lib. MS 24 (Aberdeen Bestiary), folio 16r 1200

Below from, "The Lordly Life; Scene Galante, circa 1500" by the French School. Immerse yourself in the artistry of the 16th century, echoing the grandeur of the original tapestry housed in the National Museum of the Middle Ages and Thermes de Cluny, Paris.