This painting of an owl reproduces the original manuscript illumination as you can find it on fol.62r of the Ashmole Bestiary. The painting, commissioned by an acquaintance, uses white egg tempera mixed with mineral pigments and 24 karat gold leaf for the background.
The owl is, nowadays, considered to be a symbol of wisdom. This interpretation dates to the Greco-Roman time, but this wasn’t always the meaning. In medieval times, the owl was seen as an unclean creature of the dark.
Owls in the Bible
We can find a number of examples of the owl in the Bible, but only in the Old Testament. In every case, the Bible refers to the owl as an unclean creature of the dark. In Leviticus, God himself declares that the Israelites are to detest the owl:
13 […] you are to detest the following birds, and they must not be eaten because they are detestable: 16 the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl […]
Leviticus 11:13, 16-18 from the Bible (New International Version)
Isaiah 34, the owl is again referenced in the bible. In this chapter, Isaiah writes a prophetic declaration on Gods judgment of the nations, where he destines the owl to possess the devastated lands of Edom.
8 For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 9 Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch. […] 11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. […] 13 Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. […] 15 There the owl will make her nest; she will lay and hatch her eggs and gather her brood under her shadow. Even there the birds of prey will gather, each with its mate.
Isaiah 34: 8-9, 11, 13, 15 from the Bible (New International Version)
There are a few other references to owls in the old testament, but they aren’t much more positive in any regards. Psalm 102 likens the writer to be like “a desert owl of the wilderness”, likening it to loneliness. Both Jeremiah and Micah again group the owl with other predators, like jackals and “other wild beasts of the desert”.
Owls in medieval literature
Unfortunately, online resources on owls in medieval literature are scarce. However, Anne Marie Bliesner wrote a very informative blog post on this topic, which I encourage you to read. In this blog, she described that owls have a strong presence in medieval literature. For example, in Cuono of St. Nabor’s fable an ‘ envious owl’ murders a white peacock, which symbolises light and goodness. And in the story of an owlet in the hawk’ s nest, the owl is thrown out and dismembered by magpies and crows when it’s true identity was discovered.
Many bestiaries do not fail to include the owl among their birds. In Ms. Bodley 764 the owl is associated with death, described as a loathsome bird heralding impending disaster and said to be a harbinger of woe for mortals. It also compares the owl to sinners, because:
its roost is filthy from its droppings, just as the sinner brings all who dwell with him into disrepute through the example of his dishonorable behavior. […] It lives by day and night in graveyards, just like sinners who delight in their sin, which is the stench of human flesh.
“Barber, Richard; “BESTIARY”, The Boydell Press, 1993 (p.149)”
A better reputation
Fortunately, thanks to the interest in Greco-Roman culture in the 18th – 19th century and, presumably, the improving knowledge on the beneficial role of owls on rodent populations the reputation of this animal improved markedly. These days we therefore know owls as symbols of wisdom and knowledge.