Questing Beast

Questing Beast

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The Questing Beast, or the Beast Glatisant (Barking Beast), is a monster of legend. It is the subject of quests undertaken by famous knights such as King Pellinore.

Glatisant

The strange creature has the head and neck of a snake, the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion and the feet of a hart. Its name comes from the great noise it emits from its belly, a barking like “thirty couple hounds questing”. ‘Glatisant’ is related to the French word glapissant, ‘yelping’ or ‘barking’, especially of small dogs or foxes.

The questing beast is a variant of the mythological medieval view on giraffes, whose species name of Camelopardalis originated from their description of being half camel and half leopard.