Editing Satyr (section)

===Middle Ages===
[[File:F13r-aberdeen-best.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Medieval depiction of a satyr from the [[Aberdeen Bestiary]], holding a wand resembling a [[jester]]'s club.{{sfn|Clark|2006|page=79}}  Medieval bestiaries conflated satyrs with western European [[Wild man|wild men]].{{sfn|Hassig|1999|page=73}}]]
[[File:A satyr holding a basket of grapes and quinces with a nymph, by Peter Paul Rubens.jpg|thumb|''A satyr holding a fruit basket with a nymph'' by [[Peter Paul Rubens]], clearly another attempt by a satyr to seduce a nymph]]
Starting in late antiquity, Christian writers began to portray satyrs and fauns as dark, evil, and demonic.{{sfn|Link|1995|page=44}} [[Jerome]] ({{circa}} 347 – 420 AD) described them as symbols of [[Satan]] on account of their lasciviousness.{{sfn|Link|1995|page=44}} Despite this, however, satyrs were sometimes clearly distinguished from demons and sometimes even portrayed as noble.{{sfn|Link|1995|page=51}} Because Christians believed that the distinction between humans and animals was spiritual rather than physical, it was thought that even a satyr could attain salvation.{{sfn|Link|1995|page=51}} [[Isidore of Seville]] ({{circa}} 560 – 636) records an anecdote later recounted in the ''[[Golden Legend]]'', that [[Anthony the Great]] encountered a satyr in the desert who asked to pray with him to their common [[God in Christianity|God]].{{sfn|Link|1995|page=51}} During the Early Middle Ages, features and characteristics of satyrs and the god [[Pan (god)|Pan]], who resembled a satyr, became absorbed into traditional Christian iconography of Satan.{{sfn|Link|1995|pages=44–45}}

Medieval storytellers in Western Europe also frequently conflated satyrs with [[wild man|wild men]].{{sfn|Hassig|1999|page=73}}{{sfn|Link|1995|page=52}} Both satyrs and wild men were conceived as part human and part animal{{sfn|Jahoda|1999|page=6}} and both were believed to possess unrestrained sexual appetites.{{sfn|Jahoda|1999|page=6}} Stories of wild men during the Middle Ages often had an erotic tone{{sfn|Jahoda|1999|page=6}} and were primarily told orally by peasants, since the clergy officially disapproved of them.{{sfn|Jahoda|1999|page=6}} In this form, satyrs are sometimes described and represented in [[Bestiary|medieval bestiaries]],{{sfn|Hassig|1999|pages=73, 88, and 16}}{{sfn|Clark|2006|pages=79, 133–132}} where a satyr is often shown dressed in an animal skin, carrying a club and a serpent.{{sfn|Hassig|1999|page=73}} In the ''[[Aberdeen Bestiary]]'', the ''[[Ashmole Bestiary]]'', and MS Harley 3244, a satyr is shown as a nude man holding a wand resembling a [[jester]]'s club and leaning back, crossing his legs.{{sfn|Clark|2006|page=79}} Satyrs are sometimes juxtaposed with apes, which are characterized as "physically disgusting and akin to the Devil".{{sfn|Hassig|1999|page=73}} In other cases, satyrs are usually shown nude, with enlarged phalli to emphasize their sexual nature.{{sfn|Hassig|1999|page=88}}  In the [[Second-Family Bestiary]], the name "satyr" is used as the name of a [[Satyrus (ape)|species of ape]], which is described as having a "very agreeable face, restless, however, in its twitching movements."{{sfn|Clark|2006|page=133}}