Editing Mermaid (section)

==== Iconographic attestations ====
In a ninth-century ''Physiologus'' manufactured in France (Fig., top left),{{Refn|name="Bern"|The [[Bern Physiologus]]. fol. 13v. Rubric: "De natura serena et honocentauri". Produced c. 830, [[Hautvillers Abbey]] near Reims, France.<ref name="Berne-Cod.318"/>}} the siren was illustrated as a "woman-fish", i.e., mermaid-like, despite being described as bird-like in the text.<ref name="woodruff" /><ref name="leclercq-marx" />

The Bodleian bestiary dated 1220–12 also pictures a group of fish-tailed mermaid-like sirens (Fig. bottom), contradicting its text which likens it to a winged fowl ({{lang|la|volatilis habet figuram}}) down to their feet.{{Refn|Oxford, MS Bodley 764, fol. 74v.<ref name="Bodl764"/>{{sfnp|Hardwick|2011|p=92}}<ref>{{harvp|Holford-Strevens|2006|pp=31–32}}, Fig. 1.4</ref><ref name="bodley764-tr-barber"/>}}

In the interim, the siren as pure mermaid was becoming commonplace, particularly in the so-called "Second Family" Latin bestiaries, as represented in one of the early manuscripts classified into this group ([[Additional manuscripts|Additional manuscript]] 11283, c. 1170–1180s. Fig., top right).<ref name="clark" />