Folio 66r Commentary

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f66Text: The dragon kills by wrapping its tail around a victim and it can even kill elephants. The basilisk is the king of crawling things and can kill with a glance. Illustration: This basilisk has a raptor's beak, a cockscomb, wings, a tail and claws. He is being attacked by a weasel. Early accounts of the basilisk (Dioscorides, in the first century) describe him as an ordinary snake with a head excrescence, probably a king cobra. Killing at a glance may refer to the spitting cobra who has no need to bite. The mongoose, rather like a weasel, can kill cobras. One initial, type 2. Correction in margin. The illustration in detail