Through a glass, darkly: interpreting animal physicians

The present paper addresses medieval English depictions in wood and stained glass of the apparently satirical image of the monkey physician examining the urinal. Some images clearly correspond to contemporary concerns about physicians, as expressed in works such as The Simonie and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. However, I suggest that by drawing upon contemporary discussions concerning the health of the body and the soul, we may perhaps read into these images an important message concerning individual salvation.