He was, of course, a man. Until the end of the 16th century, he was likely fluent in Latin. Perhaps French. If he were a nobleman he affected a disregard for achieving a degree. He might concentrate his efforts on astrology, law, literature. His masters had taken minor orders and the subjects of theology and philosophy colored all of his studies.
His science, such as it was, he got almost completely from Aristotle translated into Latin and from Pliny the Elder. If the subject interested him particularly he would find copies of De proprietatis rerum or the Speculi Majoris of Vincent of Beauvais at hand. These would point him toward the early church fathers as further authorities and to the likes of the Phisiologus.
Our interest here, then, is not science per se but rather how the world looked to the educated man.
Of Dracone. cap. 38.
THe Dragon is called Draco, and is most greatest of all Serpents, as Isidore saith bk. 12. The Gréekes call him Draconia, and ofte he is drawen out of his den, and réeseth vp into the aire, and the aire is moved by him, & also the Sea swelleth against his venime, & he hath A creast with a lyttle mouth, and draweth breath at small pipes and straight, & reareth his tongue, and hath téeth lyke a saw, & hath strength, & not only in téeth, but also in his tayle, and grieveth both with biting & with stinging, & hath not so much venim as other serpents: for to the ende to slay any thing, to him venime: is not néedfull: for whom he findeth he slayeth, and the Elephant is not sure from him, for all his greatnesse of body, for he lurketh in the waye, where the Elephant goeth, and bindeth & spanneth his legs and strangleth and slaieth him. The Dragon bréedeth in Inde and in Aethiopia, there as is great burning of continuall heat, as Isidore saith bk. 12.
Pliny. bk. 8. ch. 13. speaketh of the dragon and saieth, that the Dragon is xx. cubites great, and bréedeth among the Aethiopes. Ofte foure or five of them, fasten theyr tayles togethers, and reareth up the heads, & sayle over sea, and over rivers, to get good meate. Also ch. 12. besayeth. Betwéene Elephants and Dragons is everlasting fighting, for the Dragon with his tayle bindeth & spanneth the Elaphaunt, and the Elephaunt with his foote, and with his nose throweth downe the Dragon, and the Dragon with his tayle, bindeth and spanneth the Elephants legges and maketh him fall: but the Dragon buyeth it full sore, for while he slayeth the Elephant, the Elephant falleth uppon him, & slayeth him.
Item ch. 14. The Elephant séeing the Dragon upon a tree, busieth him to break the tree to smite the dragon, and the dragon leapeth upon the Elephant, and busieth to bite him betwéene the nosethrils, and assayleth the Elephants eyen, and maketh him blynde some time, and leapeth uppon him some time behinde, and byteth him, and sucketh his bloude, and at the last, after long fighting, the Elephant wexeth féeble for great blindnesse insomuch, that he falleth upon the Dragon, and slayeth in his dying, the Dragon that him slayeth.
The cause why the Dragon desireth his bloud, is coldnes of the Elephants bloud by the which the Dragon desireth to coole himselfe, as Isidore saith [upon the place] Levitic. 14. Attraxerunt ventum sicut Dracones, They drew winde as Dragons.
There Jerome sayth, that the Dragon is a full thirstie beast, insomuch, that unneth he may have water inough to quench his great thirst: and openeth his mouth therefore against the winde, to quench the burning of his thirste in that wise. Therfore when he séeth ships sayle in the sea in great winde, he flieth against the saile, to take ther cold wind, and overthroweth the ship somtime for greatnesse of body and by strong [bréese] against the saile, and when the shipmen sée the Dragon come nigh, and knowe his comming by water that swelleth against him, they strike the sayle anone, & scape in that wise.
Also Solinus saith, that Aethiopians use Dragons bloude, against burning heate, and eate the flesh against divers evills, for they can depart the venimme from his flesh: and he hath venim only in his tongue and in his gall, & therfore they cut off the tongue, and throw away the gall, in which the venime is received: and so when the venim is taken away, they use the other deale of the bodie, both in meate and in medicine. And it séemeth, that David toucheth this, where he sayth: Dedisti eum escam populis Aethiopium, Thou gavest him for meate to the people of Aethiopia.
Also Pliny saith, that for might of the venime, his tongue is alway areared, & somtime he setteth the ayre on fire, by heate of his venime, so that it séemeth that he bloweth and casteth fire out of his mouth: and sometime he bloweth out outragious blastes, and thereby the aire is corrupted and infected, and thereof commeth pestilent evilles, and they dwell somtime in the sea, and sometime swim in rivers, and lurke sometime in caves and in dens, & sléepe but seldome, but wake nigh alway. And they devour beasts and sowles, and have right sharp sight, and sée therefore their pray a farre out of mountaines, and fight with biting strokes and stinging, & setteth him most on the eyen and nose of the beast that he fighteth with. Therefore Pliny saith bk. 8. That hée grieveth most the Elephant in the eyen and in the mouth, and maketh him ofte blinde, so that sometime the Elaphaunt maye not eate and dyeth therefore in that wise.
Also of the Dragon Aristotle speaketh bk. 7. and sayth, that the Dragons biting, that eateth venemous beastes is perillous, as the Dragons biting that eateth Scorpions, for against his biting vnneth is any remedy or medicine founde. Also bk. 28. Plinius sayth, that all venemous beasts flye and voyd the greace and fatnesse of the dragon: and his greace medled with honnie, cureth and healeth dimnesse of eyen. Also bk. 7. Aristotle saith, those Fishes dye; that are bitten of the Dragon.
Source: Bartholomaeus Anglicus De proprietatibus rerum [On the properties of things]
Citing: Aristotle. On Animals [Historia Animalium]
Pliny the Elder. Natural Histories. [Plinii Naturalis Historia]
Isidore of Seville. Of Etymology or Origin [Etymologiarum sive Originum]
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