An illustration of the Caladrius' prophecies
from the 1588 edition of The Physiologus.
Copperplate by Pieter van der Borcht.
According to the Aberdeen Bestiary (as well earlier texts
such as The Physiologus), the Caladrius is a snow-white
bird that lives in kings' houses. Supposedly, the bird
refuses to look at any patient that is not going to make a
full recovery.
It is said to also be able to take the sickness into
itself and then fly away, dispersing the sickness and
healing both itself and the sick person.
This is said to be analogous to
Jesus Christ, whose crucifixion is said to have drawn
out "the sickness" (sin, see
Biblical sin-sickness analogy) and, through his "flight"
from the grave, saved the
sinner.
Basis of Origination
There are numerous theories as to where the legend of the
Caladrius was started. One of them would be that it is
merely the product of some overactive imaginations or that
it was created purely as an analogy.
Another is that the Caladrius is based on a real bird.
According to the descriptions of its being completely white
with no black on it, it is possible that it was based on the
dove, or possibly some sort of water bird such as the
heron.
Other
Caladrius Computing is also the name of an Australian
data backup company.
External links