The Stork
In Peacham's emblem the stork is pictured with
two flaming torches and the bird's claws are grasping them.
The bird is slightly above land, and has its wings
completely spread out. In the caption below it tells us
that this bird "in ancient times, the mark of wedlock chast"
(111: 3). The "chaste" stork means that this bird is very
innocent, pure, and "abstains from carnal love"
(Morehead,
122). It goes onto explain that this is true "Because this
bird, a deadly foe is said to adultery, and foulest soul
incest" (111:5). The stork is also described as "vestal",
which means innocent and is also the goddess that lingers
around the fire. Peacham is hoping people will act more
like the virginal stork, and remain around the fire instead
of losing their innocence. The next section speaks about the
stork's positive influences to this culture. It is a symbol
of "everlasting peace" (111:7) and the "most blessed
marriage" (111:9). It goes on to explain the importance of
a proper marriage, when Peacham wrote, " And a pledge, of
that conjunction give twisted souls, and body, eke the
mutual love" (111:10-11). This explains the beauty of true
love through marriage, and not one with "adultery" (111:5).
It then goes on to say that this bondage is between both the
"church" (111:12) and the "sweet spouse" (111:12). Henry
Peacham's view of the stork was that it symbolized a pure
and loving marriage. Peacham received this view from
several sources and fables about this storied bird. The
stork's good name came from some places that had nothing to
do with a good marriage, but were all references to positive
ideas of virtue.
Ancient Egypt had a language written on walls with
pictographs. It was a highly figurative art form, and
"certain animals were chosen 
as
symbols for that particular aspect of divinity" (Gadella,
112). Animals in this Egyptian language were shown to
represent certain attributes in humans, and this method was
known as Anbu. When the soul was depicted, a creature with
a stork body and a human head was drawn. In this culture
the stork was known for its "migrating and homing instinct,
and is also known worldwide as the bird that carriers
newborn babies to their new families" (Gadella, 113). It
goes on to explain that the stork "returns to its own nest
with constant precision- hence a migratory bird is the
perfect choice to represent the soul" (Gadella, 113). This
symbolism for the stork runs parallel with the Egyptian
belief in reincarnation or transmigration of the soul.
(Abrams, 67) This is the belief that once one dies their
soul leaves and enters the body of some other being. This
whole idea was passed down from Pythagoris, the ancient
Greek philosopher. Another similar belief held by many
Egyptians was that the soul left during sleep, but returned
right before they awoke. In either case the stork is an
appropriate symbol since this bird was characterized for its
migrating and returning.
Another early reference of the stork is in the Bible. In Leviticus (11:19) and Deuteronomy (14:18) the bird is listed along with other birds that should not be eaten. Both of these Old Testament books were written between 1450-1410 B.C., and these early references categorize this bird as such sacred bird that it should not be killed. Then in the 7th Century B.C., Jeremiah brought up their migrating pattern. He compares the stork and other animals listening to the Lord when they fly home to the same nest to people who don't listen. Jeremiah wrote, "Yea the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed, and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming, but my people know not the law of the Lord" (Jer. 8:7). It is seen here that the stork was deeply respected for listening to the Lord. More praise of the stork is seen in the book of Job, where the birds' beautiful feathers are being compared to the coarse feathers of an ostrich. Newer versions of the Bible read, "the stork are her pinions and feathers kindly" (Job 39:14). Once again in Zechariah's book, he speaks about how beautiful this bird is in a simile. He wrote, "Then lifted I up my eyes, and looked and, behold, there came out two woman, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork…" (Zech 5:9). The stork was considered to be the most beautiful bird during these early periods, and is used in a comparisons to express how gorgeous something appears.
The
Bestiaries also touched on the stork in its writings.
Pliny, Aristotle, Indian, Hebrew, and Egyptian animal myths
all contributed to this book's insights. It wrote that the
stork "shared a sense of community" (Hugo, 48) and "make
their ways in flocks" (Hugo, 49). These birds' lives were
associated with close bonds in their relationships. The
mothers are best known for having a strong responsibility to
their young, and pull out their own feathers in order to
keep them warm. This self-sacrifice shows the mothers put
their children's needs above their own comfort. This
motherly aid will be repaid to the parents when they get
older, and their youth will take care of their parents.
This bird has an extremely long lifetime for bird standards,
and modern day research has shown that they live up to
seventy years. A large factor that causes these long life
spans is this cooperative care-giving pattern. This book
also says, "their enemies are snakes" (Hugo, 49), or frogs
as seen in the picture. Serpents are obviously associated
with evilness and corruption. The large beaks of storks
often kill these "evil thoughts or evil brothers" (Hugo,
49). Some of the reasoning behind the stork's high status
is connected to the fact that its main enemy represents
wickedness. Also since the stork migrated to Asia, which
"signifies heavenly things", people traveling to Asia were
thought to "aim for higher things", just like the stork. In
the 8th and 9th century, which is when the Bestiaries were
written, the stork had a very optimistic denotation.
The Chinese were another nationality that referred to the stork in their ancient folklore. These superstitions came down from the Wei and Jin Dynasties (220-420), and were also influenced from Taoist and Buddhist beliefs much earlier. They believed the stork had the ability to bring people up to the heavens. In their ancient legends they believed, "A young flute-player and wandering minstrel who carries a basket laden with fruit. His soul-searching songs caused a stork to snatch him away to the heavens" (Owens, 3). In this instance the stork has the power to bring this man to heaven for his enjoyable songs. Like other cultures, the Chinese interweaved these myths with their culture. China is a country with a history of wars, and this country received a drastic decline in their population during the turmoil. It was often believed that the souls of these heroic Chinese warriors were taken up to heaven with the stork's aid. The stork once again is associated with having a godly status, and this time is believed to transport the souls of soldiers to heaven. The Chinese depiction of the stork went along with other views and proclaimed the bird as a messenger of God.
Thomas Browne, a 16th century writer, referred to storks in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica. He said that storks "are to be found, and only live, in republics or free states" (Browne, 27 iii). He goes on say that they live here "to disparge monarchical government" (Browne, 27 iii). He considered government's run by family lines to be corrupt, and did not look after their people's needs. He says storks only live in these righteous states because they were pure creatures that had not been subjected to the corruption of monarchies. He then agrees with Pliny's texts about when the Thessalonians were tormented by their kings of a corrupt government, but even in these awful circumstances "it was no less then capital to kill a stork" (Browne, 27 iii). He says the monarchical government of Egypt had a deep respect for these birds even though their government was corrupt as well. He brings up these poor governments that respected the stork because if they respect the stork than any civilized government should have a greater appreciation, and also to show the universal approval of this bird. He then brings up the story from the Bible of Jeremiah coming to his people at the right time. He copies from the Bible, "the stork in the heaven knowing her appointed time" (Browne, 27 iii), but his people do not know when they are asked to come for judgment in front of the Lord. Thomas Browne's writings speak of the stork's positive meaning in the mid-1600s.
The stork received a variety of different compliments about either its appearance or symbolic meaning. Peacham described the innocence of the stork, and applied it to a proper marriage. The Bible referred to this bird similarly, and listed it as a sacred bird that should never be eaten, and also a bird of extreme beauty. Egyptians took this bird's importance to another level and claimed the stork transported people souls to another being when they died. Instead of transporting their souls to another being, the Chinese believed that the stork took their brave warriors souls to heaven. The Bestiaries stressed this bird's communal living style, and how it fought against evil serpents. Thomas Browne connected the virtue of the stork with politics, and said the virtuous stork would only live in a republic. The stork truly symbolized virtuous activities and characteristics that were recognized by several cultures and writers.
Bibliography
Abrams, H.N. Egyptian Art in The Age of the Pyramids, Published by Metropolitan Museum of Art. May 1999.
Browne, Thomas. Pseudodoxia Epidemica. Chapter 27 III, (1646; 6th edition, 1672)
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/pseudodoxia.shtml
Gadella, Moustral. Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are the One. Published by the Tehuti Research Foundation. 2001.
Hugo of St Victor. De Bestiis et aliis rebus, ed. J.P.Migne, Patrologia lat. CLXXVII. cols 15-164, Paris 1844-1845.
http://www.clues.abdn.ac.uk:8080/besttest/alt/comment/best_toc.html
Morehead, Philip D. The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary. Albert and Loyhead Editors. August, 1995.
Scofield, C.I. The New Scofield Reference Bible: Holy Bible. Oxford University Press, 1967.
Owens, D.W. Ancient Chinese Mythology~ Gods~ Goddesses~ Folklore
http://www.crystalinks.com/chinamytheology.html