Rotte and flute, from Hortus Deliciarum (circa 1180 AD), facsimile (1818)

This illustration shows two hybrid figures with human faces, bird wings, and taloned feet, dressed in long robes and veils. One figure plays a transverse flute while the other performs on a rotte, reflecting the medieval association between Sirens and the seductive power of music. The figures are identified by captions in Middle High German and Latin script above their heads.

As part of Herrad of Landsberg’s Hortus Deliciarum, this image participates in the medieval bestiary tradition where hybrid creatures like Sirens served as allegories for worldly temptations that distract the soul. It reflects the 12th-century Neoplatonic effort to categorize the natural and supernatural worlds within a comprehensive theological framework.