Physiologus

The Physiologus is an ancient tome handed down from one village wise woman to the next. It contains descriptions of all the monsters known at the time it was written — which is not to say it is not comprehensive, and how to deal with them. Geralt obtains a "Booke" as part of the reward he receives for "dealing" with the deovel that was bothering the village of Lower Posada in the short story "The Edge of the World". That "Booke" seems to be a copy of the Physiologus.

It seems Molnar Giancardi also had a copy of the Physiologus. He gave it to Ciri to read; to keep her busy as he discussed important matters with Yennefer.

“

The book bore the title Physiologus and was very old and very tattered. Ciri carefully opened the cover and turned several pages. The book immediately caught her interest, since it concerned mysterious monsters and beasts and was full of illustrations.

”

— pg(s). 56, Time of Contempt (UK edition)

Selected entries

• Aurochs
• Cloud sprite
• Knocker
• Korred
• Unicorn
• Vampire
• Wind sprite

• Aurochs
• Cloud sprite
• Knocker
• Korred
• Unicorn
• Vampire
• Wind sprite

In The Witcher computer game

Physiologus
Physiologus
Description
Type	Book
Source	see location
Price to buy	1000
Price to sell	200
ID	it_scroll_319

A legendary bestiary containing information on many monsters. This book is quite obviously a reference to the "ancient Booke" that appears in the short story "The Edge of the World", the entry for the Witchman being almost a direct quote.

Content

Physiologus

This famous work contains vast information on different kinds of monsters

Journal entries

Monsters:
Cemetaur Garkain Golem Royal wyvern	Skullhead Vodyanoi priest Werewolf	Witchman Wolf Wraith Zeugl
Ingredients:
Abomination lymph Beast liver Beast fangs Cemetaur jaw Death dust Ectoplasm	Garkain saliva Golem's obsidian heart Skullhead talons Stones of Ys Tendons Toxin Venom glands	Vodyanoi bladder Vodyanoi scales Werewolf fur White vinegar Wing membrane Zeugl venom

Location

• A townsman hanging around John Natalis Square in the Trade Quarter. He hands Geralt this book.

Notes

• In Chapter III, the Royal huntsman describes a family heirloom book that lists all monsters as the source of his knowledge. While he does not mention the title, the conversation seems to refer to a copy of this book. Talking to the Royal Huntsman with this book in inventory does not appear to make a difference, however.
• When raining or early in the day you may have trouble finding the townsman that hands out the book, search the roads leading to the square.
• It may seem like the townsman simply gives this book to Geralt saying it will clear his debts with Leuvaarden, but no further explanation is given. Prior to the Enhanced Edition, if you checked your finances after that "gift", you would see that it had in fact cost you 1000 . With the Enhanced Edition, this unexpected cost has been eliminated.
• There is a real-world counterpart to this book, too.