Dipping into the Natural History turns out to be a fruitful tunnel into the mind of pretty much anyone of any culture during the 15th C. It wasn't a new bestseller jumping off Gutenberg's presses--Pliny lived in the first century, and he died in the fumes and cinders of the Vesuvius eruption (apparently a tale in and of itself)--but it was the most comprehensive encyclopedia of the world available to those who could read it. It consisted of 37 books, and attempted to cover all knowledge of the world at the time.
The abbreviated version I found at the Portland (ME) Public Library contains extracts from an Elizabethan translation with delicious turns of phrase--and thankfully, a glossary to help with some of those Elizabethan words now no longer used, or if still used, with much changed meanings. Christianity was yet a minority religion, barely on the radar of belief systems; Mohammed was still 400 years away from being born. Religion was pretty much open to discussion and Pliny discusses it, along with lots of other things.
Some of the Natural History is based on fact, some is admittedly hearsay (Pliny himself making the admission) and some he considers dubious. If there are reports of dark forces and peoples, there are also lovely fantastical reports, like the story of the wind-foals, conceived from the west wind by mares in Portugal. When they give birth, they "bring forth foals as swift as the wind, but they live not above three years."
Does that not suggest a keening sort of story, not unlike many tales created on the coasts of Ireland and England, perhaps wherever horses may breath salt air? The elements sit in it like uncut gems: the west wind (in this case, the wind from the sea); the miraculous conception; the birth of talent and beauty--destined for an early death.
For anyone stalking a story, Pliny is a great place to look for one.
