Classical lore: Pliny, the Talmud, and Augustine

In one of the earliest surviving descriptions of a salamander, Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23–79) noted that the creature is "an animal like a lizard in shape and with a body starred all over; it never comes out except during heavy showers and goes away the moment the weather becomes clear." All of these traits, even down to the star-like markings, are consistent with the golden Alpine salamander (Salamandra atra aurorae) of Europe that has golden or yellow spots or blotches on its back and some similarly marked subspecies of the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra). Pliny even made the important distinction between salamanders and lizards, which are similar in shape but different in other respects.


Renaissance lore: Europe

Salamander as the animal emblem of King Francis I of France at the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, Vienne, France
Compared to Medieval depictions, Renaissance depictions are characteristically more realistic, adhering more closely to the Classical description. In another example, a 1556 edition of the Book of Lambspring depicts the salamander as a white bird, while Lucas Jennis' 1625 version of the same illustration, included in the Musaeum Hermeticum, depicts it as a lizard-like animal with star-like markings


Renaissance: Asian garments allegedly made from salamanders

Early travelers to China were shown garments supposedly woven from salamander hair or wool; the cloth was completely unharmed by fire. The garments had actually been woven from asbestos. According to T. H. White, Prester John had a robe made from it; the "Emperor of India" possessed a suit made from a thousand skins; and Pope Alexander III had a tunic which he valued highly. William Caxton (1481) wrote: "This Salemandre berithe wulle, of which is made cloth and gyrdles that may not brenne in the fyre."Holme (1688) wrote: "...I have several times put [salamander hair] in the Fire and made it red hot and after taken it out, which being cold, yet remained perfect wool.