Maybe it's because it's Friday and I've been nursing a cold all week long, or maybe it's because it's Halloween and I'm feeling particularly irreverent, but I figure that
Detail from The Luttrell Psalter, British Library Add MS 42130 (medieval manuscript,1325-1340), f62v
Why were the artists of that era so obsessed with depicting murderous rabbits? See the examples and read the explanation in this eye-opening post!
Ever tried to paint a cat? It turns out that it’s not as easy as you might expect. It indeed wasn’t for these Medieval artists anyway! While they excelled at painting religious scenes, portraits of Royalty, and naked ladies, this particular type of pussy offered an altogether different challenge.
otium cum dignitate - das Mittelalterblog macht Sommerpause bis 31. August: http://t.co/6h5sYHYJRD
Fig. 1 cynocephalus Fig. 2 homo magnis auribus (panotii or long-eared man) Fig. 3 Astomus (mouthless) Fig. 4 Arimaspus sive monoculus (Cyclop) Fig. 5 Blemmius (blemmyae) Fig. 6 homo cum aversis plantis (with backward feet) The tribe of Scythians, whom Pliny describes as having their feet turned backwards—"aversis post crura plantis"—are extraordinarily swift runners. "Specula physico-mathematico-historica...." by Johann Zahn, 1696. Library Call No. Q155 .Z33 1696. Strange versions of humanity. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - NOAA Photo Library www.photolib.noaa.gov/brs/liind16.htm
Georgius Zothorus Zaparus Fendulus, Liber astrologiae. -- 1450-1492 -- manuscrits
Manuscript Beinecke MS.229 Arthurian Romances Folio 295r Dating 1275-1300 From Francia (exact location unknown) Hold...
Medieval art is a treasure trove of weirdness. And we’re not the only ones to think so. Daniel Holland created a Twitter thread about medieval animals in paintings that look nothing like real animals because the artist hadn’t actually seen them. The thread went viral and loads of people are now experiencing the joys of drawings in bestiaries based on hearsay, unbridled imagination, and interesting stylistic choices.
Just like emojis, marginalia - the pictures in the margins of medieval manuscripts - perform a bunch of different functions. They can add to, or illustrate the text they're with, or they can be completely random. And sometimes they look just like emojis.
Bestiary tiles featuring medieval dogs from illuminations and bestiaries including The Funeral of Reynard the Fox, the Harley Bestiary, De Medicina Ex Animalibus and others. Medieval dog tiles: Medieval dog treating a cat for melancholy, medieval dog playing cat bagpipes, dogs in armor, hunting dogs.
Early Dutch illuminated manuscript containing imaginative images of both real and fantastic creatures.
Medieval cat tiles: cats tending birds, monastic cats, cats protecting a citadel from mice. Medieval and mythic themes were popular with Morris and Victorians.
Horae ad usum romanum. -- 1401-1500 -- manuscrits
Every year has its share of blockbuster movies where you can watch the human race meeting a sticky end, either from either a ghastly pandemic, forces of evil, whether human, alien or robotic, or a natural cataclysm. Of course, this is nothing new. The earliest Christians believed that the end...
Meanwhile life goes on in the weird world of medieval marginalia [BnF, Fr. 328, 15th c.]
