Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
Guy Shares Examples Of Medieval Painters’ Attempts To Paint Animals Without Having Seen Them, And It’s Hilarious (17 Pics)
Interview
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.
Upvote your fave peculiar medieval beats, dear Pandas, and let us know which illustrations you loved the most and why. When you’re done enjoying these paintings, check out our posts about unexpected and creative medieval art right here, here, and here.
Daniel told Bored Panda that he was inspired to create the thread after seeing a segment in the TV show ‘Horrible Histories’ about inaccurate medieval art. This got him thinking what other examples were out there. Daniel was pleasantly surprised by the amount of attention the pictures got. Read on for the rest of his insights.
More info: Twitter | Instagram | DannyDutch.com
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Medieval Animal Mystery
Autumn 5 years ago
Your last name is crow which for some reason make this amusing to me
Load More Replies... Martha Meyer 5 years ago
Oysters were plentiful in Europe until very recently. Actually poor people's food, just like salmon. Are they sure this isn't just a fantasy monster a bored monk drew?
F. H. 5 years ago
Oysters were only plentiful in areas close to the coast. They don't keep. So most central Europeans probably never ate one.
Load More Replies...
RELATED:
#2
Old School Rhino Vibes
M O'Connell 5 years ago
The artist may have had a tanned hide to look at. The Indian Rhinoceros has well defined "creases" that would present a very accurate outline, even if it had been rolled up for its voyage back to Europe.
Load More Replies...
Lily Mae Kitty 5 years ago
this is really pretty damn close so methinks the artist actually saw one...from a distance.
Valentin Iulian 5 years ago
Judging by the "plates" and texture, I'd say he was trying to portray an Indian rhino. Have a look: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rhinoceros
Gary Spencer 5 years ago
This is actually a copy of a print made by Albrecht Durer in 1515, over a hundred years earlier. The_Rhinoc...bc-png.jpg 
#3
Medieval Creature Mix-Up
Tiny Dynamine 5 years ago
How can he have never seen a snail? His name is Dutch or Flemish, i.e. rain.
Pan Narrans 5 years ago
Can't be a snail. Probably something like a nautilus.
Load More Replies...
Lis Daglish 5 years ago
But...hardly exotic... I mean seriously, he’s never been in a GARDEN before?...’snail’? Oh you mean the armoured pig I’ve heard tell of? Here you go...’
Gary Spencer 5 years ago
He's not trying to draw a snail at all. He was deliberately combining a snail with a cat. It's deliberate fantasy. I'm sure he saw lots of snails.
While it’s easy to scoff at artists for not knowing how crocodiles, elephants, and tigers look, imagine having to draw them from memory. Better yet, try describing the animal to someone else and have them draw it! Or imagine how well we’d do if we had to draw an alien species when we only had overexaggerated tales from adventurers to go by.
However, there might be other reasons why medieval artists drew animals this way and it might not just be because of bad descriptions—it could have been a stylistic decision.
“I’ve been educated by a lot of replies I’ve had that these pictures were often painted in this style for a myriad of reasons, not necessarily because of poor descriptions received by the artists,” Daniel pointed out. “I’d assume if artists were given descriptions today without seeing animals and asked to paint them the only difference would be technical ability and materials used, they’d likely look just as inaccurate.”
#4
Medieval Sea Life Misinterpretation
Christa-Mari Bentham 5 years ago
Makes me think he/she never even saw a fish let alone a whale
Grumble O'Pug 5 years ago
Just think, in Europe in the 13th century whales just swam off shore and were easily visible and accessible. Now they are not so much.
#5
When Your Art Misses the Mark
Chewie Baron 5 years ago
Here's an interesting fact for you, the "three lions" on the coat of arms of England, and on their sports kits, are not lions at all, but they are in fact leopards. And date back to one of the early Plantagenet kings, I think Henry II who had been given a gift of here leopards. Quite why they were changed to lions from leopards is lost in the mists of time.
Maria 5 years ago
I've heard they were interchangeable terms for Europeans at the time.
Load More Replies...
La La Lynch 5 years ago
This just makes me more grateful for the leopard print we actually have. Can you imagine women in those times, trotting around wearing THAT leopard print?!!
#6
Medieval Beast Misfire
Priya Roshni 5 years ago
Jacob features three times in this list, I'd like to see more of his art work.
Gary Spencer 5 years ago
You should. These are deliberate fantasy decorations, not bad attempts to draw things he hadn't seen. He was really a poet illustrating his own books.
Load More Replies...
Анна и костя Солдатенкова nauttp 8 months ago
It's a walking fish with elephant trunk and legs and even has a tail and tusks
Bored Panda previously spoke about medieval illustrations with Dr. Catherine Harding from the University of Victoria and Professor Claire LaBrecque from the University of Winnipeg. According to them, medieval scribes and artists enjoyed creating rich and deep networks of meaning for their audiences with their paintings, sometimes with hidden meanings for their audiences to puzzle out. Also, they weren’t strangers to playfulness in their art.
How long each illustration took varied wildly depending on a lot of factors: from the size of the book to how complex the drawings were. Simple pen-and-wash illustrations could be done in minutes while more serious drawings required gold and precious pigments.
#7
Medieval Monster Vibes
AJu 5 years ago
Right? Genitalia are just all over the place in this picture
Load More Replies...
Ray Martin 5 years ago
This one has a vagina and breasts. I'm guessing this was the work of a monk working out some issues of his own.
Pansexual (In theory) 5 years ago
Which is the croc... he four-legged multiple gender seaweed beast... or the green no nipple-belly button-penis thing?
OhForSmegSake 5 years ago
Oh this is my favourite! I grew up in croc country so this is hilarious
Michele Ottone 5 years ago
I believe that this is not a crocodile. After some research I found the source this miniature comes from. Above the miniature, a fragment of the phrase "Aranea genus piscis, dictus quod aure feriat; habet enim stimulos e quibus percutit". The source is a bestiary, and the miniature could or could not be related with the descriptio above (a fish) or below (a crocodile). Source : https://la.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Etymologiarum_libri_XX/Liber_XII
Maria 5 years ago
Thanks for the research, but it's not a very good fish picture either.
Load More Replies...
#8
Medieval Animal Mix-Up
David K 5 years ago
"So...you´re telling me that there is this elephasomething animal that grows size of a house?" "Yes, my liege, we saw them many." "Nah, it can´t be. Johnson, draw it half a horse and look like a mix of a wolf, a boar and a trombone." "Like this, sir?" "Righte."
Aragorn II Elessar 5 years ago (edited)
“But fast, thou claimst that there art a gargantuan beast, yea, one that groweth to the likeness of a cottage?” “Verily, lord, it is even so. The natives shewed them unto us, many of said beasts.” “Nay, it canst be. Drawest thou this beast like unto a horse, yet a portion of the size, and mixest its appearance with that of the wild dog, and the pig also, and yet, addest thou a horn.” “A horn, sire?” “Yea, verily.” “As such?” “Yea, Johnson. Forsooth, thou shalt be remembered e’en to the end of days, for thou wert the one to first put to parchment the picture of the fearsome eleaph-ent.” “My liege, the natives did call it a...” “Nay, bold squire. Forsooth, as I have called it, so shall it be known forever more as the fearsome Eleaph-ent.”
Load More Replies...
Pansexual (In theory) 5 years ago
For some reason it made me think of a crumple-horned snorkack
M O'Connell 5 years ago
That might have been the only animal with tusks the artist had ever seen. Whomever wrote the description for them failed to record that elephant's tusks point down and away.
Load More Replies...
#9
Medieval Mashup Magic
Romenriel 5 years ago
Owls are nocturnal, so it is not that easy to spot them and it must be very hard to see any details in dark.
Load More Replies... Tiny Dynamine 5 years ago
How many other birds have eyes that face the front? The owl is the only one I can think of.
La La Lynch 5 years ago
What are they trying to convey? That the owl was bullied by all other birds?
Edgar Rops 5 years ago
Well, there are much better drawn owls and by 14th century you can even distinguish between species, provided the artist was good. Few people could afford services of such a person, yet books were as wide-spread as possible for something as complex as a handwritten book. My guess (I am a medievalist, but not an art historian) is that the weirdness occurred on upper end of the mid-price range - one could afford a big book, but only a dodgy artist.
“We have all these stereotyped ideas about how religious medieval people were. But the research shows over and over again how creative, playful and resilient they were,” Dr. Harding told Bored Panda. “There is strong evidence for people who thought outside of the box as in the case of a medieval heretic, who created their own mental world that runs counter to the culture. I love their mental agility and their passion for questioning. They made medieval Christianity over and over again in so many ways. That is the creative part.”
Professor LaBrecque said that, in her opinion, we’re living in a world that’s strange but not stranger than it was in medieval times. “It was just different, and unexpected, and super creative.”
#10
Medieval Mashup Creature
tuzdayschild 5 years ago
This is not a beaver, it's a weaselfish. Trust me, they do not make good pets.
Marius Jan 5 years ago
Beavers were considered to be fish during medieval ages and were alowed to be eaten during fasting when all other meat was prohibited for consumption.
Douglas Campbell 5 years ago
The Catholic Church considered beavers fish, therefore ok to eat on fast days, like Fridays.
Анна и костя Солдатенкова nauttp 8 months ago
It's a weasel with fish tail i guess similar to beavers i don't know
#11
Medieval Animal Mashup
WilvanderHeijden 5 years ago
He looks very depressed. Is it because he's missing the ears or because the dragon told a joke and he couldn't hear it?
Laila Hernandez 5 years ago
ok, that's easy. a dragon and a thing with a PREHENSILE thing for a tail
Douglas Campbell 5 years ago
The Elephant and Castle Inn, still open, mentioned in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Some say it was named for Queen Katherine of Aragon, who was l'enfant de Castille.
MellonCollie 5 years ago
War elephants were a thing, once upon a time ... and they did carry structures on their backs. The author may have heard the stories but never seen illustrations of them.
#12
Medieval Beast Confusion
Avery S Alberico 5 years ago
Don't forget the magnificent Sail on it's back
Load More Replies...
#13
Medieval Animal Mashup
Catlady6000 5 years ago
How could they keep missing the ears? It's not like they're tiny
Load More Replies...
M O'Connell 5 years ago
Perhaps the artist was unfamiliar with the anatomy pad-feet to draw them properly, and just drew horse legs.
Load More Replies... TabledTurnsxddd 5 years ago
now instead of the elephant sucking up water from lakes it sucks THE lake.
Red PANda (she/they) 2 years ago
These people just don’t understand that animals can have necks
#14
Beaver Art Gone Wild
Tiny Dynamine 5 years ago
"And his balls, man... his balls were big!" - "And you say he was wearing a trenchcoat?" - "Yeah, totally."
#15
Medieval Creature Misfire
Marcellus the Third 5 years ago
Absolutely spot on, only its "name" is wrong: "Spiny tailed lizards" is the family called nowadays, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uromastyx and this one specifically, Uromastyx aegyptia is the "Egyptian mastigure".
Load More Replies... 
Not That Again 5 years ago
I am guessing their drawings were based on the rumors and descriptions of the travelers
M O'Connell 5 years ago
By 1658, Europeans had been pretty much everywhere in significant enough numbers for there to be accurate descriptions of most large creatures. This was probably very poorly copied from someone else's drawing.
Load More Replies...
Анна и костя Солдатенкова nauttp 8 months ago
It's very accurate how this is more Reptilian appearance
#16
Medieval Animal Oddities
WilvanderHeijden 5 years ago
The lion looks exactly the same as the leopard in #12 but without the spots.
Niffler_13 5 years ago
I think he meant lionbears, because those look like they're the same species.
#17
Medieval Creature Mashup
David K 5 years ago
And he can apparently walk on water. By the way, is it a brocolli tree in the background?
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Mike Crow 5 years ago
I remember from my history class that much of this was created with word of mouth. The artists were never near any of these creatures and only heard stories (usually second or third hand) of them.
Romenriel 5 years ago
Yes because it was uneasy to travel and nearly impossible to travel far enough to get a chance to see most of these animals in wild.
Load More Replies...
Dark Pigeon 5 years ago
I have 2 books with pictures like this. One is full with birds that look like they are drawn by someone on crack.
Frau Baumstumpf 5 years ago
Would you give the names of the books, please? I would like to check them out, they sound like fun. :D
Load More Replies...
Catlady6000 5 years ago
I wonder if some were intended to be something other than what we think, ex. Snails could've been pangolins or armadillos, an animal that curls up like a snail
Rainbow Panda 5 years ago
These are creatures that never got accepted to bring into life by god. 😂
Mike Crow 5 years ago
I remember from my history class that much of this was created with word of mouth. The artists were never near any of these creatures and only heard stories (usually second or third hand) of them.
Romenriel 5 years ago
Yes because it was uneasy to travel and nearly impossible to travel far enough to get a chance to see most of these animals in wild.
Load More Replies... Dark Pigeon 5 years ago
I have 2 books with pictures like this. One is full with birds that look like they are drawn by someone on crack.
Frau Baumstumpf 5 years ago
Would you give the names of the books, please? I would like to check them out, they sound like fun. :D
Load More Replies... Catlady6000 5 years ago
I wonder if some were intended to be something other than what we think, ex. Snails could've been pangolins or armadillos, an animal that curls up like a snail
Rainbow Panda 5 years ago
These are creatures that never got accepted to bring into life by god. 😂
You May Like Meet Sphynx Cats - The Most Adorable Hairless Felines “Kitties Working Hard And Hardly Working”: 109 Delightful Pics Of Working Cats (New Pics) If You Think Your Tabby Is Funny, Wait Until You See These Silly Maine Coon Cats
Akvile Petraityte 🇺🇦
Mantas Kačerauskas
Akvile Petraityte 🇺🇦
Related on Bored Panda
