ADVERTISEMENT

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

#1

Medieval-Animal-Paintings-That-Dont-Look-Real-Daniel-Holland

DannyDutch Report

Add photo comments
POST
m2crows avatar
Mike Crow
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Could this be the first documentation of angry birds?

autumnwalton avatar
Autumn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your last name is crow which for some reason make this amusing to me

Load More Replies...
earloflincoln avatar
Martha Meyer
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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_ avatar
F. H.
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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...
jessgunn77 avatar
JessG
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Weird, how do we know it depicts an oyster? Definitely weird

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#3

Medieval-Animal-Paintings-That-Dont-Look-Real-Daniel-Holland

DannyDutch Report

Add photo comments
POST
copper-fractions avatar
Tiny Dynamine
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How can he have never seen a snail? His name is Dutch or Flemish, i.e. rain.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

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.”

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

#8

Medieval-Animal-Paintings-That-Dont-Look-Real-Daniel-Holland

DannyDutch Report

Add photo comments
POST
daweka123 avatar
David K
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"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."

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

“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.”

ADVERTISEMENT

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-Animal-Paintings-That-Dont-Look-Real-Daniel-Holland

DannyDutch Report

Add photo comments
POST
patriciaross avatar
tuzdayschild
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is not a beaver, it's a weaselfish. Trust me, they do not make good pets.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#14

Medieval-Animal-Paintings-That-Dont-Look-Real-Daniel-Holland

DannyDutch Report

Add photo comments
POST
copper-fractions avatar
Tiny Dynamine
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"And his balls, man... his balls were big!" - "And you say he was wearing a trenchcoat?" - "Yeah, totally."

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#17

Medieval-Animal-Paintings-That-Dont-Look-Real-Daniel-Holland

DannyDutch Report

Add photo comments
POST
daweka123 avatar
David K
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And he can apparently walk on water. By the way, is it a brocolli tree in the background?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda