First off, he’s completely naked except for his rather fashionable hat. The longer you look at this little guy the more and more you find. This is another manuscript that’s absolutely filled with delightfully weird creatures. Here we have another grotesque from a later manuscript. Add MS 18852 f.87r | Source: The British Library While this image is certainly strange, it’s not the weirdest I’ve found.Ģ. The grotesque’s hood is definitely a very human element. (Though the artist definitely took some creative liberties by making those party’s green!) I’m not sure what kind of animal the red and white spotted body is from (if it’s from any animal at all!).

My educated guess is that this creature is made up of an owl for the face/head and some kind of hoofed animal for the feet and tail. Personally, I like to try to figure out what kind of animals the artist took inspiration from when drawing their grotesques. The technical term for them is “grotesque.” Grotesques are often found in the margins. Medieval manuscripts are filled with little monsters that are combinations of animals and humans. (A great source for weirdness!) I find him extremely endearing. This little guy I found in the Luttrell Psalter. Add MS 42130 f.13v | Source: The British Library (After all, it’s a lot of fun to sift through manuscripts and find a weird thing you absolutely were NOT expecting!) I will also be rating these images on a scale of 1 to 10 on how weird I personally find them.ġ. Today I want to share with you some of these images so you too can have some of the delight I’ve had while finding these. During my searches, I’ve stumbled upon a lot of weird and strange things drawn in the margins. Since late June, I’ve been running an Instagram where I share images I’ve found in medieval manuscripts. I’m not really a list making sort of guy, but today I wanted to do something a little different.

Medieval illuminations demon leaving