Given how often we denizens of the 21st century have trouble getting humor from less than a century ago, it feels satisfying indeed to laugh just as hard at these drolleries as our medieval forebears must have - though many more of us surely get to see them today, circulating as rapidly on social media as they didn’t when confined to the pages of illuminated manuscripts owned only by wealthy individuals and institutions. Then, of course, we have the bunnies making their attacks while mounted on snails, snail combats being “another popular staple of Drolleries, with groups of peasants seen fighting snails with sticks, or saddling them and attempting to ride them.” We see this in the Middle English nickname Stickhare, a name for cowards” - and in all the drawings of “tough hunters cowering in the face of rabbits with big sticks.”
If this guy starts swinging, you’d better back off.This enjoyment of the “world turned upside down” produced the drollery genre of “the rabbit’s revenge,” one “often used to show the cowardice or stupidity of the person illustrated. The thing doesn’t even have eyes to see what it’s hitting. At least we’ve never heard of a… Two-legged blue snake thing with an axe-wielding hand for a head? Just like the bone guy from earlier, we don’t think this creature is grounded in reality. 15) Axe Creature - Flanders, 14th Century Is this how the fish monk was born? Maybe we prefer thinking the fish is saving some poor chunky swimmer from drowning. 14) Guy on a Fish - Netherlands, 16th Centuryĭude, what are you doing to that fish? This big-bottomed pervert is molesting sea life in broad daylight. Whichever the case, he’s making a clown out of himself right in front of the king. But then there’s Jacques, the soldier who couldn’t get his chainmail off. Many soldiers go down in history for their heroics in battle. 13) ‘Look at This Guy’ - France, 13th Century Wonder what he’s about to do with his fishy friend.
Is it a fish with a monk’s upper body, or a monk with a fishtail? The Twitter page Weird Medieval Guys offers a rare glimpse into the medieval. It’s a monk! It’s a fish! No, it’s a monkfish! From illuminated manuscripts to tapestries, mosaics and stained glass. Look at the cat’s little hat! And the dog has his doctor’s gown! That’s just too cute. Now this is a heartwarming scene! The poor little cat is sick, so Doctor Dog has come to give her some medicine. That’s a Pokémon! This is clearly an Oddish. This blue vegetable is clearly judging us. But nope - they just had to give it a face.Īnd not just any face. 10) A Root Vegetable - Italy, 15th CenturyĮven with medieval artistic skills, you’d think you could make something as simple as a plant root look recognizable. Are they fetching a kite out of a tree? It sort of looks like it. Oh well, at least they have their little ladder so they can get to the blue thing. At least the curled lower body kind of looks like a snail’s shell. These are supposed to be snails, we think. 9) Snails on a Ladder - France, 14th Century We doubt this creature is supposed to really represent anything. 8) Something with a Bone - Netherlands, 14th Century This artist definitely has never seen a crab before. We know it’s supposed to be crab… But how is this a crab? Again, why does it have a human face? Know what, we’re taking back everything about that dog. Is this the famed fur baby? 7) A Crab - Switzerland, 9th Century We’re fairly sure this artist has only heard vague descriptions of a dog before painting one. Look, we get it - things can get pretty stylized in medieval art. He doesn’t look particularly happy about it though. Here we have a boar in what are clearly jeans. 5) Boar in Pants - France, 14th Centuryĭid you think cartoon animals in pants were a modern invention? Think again. They’re like two transient demon punks, causing havoc around the countryside. Are these guys mugging the priest in the window? What’s scarier than a demon? A demon with a gun.Īnd the other demon seems to have some kind of a crowbar. 4) Demon (with a Gun) - France, 15th Century But no one in this picture seems to have their heart in it.Įven the guy in the monster’s mouth seems to be saying, “Either pull me out or let me go, but I’m tired of hanging in here.” It’s almost like it’s the third time this week this happened or something. You’d think somebody getting attacked by a sea monster would be an exciting scene. That is the face of a man saying, “You call this an axe chop? I could’ve killed myself better than this in my sleep.” 3) Attacking Sea Monster - France, 16th Century
But this guy sure seems to take it in his stride. We’re not sure what our reaction to taking an axe to the head would be. A hat bat.Īt least the little fella looks pretty pumped about keeping his head warm. Looks more like some kind of alien moth.Īnd… Is it wearing a hat? It’s a bat in a hat.
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