Dogs being taken care of in an image from Livre de la Chasse (Book of the Hunt).
The Morgan Library and Museum/Faksimile Verlag Luzern
The place of dogs in society changed when hunting became an aristocratic pastime, rather than a necessity.
The interior of Sainte-Chapelle, a Gothic chapel in Paris.
SIAATH/Shutterstock
The Middle Ages are often portrayed as dark and dirty. New research is revealing that it was, in fact, a period filled with light and colour.
Battle in the margins from the Gorleston Psalter (1310-1324).
British Library
Snails were recognised in medieval times for their unusual strength, given that they were able to carry their home on their back.
Cat king, Germany, circa 1450.
Scheibler’sches Wappenbuch – BSB Cod.icon. 312c
Medieval manuscripts are littered with images of cats – sharing their owner’s dinner, keeping them company, and even cosplaying as nuns.
a drawing of the Italian poet and court writer Christine de Pizan writing.
BNF Archives
Tiny drawings, such as knights riding snails, and random lines and squiggles were common in medieval books.
‘Le Régime du corps’ described a variety of ways to maintain health by keeping the body in balance.
The Bute Painter, circa 1285, MS Arsenal 2510, © Bibliothèque nationale de France
This illustrated health manual dating back to the 13th century provides a glimpse of daily life in aristocratic households during the Middle Ages.