Medieval illustrations of psychedelic animals playing music raise many questions

22 October 2020, 12:28 | Updated: 22 October 2020, 13:30

Medieval scribes took their animal illustrations very seriously.

In a time when pigs were seen as a real danger and animals were trialled in court, it should be no surprise that the scribes of the Middle Ages got a little creative with their creature depictions.

A drawing of a human-headed snail mounted by a spear-wielding rabbit? Casual.

Or how about a concerned lion playing the violin while glancing sheepishly to the side? Seems legit.

These could only be illustrations from the Middle Ages...

Read more: People are unearthing Renaissance music manuscript doodles and they’re pretty spicy >

We already know that the scribes of by-gone centuries took a slightly alternative approach to their artistry.

So these medieval illustrations should really come as no surprise. Yet they still do.

Read more: A wild Renaissance painting shows music written on a pair of buttocks >

Seeing really is believing with these psychedelic doodles...

Admittedly, we’d look just as fearful as the bunny if a big blue dog was menacingly watching us play the organ.

And this musician clearly had violin practice at 11am, then dressage at 12pm.

Read more: People are turning pop songs into medieval ‘Bardcore’ bops >

If you’ve made it this far, well done. The cursed manuscript doodles haven’t scared you away just yet.

Enjoy the most bad-ass lute player we’ve ever seen.

Angry monkey playing the bagpipes? Talk about a 2020 mood.

Read more: The medieval ‘Shame Flute’ was used to punish bad musicians in the Middle Ages >

Whoever penned the nursery rhyme Hey diddle diddle had clearly seen this fella in their nightmares.

Now, may they all haunt yours...