This is a cute adult picture book that showcases images of cats from medieval and later manuscripts. It’s organized into 10 chapters plus an introduction. There are a lot of great colour images of rather bizarre looking cats and mice (medieval artists weren’t always skilled at depicting their subject matter). Between pictures there are humorous modern comments on the photos, quotes from various ages (mostly medieval), and cat facts.
Some of the comments use terms that are out of style in medieval circles, like ‘dark ages’ or are inaccurate, like calling the middle ages ‘prudish’ (fabliaux anyone?).
I learned some new things and discovered some sources and manuscripts I’d like to learn more about.
If you know a cat lover, it’s an entertaining book and fairly quick to flip through.
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