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Bored Panda

Eglė Bliabaitė

‘Weird Medieval Guys’: 50 Amusing And Confusing Medieval Paintings

Bored Panda Internet

The Middle Ages aren’t just about heroic knights and epic battles. If there’s one thing that never fails to boost our mood, it’s medieval art! It’s colorful, creative, quirky, and goofy, and it showcases how the artists had to use every ounce of their imagination and stylistic skills to draw animals and monsters they may or may not have seen with their own two eyes. The results? Often incredibly bizarre but undeniably entertaining.

Our team at Bored Panda has collected some of the finest specimens of peculiar medieval art from every nook and cranny on the internet. We’ve found some of the strangest renditions of real animals and mythical creatures to confuse and amuse you, Pandas, so scroll down to check them out.

#1 My Favorite Picture I Took At The Louvre. I Call It "Freaked Out Lion Is Getting His Nails Done"

Image credits: henryrollinsismypup

#2 A Dog Riding A Bunny Spear-Fighting A Bunny Who Is Riding A Snail With The Head Of Rick Rubin

Image credits: Familiar_Big3322

#3 Pigs vs. Elephants, France, 1420-1425

Image credits: discarding_imgs

The medieval era started in the 5th Century with the collapse of Roman civilization, lasting all the way to the Renaissance. When exactly the Middle Ages ended varies depending on what historian you talk to.

The Encyclopædia Britannica notes that some researchers see the Renaissance period starting in the 13th century, while others argue that it began in the 14th or even 15th centuries.

#4 If The Bear Is Brown, Lay Down. If It's Black, Fight Back. If It's White, Goodnight. And If It's Medieval, Climb The Smallest Tree Available, Totally Naked

Image credits: LeedsDogAndJacobiCat

#5 Seems Like Lions Had More Character Back In The Day

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

#6 Medieval Paintings Of Cats Are Weird

Image credits: PuggoKing97

Broadly speaking, the things that defined the end of the Middle Ages included the breakup of feudal structures, the rise of secular education, the strengthening of city-states in Italy, as well as the rise of national monarchies in England, France, and Spain. The Renaissance looked all the way back to the Classical age for inspiration.

#7 He Looks So Careless

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

#8 Hare Riding A Hound With A Trained Snail Of Prey, Before 1390

Image credits: innuendoPL

#9 Medieval Goofy?

Image credits: FleurMacabre

One of the most widely known social media projects that features wonky medieval illustrations is ‘Weird Medieval Guys’ (@WeirdMedieval), a fantastic account on X (formerly Twitter) that shares peculiar-looking medieval illustrations. The project has gotten so popular over the years that there’s even a podcast and a book out.

The person behind the ingenious ‘Weird Medieval Guys’ account is Olivia M. Swarthout (@tochterzwiebel). She started the project back in 2019. In the 5 years since its inception, the account has grown by leaps and bounds.

In mid-2022, it boasted just shy of 100k followers on X (still Twitter back then). However, now, in 2024, a jaw-dropping 678k people from all around the world now follow it on the social network.

#10 These Breathtaking Horses

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

#11 They Definitely Knew How A Dog Looked Like

Image credits: theb00gieman

#12 Weird Medieval Bat

Image credits: kantun_15

As word about the ‘Weird Medieval Guys’ internet sensation spread, the creator started a podcast by the same name together with Aran, a historian.

The founder of the project, Olivia, even published a book in late 2023, titled ‘Weird Medieval Guys: How to Live, Laugh, Love (and Die) in Dark Times.’

#13 Lion, France, 15th Century

Image credits: discarding_imgs

#14 Someone Tried To Paint A Catfish

Image credits: zoruasaurus

#15 Looks Like A Demon. Kind Of Like Cats Are Now

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

Olivia, who created ‘Weird Medieval Guys’ half a decade ago, previously told Bored Panda all about the project and the inspiration behind it. She shared that she did some graphic design for a magazine at her university. In one issue, she used a lot of medieval imagery.

“I spent a lot of time online looking for images from medieval manuscripts to incorporate into the project, and I was amazed at the works that I found. Not just the art itself, but also the extent to which these priceless, one-of-a-kind manuscripts and documents have been digitized and cataloged online for anyone across the world to browse,” she told us during an earlier interview.

#16 Adorable Bats

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

#17 A Snail By Jacob Van Maerlant

Image credits: Youngstown_Mafia

#18 Medieval Garfield Looking For Lasagna

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

Olivia explained that accessing these sorts of medieval works of art from centuries ago is easy these days. In the past, however, it would have been incredibly difficult to do. She wanted to share some of the enjoyment she felt with everyone else.

“Because I found so many pieces that I thought were extremely funny and endearing and could only send so many of them to my friends before they got sick of me, I also liked the idea that I could connect with other people online about how cool the art is,” she said.

#19 Medieval Boar With Pants

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

#20 Love Depictions Of Lions From Countries That Clearly Don't Have Lions

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

#21 Someone Getting An Elephant Shrew Described To Them?

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

Of course, ‘Weird Medieval Guys’ is far from the only project to bring weird medieval art into the spotlight. This sort of content has been incredibly popular on social media for many years now. There are tons of accounts and projects dedicated to showcasing the strangest works of art from the Middle Ages. However, not many of them are as successful as Olivia’s account on X.

“Most of what I post is from the eras that are referred to as the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages, which encompass approximately the 11th to the 16th century. I do think that this period of time is very unique from a Western art historical standpoint because the printing press had not yet been invented, so all books were written out by hand and often included notes and doodles that were added in spontaneously by scribes who never thought these additions would be seen by the general public,” the founder of the project told us earlier.

“Therefore, we have a huge amount of content from this era that reflects the humor and thoughts of (somewhat) average people. And when we look at what they created, we actually find that a lot of it contradicts how we view the 'Dark' Ages.”

#22 This Beaver With A Fish Tail

Image credits: Youngstown_Mafia

#23 This Elephant With A Tornado Trunk By Jacob Van Maerlant

Image credits: Youngstown_Mafia

#24 Cats' Life During Medieval Times

Image credits: reddit.com

“There’s a perception that the Middle Ages was a very solemn, bleak era for humanity, and nowadays, we perceive medieval culture as extremely religious, superstitious, backward, and repressive. Much of the art that was created in that period has a reputation for being strange and ugly. So, we don’t expect to see ourselves in it, not in the same way that we can relate very emotionally to more conventionally beautiful art,” the founder said.

“When we look at, say, a drawing of a cat playing an organ, it’s easy to imagine it being endearing to its creator 600 years ago in the same way it is today, that it brought people the same kind of joy then as it does now. And I think we as humans enjoy how art and humor bridge that gap,” she told us.

“One of my personal guiding principles of internet use is that, often, you get back out what you put in, so I think by trying to keep the account pretty lighthearted and wholesome, I’ve attracted very kind-hearted feedback.”

#25 A Whale, 13th Century

Image credits: Youngstown_Mafia

#26 At Least They Tried To Depict A Frog

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

#27 Lion, England, 1390-1460

Image credits: GawkyLions

According to Olivia, lots of internet users seem to identify very much with the animals and monsters that she posts. “I love scrolling through everyone’s comments about who a creature is or what they’re doing. Even though I’m just a third party facilitating interaction with other people’s art, a lot of followers have left extremely sweet messages saying that my account brightens their day and that they look forward to my posts,” she said.

Among some of her followers are actual medieval art and history researchers, which just goes to show how successful ‘Weird Medieval Guys’ has gotten. “There are people of all ages and from around the world whose comments I luckily get to read and understand due to the magic of internet translation.”

She added: “I’m so glad that even though what I post is pretty silly, and I’m not an authority on medieval art whatsoever, so many different people are able to come together over my account! I’m really thankful for everyone who’s supported me, and I have so many more weird medieval guys that I can’t wait to share.

#28 That Owl Is Trying His Best

Image credits: WeirdMedieval

#29 An Elephant Protecting Her Baby From A Dragon, 14th Century

Image credits: red_loeb

#30 Medieval Monkeys Being Medieval Bros With A Medieval Kitten

Image credits: QRP1940

Which of these medieval illustrations did you like the most? Which ones made you smile and giggle the hardest?

Do you think you’d be able to do a better job at painting these creatures if you were suddenly transported back in time? What do you like the most about the Middle Ages? We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!