Medieval Cats

by Kathleen Walker-Meikle

From ancient Egypt to the modern day, cats have been one of the most beloved pets. In fact, images of cats appear extensively in medieval manuscripts, where they are depicted as pets and mousers, appear in bestiaries and marginalia, and are even depicted in religious iconography. This delightful and informative gift book presents a wealth of cat imagery from a variety of medieval sources and is peppered with fascinating facts about the medieval view of cats and many stories of people and their pets in the Middle Ages. Among the amusing anecdotes are tales of cats having free rein of dining halls, prompting books of manners to admonish owners for petting cats while they sat on the dining table; instructions to anchoresses to not keep any animal as a pet except a cat; and examples of leases that also specify the number and age of a home’s feline inhabitants.

 

Sure to charm cat lovers and medievalists alike, Medieval Cats is a whimsical compendium of illustrations and tales.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art, Cats, Medieval, Medieval History, Historical

89 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2011

Reviews

[l · Rating 4 out of 5]

this person has a phd in medieval petkeeping!
I repeat: this person has a phd in medieval petkeeping!
an inspiration to us all.

[Derek Rivard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of illuminations, anecdotes, literary images of the cat, superstitions about the beloved (and tragically mistrusted) animal, which could be treated like family, or subjected to unimaginable cruelty by village mobs. This helped me make it through the recent death of my own beloved cat Samuel, as well as being a tremendous source good classroom anecdotes.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly informative book with great illustrations!

[Frederic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a cat person, but I do like medieval illuminations. And honestly I did like the author's Medieval Dogs better. Like that one, this is really intended as a gift-book but has nice, intellectually interesting text mainly concerning medieval conceptions of, in this case, cats. The illustrations are beautiful, and several feature mice along with the cats (some caught, but none gory). I think my favorite tidbit in this one was, "The twelfth-century nun Hildegard of Bingen, in her Liber simplicis medicinae, mentions the disloyalty of cats, who only bother to stay with whoever feeds them."

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Medieval Cats is by the same author as Medieval Dogs and follows the same format – a slender volume (89 pages), each filled with full-color illustrations from Medieval books and manuscripts, this time featuring cats of all shapes, sizes, and colors. The text includes excerpts from poems, fables, proverbs, and recipes for cures, all involving cats. For example, did you know that rubbing one’s eye with the tail from a tom cat will cure a stye?

There’s even a reference to my favorite Medieval monarch, Richard III! A page titled “A famous rhyme on Richard III” goes on to explain the meaning behind the Collingbourne ditty about The Cat, the Rat and Lovell our Dog… Nothing derogatory about King Richard or his advisors here, just a straight forward explanation of who is being referred to in the rhyme.

A great little book for cat lovers, but be warned! While cats were sometimes treated as pets, they could also face cruel treatment as well.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an eARC in exchange for a fair review.

This is a mostly fun little romp through medieval art and history featuring cats. There are some parts that are pretty dark that pertain to cats being tortured and/or killed. Unfortunately our history is brutal at times, and people should be aware of that. It did kinda dampen the humor, though. I thought this could be just a tad more informative in some places--I would've liked a little more depth. But it is what it says on the tin, and the pictures throughout (as well as the captions for said pictures) are hilarious. Really did not know there were quite so many medieval depictions of cats licking their butts.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's very few books I regret reading, and this is one of them. Not because of the art or quality of writing in it. But because it told me some violent historical truths I could have lived a whole life never knowing about. It makes me hug my own cats closer, knowing what hells of ignorance and cruelty humans have subjected the species to. Just the stuff of nightmares for the softhearted.

[Tosca Wijns-Van Eeden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is precisely the same book as she has already published as Cats in Medieval Manuscripts.
Lovely coffeetable book, or even to read in a waiting room or when using public transport.
Funny anekdotes about medieval cats, and pictures from medieval manuscripts, but not very useful for scholastic work.

[Georgia Earley · Rating 5 out of 5]

“If any beast hath the devil’s spirit, it is a cat” Edward, Duke of York

[Heather Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

The back cover notes that the author "completed her PhD … on late-medieval pet keeping." This is a small glossy collection of images of cats in medieval manuscripts and art, with brief accompanying text providing context both for the specific images and the place of cats in medieval society. Many artistic cats doing cat-like things such as playing with the dangling spindle of a woman trying to spin, licking its butt with its legs splayed in all directions, reaching through the bars of a bird-cage, and of course endless scenes of mousing.

[Meg - find me on TSG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came for the beautiful image reproductions, stayed for the great snippets from period works. Favorite thing I learned is that according to some early medieval Irish law text that I need to find, cats that could purr and hunt mice were worth 3 cows. Cats who could only purr were worth 1.5 cows. That's a mighty high value placed on the mere deterrence power of a cat. I'm looking forward to eventually reading the author's thesis on medieval pet-keeping.

"Cuirm lemm, lemlacht la cat."

[Eleanor With Cats · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small coffee table book with some really neat information and tons of marginalia cats. Most coffee table books don't really have much new information in them for someone who reads a lot, but this is better quality.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book of medieval MSS cat illustrations, primarily from marginalia, and medieval feline facts and fables. Although I wish there was more commentary (specifically on the iconographic meanings of some of the pictures), it's worth it for any cat lover interested in the Middle Ages.

[R. G. Nairam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the joy is in just owning a book called Medieval Cats and the number of medieval (mostly later) illustrations there are.

Not very dense, but a lot of fun. And it's always nice to read something about the Middle Ages with a narrow or unusual focus.

[Sharla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely book! The text discusses cats and their roles in medieval society, and every page has a photograph of a beautiful illuminated text featuring cats. Very delightful!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

[Morgan Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute cat compendium.

[Gabriel Zorrilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice little booklet, perfect to give as gift to cat lovers. A little pricey for the content, tho.

[Elizabeth Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hee! If you like cats and tidbits and illuminated manuscripts, this is a fun coffee table book for you.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it, loved it! Fun, Fun, Fun...

[Nancy Valentino]

Pretty cute book, lots of great pictures and fun facts about medieval cats.