![]() Just like today, medieval families gave their cats names. 1500 Book of Hours known as the ‘London Rothschild Hours’ or the ‘Hours of Joanna I of Castile’. Again, the cat is not the centre of the image nor the focus of the composition, but it is accepted in this medieval domestic space. Similarly, in the miniature of a Dutch Book of Hours (a common type of prayer book in the middle ages that marked the divisions of the day with specific prayers), a man and woman feature in a cosy household scene while a well looked-after cat gazes on from the bottom left-hand corner. The cat and dog play no narrative role in the scene, but instead signal to the viewer that this is a domestic space. In Pietro Lorenzetti’s Last Supper (above), a cat sits by the fire while a small dog licks a plate of leftovers on the ground. It is commonplace to see images of cats in iconography of feasts and other domestic spaces, which appears to reflect their status as a pet in the medieval household. Last Supper (1320), by Pietro Lorenzetti. It was not unusual for high-status men and women in the middle ages to have their portrait completed in the company of a pet, most commonly cats and dogs, to signify their elevated status. Keeping an animal that was lavished with attention, affection and high-quality food in return for no functional purpose – other than companionship – signified high status. ![]() Pets became part of the personal identity of the nobility. ![]() Pet monkeys, for example, were considered exotic and a sign that the owner was wealthy, because they had been imported from distant lands. In the middle ages, men and women were often identified by the animals they kept. But despite their association with the supernatural, medieval manuscripts showcase surprisingly playful images of our furry friends.įrom these (often very funny) portrayals, we can learn a lot about medieval attitudes towards cats – not least that they were a central fixture of daily medieval life. Their presumed links with paganism and witchcraft meant they were often treated with suspicion. Intellectual Property (IP) and CommercialisationĬats had a bad reputation in the middle ages.Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement.Integrated Research and Impact Support (IRIS) Service.
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