note: i mention bestiaries a few times here. for those who don't know, a bestiary is a sort of compendium of animals, which contains descriptions each beast that emphasize moral and religious lessons that can be learned from its behavior.
these were very popular texts: while some of the myths in this thread may seem bizarre, it's important to interpret them in the context of their sources and medieval religious beliefs. i also recommend reading more about bestiaries and looking at some online!
in the early 15th century, edward, 2nd duke of york, wrote a list of 1,126 names he considered to be suitable for dogs. highlights from the list:
-nosewise
-garlik
-pretyman
-gaylarde
-norman
-filthe
source: hours of johanna the mad, british library add ms 18852
as much as i love really dense and ornate embellishment in manuscripts, there's something very lovely about the more minimalist style here. fewer drawings but each one is wonderfully executed - these owls!!!
whole thing is digitised, i double dog dare you to go look at this beautiful manuscript:
source: aquarelle von säugetieren, vögeln, insekten und pflanzen samt deutschen legenden ("watercolours of mammals, birds, insects, and plants together with german legends")
zentralbibliothek zürich (central library of zürich) ms rh hist 161 page 86
one last thing, i spoke to the fine folks at @boredpanda who did a wee write-up of my account and included some of my thoughts and feelings about medieval art if you'd like to check it out ;))