Catherine Nappington has assembled a fascinating collection of images, quotations, and commentary in her book, Medieval Cats.
Subtitled “claws, paws and kitties of yore” this book takes a look at one of our favourite domestic animals, the cat, and charts how the feline was viewed and presented in the medieval age.
It’s a wide-ranging text, taking in rich and poor, religious and secular, and a variety of countries where the cat was feared or revered. Mice-catching abilities rub shoulders with the witch’s familiar; cats are pictured with the highest and lowest in the land.
This is a book for both art lovers and kitty obsessives. Informative, amusing, and full of colourful plates and illustrations, Medieval Cats will be a popular gift for those who pamper and enjoy their little friends.
The number of cats seen in illustrated manuscripts of the period doing naughty things is fascinating. Even The Book of Kells, in Ireland, has a whole section devoted to them.
Cats as servants, playful companions, and even deities, are explored in the pages of this clever book. Even a set of fables and proverbs puts them in the centre. The works shared are often bawdy and crude, and set aside those of reverence.
Medieval Cats is ultimately a hilarious celebration of the cat, with tongue-in-cheek comment on illustrations and facts and figures on the little animal that deigns to share our homes and lives.
Medieval Cats is published 4 Mar by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House.