sister_raphael | Medieval Animals In Art mean Something.

Even my kitty is interested in thinking about medieval pets and animals in medieval art. There are a lot of very studious works on what certain animals mean when depicted in medieval art, and while I agree with symbolism and meanings, if this book proves one thing, it's that sometimes the animal is most absolutely not a representation of anything. It's an actual pet. Doves will always symbolise peace or the word of God. Lizards and dragons always the opposite. Rabbits may suggest fertility (or the fact that you literally see them in gardens.)

I would wager, more times than most, dogs in art are pets, to be honest. Painting a picture of our bedroom are you? You better put Snuffles and her cushion in it! I'm out hunting with a bird on my wrist; that's my actual favourite bird, thank you. Effigies of women with their feet resting on a little dog might, in fact, be her little doggy which she loved so much in life.

This book shows a lot of the ways medieval people cared for their pets and formed deep emotional attachments to them. Those small, fluffy white dogs we see in art everywhere. They're dogs. Pets. They're included because the patron expressly wanted them there.