Fish and the Medieval Bestiary

There is so much to discover today! I know so little about medieval art and there is so much to see. I have just discovered the existence of the Medieval Bestiary - a compendium of beasts.The Bestiary illustrated animals, birds and even rocks, usually accompanied by a moral lesson (per Wikipedia).

Alongside this I have found and only very much skimmed the surface of the British Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts and Kitab Aja'ib Al-Makhluqat Wa Gharaib Al-Mawjudat literally "The Wonders of Creation and the Curiosities of Existence" here. See below one of the pieces by the author, Abu Yahya Zakariya ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud-al-Qazwini (ca. 1203-1283 CE), known as al-Qazwini.

These discoveries have resulted from my research on medieval fish images today. I am beginning to wonder if this burgeoning obsession with fish and boats derives from my surname Fisher and my peasant ancestry. Maybe I am trying to on some level trace my roots. I also came across this image and article A peasant is a peasant, is a peasant? : Medieval Maritime Peasant Lives on www.medievalists.net sourced from the paper by Maryanne Kowaleski, Professor of History and Medieval Studies at Fordham University.

To end today's blog, I have put a bit of a tongue-in-cheek humour from The Toast where two medieval monks invent bestiaries...

MONK #1: ugh sorry to bother you again

MONK #2: no no its fine

this is what i’m here for

what is it

MONK #1: what part of a goat is a snail again

like the front end or the back end

MONK #2: what part do you feel like should be the snail part

MONK #1: the back part?

MONK #2: you shouldnt doubt yourself

you know more about goats than you give yourself credit for

Stormy medieval boats

Duccio di Buoninsegna [1308-1311] Jesus calling Simon Peter and Andrew

Currently, the painting I am working on is a bit of a disaster. It seemed to be going okay until I kept working on the robin in the foreground, only to have it end up looking comical. After a while, I figured it was the wrong bird. Frustrated, I changed the bird. The bird still looks a bit comical but it's singing or is it singing a warning? This has changed the painting from me thinking about holding on in a difficult place to actually one of pushing out to help others in disaster. This seems a bit strange but if it is what the painting wants, I'll do my best to do it. 

Boats and stormy weather brings to my mind Jesus walking on the water towards his disciples. Together with my love of medieval art, this has led me to investigate images of medieval boats today. One article I read this morning in The pelican papers, had a humorous bit of text about Peter, the Rock or "Rocky" for short.  Peter takes a few steps walking on water to meet Jesus. Frightened by the wind and sinking into the waves, Rocky calls for help. Jesus pulls him out of the drink. And then, 

"What's the matter, O faithless one? Jesus says with a grin. Scared of a little wind, a big old fisherman like you? Why did you doubt?".

Ah, the eternal question from a God who likes to act in unfathomable ways. Why did you doubt? 

Well, these images here have given me a start to how I can work a medieval type boat into my painting. I thought I'd share the images with you so you can enjoy them like I have. I found the names difficult to trace on some, so I am sorry if there is no attribution to the original artist. I also highly recommend checking out the medieval ship models made by Tucho Fernandez Calo, which can be seen on his website. 

Jesus and Peter walking on water