Maniculum Bestiaryposting - Tumblr Posts - Page 2

That's another one that seems very obvious in hindsight, but I suspect like many others, I struggled to stop thinking of geese!

Although they are still very rare in britain, looks like the Common Crane was native to England in the middle ages (and that bestiary illustration is actually not a bad likeness!)

Bestiaryposting Results: Nadokwak

At time of writing this, there are only a couple depictions posted, so this might be a short one -- we'll see if others pop up later tonight. Maybe this bird just isn't that artistically inspiring.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can find an explanation and the rest of this series at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

The entry our artist are working from for this post can be found here:

And the one for the next post, if you want to participate, is here:

Now, art below the cut:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) says the description put them in mind of waterfowl, which they gave a long neck and an erect posture for the effect of vigilance. Solid waterfowl; I really like the feather pattern on the neck. For more details on the design and its inspirations, see the linked post.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has drawn this really pleasant little scene, for which they credit Tove Jansson as stylistic inspiration. (I've got to read the Moomin books at some point; those little troll critters are always on my dashboard and I know nothing about them.) Genuinely delightful. Also note that the standing Nadokwak is holding a rock in its foot to stay awake while guarding the others.

So, the Aberdeen Bestiary:

This is, as you can probably guess from the image, the crane.

I don't have much to add to this one, other than that medieval Europeans really seemed to find cranes evocative. They're not on the level of, like, lions in terms of semiotic saturation, but they come up now and then, usually in a positive light.

I kept getting a sense of deja vu about this one, and Silverhart mentioned the same -- when I went to include one of my favorite Medieval Bird Factoids I think I figured out why. A previous entry, the Blisheag, is on a quite similar bird, and I had them confused.

Said Medieval Bird Factoid is not about cranes after all, so I'm going to leave this post here I suppose.

Very Good waterfowl (plus cute babies!) that I think just missed the cutoff again this week :)

Nadokwak

When I read that a bird flies in military formation, I think of Canada geese, a species I respect and have been menaced by (they wanted my chicken nuggies😔)

I decided to add some duck elements, and sibling suggested the wood duck. They also suggested the wing claws. Did you know that some birds have claws on their wings? Very cool.

The abstract background is just for fun.

The Guileful Khrathnu

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Quick one this week. Pencil sketch, then lines in Sailor fude nib fountain pen, using Diamine Sepia ink.

Thought process under the cut…

"It is fleet-footed and never runs in a straight line but twists and turns. It is a clever, crafty animal. When it is hungry and can find nothing to eat, it rolls itself in red earth so that it seems to be stained with blood, lies on the ground and holds its breath, so that it seems scarcely alive. When birds see that it is not breathing, that it is flecked with blood and that its tongue is sticking out of its mouth, they think that it is dead and descend to perch on it. Thus it seizes them and devours them."

Not a lot of info this week. This reads as a Beast to me from what little we do have, though it could be a Serpent too, since there is no mention of fur or hair.

As such, we have vaguelly dog-shaped creature. Having rolled around in some red earth it lays with its tongue lolling out, waiting for one of the birds circling above to take the bait...

Given that we really don't have much of a descrption, I didn't want to make it too fluffy (particularly the tail, as in some previous creature descriptions the author has definitively mentioned when a beast has an excess of fluff!

These are all excellent creatures, and I absolutely love the variety of styles and mediums we're seeing here :D

(I had a bit of a suspicion about this one - mostly due to it being a crafty critter - and was trying hard to get the balance right between not being too influenced by that suspicion, while also not overcompensating too much either... I know there have been enough times that I was pretty sure I knew what animal a particular description related to, and I was completely off-base!)

It took me a few moments to realise that one of those generic birds had hold of the Khrathnu's tongue... Think we know which bird will be getting munched on first!

Bestiaryposting Results: Khrathnu

We've got kind of an interesting-yet-vague entry and a variety of responses to it, so let's get into that. Please forgive any sloppiness I am slightly inebriated.

For anyone who doesn't know what this is about, please see https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

The entry from which our artists are working in this post can be found here:

And if you want to join in, the next entry is here:

Art below the cut:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has drawn something in the enjoyable genre I have taken to thinking of as "nonspecific mammal" -- i.e. a creature design that is clearly mammalian and entirely plausible-looking without being any specific known animal. The action shot is very well-executed I think, and I encourage the reader to check out the linked post to learn more about the inspiration for the various aspects of this animal.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has a very good rendition of some kind of canid playing dead as described in the entry -- note the single open eye to allow it to spring its trap. Again very good and quite believable -- the linked post has a few more details regarding the thought process behind this design. (And thank you for including alt text.)

@wendievergreen (link to post here) has another good Nonspecific Mammal, stylized in a way that I find interesting. I don't know enough about art to describe it, but it looks super cool, and they've also provided these nice close-ups and some alt text (thank you for that). There's some additional explanation in the linked post -- I think this one has a certain flair that I really enjoy.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has an interesting concept here where the art itself seems to give the Khrathnu the "nothing to see here" treatment -- after all, the bird (which long-term readers may recognize as a Lumchagg) is more colorful and closer to the center of the image. However, the clever Khrathnu is the true star here, luring its prey to its doom. Very good composition, check the linked post for inspiration, explanation, and an interesting link.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has done a solid weasel-like critter here, clearly playing dead in the interest of luring in some prey. In the linked post you will find a brief in-universe-perspective description of this animal, and as usual I encourage you to go back and read all of Strixcattus's posts in this project.

Okay, so this is the fox.

I feel like between the illustration and the thematic elements of the entry, this is an "oh, that makes sense" kind of situation. Of course the fox is crafty and deceitful in its methods of catching prey. And sure, the artist here got pretty close to an accurate fox depiction. It's canid at least. All good, no problems.

Things I cannot explain:

What's with the other foxes in the burrows there? Yes foxes like to live in burrows, but (a) that's not in the entry and (b) weird way to depict it.

Why is there one (1) magpie present in addition to the various generic birds of prey?

The world is full of mysteries, but please speculate at your leisure.

The Lulling Nisegwag

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Pencil sketch, then lines in Pentel brush pen (had to refill the cartridge half-way through!).

Thought process under the cut…

“The Nisegwag is a seabird which produces its young on the shore, depositing its eggs in the sand, around midwinter."

So, a seabird, that nests on the shore. Means I don't need to worry too much about colour (since most seabirds are variations on greys, whites and blacks). Specifically, it nests in the sand, so I did a bit of digging and based the nest loosely off that of terns and plovers (the terns also had a bit of influence with the bird's markings on the face and beak, along with gannets (mostly because they are really pretty looking birds!).

"It chooses as the time to hatch its young, the period when the sea is at its highest and the waves break more fiercely than usual on the shore; with the result that the grace with which this bird is endowed shines forth the more, with the dignity of an unexpected calm. For it is a fact that when the sea has been raging, once the Nisegwag’s eggs have been laid, it suddenly becomes gentle, all the stormy winds subside, the strong breezes lighten, and as the wind drops, the sea lies calm, until the Nisegwag hatches its eggs."

I compressed the different time periods here a little for effect - as such, we have the suns rays breaking through the heavy cloud above, and the sea being calm, just as the chicks are hatching. We can also see some bladder wrack and other natural ocean materials thrown up onto the beach by the previous stormy weather, inclduding shells and a cuttlebone. We also know that this bird is graceful (I'm going to assume in flight, rather than on the ground!) so we have a few of the flight feathers clearly visible at the ends of the wings. It's also generally a quite smooth bird, with thick, water resistant feathers, though it has fluffed up its chest feathers to incubate the eggs.

"The eggs take seven days to hatch, at the end of which the Nisegwag brings forth its young and the hatching is at an end. The Nisegwag takes a further seven days to feed its chicks until they begin to grow into young birds. Such a short feeding-time is nothing to marvel at, since the completion when the hatching process takes so few days. This little bird is endowed by God with such grace that sailors know with confidence that these fourteen days will be days of fine weather and call them ‘[redacted]’, in which there will be no period of stormy weather.”

A very quick growing bird - at first I wanted to draw cute, fluffy chicks, but then I realised the birds would be new born; hence the slightly skrungly, goosebumpy appearance.

Some parts of this one were a bit more experimental. I'm really happy with how the actual creature came out, but learning to draw sea and sunbeams was hard, and I'd probably do the clouds differently if I was doing this over again. All good learning, and all good fun :)

Ooh, had no idea about that one!

I appreciate that the bestiary illustrator didn't just draw another eagle, and we have webbed feet too!

Bestiaryposting Results: Nisegwag

Birds! Moving right along.

If you don't know what this is about, you can find out at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

The entry these artists are working from is here:

And if you want to join in next week, that entry is here:

Art below the cut:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) says they started with a plover-like bird, but then decided it could also be part turtle since technically there's no mention of it flying. I think that turned out really well, so good call there.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) wanted to show the weather effects described in the entry, so we get a good view of the sunbeams and calm sea. I think it's a really nice beach scene, and the little hatchling is quite charming. Additional details in the linked post, and thank you for including alt text.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has given us a seabird watching its eggs, and her usual fictionalized-naturalist overview of what the creature this entry is based on might be like (in the linked post). Enjoyable, and I also really like the pose that's going on here.

@wendievergreen (link to post here) has done this really lovely stylized depiction; everything about it is delightful, really. I recommend checking out the linked post to learn more.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) correctly notes that cormorants are excellent birds, and has based their design on one. I think the pose and face as it calms the sea here really works.

So, the Aberdeen Bestiary:

So this is a... maybe-mythical one, and one that's particularly interesting because of how it has and hasn't been remembered in modern culture. The story about the bird that calms the sea is pretty much completely forgotten, but preserved in a fossilized phrase -- let me share with you the un-redacted version of the last sentence of the entry:

This little bird is endowed by God with such grace that sailors know with confidence that these fourteen days will be days of fine weather and call them 'the halcyon days', in which there will be no period of stormy weather.

Yep. That's where that phrase comes from. Meet the halcyon. This whole business apparently traces back to the Greek myth of Alcyone, if you want to know more.

As for "maybe-mythical" -- the halcyon is apparently probably a kingfisher, but there's some doubt surrounding whether the ancient sources are actually referring to the same bird. I chose not to fall down that particular rabbit hole.

The Amphibious Dolthruk

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Pencil sketch, then lines in Pentel brush pen.

Thought process under the cut…

"The Dolthruk is so called from the color of [redacted]. They live in the river, four-footed animals equally at home on land or in the water and more than twenty cubits long. The Dolthruk is armed with monstrous teeth and claws and has such a tough skin that however hard you throw a stone at it, you will not hurt the beast. It goes into the water at night and rests by day on the land. It lays its eggs on land, and both male and female take it in turns to hatch them. A certain kind of fish whose serrated spines tear open the soft part of their belly kills them. Alone among animals they can move their upper jaw and hold the lower one still. From their dung is made an ointment with which old women and faded whores [bestiary is judgmental today, damn] anoint their faces, and appear beautiful until their sweat washes it off."

I spent an awful lot of time mulling this one over. We actually get quite a bit of description for a change, which is nice to work with too!

We also know that it's a beast, rather than a serpent or any other manner of creature. This is where it gets a little complicated, as we also know it lays eggs! My first thought was making it a monotreme; the idea of a monstrous platypus really tickled me, but I couldn't quite work out how to manage 'monstrous teeth' in what is a rather toothless clade of critters (@silverhart-makes-art came up with a solution and a brilliant rendition of this concept!), so I went down a whole rabbit hole of early mammals and mammal ancestors. The most impressive teeth (and claws) definitely belong to the therapsids, and specifically, the gorgonopsids. So, we end up with an amphibious gorgonopsid!

Incidentally, gorgonopsids are far weirder than an initial look would indicate - did you know that a lot of early therapsids had a pineal eye or light sensing organ atop their head (similar to modern tuataras), as well as very weird joints!

We have webbed feet so it can get around in the water when it is not lounging on land and taking turns to care for its eggs and young. I also gave it a shorter neck, and lowered the eye socket in the skull so that, at a glance at least, it looks more like the upper jaw can be moved while the lower jaw remains still.

We also have the issue of the very tough skin. Now, as its is a beast rather than a serpent, I initially didn't want to give it armour plates. I also considered a pangolin's scales, but felt the overlapping scales would trap water and not be particularly hygienic. Now, the fearsome hippopotamus has famously thick skin, but I couldn't quite work out how to represent this. Rhinos are similar, but a little more obvious, until a solution struck me. Hence, we now have an amphibious gorgonopsid lounging near its nest with armour plates inspired by Albrecht Dürer's Rhinoceros…

Of course, we also have 'a certain kind of fish' in the water. Largely based on the weaver fish, a fishie native to British waters, with distinctive venomous spines! Best stay out of the water for now, Dolthruk!

I was this close to going with a platypus, until I started going down a rabbit hole about mammalian evolution (seriously, monotremes are still pretty weird, but not nearly as much when you consider the whole of mammalian evolution) and decided to go for a more prehistory influence. After this many weeks, are we just in-sync with each other? 😄

Honestly, I love every single one of these!

Also, 20 cubits is about 9 meters... For context, the saltwater crocodile grows up to 6.3 meters! Deinosuchus, an extinct Cretaceous crocodillian, potentially grew up to about 10 meters, but the bestiary estimate is Very Large...! 🐊

Bestiaryposting Results: Dolthruk

More physical description than usual on this one, some of which I worry makes the creature a bit obvious, but we'll see how that plays out.

If you're not sure what any of this is about, please refer to https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

To see the entry the artists are working from, click here:

To see the one we're doing for next week, and possibly contribute your own work, click here:

Art below the cut.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) started with a platypus, then added some other influences to make the described size work. I think it came out quite well -- that is a solid depiction of what a platypus relative might look like if it were huge and terrifying.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has also given us something quite frightening -- I don't think I'd want to get near this one. Or see it in person. The inspirations for this design are pretty interesting -- I'd recommend checking them out in the linked post. And, if that distinctively-patterned hide looks familiar to you, that is addressed in the linked post as well. (Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@citrvsdrake (link to post here) also has a quite fearsome rendition, this one almost draconic -- in their post, they mention that they originally thought of some sort of river snake, but with armor and legs this becomes more of a dragon. I think it's a good dragon, too.

@pomrania (link to post here) also started with the idea of making a large, dangerous platypus, but went in a different direction, emphasizing scales and spikes. I like the serrated bill here; that's a nice touch.

@wendievergreen (link to post here) has instead drawn something adorable, noting that they decided to go in the opposite direction of what they suspected the animal was. I think it's delightful. For explanation of the inspirations for this design, and a close-up of the image, see the linked post. (Also, thank you for providing alt text -- and I think the banana thing is still funny too.)

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) brings the Beast Vibe back to "frightening" with this creation. Some fantastic work with the faces on both the Dolthruk and the fish, and of course I love the Stylized Plants... listen. Does anyone else think this looks like the cover of a really wild album? (Also, thank you for providing alt text.)

Anyway.

Aberdeen Bestiary says...

... no picture for you. It's not been cut out this time, they just didn't draw one. This section is more or less without illustrations, in fact. Maybe they considered it less important -- according to the bestiary's categorization system, this is a fish, actually. Sure, it has legs, but it lives in the water, what else do you want?

The Ashmole Bestiary, my backup illustration source, makes the same decision, but Bodley MS 764, my backup text source, does provide an illustration (and doesn't call it a fish).

Okay, so that's not a hugely realistic depiction, but it's probably not completely shocking to say that this is the crocodile.

I was surprised not to see any reference to tears in the Aberdeen entry -- the concept of "crocodile tears" is popular in the bestiaries.

The bit about color that I redacted from the entry claims that the crocodile's name comes from crocus due to its saffron-colored hide (not in evidence in the above image). I don't think this is true -- both English words can be traced back through Latin to Greek, and they certainly sound similar, but it seems crocus is probably a loanword into Greek from somewhere in the Semitic language family (hard to say which language specifically), and thus unrelated to crocodile despite their shared elements.

The Mellifluous Gibemlut

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Pencil sketch, then lines in Pentel brush pen.

Thought process under the cut…

"The Gibemlut, [redacted], gets its name from the act of castration. For alone among other birds its testicles are removed, and the ancients called castrated men [redacted]."

Okay, so strong start here… Not quite sure where they're going with this, maybe there's some kind of reference to the higher singing vocal range of a castrato? Given that birds have internal testicles, that's the only thing I can think of which would make the author zero in on why exactly this specific bird and not the others is missing theirs. Alternatively, maybe there's some kind of weird religious metaphor that I'm blissfully unaware of…?

Wasn't quite sure how to represent this, I considered showing a bit of a concave shape to the bird's undercarriage, but ended up leaving this to the author's imagination…

"People say that the Gibemlut’s limbs, if mixed with liquid gold, are consumed by it. The calling of the Gibemlut at night is a pleasant sound, and not only pleasant but useful; like a good partner, the Gibemlut wakes you when are asleep, encourages you if you are worried, comforts you if you are on the road, marking with its melodious call the progress of the night. [It goes on like this, soon transitions into a digression on the symbolism of the Gibemlut’s call, and then continues on that theme for multiple pages.]"

For starters, I suspect that if you pour molten gold on the limbs of any small creature, they're just going to burn up… An early thought about what to draw was al alchemists lab, but I ended up depicting the Gibemlut in its natural habitat rather than dismembered in a laboratory for a bunch of obvious reasons.

So, we have a nocturnal bird, hence the drab, camouflaged plumage (based loosely on that of the European nightjar), and a very large eye for seeing better at night. We have a shortish beak that can open wide, all the better for snapping up nocturnal bugs and, of course, singing! I considered adding some whiskers, but I'm not confident about drawing fine lines with the brush pen yet!

Obviously we have a night time scene, and I figured I'd include a stave to represent the Gibemlut's music. I picked the notes by taking this creature's name, and removing the letters that don't appear in an octave scale… I went down quite a rabbit hole of musical notation, but rather than learning how to represent something completely new to me (such as neume, the basic elements of a lot of european notation prior to the invention of the musical stave) I figured I'd go for something easier and more immediately understandable...

In the background we can see a pilgrim (badges on her hat and hanging from her pilgrim's staff) being comforted, encouraged, as well as kept alert, as she listens to the delicate song of the Gibemlut as she walks…

Well, that was unexpected... 🤔

I suppose that some of it makes sense... Having a careful look at my copy of MS Bodley 764, it states "The cock gets its name because it is sometimes castrated" (translation by Richard Barber).

Having done a little digging, the only possible reason I can think of for this is a (theoretical) like between Gallus (latin for rooster/cockerel) and the Sumerian priests of Inanna known as Gala who it seems could be either sex, but were characterised by singing lamentations (typically being a female profession) which were sung in a particular dialect meant to represent the voice of female deities (source: Wikipedia, ymmv). Seems like a bit of a stretch, but perhaps there's a game of telephone going on with that half-remembered reference too?

Bestiaryposting Results: Gibemlut

All right, so we've got another bird, let's see what we're doing with it. Preliminaries, though:

If you don't know what this is about, check https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

The art in this post is based on a bestiary entry which can be found here:

If you want to participate yourself for next week, that entry can be found here:

Now, art below the cut.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) notes the lack of physical description in the entry, and has based their interpretation on the American Robin. For why, and other details about the design, see the linked post. I rather like the speckles, and I think the large eyes make it pretty cute.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) observes the kind of nonsensical parts of the entry and then provides us with this very nice rendering of a singing bird. I think the pilgrim in the background is a nice touch. I recommend checking the linked post for further discussion. (Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@pomrania (link to post here) also makes note of the nonsensical parts of the entry at some length in their progress thread -- worth checking out if you're curious -- and landed on this design. I think it's a pretty solid not-quite-a-chicken.

@strixcattus (link to post here) is the third to make note of the way this entry doesn't make sense. She has drawn this songbird with a very nice color palette and a facial expression that I'm not sure what to make of. As always, see the linked post for a modern naturalistic description of the creature in question.

@wendievergreen (link to post here) joins the chorus of "how is something with no external testicles being castrated", and has also drawn some excellent birds. I continue to really enjoy their art style -- I like how the birds here almost look like they're wearing masks. (Also, thank you for including alt text.)

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has similar concerns to our other artists, as well as a different, more disturbing interpretation of the business with the liquid gold. (That sentence is grammatically ambiguous, now that I think of it.) As always, their artistic contribution is fantastically stylized, and predictably, I enjoy the tree. The potoo influence, I think, also really works here.

Can't go to the Aberdeen Bestiary this time -- this is another entry where the picture has been cut out -- so here's the version from the Ashmole Bestiary.

Yep, that's pretty clearly a rooster.

Well, it's blue, but I don't know that there are no blue roosters.

Honestly I don't have a lot to add here, except that it's fascinating and kind of sweet that the medieval author thought of the calls of chickens that way.

This also puts a whole new spin on the castration thing -- do any chicken owners out there have some idea why people would describe roosters as being castrated? Do people castrate them? How?

(I continue to have no explanation for the gold thing.)

The Mellivorous Olkorwae

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Pencil sketch, then lines in Pentel brush pen. It has been a very busy week, and I am very tired, but happy I'm still able to get something out before the deadline.

Thought process under the cut…

"It is said that they produce a shapeless fetus and that a piece of flesh is born. The mother forms the parts of the body by licking it. The shapelessness of the child is the result of its premature birth. It is born only thirty days after conception, and as a result of this rapid fertility it is born unformed. The Olkorwae’s head is not strong; its greatest strength lies in its arms and loins; for this reason Olkorwaes sometimes stand upright."

Okay, I'm 90% sure I know what this creature is meant to be, but we'll. We know that this beast has powerful forelimbs, good core strength, is able to stand upright but seems like this is not its default position, and nothing massively special/strong with its head/jaws. With that in mind, I'm imagining a greature with longer forelimbs than hindlimbs; more powerful forelimbs this way, plus a lower center of gravity making rearing up and walking bipedally more viable.

We also have some interesting info about baby Olkorwaes, which is repeated further on, so that's where I'll deal with those thoughts...

"Olkorwaes do not neglect the business of healing themselves. If they are afflicted by a mortal blow and injured by wounds, they know how to heal themselves. They expose their sores to the herb called mullein — flomus, the Greeks call it — and are healed by its touch alone. When sick, the Olkorwae eats ants. The Olkorwaes of Numidia stand out from other Olkorwaes by virtue of the shagginess of their hair."

No time for going down weird rabbit holes researching random herbs this week unfortunately. However, assume that these Olkorwaes are from Numidia (Algeria, Tunisia and Libya) from the shagginess of their coats. Also, hairy = beaʃt.

"Olkorwaes are bred in the same way, wherever they come from. They do not mate like other quadrupeds but embrace each other when they copulate, just like the couplings of humans. Winter arouses their desire. The males respect the pregnant females, and honour them by leaving them alone; although they may share the same lair at the time of birth, they lie separated by a trench."

Figured I'd represent a scene of a pair of Olkorwaes in their den, complete with trench being dug! We have some wide, powerful paws on its forelimbs, along with some impressive claws, all the better for digging with!

"Among Olkorwaes the time of gestation is accelerated. Indeed, the thirtieth day sees the womb free of the child. As a result of this rapid fertility, the babies are created without form. The females produce tiny lumps of flesh, white in colour, with no eyes. These they shape gradually, holding them meanwhile to their breasts so that the babies are warmed by the constant embrace and draw out the spirit of life. During this time Olkorwaes eat no food at all in the first fortnight; the males fall so deeply asleep that they cannot be aroused even if they are wounded, and the females, after they have given birth, hide for three months. Soon after, when they emerge into the open, they are so unused to the light that you would think they had been blinded."

So, the babies are born small and almost shapeless. I think it's obvious to all what this creatue is; a marsupial!

Imagine that the mother Olkorwae has a pouch - it's just not visible due to how she is curled up around her babies!

I did a little looking into extinct australian megafauna, and came across the Thylacoleo, or marsupial lion, which was a pretty good match for what I was going for, so I ended up taking a lot of inspiration from this, as well as a little from other extinct beasties such as Procoptodon.

I was a little tempted to draw the babies as Dittos (the pokemon) but no eyes when they are born!

"They attack beehives and try hard to get honeycombs. There is nothing they seize more eagerly than honey. If they eat the fruit of the mandrake they die. But they prevent the misfortune from turning into disaster and eat ants to regain their health. If they attack bulls, they know the parts to threaten the most, and will not go for any part except the horns or nose: the nose, because the the pain is sharper in the more tender place."

There would have been some cool stuff to represent here, but alas, neither the time or energy for anything too fancy this week - I look forward to seeing what others do with this description!

Bestiaryposting Result: Olkorwae

Long entry this time, and one that I think a number of people know because I've seen people talk about it on Tumblr before. Nonetheless, let's see what we've got.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can find an explanation here: https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

To see the entry our artists are working from, click here:

And to see next week's so you can potentially join in, click here:

Anyway, art below the cut.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) suggests that the whole "shapeless lumps of flesh" thing might be fitting for a marsupial, so we've got that, but bulky & shaggy to fit the given description. I like the distinctive claws and the little tongue on the baby there.

@pomrania (link to post here) has drawn this very strange beast based, apparently, on a tarot spread for inspiration. (The extra legs are apparently modified ribs.) I don't know what to add about this, but it's a very weird creature (positive).

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has also gone with the "big shaggy marsupial" indication, which honestly does really fit the description. Here we see one helping its babies take form and one doing some digging. I think these are quality Shaggy Beasts of no specific recognizable type; I like them. For more information on their design, see the linked post. (Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@wendievergreen (link to post here) also went with some marsupial inspiration, so it seems like we have a lot of people on the same wavelength. (It does make sense.) For some details on that, and close-ups on the art, check out the linked post. Also, you know what I really like about this particular piece? The fact that it incorporates a maniculum. Plus this is a very cute animal. (And thank you for including alt text.)

@strixcattus (link to post here) has joined Team Marsupial for this one. Very cute critter, probably shouldn't get too close to those claws though. As always, worth reading the naturalist writeup in the linked post.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has gone with a really interesting interpretation that I genuinely love. If the parent is literally shaping the child, like a lump of clay, obviously they're all going to look kind of different, like someone playing around with making different clay figures. So here we see a bunch that are clearly the same species, but different proportions & interpretations of the same body plan. Brilliant.

All right, to the Aberdeen Bestiary:

Yep, that's a bear all right. Love the detail on the fur.

I feel like this one probably had a lot of tells -- I know I've seen people talk about the whole "bears lick their shapeless babies into form" thing here on Tumblr, and we've got hibernation and honey also.

Not a lot to add here -- see you next week!

The Pernicious Nirmosho

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Pencil sketch, then lines in TWSBI Eco fountain pen, extra fine nib, using Monteverde Raven Noir ink.

Thought process under the cut…

"A creature lives in the River Nile which is called [etymology redacted]. Those who are bitten by it swell up, a sickness called by some [redacted], because it can be cured by the dung of an ox. [Digression into mythology redacted]"

Okay, so we have a creature, that is at least aquatic and possibly amphibious. That probably emiminates birds (they would be on or around, but not in), but still leaves us with a lot of other possibilities. It's a bit bitey, and its bite causes sickness - this could be a venom, but could just as easily be disease spread in the water. As for it being cured by ox dung, I have no idea, but oedema (swelling) can be caused by injuries, infections or insect bites, so I'm included to think this is more down to the quality of the water this thing is swimming in rather than anything inherant to it.

"The Nirmosho is a worthy enemy of the crocodile and has this characteristic and habit: when it sees a crocodile sleeping on the shore, it enters the crocodile through its open mouth, rolling itself in mud in order to slide more easily down its throat. The crocodile therefore, instantly swallows the Nirmosho alive. But the Nirmosho, tearing open the crocodile’s intestines, comes out whole and unharmed."

So, in the description we were given for the Dolthruk, we learn "A certain kind of fish whose serrated spines tear open the soft part of their belly kills them." This is starting to sound very similar, particularly if we assume that this creature's spines open the belly of the crocodile/dolthruk from the inside…

It's definitely a fish, in that case. We also learn that it crawls onto shore, rolls around in mud, then enters the crocodile's mouth. That implies that is is amphibious, or can at least survive out of the water for a while.

There are actually a lot of fish that can spend some time out of the water, whether than is to travel between pools of water, escape predation or find extra food sources; the cutest one are probably mudskippers, but the most iconic have got to be lungfish; Sarcopterygian fish (a clade who includes all tetropods, including us), the so-called lobe-finned fish.

Lungfish were my base influence, and that's probably most visible in the hind limbs and tail fin. I also took some influence from coelacanths (particularly in terms of the overlapping, almost diamond-shaped scales, but also the pectoral and upper fins), and of course, Tiktaalik (who you may remember from the 'If you see a horrid beast evolving, push it back in' memes), particularly the head.

I also took a tiny bit of inspiration from another group of extinct sarcopterygian fish - Rhizodontida... Now, these fish could get pretty big (estimated up to 7m long), but they are mostly known for their tusks or fangs, hence the large, pointy fangs in the Nirmosho's upper jaws. While we have some exposed fin rays on the dorsal fin, I imagine this beast does most of its damage with its teeth, and it was a misinterpretation (possibly from seeing a partially dessicated or decomposed specimen) on the part of the bestiary author that it is the spines that do the damage (let's be honest, this would be far from the wildest stretch we've seen the authors make so far...!)

Maybe it was the inspiration from extinct animals, but I also really wanted to draw this like a scientific illustration. I began to regret this decision about 1/3 of the way through the scales 😅 but I'm really pleased with how it came out.

Also, poor crocodile! 😢🐊

That bestiary illustration is as metal as it is inaccurate to the description (I'll assume the illustrator was just having fun with it!)

I really like the variety of interpretations we've got this time round; insects, crustacean/xiphosurans, snakes, different fishies... love all of these! This was one of my favourites to draw too :)

Bestiaryposting Results: Nirmosho

Today's is interesting in that it's notably vague about what kind of creature this is, other than "lives in the river" and "smaller than a crocodile". (Convenient that the crocodile was so recent, now that I think of it.)

It should also be noted that this is our very last entry on an individual animal -- as we're winding down, our final half-dozen Bestiaryposts are going to be collections of multiple entries, mostly ones that I felt were too short or too obvious to give their own post. Artists should feel free to pick & choose which to draw, or do a group shot, or however they like.

If you don't know what this is about, you can learn at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

To see the entry the art is based on this week, click this link:

To see the entry for next week and potentially participate, click this one:

Now, let's see what people came up with.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has drawn this very charming little beastie that is not unlike a horseshoe crab, just less flat. I really like this overall, but I'd like to highlight the tiny little eyes, the detail on the mouthparts, and the nifty fin-thing on its back.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) correctly observes that she's already drawn this one -- this is indeed the "certain kind of fish" mentioned in the Dolthruk entry, which she included in that illustration. However, in light of addition details, they have revised their design to create a fish that's capable of being mobile on land, basing it heavily on the mudskipper. Here we see an excellent image of two having a dispute in muddy water -- I particularly love the rendering of the fins and think the background works well here. (Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has drawn this really nice fish inspired by various prehistoric species -- to me, it genuinely looks like this drawing would fit right into a series of illustrations in a paleontological text. To me, it's giving coelacanth, but that may be mostly because that's the only lobe-finned fish I recognize. I also like the little fang at the front. (And thank you for including alt text.)

@strixcattus (link to post here) has drawn this rather polite-looking snake, noting that the description provided lines up quite well with it being some sort of snake. As usual, the gold is in the naturalist-style description they've provided in the linked post -- in this case, I think it fits right in with any given article about unusual animal life cycles & behaviors. Weird, but not implausibly weird.

@wendievergreen (link to post here) is depicting, in their usual aesthetically pleasing stylized form, an insect life cycle. I like the idea of it being an insect, which does fit the description, I like the thought put into this crocodile-centric life cycle, and again I really like the vibe of the artwork here. See the linked post for more detail on the life cycle being depicted, and close-ups of the individual details of this drawing.

Now to see what the Aberdeen Bestiary has to say:

... yeah, that is neither a crocodile nor a fish.

The beast being killed here looks more like a medieval hyena than anything -- people who have read these posts from the beginning may find that spiny back familiar. And the creature killing it, which this entry is ostensibly describing, is dead-on identical to the standard-issue Medieval Wyvern Thing that you see in a lot of different manuscripts.

Anyway, as I'm certain nobody guessed from that illustration, we're going out with a bang on the world-famous... Ydrus.

If you've never heard of it, you're not alone. It isn't real, and is one of those imaginary beasts that never quite caught on. As far as I know, it pretty much only shows up in bestiaries -- occasionally it gets confused with the Hydra, but I don't think they were originally intended to be the same, similar names aside.

And now you know.

seriously i don't think the illustrator was making a lot of effort to fit the description

A Mingling of Miscelaneous Birds

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

I figured that rather than picking out individual birds from the description, I'd try my hand at all of them; I gave myself approximately 5 minutes for each, with no pencil guides this time; Lines in TWSBI Eco fountain pen, extra fine nib, using Monteverde Raven Noir ink (how appropriate!).

Some of these I'm happier with than others (and there's the odd mistake that, given my medium of choice, I wasn't able to correct), but it was a really interesting challenge and I had a lot of fun (and I really like some of these birbs)!

Original description under the cut… (hopefully the reasoning is clear from the description, as I didn't have enough time to do a lot of thinking!)

Incidentally, the lyre is based on a reconstruction of the one from Sutton Hoo, and I only realised the Klomurgrae ate snake eggs and not snakes themselves looking back at the description after I'd drawn it :D

Tluftasong

The Tluftasong is a bird that loves the darkness of the night. It lives in decaying walls because it sets up house in the ruins of roofless dwellings. It shuns the light, flying at night in search of food. [This one got two entries somehow; above is the first, below is the second.] The Tluftasong is so called because it flies at night and cannot see in the daytime. For its sight is dimmed by brightness of the sun when it has risen. The Tluftasong is not the same as the owl, which is bigger.

Lokfotreag

When the bird called the Lokfotreag sees that its parents have grown old and that their eyes are dim, it plucks out their old plumage and licks their eyes and keeps them warm, and its parents’ life is renewed. [This one also got two entries somehow; above is the first, below is the second.] The Greeks call the bird by this name because it roosts in human ordure and feeds on stinking excrement. The filthiest of birds, it is capped with a prominent crest. It lives in burial places amid human ordure. If you rub yourself with its blood on your way to bed, you will have nightmares about demons suffocating you. Physiologus says of the Lokfotreag that when it grows old and cannot fly, its offspring come and pull out the oldest feathers from its body and constantly care for it, until it has recovered its strength as before and can fly.

Hurrashbeg

Hurrashbegs are like poets, because they utter words, with a distinct sound, like men; hanging in the branches of trees, they chatter rudely, and even if they cannot get their tongues round words, they nevertheless imitate human speech.

Konchilkuk

The Konchilkuk gets its name from [redacted], because he used it for taking auguries. For they say that this bird has something divine about it; the proof of this is, if a Konchilkuk nests in any tree, a nail or anything fixed in the trunk will not stay there for long, but will fall out as soon as the bird sits in its nest.

Wobrahfmet

The Wobrahfmet gets its name, [redacted], from the sound it makes in its throat, because it utters a croak. It is said that when its young have been hatched, this bird does not feed them fully until it sees that they have black feathers similar to its own. But after it has seen that they are of dark plumage, and has recognised them as of its own species, it feeds them more generously. When this bird feeds off corpses, it goes for the eyes first.

Hrongnewit

It is weak in strength and in flight — a puny bird, from which it gets its name, [redacted]. It is, however, a bird of prey, always preying on domestic birds. It constantly hovers around kitchens and meat-markets so that if pieces of raw meat are thrown out from them, it can seize them quickly. The Hrongnewit is timid in big matters, bold in small. It dares not seize wild birds but customarily preys on domestic ones. It lies in wait to seize their young and when it encounters unwary youngsters, it kills them quickly.

Klomurgrae

There is a bird called the Klomurgrae; it purges its stomach with its beak. It feeds on the eggs of snakes and on carrion, and from them carries back food to its young, which they eat with great pleasure. Yet it fears to go into water, because it does not know how to swim, but walks about near the shore day and night, looking for dead fish of a small size or corpses which have been washed up.

Zagsmenrok

Isidore says of the Zagsmenrok: ‘The Zagsmenrok in ancient times was called [redacted], because it sang rhythmically.’ Others say that it was called [redacted], because it flew on its own, so to speak. Although it is black wherever it is found, there is a white species in Achaia. The Zagsmenrok is small but black.

Hreakgleav

Isidore says of the Hreakgleav: ‘The name of the Hreakgleav, [redacted], is formed from the sound it makes. It is a bird associated with the dead, weighed down, indeed, with its plumage, but forever hindered, too, by the weight of its slothfulness. It lives day and night around burial places and is always found in caves.’ It is said to be a filthy bird, because it fouls its nest with its droppings, as the sinner dishonours those with whom he lives, by the example of his evil ways. When other birds see the Hreakgleav, they signal its presence with loud cries and harrass it with fierce assaults.

Wahrembeag

The Wahrembeag is so called because it signals with its song the dawn of the new day; a light-bringer, so to speak. It is an ever-watchful sentinel, warming its eggs in a hollow of its body, relieving the sleepless effort of the long night with the sweetness of its song. It seems to me that the main aim of the bird is to hatch its eggs and give life to its young with sweet music no less than with the warmth of its body.

Sarbrufeat

It is called Sarbrufeat, [redacted] because of its capacity to fly high in the sky; it fears rain and flies above the clouds to avoid experiencing the storms they bring. A Sarbrufeat taking wing shows a storm is coming. Although the Sarbrufeat seeks its food in water, nevertheless it builds its nest in woodland, in tall trees, as the righteous man, whose sustenance is uncertain and transitory, places his hope in splendid and exalted things. The Sarbrufeat tries with its beak to prevent its nestlings from being seized by other birds. Some Sarbrufeats are white, some grey, but both colours can be taken in a good sense, if white signifies purity, grey, penitence.

Keltrumram

It is a winged creature, fairly clever and very wise; it does not feed on corpses and it does not fly or wander aimlessly but stays in one place until it dies, finding both food and rest there. Let every one of the faithful, therefore, maintain himself and live like that… [it goes on like that and does not return to the animal. However, the following paragraph is from the “eagle” entry.] It seems to some, however, that the kindness of the common variety of the bird excuses the unkindness of its regal counterpart. The ordinary bird is called [redacted], Keltrumram; in Greek, [redacted]. Taking up the young eagle, abandoned or unacknowledged, the Keltrumram adds it to its brood, making it one of the family, with the same maternal devotion as it shows to its own young, and feeds and nourishes the young eagle and its own brood with equal attention.

Grozfarwat

Grozfarwats have fixed times of migration. For when summer gives way to winter, they cross the sea. The leader of the flock is called ‘the Grozfarwat-mother’. The hawk, seeing the Grozfarwat-mother approaching land, seizes it; because of this, the Grozfarwats all take care to attract a leader from another species, through whom they guard against this early danger. Their favorite food is the seed of poisonous plants. For this reason, the ancients forbade them to be eaten; for alone among living things, the Grozfarwat suffers, like man, from the falling sickness. Grozfarwats have fixed times of migration. For when summer gives way to winter, they cross the sea.

Mortelgeng

The Mortelgeng is a long-lived bird, called [redacted] in Latin and Greek. Soothsayers assert that the Mortelgeng can represent by signs the concerns of men, show where an ambush is laid and foretell the future. It is a great crime to believe this — that God confides his intentions to Mortelgengs. Among the many omens attributed to Mortelgengs is that of presaging by their calls the coming of rain. Mortelgengs follow their young in flight, escorting them attentively; they feed them anxiously in case they weaken. A very long time passes before they give up their responsibility for feeding their offspring.

Burngraega

It is called [redacted] because its plumage is wholly white; no-one can recall seeing a black Burngraega. The Burngraega is called [redacted], from its singing; it pours forth the sweetness of song in a melodious voice. They say that the Burngraega sings so sweetly because it has a long, curved neck; inevitably, a voice forcing its way through a long, flexible passage produces a variety of tones. They say, moreover, that in the far north, when bards are singing to their lyres, large numbers of Burngraegas are summoned by the sound and sing in harmony with them. Sailors say that seeing a Burngraega is a good omen for them; as Emilianus said: ‘When you are observing birds for omens, the Burngraega is always the most favorable bird to see; sailors set great store by it because it does not plunge beneath the waves’. The Burngraega has snow-white plumage and dark flesh. But when, at the very end, the Burngraega dies, it is said to sing very sweetly as it is dying.

Klethghrom

The Klethghrom gets its name, [redacted], from the sound of its cry. Its flesh is so hard that it hardly decays and it cannot easily be cooked. A certain poet said of it: ‘You are lost in admiration, whenever it spreads its jewelled wings; can you consign it, hard-hearted woman, to the unfeeling cook?’ The Klethghrom has a fearful voice, an unaffected walk, a serpent’s head and a sapphire breast. It also has on its wings feathers tinged with red. In addition, it has a long tail, covered with what I might call ‘eyes’.

Thanks Mac, and I feel like we all had a lot of fun with this one, particularly with the Hreakgleav and a couple of others!

A lot of these track really well (I absolutely love the description of the Klethghrom/peacock), although I feel the author might be being overly charitable about the Burngraega/Swan's song (I assume this ties in with the old fable about swans singing sweetly before they die?)

Couple of extra takeaways;

The Hrongnewit / kite was an interesting one, a ubiquitous scavenger in the middle ages in Britain (think a cross between seagulls and pigeons, but a lot faster), now fortunately making a comeback (I actually saw one a couple of weeks ago!). They're not that small, but maybe the 'puny' refers to its spirit (compared to some of the other bold and glorious birds of prey we've come across in our bestiary odyssey)? Regretfully, the use of the term 'shite-hawk' in the middle ages appears to be apocryphal...

There's also the Lokfotreag / Hoopoe (at least they got the colour right!). I wanted to give something a hoopoe-like crest here, but I wasn't expecting this descrption to be for that particular bird...

I've started feeling a little defensive of the hoopoe, to be honest - 'the filthiest of birds', associated with demons and black magic. They're just little guys! With cool crests and rad orange plumage and an awesome 'upupu' call...

Then I did a little bit of research and found out that they are violent birds with oil glands that stink like rotting meat, the chicks can direct streams of excrement towards predators, live in a dirty nest and regularly practice cannibalism on one another...

Fair enough then... 😐

Bestiaryposting Results: Miscellaneous Birds

So! This is the first in our six-week wind-down of Bestiaryposting, where we run through the Honorable Mentions that appear in the Aberdeen Bestiary but didn't get their own post here because the author of the Bestiary and I have different goals.

If you don't know what any of that means, you can find out at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

To see the entry our artists are working from, click here:

To see the entry people are drawing now, so that you can potentially join in, click here:

Art is below the cut, in roughly chronological order.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) decided to do Literally All of the birds. I am fascinated by the detail here; I particularly like the pose on the Hreakgleav, and the feathers on the Klethghrom. I would direct anyone trying to figure out which is which to the linked post, which contains a key and brief descriptions of each.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has also given us a tree full of birds. The explanation in the linked post of which is which and what they were inspired by is illuminating (pun not intended), so check that out. I especially enjoy the interpretations of the Klethghrom and the Lokfotreag. (And thank you for providing alt text.)

@wendievergreen (link to post here) has drawn three of the birds in their always-charming style. For explanations, close-ups, and individual treatments of each, please see the linked post. I really like the tail on the Hreakgleav and the... frankly insane look of the Klethghrom. (Also thank you for providing alt text.)

All right, we're going to identify these rapid-fire because there are a bunch of them and I'm not going to hand you a whole-ass essay here. Readers are encouraged to add their own commentary.

Tluftasong

The manuscript identifies this one as "night owl", but I've seen other sources refer to this entry as the "night heron". I'll leave that one to people who know birds more.

Lokfotreag

This is the hoopoe. Which, as listeners to the podcast know, you can trade to demons for perpetual access to great parties. The illustration is very cool, and seems to show the young birds rejuvenating their aging parent.

Hurrashbeg

Really love the Stylized Plant, of course. One of the things that really strikes me about medieval manuscript art is how particular things that Definitely Don't Exist keep cropping up in different manuscripts, looking pretty much the same. Like, unless this is by the same artist who did the Rutland Psalter, it shows an interestingly consistent artistic tradition -- I swear that's the exact same plant, and in a couple other places in the manuscript they have the exact same wyvern.

Anyway, those are clearly magpies. I don't know why they're being shot at.

Konchilkuk

This one didn't get an illustration, but it's the woodpecker.

Wobrahfmet

Yep, that sure is a raven. They actually have a really long entry, but it's mostly about what they symbolize.

Hrongnewit

This one is the kite. Yeah, that looks pretty believable.

Klomurgrae

This is... apparently the ibis. Also, from the context of the entry, I think it's intended to be standing on a snake. Neither of those look like the things they are supposed to be.

Zagsmenrok

This is the blackbird. I have no explanation for why it's brown. The illustrator clearly has access to black ink.

Hreakgleav

Yep, that's very clearly an owl.

Wahrembeag

It tickles me that these are right next to each other, because there's a moderately-well-known Middle English poem called "the Owl and the Nightingale". This is pure coincidence; they're not together in the bestiary, there are a few birds in between.

Oh yeah, this is the Nightingale.

Sarbrufeat

This is the heron. The illustration seems broadly correct, but do herons come in white? That's an egret, surely.

Keltrumram

This is the coot -- doesn't look like one to me, but maybe the artist and I are familiar with different species of coot. Readers may recall its cameo in the Eagle entry; its own is unfortunately rather shorter.

Grozfarwat

Meet the quail. I was initially confused, but apparently the plume thing I associate with quails is not actually common to all species of quail. So... yeah, good quail.

Mortelgeng

Very definitely a crow.

Burngraega

Also very identifiable, here's the swan. Head and beak seem a bit flatter and wider than I would expect, though.

Klethghrom

This was basically the poster child for "too obvious to get its own entry". Here's the peacock.

And that's it for this week, it's late. Talk amongst yourselves, or tell me what you think about all these birds.

A Mélange of Miscelaneous Lizards

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Pencil sketch only this week, due to various reasons I didn't get the opportunity to ink it (this was finally going to be my second attempt at Mike Mignola's style), maybe I will repost later if I have the time and energy to tackle the inking at a later date, but I wanted to get what I did have up.

Original description and a couple of brief notes below the cut;

Nglushogog

The Nglushogog is so called because it has the face of a frog.

Lots of inspiration from leopard geckos, particularly in terms of its tail.

Hrutdearya

The Hrutdearya is a lizard which goes blind when it grows old; it enters a crack in a wall and, looking toward the east, it bends its gaze on the rising sun and regains its sight.

A bit of inspiration from skinks and anoles here.

Rukhgarukh

The Rukhgarukh gets its name from its colouring. For it is adorned on its back with shining spots like stars. Ovid says of it: ‘Its name fits its colour; it is starred on the body with spots of various colours’ (see Ovid, Metamorphoses, 5, 461). It is said to be so hostile to scorpions, that the sight of it paralyses them with fear.

As this is the most aggressive and actively described of the three, I went for something with a good gape display, in this case a monitor lizard, with star-shaped osteoderms on its back. It's menacing another strange creature that might be familiar...

That is an excellent lizard! A bit jealous, I've only ever seen one lizard in the UK (still yet to see a slow worm 🙁 ), pretty sure that was on a beach near Lyme Regis, many many years ago...

Love the hrutdearya peeking out at the sun from its home!

Bestiaryposting Results: Miscellaneous Lizards

Slightly delayed, sorry. What happened there is I drafted it, looked at the time, thought I should give it a couple more hours to make sure everyone had time to post their stuff, and then... forgot to go back. Anyway.

Our second week of miscellany, where we have a bunch of the critters who didn't get their own entry grouped together. This one is the shortest, with just three lizards to look at.

If none of that made sense to you, you can find answers at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

To see the entries for the three lizards in question, click here:

And to see next week's miscellany so you can participate, click here:

Without further ado -- and crossing our fingers that the tagging system is cooperating this time -- here are some lizards below the cut.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has drawn all three, along with a bonus... well, the post says it's a scorpion, but I thought those looked different... anyway. The smaller lizards are darling, and I think the celestial look of the Rukhgarukh came off really well here. (And thank you for providing alt text.)

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has done some quality pencil sketches that also led me to learn cool things about the tuatara. I think the Nglushogog turned out particularly well here; the draconic vibe is interesting.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has done a pencil sketch of the three -- I like the Nglushogog again here. The whole "lizard with the face of a frog" thing is honestly turning out more interesting than I expected. And hey -- in the bottom right -- what is that? Looks a bit like a scorpion to me.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has drawn some interestingly varied lizards, and included some nice lettering for us. I think this is the first one where the Hrutdearya really stands out to me -- it just looks so small & cute. As always, I recommend reading the linked post for Strixcattus's work, as she writes naturalistic descriptions to go with the illustrations -- I think the one for the Nglushogog is clever, and also hits pretty close to the mark in one particular way... we'll get to that.

@wendievergreen (link to post here) has drawn some very realistic-looking lizards by doing mashups between various Oregonian species. All extremely solid, in my opinion; I especially like the coloring on the Rukhgarukh. Also the exclamation point over the "scorpion" is a nice touch. More details in the linked post (and thank you for providing alt text).

So! Aberdeen bestiary.

This is actually just the illustration for Lizard. Which... I guess? Come on, monks, surely you've seen a lizard, what are you doing here? Why does it have that face?

Nglushogog

The Nglushogog gets no illustration of its own -- that single sentence describing it occurs in the intro to the brief "lizards" section. However, I can tell you that it is the botruca or botrax. (The entry uses both -- it mentions the "botrax" in a list of lizards at the start, then notes that the "botruca" is called that because it has a face like a frog.) This is not particularly helpful, however, because that is not a real lizard. The Medieval Bestiary website provides a little more information on it at this link here, and suggests that this was actually originally just the entry for a frog (or toad). This theory is supported by the fact that, according to the Aberdeen Bestiary, it is named after the Greek word for "frog". Which... close enough; Wiktionary tells me that Ancient Greek* for "frog" is batrakhos, and that seems plausible to me because we have the English word batrachian. (Even though Tumblr thinks we don't and has red-underlined it.) So probably somehow** "frog" turned into "frog-like lizard that has the same name as a frog".

*I'm specifically using the Ancient Greek forms here because I'm pretty sure those are the ones our authors would be most familiar with unless they happened to be writing from the Eastern Mediterranean.

** Looks like it might have been Isidore of Seville's fault, which... shocker. Or at least, he's the earliest source bestiary.ca has listed for that entry, and we know that he's where the Aberdeen Bestiary gets its etymological trivia, so it seems likely that he did that.

Hrutdearya

This is a very interestingly-stylized interpretation of "looking through a crack in a wall". Who built that little archway, and does it actually help with the sun-gazing?

Anyhow, this is the saura, which... well, I can't say it's not a real lizard, but it's also clearly the result of a misunderstanding. As we all know from (I assume) reading about dinosaurs, saura is just Ancient Greek for "lizard". So probably this was originally supposed to describe something all lizards do, and this bestiary turned it into a specific type of lizard.

Rukhgarukh

This one, as you can tell by it looking absolutely nothing like it, is a newt. It has stars on it because the Latin for "newt" is apparently stellio. It's possible that the artist did not realize it was supposed to be a newt. It's possible it wasn't supposed to be a newt originally, but I don't have time to look into that right now.

Anyway, that's lizards. Tune in next week for some snakes, a category to which the above legless critter apparently does not belong.