Medieval art is often a world of absolute fantasy

Art · Published 1 November 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: To modern eyes, medieval illustrations can look like fever dreams or surrealist jokes. Featuring armless frogs and human-sized snails, these works prioritize personality and humor over realism. But while they are difficult historical sources to use, their bizarre nature offers a unique window into the medieval imagination.

Before the stylistic shift toward realism during the Renaissance, medieval art frequently utilized flat, unrealistic figures and fantastical scenes. This era of illustration was not necessarily aiming for photographic accuracy; instead, it often featured 'oddball' images that were intended to be endearing or humorous. For example, 14th-century French drawings have depicted musical lions, while other works show creatures like eagles with human faces covering their bodies. These bizarre depictions include human-sized snails and armless frogs. The imagery often appears in various formats including maps and manuscripts.

A significant driver of this aesthetic is humor. Author Olivia Swarthout notes that these characters and creatures often 'jump out of the page' because they possess distinct personalities. This sense of irony allows modern audiences to connect with the period—they want to be 'in on the joke.' The art serves as a reflection of a culture that embraced whimsical, sometimes gruesome, and highly imaginative imagery in its manuscripts, maps, and public structures. The work captures the spirit of a choose-your-own-adventure style narrative. It explores everything from birth to death for the viewer.

Despite their fantastical appearance, these works were often created by ordinary people fulfilling professional obligations rather than high-concept surrealists. Swarthout, who grew this interest from a statistics background into a massive online following of over 600,000 people, aims to debunk common myths about the period. By examining these 'weird' images—such as a woman throwing up a small demon or specific architectural features like cat-sized holes in Exeter Cathedral doors—we can better understand the lived experience and the creative spirit of dark times. Swarthout is a London-based data scientist who began this project four years ago. Her research aims to clarify misunderstandings about medieval history.

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