December 12 – Dragons in print
The dragon is perhaps the most iconic of the fantastic beasts. This winged legendary creature, known for its fire breathing abilities is common to most cultures around the world, and has been a feature in much of…
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December 11 – Hippogriff
Probably most well known now as a character in Harry Potter, the hippogriff is a legendary creature which is half eagle and half horse. This depiction is from Ludovico Ariosto’s poem, Orlando furioso, which first…
December 8 – Sea-centaurs
Ichthyocentaurs are winged creatures, half-fish and half-horse. Depicted in classical Greek art, they are also referred to as sea-centaurs. This illustration of an ichthyocentaur, playing a lute, is featured on a map…
December 7 – Satyr
In Greek mythology, Satyrs are attendants to the god Bacchus, residing in woods and mountains. In the middle ages they are often illustrated as possessing a mixture of human and goat-like features. Satyrs were often…
December 6 – Merfolk
Mermaids and mermen are mythological sea creatures, usually with bodies that are half human and half fish. Often sighted by sailors, the mythology of mermaids is common to many cultures. The most famous story is…
December 5 – The Cyclopes
In Greek mythology the Cyclopes were giant one-eyed creatures. The brothers Brontes (thunder), Steropes (lightning) and Arges (thunderbolt) in Hesiod’s Theogony provide Zeus with the thunderbolt. The most well-known…
December 4 – The Hydra
The serpentine water monster from Greek and Roman mythology, the Hydra, has a dog-like body and multiple heads – ranging from seven to nine – one of which is said to be immortal. One of the twelve labours of Heracles…
December 3 – Sea Monsters
Unable to pick just one of the fantastic beasts shown in this woodcut illustration, we decided to share them all! This chart of sea serpents and monsters is from Münster’s Cosmographia universalis (the 1550 Basel…
‘Alhallow Evin’ in Scotland
The appearance of carved pumpkins (or turnips in Scotland), spooky decorations and plentiful sweet treats marks the arrival of Halloween. In the Christian calendar, Halloween, or its many variants Hallowe’en,…
Mackintosh and Glengarry – a Highland provenance adventure
Cataloguing is a relatively straightforward task- a book is examined, described, and any provenance is indicated and traced where possible. Usually, there are two trains of research: the facts of the book- its title,…