Whether raising a smile, solving a crime, wreaking magical havoc or even performing in theatre, cats take centre stage in this free exhibition. The British Library’s Cats on the Page exhibition explores cats and their capers in rhymes and stories familiar to us from childhood. These authors’ fascination with and love for their cats continues to shine through the centuries as can be seen in the Cats on the Page exhibition currently running at the British Library.įor more feline capers, you may be interested in our blogposts Lolcats of the Middle Ages, Cats, get off the page! and Cat and mouse, and hairy elephants. Cats were not only useful animals to have around but also loving companions whose loyalty alleviated loneliness and whose antics amused their owners no end - some of which have become immortalised in literature - from the Middle Ages and beyond. There is no doubt that many cats were a valuable and beloved part of people’s domestic life whether in the cloister or the wider world. Little wonder then that one of the most famous of medieval poems about a cat evolved from such a society.Ĭats were appreciated as both companions and skilled mousers during the Middle Ages. There is a respect for and a tolerance of cats in domestic settings within the medieval Irish law codes, which indicate a high importance and affection attached to these domestic creatures. For example, a cat was not held to be liable if it injured someone who had no business being there while it was chasing a mouse. The central tract on cats in medieval Irish law was called Catslechta - ‘Cat-sections’ - and detailed not only the types of cat (herders, mousers, guard cats, but also kittens as playmates for children and simple pet cats) but also what was due to an owner for the loss of such cats, as well as certain exemptions available to cats in the pursuit of their duties. The nameless monk who was so fond of his cat came from a society (early medieval Ireland) in which there was an entire section of the law-code devoted to cats, so his love of his snow-white companion is perhaps not so surprising. Written in Old Irish, by an Irish monk in exile in Continental Europe, it playfully and fondly compares the monk’s arduous tasks to those of his cat.Ī miniature of a cat and mouse, from a herbal (Italy, 15th century): Sloane MS 4016, f. Perhaps the most famous tribute to a scholar’s cat is the 9th-century poem known as Pangur Bán, named after the cat that inspired it (the cat’s name indicates his soft, white coat). Medieval monks and nuns, leading sometimes solitary but often studious lives, immortalised their beloved feline companions in texts that have captivated their readers ever since. ![]() ![]() In the Ancrene Riwle, a guide for anchoresses written in the early 13th century these religious women, who were shutting themselves away from the world, were only allowed to have one animal companion … and that was a cat. ![]() It is a striking portrait of an animal that was, it seems, especially important to those in religious life during the Middle Ages. This riddle was posed by Aldhelm, abbot of Malmesbury, in 7th-century England. I take my name from a race that is hateful to me.'Ī decorated initial featuring a cock, a dog biting a cat, and a cat carrying mice, at the beginning of book 16 of Gregory the Great's Moralia in Job (Arnstein, Germany, 12th century): Harley MS 3053, f. Though I am a roving huntress and will pry open the dens of beasts, I refuse to pursue the fleeing herds with dogs, who, yapping at me, instigate cruel battles. For unseen thieves, who ravage the heaped-up grain, I silently lay snares as fatal obstacles. 'I am a most faithful watchwoman, ever-vigilant in guarding the halls in the dark nights I make my rounds of the shadowy corners - my eyes’ light is not lost even in black caverns.
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