20 Medieval Animal Memes from a Time Before Accurate Anatomy

Ayala Sorotsky • Writer and Editor

Mar 22, 2026 10:00 AM EDT

Greetings! It is I once more, Sir Fluffington the Fearless, the cat knight of the Dark Ages, riding forth yet again to bestow upon thee the velvety mirth and joyous revelry of my distant era.

Thou mightest recall me as the stout-hearted feline who pressed his mighty paws upon the holy tiles of St. Peter's Church in the 12th century. Verily, the mischievous antics I performed in my day were of great renown. Yet, I am by no means the sole fantastical creature to have graced these tempestuous years.

In truth, a multitude of strange and wondrous beasts were rendered by the pens of monks and scribes upon many a parchment and vellum scroll… and somehow, they didst fashion them more bewitched and addled than they truly appear in nature. In good faith, O sons of Adam, what ails thee?

I have caught wind that in thy present age, thou hast no need for a town crier, for thou possesseth other means of dispatching tidings with great haste and potency… "memes", I believe they are dubbed. What a peculiar title for a travelling jest imbued with a touch of the mercurial.

Nonetheless, I have summoned thee here to cast reproach upon thy craftsmanship during those bygone days, when thou didst strive to paint my fellow animals and me in thy illustrations. And all are presented to thee in the guise of these bestiary jests - thou "animal memes".

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01

via @hometoursandotherstuff
“…You see, they were much bigger than dogs! They had grey and heavy skin that no spear could pierce. They had ears as big as a kite shield. They had sharp teeth like swords, one on each side of their mouth. And their noses were very, very, very long flailing trumpets!”
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via @Channel3Memes
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via @Channel3Memes
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via @SpillTheMemes
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
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via @59SouthLee
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via v
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via @hometoursandotherstuff
Yup, the Viking Age is technically part of the medieval period. The early medieval period, specifically. So this Viking cat meme is definitely in place. You see, the medieval period started around the year 500 CE, with the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Viking Age has a very defined start and end: it started at 793 CE, with the first documented Viking attack on the British Isles, on the monastery of Lindisfarne; it lasted until 1066 CE, when William the Conqueror of Normandy invaded England and won his nickname by might tand right - esentially uniting all of England under one, Christian rule, driving the Vikings away.
The medieval period lasted until about the turn of the 15th to 16th centuries, in the year 1500 CE. This is when the Renaissance started. And despite them not being the same time period, even if they come right after the other, we give you one bonus Renaissance animal meme to enjoy today:
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via @hometoursandotherstuff