The Ashmole Bestiary (Bodleian MS. Ashmole 1511)
Skeptical Cat
Themes & interpretation: Mouse hunting in bestiary accounts
Bestiary writers connect the Latin name musio with the cat’s pursuit of mice. The Ashmole Bestiary illustrates cats on folio 35v, not 36r. “Skeptical Cat” is our affectionate modern nickname, rather than an interpretation supplied by its medieval artist.
Sources & Provenance
Illustrationf. 35v
Cat detail, Ashmole Bestiary, f. 35v.
Related manuscriptf. 35v
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