Video explains why medieval cats look so ugly
A video essay by Cheddar, featuring speaker Ali Larkin and Professor Damien Kempf of the University of Liverpool, explains the religious reasons behind the monstrous, deformed, or human-like depictions of cats in medieval miniatures, drawings, and paintings. The video highlights how medieval art's symbolic and moral-religious priorities led to strange feline representations.
Key facts
- Cheddar published a video essay on medieval cat depictions
- Ali Larkin is the speaker
- Damien Kempf is a professor of medieval art at the University of Liverpool
- Reasons for monstrous cat forms are mostly religious
- Cats appear in medieval miniatures, drawings, and paintings
- Felines often had monstrous, deformed, or human-like features
- Medieval art prioritized symbolic and religious meaning
- The video explains why medieval cats look strange to contemporary eyes
Entities
Artists
- Ali Larkin
- Damien Kempf
Institutions
- Cheddar
- University of Liverpool