No Fear Friday: Crocodiles

Welcome to No Fear Friday, where I good-natured-ly make fun of bad artwork from the Middle Ages, to hopefully inspire those interested in the scribal arts to give it a try. This week:

Crocodiles!

Oh boy, but these are fun! Hardly anyone knows what a crocodile actually looks like it seems, because they are illustrated in all sorts of interesting an unique ways. In order to give you a good idea of the source material, below is a summary of what has been written about them from about 5th century BCE to 13th Century CE.

Looks: It has the eyes of a pig, teeth large and tusk-like, in shape it is somewhat like an ox; it is full    twenty ells long, and as big around as the trunk of a tree. It is without a tongue; it cannot move its under-jaw, and is the only animal in the world which moves the upper-jaw but not the under. It has strong claws and a scaly skin, impenetrable upon the back. The crocodile is named from its golden color.

Behavior:  It allows a small bird to enter its mouth to clean its teeth; if it falls asleep with its jaws open while this is happening, the [ichneuman/hydra/hydrus/water serpent] covers itself in mud and slides down its throat and gnaws its way out through the belly. Crocodiles will eat a man whole, but then cry about it and lament afterwards (crocodile tears). 

So... with all of that to go on, what does a crocodile look like? Well we've got crocodiles that look like dogs, we've got crocodiles that look like boars, we've got fish crocodiles, and even a few lizard crocodiles. Honestly, there is even one that looks like an overgrown cat. If it weren't that a lot of these illustrations appear in bestiaries clearly labeling them as crocodiles and displaying some of the attributes and behaviors above... I would have never guessed. 

Just the Crocodile, Ma'am

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 22971. Secrets de l’histoire naturelle (France, c. 1480-1485). Artist: Robinet Testard.
Secrets de l’histoire naturelle, c. 1480-1485, by Robinet Testard. BnF, Français 22971.

Museum Meermanno, MMW, 10 B 25, Folio 12v

This crocodile just wants it all to STOP. | 44 Medieval Beasts That Cannot Even Handle It Right Now
Rochester Bestiary, c. 1225-1250

Starting off, here are some crocodiles that at least vaguely look like crocodiles. Especially the first one seems to get at least the concept of the body shape right. Not a single one of them knows what the head looks like though.

British Library, Sloane MS 3544, Folio 43r

British Library, Royal MS 2 B. vii, Folio 102v


These are really boar, right? I mean, if they weren't both obviously swimming in water that is what I would think they were. Love the six feet on the first one though.

A crocodile, seen from above. This is one of two similar crocodile images in this manuscript; the other (folio 48r) is a line drawing. This image was probably the original for the copy in manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, 128 C 4.
Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, 72 A 23, Folio 48v

A crocodile, seen from above; the artist, who clearly did not know what a crocodile looked like, has given it a human face. This image is probably a copy of that in manuscript Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, 72 A 23.
Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, 128 C 4, Folio 96v

The what now? These are both from the Liber Floridus (Book of Flowers), an encyclopedia written by Lambert, Canon of Saint-Omer between 1090 and 1120.  There is so much going on here. The scaly skin is represented by weird ridges, which is something we'll see more of. We've got that gold color. There's a man's face and... monkey legs? Also note the displayed pose. This makes total sense if you picture crocodiles always being looked down on from boats floating above, and is a pose you will see them illustrated in a lot.

A two-legged crocodile with a fish tail. Its head is on upside down.
Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, 76 E 4, Folio 64r

Do you you remember this picture of a hippo? They are so similar the only real way you can tell that this one is supposed to be a crocodile is the upside-down head. That whole thing about crocodiles moving their upper jaw and not the lower? Artists totally just interpreted that as the head going on upside down so the lower jaw becomes the top jaw. There's several more examples of this below.

Crocodile Tears

Let us not forget that these are man-eating beasts... though they'll totally feel bad about it afterwards.

BnF, lat. 3630, Folio 80r

Personally I think this one looks more like a leopard. Or maybe a very large weasel. But then there's fins on the tail, water... and of course the whole man-eating thing.

This bizarre crocodile will eat this man, then cry as it is wont to do. Morgan Library, MS M.81, Folio 70r.
Morgan Library, MS M.81, Folio 70r.

Long legged like a horse! There's the weird spiky things for scales again. But the legs... wow... Look, I live in Florida with the alligators... the idea of an alligator or crocodile that can out right gallop? TERRIFYING.

Bibliothèque Nationale de France, lat. 14429, Folio 110v

Scribe, my dude... did you even read ANY of the descriptions available? Where are the bird beak and wings coming from?

Also... why are all of these men falling asleep on the banks of crocodile infested waters with no clothes on??

A very odd crocodile eats a man. The crocodile has stripes, the paws of a cat, and hair on its head. After it finishes the man it will cry "crocodile tears".
Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 88, Folio 96v

Thank you for wearing clothes! And this illustrator paid attention to the part about crocodiles being "somewhat like an ox." The stripes are a neat addition though.

A dog-like crocodile devouring a man, after which it will weep. The beast is shown as being larger than a man, and is very similar in form to the other crocodile in this manuscript (folio 61v). The significance of the band around its middle is not clear.
Kongelige Bibliotek, Gl. kgl. S. 1633 4º, Folio 14v

Are we sure this isn't supposed to be some kind of dog? No? Ooooookay....

Bodleian Library, MS. Bodley 764, Folio 24r

Bonus picture of the crocodile eating fish. Displayed pose again, but this one at least sort of looks like a crocodile with the green color.  Also, this guy is not only wearing clothes, but fighting back! You go dude!

You Know it's a Crocodile...

Because these pictures are in the same bestiary, clearly illustrating the section on crocodiles, with both the man-eating and hydrus-disemboweling shown. 

A crocodile eats a man. From the Bestiaire d'Amour: "The beast eats a man wherever it finds one, and then in repentance weeps and cries for the rest of its life. So if after the lady has killed and devoured him by his love, he hopes she will repent that she has let him go"
Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 308, Folio 99r

From the Bestiaire d'Amour: The hydrus so hates the crocodile that when it sees one asleep it rolls itself in mud and slips down the crocodile's throat. The crocodile wakes, swallows the hydrus and is killed by it. The hydrus with its many heads is the man with as many loves as he has other acquaintances".
Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 308, Folio 99v

But... you guys are with me here, right? Those look like cats? Two legged, furry, cats?

The Hydrus

Hydra and crocodile. BL Harley 4751 f.62v (S. XIII) Bestiary, with extracts from Giraldus Cambrensis on Irish birds
BL Harley 4751 f.62v (S. XIII) Bestiary

In through the mouth, out through the side.

British Library, Royal MS 12 C. xix, Folio 12v
British Library, Royal MS 12 C. xix, Folio 12v

Stop trying to give these guys longer legs! They already move fast enough on land, we need every advantage we can get. Also, where the heck is the bunny head coming from?

A crocodile has had its body invaded by a hydrus, which is eating its way out the crocodile's side. The crocodile's head being upside down is probably an allusion to its ability to move its jaws in an unusual way.
BnF, fr. 1444b, Folio 248r 


There's that upside down head again. And without it this one looks more like a dog than anything else.

Kongelige Bibliotek, Gl. kgl. S. 3466 8º, Folio 21r

A crocodile swallowing a hydrus which is emerging from the crocodile's side, thus killing it. The artist clearly had never seen a crocodile, but he has followed the text in giving it fierce teeth and claws. The beast is very similar to the other crocodile in this manuscript (folio 14v).
Kongelige Bibliotek, Gl. kgl. S. 1633 4º, Folio 61v

A crocodile, attacked by its enemy the hydrus, which has entered the crocodile's mouth and is eating its way back out.
Museum Meermanno, MMW, 10 B 25, Folio 42r

 Speaking of Dogs....

A hydrus, having slipped into a crocodile's mouth, eats its way out of the crocodile's side.
Merton College Library, MS. 249, Folio 4r

A lion-like crocodile confronts a winged serpent/dragon. This is probably intended to be the hydrus, which is seen at the left exiting the crocodile's body.
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, fr. 14969, Folio 31r

Or why make a crocodile look like a dog when you can make it look like a lion? The hydrus in that last one seems to be a bit confused though. It's supposed to be eating it's way out of the crocodile's side, not coming out the back end.

A crocodile has been attacked by a large hydrus, which has crawled into its mouth and is exiting from its side. The crocodile is said to be able to move its upper jaw, hence the upside down head.
Bodleian Library, MS. Laud Misc. 247, Folio 152v

Also, don't forget the upside-down head, or people might actually start to think it is supposed to be a lion.

By sleeping with its mouth open, a crocodile has allowed a hydrus to crawl inside. The hydrus will eat its way out the crocodile's side.
Morgan Library, MS M.81, Folio 83v

I mean... I guess? If you assume that the Dragon myth was inspired by dinosaurs, and a crocodile is a sort of living dinosaur, it can make a certain sort of sense to make a crocodile look like a wingless dragon?

Bibliothèque Nationale de France, lat. 14429, Folio 110v

Okay, are you guys even trying anymore? At least we know that bird-beak up there is not alone, and there is more than one illustration of a crocodile with wings.

Next post in the series: TBD

Previous post in the series: Whales!


Sources:
Herodotus [5th century BCE] (History, book 2)
Pliny the Elder [1st century CE] (Natural History, Book 8)
Isidore of Seville [7th century CE] (Etymologies, Book 12)
Guillaume le Clerc [13th century CE] (Bestiaire)
Bartholomaeus Anglicus [13th century CE] (De proprietatibus rerum, book 18)

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