
December 15 – Blemmye
Though perhaps not strictly a fantastic beast, we had to include the unusual blemmye in this calendar. The blemmye or mythical headless man has been known by various names and is said to inhabit the remotest parts of…
Though perhaps not strictly a fantastic beast, we had to include the unusual blemmye in this calendar. The blemmye or mythical headless man has been known by various names and is said to inhabit the remotest parts of…
Cerberus, the ‘hound of Hades’, is a three headed dog with the tail of a serpent, which according to mythology, guards the gates of the underworld. Cerberus appears in many works of classical literature by Homer,…
From our wonderful manuscripts, we have four depictions of dragons to share with you. A dragon in our 17th-18th century manuscript copy of “The Book of Wonders of the Age” (ms32(o)). The dragon in our 1605 copy of…
The dragon is perhaps the most iconic of the fantastic beasts. This winged legendary creature, known for its fire breathing abilities is common to most cultures around the world, and has been a feature in much of…
Probably most well known now as a character in Harry Potter, the hippogriff is a legendary creature which is half eagle and half horse. This depiction is from Ludovico Ariosto’s poem, Orlando furioso, which first…
The griffin, griffen or gryphon has the body, legs and tail of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion is the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, griffins were considered powerful…
No compendium of mythical creatures would be complete without Scotland’s own creature of myth – the Loch Ness monster. Nessie is said to live in Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. Sightings of Nessie date back to the…
Ichthyocentaurs are winged creatures, half-fish and half-horse. Depicted in classical Greek art, they are also referred to as sea-centaurs. This illustration of an ichthyocentaur, playing a lute, is featured on a map…
In Greek mythology, Satyrs are attendants to the god Bacchus, residing in woods and mountains. In the middle ages they are often illustrated as possessing a mixture of human and goat-like features. Satyrs were often…
Mermaids and mermen are mythological sea creatures, usually with bodies that are half human and half fish. Often sighted by sailors, the mythology of mermaids is common to many cultures. The most famous story is…