Medieval Pets

<p>Animals in the middle ages have often been discussed - but usually only as a source of food as beasts of burden or as aids for hunters. This book takes a completely different angle showing that they were also beloved domestic companions to their human owners whether they were dogs cats monkeys squirrels and parrots. It offers a full survey of pets and pet-keeping: from how they were acquired kept fed exercised and displayed to the problems they could cause. It also examines the representation of pets and their owners in art and literature; the many charming illustrations offer further evidence for the bonds between humans and their pets then as now. A wide range of sources including chronicles letters sermons and poems are used in what is both an authoritative and entertaining account. Dr Kathleen Walker-Meikle is a Wellcome Trust Fellow at the University of York working on animals and medieval medicine.</p>