A Field Guide to Bizarre Medieval Monsters

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มิ.ย. 2024
  • For a limited time only, go to curiositystream.com/hochelaga or use code hochelaga at checkout to get 40% off your annual subscription to Curiosity Stream!
    Thank you Curiosity Stream for sponsoring this video.
    -------
    Medieval zoology is bizarre. Mostly because half of the creatures don’t even exist. And those that do look very, very strange!
    In this handy field guide, we'll be exploring some of the weirdest and wildest mythical beasts and legendary creatures of the European Middle Ages. From basilisks to blemmyes, and everywhere in between. It's a world where biology and mythology blend together.
    We'll be looking at these three unusual documents in particular:
    - The Aberdeen Bestiary
    - Carta marina (by Olaus Magnus)
    - The Travels of Sir John Mandeville
    - Luttrell Psalter
    This video was a blast to make, I hope that you enjoy it! It also marks the start of Season III, go get ready for more obscure topics. Oh, and thank you all for 521k subscribers, I am so grateful to all of you!
    H.
    -------------
    Chapters:
    00:00 Intro
    00:51 The Tarasque
    01:46 Bestiaries
    02:25 Goose Trees?
    03:07 Griffin "Claws" & Unicorn "Horns"
    04:05 Curiosity Stream
    05:11 Sea Monsters
    05:54 Blemmyes
    06:54 Cynocephali
    08:05 Grotesques
    08:48 Concluding Thoughts
    09:42 Outro
    -------------
    Sources & Further Reading
    Online Bestiary (Alphabetic):
    bestiary.ca/beasts/beastalphas...
    List of Bestiaries - Wiki:
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
    The Curious Myth of the Origin Barnacle Geese:
    ztevetevans.wordpress.com/202...
    Carta marina - Wiki:
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carta_m...
    The Headless Blemmyes - JustHistoryPosts:
    justhistoryposts.com/2020/04/...
    The Grotesques of the Luttrell Psalter:
    groteskology.blogspot.com/2013...
    -------------
    Music:
    Intro - Epic of Gilgamesh in Sumerian by Peter Pringle
    www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUcTs...
    Celtic Impulse by Kevin MacLeod
    Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
    License: filmmusic.io/standard-license
    Teller of the Tales by Kevin MacLeod
    Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
    License: filmmusic.io/standard-license
    Pippin the Hunchback by Kevin MacLeod
    Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
    License: filmmusic.io/standard-license
    -------------
    Find me on Social Media:
    Twitter:
    / hochelaga_yt
    Instagram:
    / hochelaga_yt
    Discord:
    / discord
    -------------
    Email me:
    hochelagaenquiries@outlook.com
    #Monsters #Medieval #Myth

ความคิดเห็น • 1K

  • @hochelaga
    @hochelaga  2 ปีที่แล้ว +182

    Hey! For a limited time only, go to curiositystream.com/hochelaga or use code hochelaga at checkout to get 40% off your annual subscription to Curiosity Stream!

    • @ItIsTheLastHour
      @ItIsTheLastHour 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Hey! Can you make a video about the meaning of hochelaga please?

    • @qwop4025
      @qwop4025 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Dude your videos are the best

    • @tueudeeuiexdtu7317
      @tueudeeuiexdtu7317 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      School of Life voice?

    • @klyanadkmorr
      @klyanadkmorr 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I still love the literal cartoon strips of rabbits & snails with swords and knights and people farting into horns. The monks & scribes were hilarious and perversely fun!

    • @music_by_carlos
      @music_by_carlos 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      dam hommie sold out .......... :p. jk

  • @neilangelopalquiza6522
    @neilangelopalquiza6522 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1485

    Imagine how people during medieval times reacted to these creatures when they first heard about them. They must've thought the other side of the world is like a different dimension

    • @sejemandhaha
      @sejemandhaha 2 ปีที่แล้ว +62

      i don't know, they also believed trolls lived in the hill past town and that you shouldn't cross the stream to the west because faeries would get you

    • @Mr.Obongo
      @Mr.Obongo 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@sejemandhaha trolls originated with neanderthals (so the speculation goes). Faeries on the other hand idk bout that.

    • @douglasbubbletrousers4763
      @douglasbubbletrousers4763 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Japan is like a different dimension

    • @runciblewall
      @runciblewall 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Now we know that the other side of the world just has normal creatures, like platypuses and kangaroos

    • @0324liana
      @0324liana ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Like Australia

  • @aerosma5021
    @aerosma5021 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2437

    How amazing it must have been to be born in an era without cameras, and you'd hear tales of wondrous creatures and locations in far off lands.

    • @kugelblitzingularity304
      @kugelblitzingularity304 2 ปีที่แล้ว +97

      Think on the bright side. Now, we are born in an era of photoshop and deepfake.

    • @AusDenBergen
      @AusDenBergen 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @@kugelblitzingularity304 and sworn testimonies!

    • @Caerulis
      @Caerulis 2 ปีที่แล้ว +80

      @@kugelblitzingularity304 plus clickbait, sensationalization and misinformation (at a viral rate tho)

    • @ZOCCOK
      @ZOCCOK 2 ปีที่แล้ว +66

      And die due to simple cuts and be treated by bleeding and use poisonous substances as medicines

    • @adrianmarkstrom6692
      @adrianmarkstrom6692 2 ปีที่แล้ว +81

      At the same time, now we can see pictures of wondrous creates and locations, and even travel there. I mean just think about how amazing an elephant, for example, really is.

  • @paolofranciscopavan6491
    @paolofranciscopavan6491 2 ปีที่แล้ว +733

    The Sir David Attemborough impression was top notch

    • @spencer.eccles
      @spencer.eccles 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Sounds like chris broad

    • @tacitozetticci9308
      @tacitozetticci9308 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      it was

    • @exudeku
      @exudeku 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@spencer.eccles the guy in Japan? With a certain Anime Person and a Welsh man?

    • @spencer.eccles
      @spencer.eccles 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@exudeku yeah

    • @fmjs5146
      @fmjs5146 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Spot on!

  • @chloepainter4064
    @chloepainter4064 2 ปีที่แล้ว +896

    There’s a kind of goose called a barnacle goose that nest high up on cliffs and tree hollows near water, and when the chicks hatch, they launch themselves down, and that’s how they learn to fly. Maybe that’s the origin of the goose tree?

    • @forestswaras
      @forestswaras 2 ปีที่แล้ว +98

      Yes, that's exactly the one. The goose tree was also called the barnacle tree. The video mentions "Branta leucopsis", which is the scientific name of the barnacle goose. It was believed that goose barnacles, a kind of sea creature, grew on the goose tree, and were where the geese emerged from. The goose barnacle is a real animal. But in reality, it of course doesn't grow on a tree or give rise to geese 🤣
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnacle_goose, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnacle_goose#/media/File:Barnacle_Geese_Fac_simile_of_an_Engraving_on_Wood_from_the_Cosmographie_Universelle_of_Munster_folio_Basle_1552.png
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnacle_goose_myth
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose_barnacle, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose_barnacle#/media/File:PSM_V04_D585_The_goose_tree.jpg

    • @Miguel92398
      @Miguel92398 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Wait a minute. Is that the goose where the baby chick jumped over a cliff?

    • @pedropedrohan102
      @pedropedrohan102 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Miguel92398 ok

    • @blueblaze27
      @blueblaze27 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Miguel92398 yep

    • @OtakuUnitedStudio
      @OtakuUnitedStudio 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      @@forestswaras I finally got an answer on the ridiculous confusion of the barnacle goose and the goose barnacle - both are tied to the same false preconception.

  • @jingles123456789ify
    @jingles123456789ify 2 ปีที่แล้ว +606

    Being a scholar in ancient times must've been really fun. You can literally make shit up and everyone will believe you

    • @Gamewinningdrive
      @Gamewinningdrive 2 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      Kina like CNN

    • @dannydevito7000
      @dannydevito7000 2 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      @@Gamewinningdrive And the right says *we* make everything political...

    • @theapexsurvivor9538
      @theapexsurvivor9538 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@dannydevito7000 both sides make everything political, the right comes up with a stupid idea and the left copies it while claiming it's completely original and the complete opposite of the right. Meanwhile the people in the middle are just checking their watches, waiting for the nuclear hellfire that will hopefully put an end to the argument over who can be the bigger morons...

    • @dannydevito7000
      @dannydevito7000 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@theapexsurvivor9538 Enlightened apolitical centrist

    • @DeathnoteBB
      @DeathnoteBB 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      I mean people do that now

  • @reaperzeero
    @reaperzeero 2 ปีที่แล้ว +90

    I love how imaginative the "Grotesques" were. It is interesting to see what the imagination of someone not tainted by modern sensibilities could produce.

    • @WhitneyDahlin
      @WhitneyDahlin ปีที่แล้ว +3

      My favorite are how angry the animals look! Especially that clam 😂 idk why I think it's so funny

  • @markdotinc8371
    @markdotinc8371 2 ปีที่แล้ว +38

    To be fair, to someone without any background a narwhal is about as fantastical as a unicorn

  • @gustavor.canezini5024
    @gustavor.canezini5024 2 ปีที่แล้ว +396

    You have to be one of the few to make a video about this without treating medieval people as stupid morons. They simply didn't have all the knowledge we have today and worked around what they knew and travellers told them. Maybe a few centuries forward people will look back at our civilization and think we were also dumbasses. Great video as always!

    • @mjr_schneider
      @mjr_schneider 2 ปีที่แล้ว +85

      What people who denigrate the Middle Ages always seem to forget is that medieval people got most of their knowledge about the world from classical texts, so most of these myths were not medieval inventions but originated in ancient Greece and Rome. Yet they seldom call the ancient Greeks and Romans dumbasses for believing in them.

    • @mmyr8ado.360
      @mmyr8ado.360 2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      The folks from the Enlightenment seemed to popularize the trend in the first place, if not started it.

    • @brutusthebear9050
      @brutusthebear9050 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@mjr_schneider Well, up until you read Aristotle's highly accurate Historia Animalium. While medieval man was not stupid, they were highly platonic due to the influences of both the Stoics on Roma and St. Augustine on the Church. They were *rationalistic*, so they had good logic, but with no firm basis in reality.
      It wasn't until the rediscovery and reintroduction of Aristotle to the West by St. Thomas Aquinas that the Renaissance was able to happen.
      Aristotle is what was lost, not the classics in general. His influence on the world cannot be understated. It was through his tutelage that Alexander the Great was able to Hellenize the entire Middle East, including Judea. Who knows what would have happened if Alexander had lived longer, or if the Library of Alexandria had not been destroyed (and with it much of Aristotle's works, which then became lost to the West.)

    • @mjr_schneider
      @mjr_schneider 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      ​@@brutusthebear9050 I'm not sure where you got the idea that the loss of Aristotle's works was caused by the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. The Library of Alexandria wasn't even destroyed in a single event, but gradually declined over the course of centuries, and knowledge of Aristotle survived more or less intact in the Byzantine and Arabic worlds throughout the so-called Dark Ages before being translated into Latin in the 12th century, well before the Renaissance.
      Most of the strange details found in medieval bestiaries come from the Physiologus and Pliny the Elder, but Aristotle's biology would have been one of the main sources of information in these bestiaries during the High Middle Ages.

    • @jackkaczmarczyk2709
      @jackkaczmarczyk2709 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      They definitely will think we're dumbasses.

  • @CuriousArchive
    @CuriousArchive 2 ปีที่แล้ว +711

    So glad to see you covering medieval creatures. Incredible video as always!

    • @DaimyoD0
      @DaimyoD0 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      The headless people being chimpanzees really blew my mind.

    • @floramae7294
      @floramae7294 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      My favorite channels supporting each other, such a fine day.

    • @focusstudios1296
      @focusstudios1296 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Awesome to see you!

    • @pedropedrohan102
      @pedropedrohan102 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      you people should do a collab

    • @sejemandhaha
      @sejemandhaha 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@DaimyoD0 most likely it's just that the tribe painted faces on their shields, and they saw them from a distance.

  • @thelordnaevis4946
    @thelordnaevis4946 2 ปีที่แล้ว +165

    I wonder how it felt to live during those times, when there were still places that weren’t “discovered” yet, and all you could do was hear tales and legends about them

    • @Kuba_K
      @Kuba_K 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Pretty bad probably

    • @tsopmocful1958
      @tsopmocful1958 2 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Think about all of the things that you are not sure of, and multiply that by about one thousand.
      Why do people get sick?
      What are stars?
      Why does fire burn?
      Why does my lord own me?
      How do people read squiggles on a page?
      That is what it was like to live in less enlightened times.

    • @argento681
      @argento681 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Probably the same that you know today about what can you really find at the north pole Artic and the opposite ant Artic.

    • @Justin-pe9cl
      @Justin-pe9cl 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Why did you use quots?

    • @DeathnoteBB
      @DeathnoteBB 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Justin-pe9cl Because people already lived in the places

  • @andreassandi2965
    @andreassandi2965 2 ปีที่แล้ว +384

    I was always wondering how similar the depictions of Bosch are compared to Buddhist representation of hell for example in Wat Tham Ta Pan Temple in Thailand. Seems to be some imagination all humans share. That would be an awesome video btw.

    • @djangomarkov7948
      @djangomarkov7948 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Make it

    • @AifosViruset
      @AifosViruset 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Oh! I think I went to that temple as a child. That is a awesome video Idea.

    • @starshot5172
      @starshot5172 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      What if it's actually there and it's extreme complex lifeforms? Joking aside, I am really curious as to the unknown lifeforms living in our own caves

    • @Wolfgal16
      @Wolfgal16 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Very Jungian concept. Would love to see Hochelaga bring in the "universal unconscious" in a video about myths across the world

    • @deadcakesandpanlifts2019
      @deadcakesandpanlifts2019 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Scary big teethed monster. Pretty normal evolution instinct.

  • @mjr_schneider
    @mjr_schneider 2 ปีที่แล้ว +123

    One of my favourite medieval creatures, which is similar to the goose tree, is the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary. This was a plant that supposedly grew a sheep as its fruit and it would eat the surrounding vegetation while still attached to its stem. Apparently this was a garbled account of the origin of cotton, which is native to Asia. Educated people continued to believe it was real until the 1700s.

    • @shadymcnasty5920
      @shadymcnasty5920 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      There's noway "educated " people believed that into the 1700s

    • @elzed2667
      @elzed2667 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@shadymcnasty5920 Why not? The extent of the education of many could simply not include any semblance of modern biology, and having never been out of their home province they couldn’t see for themselves.

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Heard it was also inspired by the look of a certain tree fern.

    • @CanalTremocos
      @CanalTremocos 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@shadymcnasty5920 There is educated people right now that think vaccines are mind control devices that work with 5G. Ironically, research shows that educated people are more susceptible to fake news and conspiracy theories

    • @douglasbubbletrousers4763
      @douglasbubbletrousers4763 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I still believe it’s real

  • @jeremygreen2883
    @jeremygreen2883 2 ปีที่แล้ว +56

    It's like a medieval version of Pokemon! Someday, thousands of years in the future people will pick through the relics and ruins of our society and be convinced that we believed in electrical mice and lizards with bulbs growing off their backs.

    • @scruffy-thejanitor
      @scruffy-thejanitor ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Bonnacon casts corrosive dung! It's super effective!!
      Leviathan has fainted.
      I'd totally play medieval Pokemon

  • @acesniped639
    @acesniped639 2 ปีที่แล้ว +80

    We studied these bestiaries in one of my humanities classes. Some bestiaries came with written descriptions; my favorite is the claim that lion cubs were born dead, and had life breathed into them three days after their stillbirth by their fathers. Fun biblical connection!

    • @whitelasagna6786
      @whitelasagna6786 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      I bet they read like a Pokedex.

    • @giboi03
      @giboi03 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@whitelasagna6786 "And here is the 'Tarasque'. Tarasque is local to the mountainous regions and can often be heard squealing in the distance in order to lure groups of human prey who might believe this noise to be a fellow human in danger."
      *tarasque bitcrushed pokemon screech*

    • @Laroling
      @Laroling 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      lol. I remember it was written in one snakes were tree branches come to life, this since mozes's tree branch staff was turned into a snake.

    • @wesleyfilms
      @wesleyfilms 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Lol that’s amazing.

  • @userequaltoNull
    @userequaltoNull 2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    I think it's important to note that the depictions of Elephants with castles on their backs are 100% accurate. They are called Howdahs, and were wooden structures mounted on top of their backs, used for carrying Elephant Riders (archers, trainer, and possibly pikemen) and Royalty.
    So, they are actually very accurate, at least for War Elephants.

  • @friend_trilobot
    @friend_trilobot 2 ปีที่แล้ว +323

    I've heard that the cockatrice and basalisk are probably just a misunderstanding of the king cobra - people heard there was a deadly serpent with a crown on its head and that translated into a dragon that had a cock's comb that killed you by staring

    • @shadymcnasty5920
      @shadymcnasty5920 2 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      I've never heard that interpretation, fascinating

    • @Mr.Obongo
      @Mr.Obongo 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The depiction is so dinosaur looking. Man if only these people knew their imaginations weren’t far off from the truth at one point.

    • @theapexsurvivor9538
      @theapexsurvivor9538 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      And the staring aspect maybe be due to a mistranslation of it blinding you (kills your eyes).

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 2 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      @@theapexsurvivor9538 Probably spitting cobra, which tend to spit on eyes.

    • @bugglemagnum6213
      @bugglemagnum6213 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Quite the stretch, but so is every illustration in this video so you never know

  • @regrettablestitches
    @regrettablestitches 2 ปีที่แล้ว +126

    You can see the same thing happening with art in early Japan -- my favourite are the tigers drawn by people who had clearly NEVER seen one, lol.

    • @Iera_Thaumaturgy
      @Iera_Thaumaturgy 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      I wonder if that was the same case with Baku

  • @krzysztofczarnecki8238
    @krzysztofczarnecki8238 2 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    A big part of why goose trees were a thing is the existence of the goose barnacles. They live in groups, and they have similar coloring to a barnacle goose's body and neck (and the shell looks like wings), and people didn't have much anatomical knowledge, so even if they cut one open, they'd see it's made of meat like a goose, and is probably a goose that isn't fully grown yet.

  • @purplehaze2358
    @purplehaze2358 2 ปีที่แล้ว +107

    "The lovechild of the biblical leviathan and a creature known as a bonnacon"
    I really don't want to know how that union happened. It's like trying to think how small dogs could breed with big ones, but on at least 1000 times the scale.

    • @kitty_es173
      @kitty_es173 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      Love wins i guess lmao

    • @01.adielsirait95
      @01.adielsirait95 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Dr. Bright is that you?

    • @giboi03
      @giboi03 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      And how that giant hitbox would be able to avoid incineration from flamethrower farts

    • @riograndedosulball248
      @riograndedosulball248 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      This is a certified Donkey moment

    • @chriswentz5197
      @chriswentz5197 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@giboi03 Calling the reproductive organ Hitbox is comedy gold
      But Its simple,The hitbox has a Ranged attack

  • @ovtirc
    @ovtirc 2 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    It’s funny to me that every time historians depict illustrations from the past they’re always taken with a serious tone like people didn’t had a sense of humor back then 😂😅 but I love this videos!

    • @mds_main
      @mds_main ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Exactly, like the monsters at the borders of the pages, the writers would be bored to death after copying the 100th book if they didn't at least have fun with it and run wild with the imagination.

  • @cramerfloro5936
    @cramerfloro5936 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    8:00 still, the question remains:
    “Do the dog-headed men have souls?!”

  • @davidfl4
    @davidfl4 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    I love how medieval maps don’t actually show like places but symbols and would be absolute rubbish as a “map”. It shows how differently people thought back then

  • @boid9761
    @boid9761 2 ปีที่แล้ว +45

    The most fascinating drawings in medieval manuscripts tend to be early depictions of real animals

  • @forestswaras
    @forestswaras 2 ปีที่แล้ว +237

    The "castle" on the elephant's back must actually be a howdah, a kind of box or carriage that was placed on the backs of elephants for the purpose of riding them. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howdah These are still used in tourism in places, and are now criticized for being instruments of animal cruelty.

    • @friggathefrightening4498
      @friggathefrightening4498 2 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      Also war elephants back in the day sometimes had small fortifications built atop them

    • @forestswaras
      @forestswaras 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@friggathefrightening4498 Oh! Any references for this?

    • @forestswaras
      @forestswaras 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      In which regions was this practiced?

    • @doublxhelix5014
      @doublxhelix5014 2 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      @@forestswaras take a look at some pictures of Carthaginian war elephants

    • @forestswaras
      @forestswaras 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@doublxhelix5014 Those look like howdahs as well. But quite huge. The poor elephants!

  • @cramerfloro5936
    @cramerfloro5936 2 ปีที่แล้ว +54

    I think the goose tree is the one that gets me the most.
    You can easily justify most creatures in the bestiaries with the lack of knowledge for foreign creatures and countries as a whole, but migrating birds are a part of the known environment! It‘s so bizzarre for me to imagine not knowing about migrations, it‘s so engrained in our modern day understanding of basic animal facts. But when you think about it, with the tools and movement available at the time, migrations wouldn‘t have been so obvious.
    It still feels so uncanny to me.

    • @user-tu4ft1zh5l
      @user-tu4ft1zh5l 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      cut these guys some slack mate. they lived their entire lives thinking the earth was flat most likely

    • @amoskoff2381
      @amoskoff2381 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@user-tu4ft1zh5l Surely they would have noticed that every single other bird they had ever seen lays eggs. But because they had never seen geese laying eggs, they immediately jump to “Well they must grow on trees!” How did they come to that conclusion??

    • @Lenn869
      @Lenn869 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@user-tu4ft1zh5l that´s victorian period revisionism. Europeans have known the earth is round since antiquity.

    • @tacitozetticci9308
      @tacitozetticci9308 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@user-tu4ft1zh5l People knew Earth was a sphere in medieval times. Eratosthenes had even calculated Earth's circumference in 240 BCE

    • @user-tu4ft1zh5l
      @user-tu4ft1zh5l 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@Lenn869 my bad

  • @crablessinbaltimore
    @crablessinbaltimore 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    the goose tree absolutely killed me, i love the weird stories humans make up when we don't know the reason for something

  • @nedkelly5866
    @nedkelly5866 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Yoda spotted at 8:50.

  • @neilangelopalquiza6522
    @neilangelopalquiza6522 2 ปีที่แล้ว +79

    I still can't believe people in the past actually thought geese grew on trees

    • @Lenn869
      @Lenn869 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Im almost certain thats just a depiction of a weird figure of speech.

    • @molotera8789
      @molotera8789 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      People thought there was a plant that sprouted sheep as an explanation for cotton

    • @thewildcardperson
      @thewildcardperson 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@molotera8789 that is just stupid we have been hearding and breeding sheep since we got them

    • @spearmint2482
      @spearmint2482 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@thewildcardperson cotton plants

    • @argento681
      @argento681 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      People believe anything called v@cc 1 ne its good and not discern from letal Inyección. Is not hard to understand they believed all this crap.

  • @ridunnafuz8952
    @ridunnafuz8952 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    5:30
    Lmao dude was dabbing top of the whale 😆😆😆😆

  • @ZOCCOK
    @ZOCCOK 2 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    The Blemmyes also appear in the Ancient Indian Mythological Book 'Ramayana' where the hero god Rama and his brother encounter a creature called 'Kabandha' who has a description that is exactly the same as the Blemmyes.
    The creature is a cursed demigod who is cursed to look this way till Rama kills him and only then will he be freed and regain his orginal demigod form.

    • @beek.4860
      @beek.4860 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      That's cool! Maybe a bit of Proto-Indo-European culture getting passed down there.

    • @notatruck2640
      @notatruck2640 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      That's so odd like 4 separate civilizations thought of the same exact thing

    • @michaeljiang5529
      @michaeljiang5529 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Yes, similar descriptions in Chinese folklore.

    • @patricklewis9787
      @patricklewis9787 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@notatruck2640 always thought that with dragons too

  • @ornitorrincoastral8338
    @ornitorrincoastral8338 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    In my city there is mural in wich an angel is killing the devil in the form of a roosted chicken. I think its much newer than this kind of drawings and possibly a joke from the artist, but its so funny to me.

  • @zdvpy
    @zdvpy 2 ปีที่แล้ว +318

    Love your channel! Make a movie about polish/slavic monsters and I’m not talking about our politics this time;)

    • @marl3ymarl3y86
      @marl3ymarl3y86 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      I second this suggestion, I wish I knew more about balkan and Slavic myth!

    • @InfinityPotato97
      @InfinityPotato97 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Yeah, it would be nice if other people know more about our Polish/Slavic mythical creatures. Some of them can be disturbing.

    • @immolator6666
      @immolator6666 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Kiedy odcinek zDupy: 10 rzeczy które wkurwiają w średniowieczu???

    • @sejemandhaha
      @sejemandhaha 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      although an appendix to the monsters of polish government wouldn't be amiss

  • @2012jordie
    @2012jordie 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    There's a variant of the goose tree that grows sheep called the Barometz or the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary. It also appears in The Travels of John Mandeville. It would seem migratory patterns can't explain that one. I wonder to what extent these weird creatures were things people believed actually existed and to what extent they were just thought exercises attempting to explain parts of the animal kingdom which weren't very well understood, like the difference between plants and animals. There's a rather sad creature called a Myrmecoleon which is bound to die because its head (a lion) craves meat but its body (an ant) can't digest it. (The Aberdeen Bestiary mentions a "Mermecoleon" but it appears to be something completely different.)
    Keep up the obscure and delightfully weird content, Hochelaga! I love every video!

    • @Eibarwoman
      @Eibarwoman 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      The Mouros, a humanoid often stated to exist underground in Portuguese and Spanish mountains particularly around Galicia also were Barometz level of cognitive dissonance. As in some of them believed they lived amongst the Mouros when in reality, they lived amongst pre-Roman ruins made by the Castro Culture of Gallaecians dating back to as far as 1000 BCE. There were no people living underground at all, just technology that was lost from Gallaecians and Romans.

  • @jonspectre1103
    @jonspectre1103 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I've always found it interesting how basilisks seem to have a lot in common with therapod dinosaurs. Gotta be a link there.

  • @agerven
    @agerven 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    In India it is a common sight to see elephants with 'castles' on their backs, to carry multiple soldiers or celebreties either in war-time or during festivities. Probably the painter heard a story from an India traveller and created the drawing with a mindset of his own world.

  • @ptolemeeselenion1542
    @ptolemeeselenion1542 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    When you think about it, basilisks are nothing short but a fantastical interpretation made by the Ancients about some specimens of fossilized dinosaur remains they might have dug out during the Antiquity.

  • @coffeepie
    @coffeepie 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    anyone curious about those grotesques might be interested in reading Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. The first victim there was a painter of these images and there are some discussions in the book about his art and its purpose.

  • @dank_smirk2ndchannel200
    @dank_smirk2ndchannel200 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    0:43 > "and why this Christian saint has the head of a dog."
    Powerwolf.

  • @monad5140
    @monad5140 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    History TH-cam has been booming these past few years. It's a beautiful thing. But Hochelaga holds a special place in my heart for his specificity, presentation, and style. It just scratches that perfect itch. Anyone else?

  • @usermanico
    @usermanico 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    7:13 Medieval furries

  • @Wolfenhawk
    @Wolfenhawk 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    Didn’t Medieval French also paint giant snails in a lot of their work and no-one knows why? I just find it bizarre how something that isn’t real was so prevalent (much like everything in this video)

  • @SpadeSurvival
    @SpadeSurvival 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    About the griffins mate. I recently heard a theory talking about how the legend from them comes from dinosaur bones. Essentially in the Gobi desert there's tons of dinosaurs bones and even intact nests. People who lived in the region such as the Scythians spread their legend to the west where the Romans picked it up. Cool stuff.

  • @christophersanchez4839
    @christophersanchez4839 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I’ve always liked to think about the time when we couldn’t cross the ocean and how people would’ve wondered what was on the other side of it ever ended or not

  • @beepboopbeep111
    @beepboopbeep111 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Bro I love your content so much, not enough TH-camrs post about these amazingly obscure topics! Thanks for the amazing uploads :)

  • @ryenick28
    @ryenick28 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    So amazing to know how the Medieval Taxonomy were believed by many. Especially that it is I think the "standard" at that time. And again, who knows if these exaggerated creatures might have or is now existing. To think there are still spots on this planet that are still covered by the deep blue or lush greens.

  • @rivaeri4700
    @rivaeri4700 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I would love to see you cover more of the weird illustrations on the margins of medieval manuscript ❤️

  • @childofcascadia
    @childofcascadia 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    An elephant with a castle on its back sounds like a "telephone game" description of an elephant with a howdah.

  • @iamfishmind
    @iamfishmind 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    1:10 why he SMILING THO

  • @user-fn8td6bh2e
    @user-fn8td6bh2e 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    this contents are sooooo GOOD its like studying but sooooo fun and exciting at the same time :D

  • @nicholaszacharewicz693
    @nicholaszacharewicz693 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Shout out to all the Mandeville readers out there! That book is a great window onto the weirdness medieval Europe attributed to the rest of the (then known) world!
    Thanks for another great video!

    • @brianedwards7142
      @brianedwards7142 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Haven't read it but I stopped the vid so I could add it to my want list.

  • @helenat2446
    @helenat2446 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Besides the amazing research and excellent production value, your voice tone and manner match your subject perfectly. Thanks for another great video. Congrats on the half million.

  • @Spineless-Lobster
    @Spineless-Lobster 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love the topic about weird map sea monsters, strange medieval creatures, and mythical creatures in general! Thanks for talking about this, this video will definitely be another rewatch!

  • @joshuab4586
    @joshuab4586 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Very cool video idea!!! Love seeing people’s bizarre interpretations mixed with a intercontinental game of telephone.

  • @psalm1special
    @psalm1special 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    so amazing to see Yoda at 8:50

  • @pexpix
    @pexpix 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you for uploading, I have almost binged all of your channel's videos and was scared I won't have any more hochelaga to watch! :)

  • @PixelizedDelta
    @PixelizedDelta 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    So that's how you pronounce it 4:55, good to know

  • @androidmk5987
    @androidmk5987 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Kinda sad you didn't mention the dungeons and dragons Tarrasque

  • @televiizija
    @televiizija 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hey, I'm a huge fan of Medieval illustrations and paintings, so I really enjoyed this video. Thank you! Been following you for a while, and love the consistent quality. Keep it up, man!

  • @TheInfamousTurk
    @TheInfamousTurk 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I truly love your videos! I watch videos from many different channels on TH-cam but yours are definitely my favorite.

  • @heilong79
    @heilong79 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The dog people could have just been a tribe that wore wolf heads and the tale got distorted through word of mouth.

  • @Jiggleton
    @Jiggleton 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    8:18 a ballchinian

    • @LiliWhyte
      @LiliWhyte 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Saw that outta the corner of my eye jyst as the scene changed, lol

  • @crexia8940
    @crexia8940 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I'm glad I'm this early to one of your videos.

  • @Zackaria_sMax
    @Zackaria_sMax 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    1:00 "Itsa me, MerryO"

  • @elvenalonly
    @elvenalonly 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Maybe the grotesques are just medieval memes.

  • @ralphot005
    @ralphot005 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I recently discovered your channel and it is a delight. Binging all of it this week!

  • @Keyring7031
    @Keyring7031 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    High-key my favourite TH-cam creator. You’re videos are so fascinating dude.

  • @karlhungus5395
    @karlhungus5395 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    So excited by this new video! You’ve quickly become one of my most anticipated TH-cam channels.

  • @Mechimmortal
    @Mechimmortal 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    One of the few channels I subscribe to and actually look to see if there are new videos in anticipation. Great channel and keep it up!

  • @peterthepanda
    @peterthepanda 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    "Basilisk, Unicorns"
    **Hedwig's Theme intensifies**

  • @idkanymore790
    @idkanymore790 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    We really need some sort of CGI crossover where Planet Earth makes a film on medieval monsters as they are in the wild.

  • @Ludifant
    @Ludifant ปีที่แล้ว

    Absolutely love this. With the rebranding of many monsters throught D&D, I get into many discussions about what a monster actually is. D&D is in the process of rewriting the whole of bestiairies throughout time. I like that you delve into the origins of these things. And there are actually a few I hadn´t heard of.

  • @_ee75
    @_ee75 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I just want to say that not only the quality of your videos is just rising and rising, I also love the different editing styles you used over time
    I am following you since the angel video that went a bit viral :D really awesome that your Channel is doing so well

  • @Paradox-dy3ve
    @Paradox-dy3ve 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I'm so glad I found your channel. You always find such interesting topics to explore!

  • @Kieran_McNally
    @Kieran_McNally 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Excellent, really love your work and congratulations on passing half a million subscribers.

  • @owtkast023
    @owtkast023 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I really happy for you. I've been watching your content for a while now and I'm thrilled you have attracted so many subscribers and advertisers. Keep up the great work.

  • @magentomagento91
    @magentomagento91 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I've watched all your videos and i'm happy to see you're getting sponsored. Hope to see you grow!

  • @SakitomiXD
    @SakitomiXD 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Been waiting for that new hochelaga video! Now I can actually enjoy my weekend lol

  • @geoffreyraleigh1674
    @geoffreyraleigh1674 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    All hail to Season 3! Thanks for the content.

  • @Du-Masses
    @Du-Masses 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Yay! A new channel to binge. Theses videos are outrageously good.

  • @BoldMold
    @BoldMold 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Currently imagining myself as a super powerful time traveler going back into the past and teaching people about animals and biology... just so I can then drop a "Oh, griffins? Those are totally real and a HUGE problem in the future! They grow twice as big as that and their flocks attack our goose tree farms all the time! You better watch out!" after I gain their trust.

  • @pingpong2563
    @pingpong2563 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    This was really informative and kept me interested the whole way through, good work!

  • @dankacademia1865
    @dankacademia1865 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This really shows how creative people were (and still are),, like they probobly just had a random thought and drew it and boom it became some weird (but understandable) creature who we all talk about today

  • @Ezekiel_Allium
    @Ezekiel_Allium 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A fun thing I'd like to point out I don't have full context for, one of the 'elephant' illustrations that gets shown a few times in this video was in fact intended to be a giraffe.
    2:21 the one with hooves, a mane, long tail, and comically massive and angry looking eyes

  • @shirahime23
    @shirahime23 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Am glad to see you uploaded another video, hochelaga. Brilliant content, as always! Thanks you for this!

  • @dergutehut3961
    @dergutehut3961 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Remember the times when magical Turtle-Human-Hybrid-Warriors, metal Giants who are half wagons, and a tribe of Crime Fighting Spider-people roamed the streets? That must have been magical times.

  • @MemesAreFriendsNotFood
    @MemesAreFriendsNotFood 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This was so insightful! I love fantasy and can only imagine what it would’ve been like to live through these ages

  • @faisalhameem1281
    @faisalhameem1281 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    As usual great video. I hope you start making more and longer ones

  • @AKU6697
    @AKU6697 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It's actually funny how many of these descriptions were back there

  • @madalenacarvalho4882
    @madalenacarvalho4882 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Amazing video. I just laid in bed with a cup of tea and ive been watching your videos. So relaxing yet informative. Love it

  • @aaroncoy7822
    @aaroncoy7822 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Every time one of your videos come out I get SO exited. I love your videos.

  • @MultiSciGeek
    @MultiSciGeek 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Yay! I'm so happy you uploaded!

  • @jorispruntel425
    @jorispruntel425 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This is such a fascinating subject, great video!

  • @BSIII
    @BSIII 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is my favorite kind of art. Your channel is a gold mine for me. I'm excited.

  • @lucianoarebalo41
    @lucianoarebalo41 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    CONGRATS ON HALF A MILLION

  • @marcosofsky2605
    @marcosofsky2605 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    quite entertaining, I am fascinated by mythologies, since I was a young boy these stories and the creatures in them have stirred my imagination.

  • @Mrtotot78
    @Mrtotot78 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Always happy for more content! Thanks for another wonderful video!

  • @NanaShaCrash
    @NanaShaCrash 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    These are always so fascinating. Thanks for sharing!

  • @desicatedlimbs
    @desicatedlimbs 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I needed this to be about 3 hours longer. Because I want more.

  • @fratercontenduntocculta8161
    @fratercontenduntocculta8161 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I'm currently gathering a Bestiary of ancient creatures for tattoo ideas and as always, discovered an obscure book thanks to you! Your videos make me so happy!