A medieval manuscript that was peed on by a cat

Jun 25, 2025 9:59 AM

Scribe was forced to leave the rest of the page empty, drew a picture of a cat and cursed the creature with the following words:

“Hic non defectus est, sed cattus minxit desuper nocte quadam. Confundatur pessimus cattus qui minxit super librum istum in nocte Daventrie, et consimiliter omnes alii propter illum. Et cavendum valde ne permittantur libri aperti per noctem ubi cattie venire possunt.”

[Here is nothing missing, but a cat urinated on this during a certain night. Cursed be the pesty cat that urinated over this book during the night in Deventer and because of it many others [other cats] too. And beware well not to leave open books at night where cats can come.]

Cologne, Historisches Archiv, G.B. quarto, 249, fol. 68r

Medieval cat: Fuck you.

9 months ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 0

9 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

9 months ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Probably still smells like cat piss. It’s an incredibly persistent odor.

9 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Yeah but what hasn't been pissed on by a cat?

9 months ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Scratch and sniff

9 months ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0