Medieval Cats Rock!: A Selection of 14th-Century Cats Playing Musical Instruments

Wordless Wednesday

Cat Playing Rebec (detail)

From a Book of Hours, London, c. 1320–1330.

A rebec was a pear-shaped, usually three-stringed instrument
with a slender neck. It was played with a bow, just as the cat
is doing in the illustration.

Public Domain, via the
British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.

Cat Playing Instrument (detail)

Marginal illustration from a Book of Hours.
London, c. 1320–1330.

On the left, a cat plays an unidentified instrument, while on the
right, a rabbit beats a drum.

Public Domain, via the
British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.

Cat Playing Tabor (detail)

From “The Queen Mary Psalter,”  attributed to
the Queen Mary Master.

England, c. 1310-1320.

A cat beats a tabor while a donkey plays a trumpet.

A tabor was a small drum played as accompaniment to a
pipe or fife. The pipe and drum were both played by the same
musician, and you can just make out what appears to be a pipe
in the cat’s left paw.

Public Domain, via the
British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.