European maps from the Middle Ages are full of strange lands, legendary races and fabulous monsters. Only the Church with the help of God was able to provide protection against these horrors. The ...

Unknown artist, "Snail" (c. 1350), The Netherlands, illumination on parchment from Jacob van Maerlant's Der naturen bloeme (image via Wikimedia Commons) "Very often, people think that they're laughing ...

Medieval Europeans genuinely believed the world beyond their borders was inhabited by monstrous human-like creatures. Scholars, mapmakers, and travelers described headless men, giant-footed people, ...