Real Fantastic Beasts

Mama dragons. Luck dragons. Dragons who’d rather be human. Dragons with Sean Connery’s voice. Real Fantastic Beasts goes to the movies, from Dragonslayer (1981) to Damsel (2024). Which one is your favorite?

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Did you know that owls feed their babies milk? That owls eggs cure drunkenness? That a dead owl nailed to your barn door stops lightning? We explore the long lore of this terrifying bird of the night -- the symbol of both wisdom and folly.

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Why is the heir to the French throne named after a dolphin? How did a Venetian dynasty end up with one on its crest? And why did Renaissance furniture suddenly sprout dolphin legs?

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Before a live audience at the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association conference, we dive into Cleopatra's famous asp with guest Emily Sharrett. How does medieval and early modern viper lore help us understand why this snake became the iconic instrument of her death? And what was Shakespeare doing with it? Also on YouTube at https://youtu.be/4n1Qmw94oW8

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Why is it always the youngest, humblest sibling who gets the magic animal on their side? This episode we explore Puss in Boots, La Chatte Blanche, and what animal companions tell us about who folklore thinks deserves to win.

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We talk lions, hybridity, and the unsettling power of a creature that's often part woman, part beast, and entirely a threat to masculine authority — the Sphinx, in all her medieval and Renaissance guises.

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What does it mean for a cold, damp, thoroughly amphibious creature to become the defining symbol of elemental fire? In this episode, we explore the salamander, the fire-resistant (allegedly), asbestos-covered, love-poetry-inspiring, hellfire-embodying little amphibian that confused natural philosophers from Aristotle to Linnaeus.

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From Hildegard to the Habsburgs, we explore the European perspective on the most spectacular bird.

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We discuss the curious lore of the Egyptian mongoose or ichneumon and its habit of disemboweling crocodiles – from the inside.

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Guest expert Christine Cooper-Rompato regales us with the most excremental of all animals, the bonnacon, which defends itself by ejecting burning poo.

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