A new exhibition at The Walters Art Museum invites visitors to explore the curious and captivating roles that cats played in the Middle Ages. Paws on Parchment, which opened today and runs until February 15, 2026, showcases how felines were depicted in medieval manuscripts—and how they were appreciated, both as companions and as protectors of precious books.
Timed to coincide with International Cat Day on August 8, the exhibition is the first of three animal-themed shows coming to the Walters. It features manuscripts from European, Islamic, and Armenian traditions, including one with actual pawprints left by a cat in the 1470s—a rare and endearing reminder that medieval scribes weren’t always working alone.
Image courtesy The Walters Art Museum
“Cats filled many important roles in the medieval era,” said Lynley Anne Herbert, Robert and Nancy Hall Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts. “Like today, some cats were considered beloved pets whose behavior amused and exasperated their owners. However, felines also served an important function as hunters that protected valuable books and textiles, food stores, and even people from disease-carrying rodents and other vermin. Cats could also carry symbolic and moral meaning in this period, which is reflected in the manuscripts we will have on view.”
Highlights of the exhibition include a 15th-century ‘keyboard cat’, along with numerous feline figures that prowl the margins of medieval texts. These images offer insight into how medieval people related to cats—not just as mousers or mischief-makers, but as moral symbols and storytelling devices.
Image courtesy The Walters Art Museum
Paws on Parchment is part of a larger initiative at the Walters that focuses on the human-animal connection across time. The next exhibition, Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, opens on September 27, 2025, followed by Art From Wildlife, set to debut in November 2026.
“The presence of animals in our daily lives is an enduring but fragile phenomenon, and that’s exactly what makes these new exhibitions so intriguing,” said Ani Proser, Chief Curator at The Walters. “The dynamic between humans and animals is varied, and the diverse objects on view in these exhibitions demonstrate just that. By centering animals and art objects related to them, we are able to connect with people from ancient civilizations. Through these works, we can learn about the daily lives of the people who commissioned, created, and used these objects, and we can better understand the myriad roles animals played across time and throughout the world.”
Image courtesy The Walters Art Museum
Located in Baltimore, Maryland, The Walters Art Museum houses one of the most significant collections of medieval art in North America. With Paws on Parchment, the museum offers an engaging and sometimes humorous look at the ways cats made their mark—quite literally—on the manuscripts of the Middle Ages.
A new exhibition at The Walters Art Museum invites visitors to explore the curious and captivating roles that cats played in the Middle Ages. Paws on Parchment, which opened today and runs until February 15, 2026, showcases how felines were depicted in medieval manuscripts—and how they were appreciated, both as companions and as protectors of precious books.
Timed to coincide with International Cat Day on August 8, the exhibition is the first of three animal-themed shows coming to the Walters. It features manuscripts from European, Islamic, and Armenian traditions, including one with actual pawprints left by a cat in the 1470s—a rare and endearing reminder that medieval scribes weren’t always working alone.
“Cats filled many important roles in the medieval era,” said Lynley Anne Herbert, Robert and Nancy Hall Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts. “Like today, some cats were considered beloved pets whose behavior amused and exasperated their owners. However, felines also served an important function as hunters that protected valuable books and textiles, food stores, and even people from disease-carrying rodents and other vermin. Cats could also carry symbolic and moral meaning in this period, which is reflected in the manuscripts we will have on view.”
Highlights of the exhibition include a 15th-century ‘keyboard cat’, along with numerous feline figures that prowl the margins of medieval texts. These images offer insight into how medieval people related to cats—not just as mousers or mischief-makers, but as moral symbols and storytelling devices.
Paws on Parchment is part of a larger initiative at the Walters that focuses on the human-animal connection across time. The next exhibition, Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, opens on September 27, 2025, followed by Art From Wildlife, set to debut in November 2026.
“The presence of animals in our daily lives is an enduring but fragile phenomenon, and that’s exactly what makes these new exhibitions so intriguing,” said Ani Proser, Chief Curator at The Walters. “The dynamic between humans and animals is varied, and the diverse objects on view in these exhibitions demonstrate just that. By centering animals and art objects related to them, we are able to connect with people from ancient civilizations. Through these works, we can learn about the daily lives of the people who commissioned, created, and used these objects, and we can better understand the myriad roles animals played across time and throughout the world.”
Located in Baltimore, Maryland, The Walters Art Museum houses one of the most significant collections of medieval art in North America. With Paws on Parchment, the museum offers an engaging and sometimes humorous look at the ways cats made their mark—quite literally—on the manuscripts of the Middle Ages.
You can learn more about this exhibition by visiting The Walters Art Museum website.
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