I've never ignored the possibility of an armadillo. THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT. I make lists, and then I look for other information that helps confirm or deny the data. I'm not crossing off any of the possibilities until I know more.
Look at some of these medieval drawings of animals. Some of them are impossible to identify without the labels (one of my favorites is the ants that look like bears):
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The VMS illustrator probably didn't do too badly when copying from exemplars (e.g., zodiac symbols), but it's possible some of the drawings came from his or her imagination, and thus we don't know how far they diverge from real animals.
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As for your argument of pangolin versus armadillo, you honed in on ears, but you didn't provide a convincing argument for the scales. The armadillo has plates (they overlap in bands) and the scales are fused (not overlapping), the pangolin has overlapping scales, so in this respect, the pangolin is more similar. Also, the claws on the armadillo are longer and more obvious than a pangolin.
Personally I'm not convinced it's either. I think it could be a badly drawn fleece or mythical animal, and Koen has even proposed (with a pretty good argument) that it might be an aquatic animal (note the tail). I'm completely undecided, so everything stays on my list for now.
Take a look at this piece of jewelry, long legs and curled horns, so not a good match overall, but look at the fleece. It's created as scales. I've seen medieval drawings of sheep and goats that look this way, with scaly-textured coats:
![[Image: 21fff6c8e78dc384e610d3627004.png]](https://armourandcastings.com/media/cache/sylius_shop_product_original/0e/e1/21fff6c8e78dc384e610d3627004.png)
Image Credit: Armourandcastings.com
Look at some of these medieval drawings of animals. Some of them are impossible to identify without the labels (one of my favorites is the ants that look like bears):
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
The VMS illustrator probably didn't do too badly when copying from exemplars (e.g., zodiac symbols), but it's possible some of the drawings came from his or her imagination, and thus we don't know how far they diverge from real animals.
.
As for your argument of pangolin versus armadillo, you honed in on ears, but you didn't provide a convincing argument for the scales. The armadillo has plates (they overlap in bands) and the scales are fused (not overlapping), the pangolin has overlapping scales, so in this respect, the pangolin is more similar. Also, the claws on the armadillo are longer and more obvious than a pangolin.
Personally I'm not convinced it's either. I think it could be a badly drawn fleece or mythical animal, and Koen has even proposed (with a pretty good argument) that it might be an aquatic animal (note the tail). I'm completely undecided, so everything stays on my list for now.
Take a look at this piece of jewelry, long legs and curled horns, so not a good match overall, but look at the fleece. It's created as scales. I've seen medieval drawings of sheep and goats that look this way, with scaly-textured coats:
Image Credit: Armourandcastings.com