Dragons, Dogs & Amadillos?

[Diane]

Dear Colleagues,

Am I mis-reading the trend of this thread, or have we leapt from wondering what sort of creature might be intended, to one suggestion of its being a sheep ( something which, on iconographic grounds, and in the practical terms of the sheep's bone-structure and habits seems doubtful to me) - to presuming that the maker intended to draw a sheep, re-defining the probable date for first composition of the image (something also unknown) and from that to trying to rope it in to a theoretical 'history' for the manuscript relating to Germany?

Seems all a little premature, just yet.

Have we any other reasonable suggestions about what sort of creature this was meant to represent?  I have to say that from my point of view, the sort of fleece which forms big, soft lumps came from cross-breeding with merino sheep, and I think you'll find that did not occur in the north, in any case, until somewhat later.

I may be mistaken, but like so much else in this manuscript, possibilities which arise have questions attached to them which require solutions of a kind which can only be sensibly reached by historical research.

So, my two cents worth: the creature looks to me like a type of lizard or skink.