I am a doodler. The staff at Studio 360 knows this pretty well — I’ve been sketching them during meetings for a decade with mixed results. So I was fascinated to discover a blog by Erik Kwakkel, a scholar of medieval texts at Leiden University in The Netherlands. He posts doodles that date from the 13th to 15th century.

Most of the art that survives from that period is religious. As representatives of Biblical figures, the people are usually contorted into poses that signify spiritual meaning, down to the hand gestures. But these doodles are much looser, more playful and even raunchy — making medieval Europeans feel relatable (to use a very modern term). Then again, Kwakkel suspects a lot of these drawings were done by students, which explains their mischievous quality.

There are scenes of daily life, like this newsboy. 

A newsboy sketched into a 16th century songbook, The Cambrai Chansonnier.

(Erik Kwakkel)

 
Or this mother calling to her toddler in a wheeling crib.

A mother calls to her toddler in a wheeling crib, found in the same songbook from Belgium.

(Erik Kwakkel)

It's amazing to think whoever sketched this drawing was not fantasizing about medieval times — he was drawing the world around him.

A scrap of paper found in Holland, the original source lost.

(Erik Kwakkel)

There are surreal drawings, like these bearded men with hands coming out of their mouths.

A surreal doodle found in a 14th century French text, Reynard the Fox.

(Erik Kwakkel)

What Kwakkel finds most interesting about this doodle is not the erotic content — it's the fact that the drawing contains a rare self-portrait for that time period. He even has a separate page for medieval #selfies.

A doodle drawn by a 12th century German monk named Frater Rufillus.

(Erik Kwakkel)