Weird things you find in medieval manuscripts.

Raaw?

This is supposed to be a sea turtle, from Den Haag, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KA 16, fol. 110v.

Supposed to be. My guess is this was the end result of a game of telephone..... Or, carrier pigeon, since there were no telephones in the 14th century. "It lives in the water, and has a shell, and feet, and a tail. Just draw something with those things; no one will know the truth."

Or, perhaps, it was something more sinister.....