Q&A
What was the bonnacon?
SHORT ANSWER
A mythical bull with a malodourous method of attack
LONG ANSWER
Medieval bestiaries are a delight to look through: wonderful compendiums of real and imagined creatures described as roaming in far-off lands. Inside, you might find beasts such as the leucrocotta, a hyena-like dog capable of imitating human speech, or perhaps the onager, a type of donkey with the ability to predict the spring equinox.
Most of the hard-to-believe beasts came with a religious or moral allegory attached, but then there was the bonnacon, where it’s possible the medieval scribes were just having some fun. Resembling a bull but with its attacked its enemies by spraying them with explosive excrement that scorched everything it touched. at is why, in many bestiary illustrations, humans approaching a bonnacon were depicted wearing armour – although a peg for the nose might have been quite handy, too.