The Medieval Manuscript That Depicts “Yoda” and Other Strange Creatures

The elaborate artwork of the 14th century seems to tell stories all its own.

The Smithfield Decretals is considered the best-preserved illustrated manuscript of the papal letters of Pope Gregory IX. It consists of 314 pages, containing 1,971 papal letters and other documents related to canon law, dating back to the 13th century. But what makes this manuscript truly fascinating is its bizarre and whimsical imagery: demons, a figure strikingly similar to Yoda, knights battling snails, murderous rabbits, and other curious creatures, as reported by Open Culture.

When the manuscript was first created in the 1230s, French scribes intentionally left the margins of the pages blank, allowing future owners to add their own notes and commentary.

Sometime before 1340, however, the manuscript found its way into the hands of an English owner—likely based in London—who commissioned a team of illustrators to enrich the pages with detailed illustrations.

These artists filled nearly every margin with intricate borders and strange scenes, reflecting a popular trend among illustrators in Eastern England known as “drolleries”—bizarre, humorous, and sometimes absurd marginal images.

Although unrelated to the main text, many of these captivating 14th-century illustrations seem to tell their own stories. These visual narratives draw on both literary and artistic traditions, and some of them are not known to exist in any other form, surviving solely as standalone depictions of popular tales from the time.

The images reveal the satirical spirit of the Middle Ages at play. One famous example is the so-called “Yoda,” who, according to scholars, “likely represents the Devil as a law professor.” It seems that legal professionals in the Middle Ages had a reputation much like some lawyers do today—viewed as unscrupulous and more interested in personal gain than in justice.

This strange and fascinating manuscript is a vivid reminder that medieval art, far from being solemn and rigid, was often full of humor, imagination, and sharp social commentary.