Hey can can I ask for something soft with Elijah? Like a lot of praise kink it could even be her first time and he's so gentle and aftercare please
Gratitude
18+ ---- {Masterlist} {Tag-List}
It's a warm summer night and Elijah plans a special date for you, hoping to make your dreams come true.
♡♡ Thanks for the request lovely anon! I love writing about soft and sweet Elijah ♡♡
4.7k words - Warnings: smut, oral sex, virgin!reader, first time, so fluffy, so sweet, lots of praise, cuddles & tiramisu ...
It was a rather warm day in New Orleans, the birds were chirping and the sun was shining bright. You enjoyed the feeling of the sun on your skin, the warm breeze in your hair.
You were on your way to the compound, Elijah had invited you over for a special date night. A smile crept up on your lips at the thought, you felt giddy and breathless. You had never been so in love, it was a magical feeling, butterflies fluttering around in your stomach, a tingly feeling running through your body whenever you saw him.
It was still so hard to believe that this handsome, intelligent man could love you, wanted you, the same way you wanted him. You had spilled all your secrets to him, told him things about yourself that you had never shared with anyone else. Your heart felt so safe in his hands, he made you feel like you could tell him everything and he would still love you, still be there for you.
So you had decided to share something very special with him, something you had never shared with anybody before, something that you could only give once.
The closer you got to the compound the more nervous you got, not in a bad way, it was the good kind of nervousness, the butterflies in your stomach were fluttering harder and faster, your heart beat a bit quicker, your breathing was a little heavier, the giddiness increased.
A few minutes later you entered the compound and the smell of delicious food immediately hit your nose. Elijah had cooked dinner, your favourite meal. He was always so thoughtful, remembering little details about you and making sure to take good care of you.
You practically skipped into the kitchen, expecting to see Elijah, but it was empty, instead you spotted a note on the table, you recognized his beautiful handwriting.
My love,
I've gone out to pick up dessert, please go ahead and make yourself comfortable, enjoy a glass of wine in the garden, it's such a lovely evening.
-E
Your smile grew as you read the note, he had a tendency to be rather extra, always making you feel special.
You walked towards the wine cabinet and took out one of your favourite red wines and a glass before walking into the living room towards the garden.
"Don't you look absolutely lovely this evening," Klaus' voice sounded from the sofa, his nose buried in a book, he didn't even bother to look up.
"Thank you," you replied with a shaky voice, Klaus always made you feel nervous, but Elijah had assured you that his brother wouldn't hurt you, that he would respect your relationship and he had, but he did enjoy teasing you a bit too much, he knew exactly what buttons to push.
Klaus put his book down, "I see my brother has gone overboard for your date tonight. How long has it been, three months?" He looked at you, smirking.
You gulped, "Yeah," you managed to squeak out, not breaking eye contact.
"Hmm, and yet you haven't stayed the night here, not a fan of sleepovers?" Klaus grinned.
You blushed and quickly looked down, "We're just taking it slow," you replied shyly, knowing that that wasn't the truth, Elijah was waiting for you to be ready.
Klaus chuckled, "I see, well I will let you enjoy your evening then," he stood up and walked past you, stopping right behind you, he whispered in your ear, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
You blushed even harder and quickly turned around, but he was already gone. You sighed and walked out onto the patio, trying to calm down, it didn't take long for your nerves to go away.
Elijah had gone overboard, the whole patio had been decorated, a blanket and pillows laid out in the middle, fresh flowers everywhere, with twinkle lights hung all over the place. It was absolutely stunning.
You let out a quiet squeal of excitement and quickly poured yourself a glass of wine, sitting down in the soft blankets and pillows. You sipped your wine while enjoying the peaceful sounds and smells, the warm breeze brushing against your skin.
Alone with your thoughts, the nervousness started to come back, you shifted against the pillows, squeezing your thighs together. You couldn't help but think of what was going to happen later. The idea of Elijah touching you, filled your stomach with butterflies, a heat forming between your legs.
You heard the door slide open, pulling you out of your thoughts.
"Sorry I was gone for so long," Elijah smiled at you, "I couldn't find the right dessert."
He bent down to give you a quick kiss, placing a paper bag next to you.
"No worries," you smiled, "This is absolutely gorgeous," you gestured around you.
"Not as gorgeous as you," Elijah looked at you with admiration in his eyes.
"You're just being sweet," you blushed, looking down.
He softly pressed his lips against yours, his hand moving to cup your cheek. You kissed him back, putting your hand over his.
"Are you ready for tonight? I don't want you to feel any pressure," he asked softly, his eyes full of love and adoration.
"I'm nervous, but in a good way, I'm excited," you assured him.
"Good," he said and leaned in to kiss you again.
The servers came out with the dinner Elijah had prepared. It was delicious and the evening went by fast, you talked about everything and nothing, your conversations with him were always so easy and effortless.
"So," Elijah said as the servers took away the last plates. "Dessert?"
"I'd love that," you nodded, smiling.
He reached into the paper bag and pulled out a container. "Tiramisu," he said, opening the lid.
"My favourite," you said, looking at the desert with wide eyes.
"I know," Elijah winked.
You blushed and leaned forward to take a bite, moaning at the delicious taste, you had never had a better tiramisu, the creamy texture mixed with the bitter coffee and sweet ladyfingers.
Elijah couldn't tear his eyes away from you, hearing you moan was music to his ears. He couldn't wait to hear you make that noise again.
"You have a little cream there," Elijah chuckled, wiping it away from the corner of your mouth.
You blushed and watched as Elijah licked the cream off his finger, it was such a simple gesture, but it made your panties flood, you couldn't help the small gasp that escaped your mouth.
Elijah chuckled, you were so sweet and innocent. He loved seeing you flustered.
The sun had started to set, painting the sky in orange and pink colours, it was beautiful. You sat on the pillows, admiring the sunset and the stars slowly appearing in the dark sky, candles providing some light.
You leaned your head against Elijah's shoulder, letting out a content sigh, you felt so safe and warm, his arms around you.
"Thank you for tonight," you mumbled.
"Of course," Elijah whispered and kissed the top of your head, "I wanted to make it special," he said softly.
A comfortable quietness settled over the two of you, just enjoying each other's company, and the beautiful summer night.
Your mind raced, thinking of what came next, a warmth pooling between your legs, a wetness starting to form. You wanted him so badly, the thought of his touch was exciting and a bit scary, but you trusted him.
"Elijah? Can I ask you a personal question?" You asked nervously.
"Of course," he said softly, stroking your arm.
"What was your first time like?" You asked, looking up at him.
"Hmm, a very long time ago," Elijah chuckled. "She was a sweet girl, I was a young man, very eager," he smirked, thinking back.
"Were you nervous?" You asked, a hint of shyness in your voice.
"Extremely," Elijah said, smiling to himself. "I had no idea what I was doing... sex ed was nonexistent back then."
You giggled, imagining a nervous, young Elijah, all lanky and awkward.
"Fortunately she was a good teacher, she took control, guiding me, we laughed a lot and it was fun, despite not lasting very long," he smirked.
"Sounds like it was a good experience," you replied.
"I actually did something so embarrassing...I'll never forget the look on her face," Elijah shook his head, a laugh escaping his mouth.
"What was it?" You asked, hoping not to repeat his mistakes.
"Well... afterwards... we were cuddling and I... Thanked her," Elijah said, shaking his head, smiling.
"Thanked her?" You asked confused.
"Yeah, I thanked her for allowing me to have sex with her," he laughed.
"Oh my god," you burst out laughing. "How did she react?"
"She stared at me, completely dumbfounded, then she burst out laughing," Elijah shook his head. "Only then did I realise that wasn't the thing to say," he chuckled.
"Yeah, probably not," you giggled, imagining the situation. "But still very sweet of you," you smiled.
Elijah hummed softly, pulling you tighter, kissing the top of your head again.
The candles had died down, the patio was mostly dark now, the stars and the moon were the only things providing light.
You relaxed into his touch and the sweet scent of his cologne, it was so familiar, so comforting.
"Can we go inside?" You asked, looking up at him.
He nodded and helped you to your feet, leading you to his bedroom, which was just as thoughtfully decorated as the garden. He had scattered flowers on the bed, pink and red petals forming a heart on the soft cotton sheets.
Elijah could sense your unease, the tiny ways your body reacted, the quickening rise and fall of your chest, the skipping of a beat. It reminded him of his first time, the excitement and anxiety mixed together. He knew he had to take the lead, make you feel comfortable, make you feel confident and safe.
He walked up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist, kissing your neck softly.
"We can stop at any point, no matter how far we've gone, okay?" Elijah spoke quietly in your ear.
"Okay," you whispered, closing your eyes, his words giving you a sense of security.
You relaxed against him, enjoying the softness of his lips. His hand went to the zipper of your dress, slowly pulling it down, his fingertips grazing your spine as he did.
Elijah's other hand lightly traced along the straps of your dress, pushing them off your shoulders, letting the dress fall around you.
Your hands instinctively went to cover yourself, having never been naked with anyone like this, having anyone's eyes on you.
Elijah noticed your hesitation and kissed the sensitive spot right behind your ear, his stubble tickling your neck, making you giggle.
"You are beautiful," he whispered in your ear.
Your cheeks turned a light shade of pink and you smiled shyly, not used to being complimented like that, and knowing that he really meant it.
"Can I see?" He asked softly, wanting to make sure you were comfortable with every step of the way.
A wave of heat travelled through your body, another blush creeped up, settling on your cheeks. You felt so vulnerable, yet it felt right, safe, with him.
You took a deep breath and slowly moved your hands away from your chest, your arms resting by your sides, allowing him to look at you.
"Perfect," Elijah whispered, his hands slowly caressing your arms, his lips pressing soft kisses on your shoulder.
You loved the sound of his voice, the way his lips felt on your skin, they were so soft, so gentle. His hands were on your hips, his fingers travelling along the edge of your panties, he pulled on them slightly and let them snap back into place, teasing you.
You turned around to face him, your hands sliding up his chest and pushing his suit jacket off his broad shoulders, letting it fall to the floor with your dress.
Elijah cupped your cheek in his hand, rubbing his thumb across your cheekbone, lovingly looking down at you. You were so lovely and sweet, the trust you had in him made his heart flutter.
You locked eyes as you started to unbutton his shirt, your lips parted, your breath heavy, your chest heaving. Each inch of his chest that you revealed, made the fire in the pit of your stomach grow. You ran your fingers along his muscular chest, looking up at him shyly.
He leaned forward, capturing your lips in a tender kiss, his hands roaming down your body, gently kneading your ass, pulling you closer.
You gasped as he pressed your body into his, you could feel his erection against your stomach, it was a bit intimidating, the size and shape, but at the same time you wondered what it would feel like inside you.
Elijah let his shirt join his suit jacket, then his hands travel up your back, slowly unclasping your bra. He moved his fingers along your arms, gently removing it before he tossed it aside, his eyes never leaving yours.
You blushed under his intense gaze, feeling very exposed and vulnerable. You felt his hands gently cupping your breasts, smiling down at your flushed face.
"You are so beautiful," he whispered and softly squeezed them, rolling your hard nipples between his fingers.
A small moan escaped your lips, his touch sending sparks straight to your core.
"Do you like that?" Elijah asked softly.
"Yes," you breathed out, your hands gripping his biceps.
"Tell me what else you like," Elijah hummed, slowly walking you backwards towards the bed, his hands moving up to your shoulders, gently pushing you down onto the sheets.
"I..." You were at a total loss for words, he was leaning over you, his hands on either side of your waist. You felt his knee press against the bed between your legs, spreading them.
Elijah could tell you were enjoying yourself by the way your body reacted to his touch. The way your hips subtly pushed forward, the way your blood pumped faster, the way your breathing got heavier.
He dipped his head and captured a nipple in his mouth, sucking and gently biting. You moaned softly, tangling your fingers in his hair. Elijah chuckled, moving to your other nipple, his tongue swirling around the hard nub.
He released your nipple with a pop, looking up at you, "I asked you a question, sweetheart."
"I'm sorry," you gasped, feeling him move his knee higher between your legs.
"It's okay, just relax," he said soothingly, his lips pressing against yours.
He kissed you slowly, waiting for you to make the next move, wanting to make sure that you were comfortable enough to ask for what you needed.
You could feel him smile against your lips, "There we go," he hummed approvingly as you began to rub yourself on his knee, your hips rolled, slowly building a rhythm.
Your hands explored his arms and shoulders, feeling the soft chest hair underneath your fingertips. Your hands moved lower, feeling his toned stomach and the v muscles along his hips, stopping at the waistband of his pants.
Your fingers toyed with the fabric for a moment, debating what to do next, your heartbeat fast and your brain a bit hazy. Your eyes flickered up to meet his, his gaze was intense, with an obvious lust behind them.
You blushed and quickly looked away, nervousness washing over you.
"It's okay, we can go nice and slow," Elijah whispered into your ear, kissing along your neck as his hands travelled down your body.
You could only let out a small noise of pleasure, trying to swallow past the lump forming in your throat, nerves getting the better of you.
Elijah's fingers caressed your thigh as his lips made their way down your body, paying careful attention to every inch, every piece of skin, every curve, kissing each freckle and scar, until he reached your belly button.
He looked up at you through his lashes, pulling down your panties agonisingly slowly.
You shifted uncomfortably, your legs starting to tremble now that you were completely bare and exposed to him.
Elijah dropped your panties on the floor, his eyes finally able to look at the place he wanted to be for weeks.
You pulled your knees together, shrinking back from his gaze. You felt so embarrassed, so inexperienced, so clueless. You were afraid that you would disappoint him, knowing nothing about pleasuring another person.
He gently nudged your thighs apart, his thumb gently caressed your hip, kissing the other. "So pretty," he hummed as he trailed more kisses down your thigh.
He watched as your chest kept rising and falling rapidly, getting more and more intense the closer he got to the one place he wanted to spend the night worshipping.
Your hands fidgeted nervously, unsure of what to do with them, you squeezed them by your sides, digging your fingernails into the sheets. Your mind was racing with a million insecurities and desires all at once.
The first gentle flick of his tongue felt like heaven, your eyes rolling back as your breath hitched in your throat.
"Oh," you sighed softly, your hands immediately going to his hair, threading your fingers through his locks and tugging slightly.
Elijah nipped and sucked at your inner thighs, building you up, "You taste so sweet," he said, before lapping at you again.
He felt your body starting to react, your hips pushing against his mouth, searching for more, more friction, more release, more pleasure.
His tongue felt amazing, swirling around your most sensitive spot, teasing you over and over. You had touched yourself before, but nothing like this, nothing you had ever done felt this good.
Your legs trembled, unable to stay still, but Elijah pinned them down, his strong hands tight around your thighs, holding you against the bed.
You couldn't help the noises coming out of you, as you gasped for air, watching Elijah bury his face between your thighs. You sat up a bit on your elbows, watching him please you.
His face was pressed so close to you, his eyelashes fluttered as his tongue flicked your clit. His nose nudging your most sensitive spot with every movement of his head.
"Elijah," you moaned, tugging on his hair, grabbing fistfuls of the sheets.
He couldn't get enough, the way your thighs trembled in his hands, the way your scent invaded his senses, the noises, the taste. You were everything he could dream of and more. His sweet girl.
As the heat between your legs grew, so did the pleasure, the familiar feeling of an orgasm was building within you. There was something utterly magical about having the person you love make you feel this good, how your heart swelled and pulsed along with the throbbing between your legs.
Your eyes fluttered shut and you felt your head spin, falling back onto the pillows. Your back arched and your hips began to move of their own accord, searching for more pressure, more release.
Your breath caught in your throat and then your body was overwhelmed with that wonderful blissful tingling feeling, crashing and crashing, over and over. All your muscles tensed and untensed, your mind going completely blank and fuzzy.
Elijah helped you ride out the waves of pleasure, licking you slowly, letting you come down from your high. Your eyes closed and lips parted, your hips still slowly moving on their own.
When the aftershocks finally faded, you opened your eyes, your chest heaving. Elijah was looking up at you, his hair wild and his cheeks covered in your wetness. Your whole body turned red as you blushed. You covered your face in embarrassment.
Elijah chuckled, wiping his face off on your thigh and then kissing and nipping his way up your body.
"Hey," he whispered, peppering little kisses on your hands.
You peeked at him through your fingers, giving him a coy smile.
He laughed softly and moved his hands along your arms, smiling down at you. He had never seen anything more gorgeous. You blushed like crazy and could barely handle him touching you.
He kicked off his pants and leaned forward pressing his lips to yours as he pulled the sheets over the two of you, cocooning you both under the white cotton.
You giggled, the feeling of his skin in the low light and his soft kisses kept your mind busy, allowing the pleasant butterflies to flourish.
"Still nervous?" Elijah asked playfully.
"A little," you admitted.
"We can stop," he hummed, stroking your hair.
"No way," you said, a smirk pulling at your lips.
Elijah grinned and then kissed you deeply. His hands explored your body, feeling the smooth curves and dips. He pushed you onto your back and pulled you gently under him, the sheets softly rustled with his movement.
The air was stuffy and warm under the covers, but you were both happy to stay enclosed. Cosy and surrounded by just each other, in your own little universe of bliss.
You could feel his erection hard and warm against your skin, the only thing separating you now was his boxers. You bit your lip, he was so big, far more impressive than any toy you had used.
Your fingers hesitantly pushed his underwear down, reaching between your bodies. Your hand was shaking as you felt his skin, soft but so firm, warm and delicate.
You wrapped your hand around him as best you could, feeling the silky skin, slowly stroking him. It was a feeling that was new to you, the first time feeling someone else like this. Your eyes met his and your stomach did a somersault, you felt so close, so intimate.
"Is this okay?" You asked in the softest tone, causing Elijah to lean into you and catch your lips in a passionate kiss.
"It feels wonderful," he murmured against your lips, his hips pushing into your touch, loving the sensation of your sweet touch.
Slowly, your hand moved along his shaft, your fingertips lightly squeezing him every so often. Your mind raced, nerves were creeping in again, it was time, it was actually happening, there was no backing out now.
You opened your legs a little wider, inviting him in, you knew that it might hurt a bit, but you were in the safest place you could possibly be, with the sweetest man you could ask for.
He put his hand over yours, guiding himself to your entrance, his tip just barely grazing you. He took a deep breath, leaning into you, resting his weight on his forearm.
"I don't want to hurt you," Elijah whispered. "Tell me what feels good and I'll keep doing it."
You nodded and relaxed the tension that you didn't even realise you were holding. He supported his body and then eased into you slowly.
You inhaled sharply, your hands tightened into fists, holding onto his shoulders tightly, it hurt a bit more than you thought.
He paused, kissing you, his lips sweet and slow. You gradually started to feel more comfortable, his warm, firm length slowly filling you, inch by inch.
You broke the kiss and let out a deep shaky breath, the pain fading into pleasure. His lips didn't waste a moment, showering kisses along your neck.
"You're doing so good," he hummed. "I love how you feel," he breathed out heavily, not sure how long he was going to last, after fantasising about this moment for weeks.
You had imagined this moment so many times, how all your senses would react, but in your mind, it never felt like this. He was warm, careful and tender, protective and soft, loving and sweet. You felt so full of him, stretched in the most pleasurable way.
It was so strange and new, to feel this intimacy, to feel the connection. Your hearts beating, his lips on your skin, your hands laced together, your bodies melting into one.
He began to move slowly, with deep, gentle strokes. You tilted your hips slightly, the angle changing, his length brushing along the sensitive spot inside of you. A moan came flying out of your mouth as an incredible jolt of pleasure rocked your body.
Elijah made sure to keep the same angle, rolling his hips perfectly, listening to your small noises of pleasure, memorising every sigh and moan that escaped your perfect lips.
There was no rush, he didn't speed up, content on just making you feel good for as long as you both could last.
You were lost in a haze, your hands intertwined, the heat of the sheets surrounding you, the bed creaking with his even strokes. Everything in the outside world seemed to evaporate, there was nothing outside of the cocoon of your love.
It wasn't long until you were both moaning together, your chest heaved, your hips grinding together. He felt so deep, your fingers digging into his biceps, trying to ground yourself.
"Such a good girl," Elijah whispered. Observing a layer of sweat covering your skin. He could feel you squeezing around him when he praised you, your legs closing around his waist, pulling him close.
"Hmmm, you like that?" he murmured, kissing the side of your neck.
He felt you moan more and arch your back slightly, too lost for words, your mind was flooded with pure pleasure. All he wanted was to indulge in every single fantasy that had crossed your mind, to feel every sweet emotion that flowed through your veins.
"My love," Elijah mumbled, his own heart thrumming. You felt like a dream to him. "You were made for me,"
All your senses were overloading, his hands, his skin, his scent, his sweet voice in your ear, telling you how good you made him feel.
You squeezed his hands, letting out the sweetest moan he had ever heard. One he would etch into his memory forever, memorising the pitch, the way it started and fell, the softness of the sound.
You squeezed him so tightly that you almost pushed him out of you, your second orgasm washed over you, your mind focused solely on the warmth and fullness of his body on top of yours. It felt like nothing you could describe, emotional and overwhelming, absolute heaven.
Elijah could no longer contain himself, the feeling of you and the sounds of your moans of pleasure pushed him over the edge.
You watched him as his eyes squeezed shut, his muscles tense and he let out the sexiest groan, vibrating through his chest and into yours. You felt his warm release fill you as he thrust deep inside of you.
He kissed you deeply as you both rode out your highs together. Wrapped up in sheets and each other, you simply existed for a while, breathing heavily, your chests heaving against one another. Your breathing falling in sync after some time.
When the high had faded, he gently pulled out and collapsed next to you, his arms wrapped around you, pulling you to his chest. You felt sticky and exhausted, but happier than you ever had.
He pulled back the sheets, the cold air making you snuggle closer, his warmth radiating through your bodies. You kissed lazily and then simply laid together, listening to the other's heartbeat and breath.
"Thank you," you teased, looking up at him with a cheeky grin.
Elijah tickled your sides, rolling on top of you, smirking as you giggled and struggled to escape.
"How dare you throw my embarrassing secret back in my face, and so soon after we've made love," he growled, playfully, his lips peppering kisses all over your face.
"Oh, thank you Elijah! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" You squealed between laughs.
He smiled, kissing your forehead and then rolling off of you, laying on his side, pulling you to his chest. You rested your cheek against his shoulder, running your fingertips along the soft hair that was scattered across his chest.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist," you giggled, kissing your way up his neck.
"Worth the embarrassment," he said, gently lifting your chin with his finger and bringing your lips to his in a soft lingering kiss. "And you are very welcome,"
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Medieval Scorpions Effortpost
So yesterday I reblogged this post featuring an 11th-century depiction of the Apocalypse Locusts from Revelations, noting the following incongruity as another medieval scorpion issue:
The artist, as you can see, has interpreted "tails like scorpions" as meaning "glue cheerful-looking snakes to their butts".
Anyway, it occurred to me that the medieval scorpion thing might not be as widely known as I think it is, and that Tumblr would probably enjoy knowing about it if it isn't known already. So, finding myself unable to focus on the research I'm supposed to be doing, I decided to write about this instead. I'll just go ahead and put a cut here.
As we can see in the image above, at least one artist out there thought a "scorpion" was a type of snake. Which makes it difficult to draw "tails like scorpions", because a snake's tail is not that distinctive or menacing (maybe rattlesnakes, but they don't have those outside the Americas). So they interpreted "tails like scorpions" as "the tail looks like a whole snake complete with head".
Let me tell you. This is not a problem unique to this illustration.
See, people throughout medieval Europe were aware of scorpions. As just alluded to, they are mentioned in the Bible, and if the people producing manuscripts in medieval Europe knew one thing, it was Stuff In Bible. They're also in the Zodiac, which medieval Europe had inherited through classical sources. However, let's take a look at this map:
That's Wikipedia's map of the native range of the Scorpiones order, i.e., all scorpion species. You may notice something -- the range just stops at a certain northern latitude. Pretty much all of northern Europe is scorpion-free. If you lived in the north half of Europe, odds were good you had never seen a scorpion in your life. But if you were literate or educated at all, or you knew they were a thing, because you'd almost certainly run across them being mentioned in texts from farther south. And those texts wouldn't bother to explain what a scorpion was, of course -- everyone knows scorpions, right? When was the last time you stopped to explain What Is Spiders?
So medieval writers and artists in northern Europe were kind of stuck. There was all this scorpion imagery and metaphor in the texts they liked to work from, but they didn't really know what a scorpion was. Writers could kind of work around it (there's a lot of "oh, it's a venomous creature, moving on"), but sometimes they felt the need to break it down better. For this, of course, they'd have to refer to a bestiary -- but due to Bestiary Telephone and the persistent need of bestiary authors to turn animals into allegories, one of the only visual details you got on scorpions was that they... had a beautiful face, which they used to distract people in order to sting them.
And look. I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum, but I would say that a scorpion's face has significant aesthetic appeal only for a fairly small segment of the population. I'm sure you could get an entomologist to rhapsodize about it a bit, but your average person on the street will not be entranced by the face of a scorpion. So this did not help the medieval Europeans in figuring out how to depict scorpions. There was also some semantic confusion -- see, in some languages (such as Old and Middle English), "worm" could be a general term for very small animals of any kind. But it also could mean "serpent".* So there were some, like our artist at the top of the post, who were pretty sure a scorpion was a snake. This was probably helped along by the fact that "venomous" was one of the only things everyone knew about them, and hey, snakes are venomous. Also, Pliny the Elder had floated the idea that there were scorpions in Africa that could fly, and at least one author (13th-century monk Bartholomaeus Anglicus) therefore suggested that they had feathers. I don't see that last one coming up much, I just share it because it's funny to me.
*English eventually resolved this by borrowing the Latin vermin for very small animals, using the specialized spelling wyrm for big impressive mythical-type serpents, and sticking with the more specific snake for normal serpents.
Some authors, like the anonymous author of the Ancrene Wisse, therefore suggested that a scorpion was a snake with a woman's face and a stinging tail. (Everyone seemed to be on the same page with regards to the fact that the sting was in the tail, which is in fact probably the most recognizable aspect of scorpions, so good job there.) However, while authors could avoid this problem, visual artists could not. And if you were illustrating a bestiary or a calendar, including a scorpion was not optional. So they had to take a shot at what this thing looked like.
And so, after this way-too-long explanation, the thing you're probably here for: inaccurate medieval drawings of scorpions. (There are of course accurate medieval drawings of scorpions, from artists who lived in the southern part of Europe and/or visited places where scorpions lived; I'm just not showing you those.) And if you find yourself wondering, "how sure are you that that's meant to be a scorpion?" -- all of these are either from bestiaries or from calendars that include zodiac illustrations.
11th-century England, MS Arundel 60. (Be honest, without the rest of this post, if I had asked you to guess what animal this was supposed to be, would you have ever guessed “scorpion”?)
12th-century Germany, "Psalter of Henry the Lion". (Looks a bit undercooked. Kind of fetal.)
12th-century France, Peter Lombard's Sententiae. (Very colorful, itsy bitsy claws, what is happening with that tail?)
12th-century England, "The Shaftesbury Psalter". (So a scorpion is some sort of wyvern with a face like a duck, correct?)
13th-century France, Thomas de Cantimpré's Liber de natura rerum. (I’d give them credit for the silhouette not being that far off, but there’s a certain bestiary style where all the animals kind of look like that. Also note how few of these have claws.)
13th-century England, "The Bodley Bestiary". (Mischievous flying squirrel impales local man’s hand, local man fails to notice.)
13th-century England, Harley MS 3244. (A scorpion is definitely either a mouse or a fish. Either way it has six legs.)
13th-century England, Harley MS 3244. (Wait, no, it’s a baby theropod, and it has two legs. (Yes, this is the same manuscript, that’s not an error, this artist did four scorpions and no two are the same.))
13th-century England, Harley MS 3244. (Actually it’s a lizard with tiny ears and it has four legs.)
13th-century England, Harley MS 3244. (Now that we’re at the big fancy illustration, I think I’ve got it — it’s like that last one, but two legs, longer ears, and a less goofy face. Also I’ve decided it’s not pink anymore, I think that was the main problem.)
13th-century England, MS Kk.4.25. (A scorpion is a flat crocodile with a bear’s head.)
13th-century England, "The Huth Psalter". (Wyvern but baby! Does not seem to be enjoying biting its own tail.)
13th-century England, MS Royal 1 D X. (This triangular-headed gentlecreature gets the award for “closest guess at correct limb configuration”. If two of those were claws, I might actually believe this artist had seen a scorpion before, or at least a picture of one.)
13th-century England, "The Westminster Psalter". (A scorpion is the offspring of a wyvern and a fawn.)
13th-century England, "The Rutland Psalter". (Too many legs! Pull back! Pull back!)
13th or 14th-century France, Bestiaire d'amour rimé. (This is very similar to the fawn-wyvern, but putting it in an actual Scene makes it even more obvious that you’re just guessing.)
14th-century Netherlands, Jacob van Maerlant's Der Naturen Bloeme. (More top-down six-legged guys that look too furry to be arthropods.)
14th-century Germany, MS Additional 22413. (That is clearly a turtle.)
14th-century France, Matfres Eymengau de Beziers's Breviari d'amor. (Who came up with that head shape and what was their deal?)
15th-century England, "Bestiary of Ann Walsh". (Screw it, a scorpion is a big lizard that glares at you for trying to make me draw things I don’t know about.)
I've spent way too much time on this now. End of post, thank you to anyone who got all the way down here.
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