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So obviously bonnacon are the best and probably best left alone. Nobody wants to be the recipient of butt flames or caustic poop.

The bonnacon sticks its tongue out at two people holding their noses. Serves them right for getting too close. From Bibliothèque Nationale de France, lat. 3630 [Bestiary (Second Family)], folio 78r

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I know I said that you better bring a shield for protection but even the shield looks disgusted here.

Two people walking away from a bonnacon that is spraying both odor and feces. The armored individual is holding a shield with a face on it. From Universitätsbibliothek Augsburg, Cod.II.1.2° 109 [Augsberg Bestiary / De bestiis et aliis rebus], folio 133v

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They REALLY don't smell good.

Two people holding their noses as a bonnacon farts noxious green odors at them. The bonnacon looks pretty embarrassed. From Bibliothèque Municipale de Douai, Ms. 711 [De Natura animalium], folio 8r

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As you can imagine, they don't smell good either.

Two people running away in disgust from a very smelly red bonnacon. From Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. lat. 1862, folio 4r

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If you're hunting a bonnacon, you better have a shield ready to protect yourself otherwise you're in big trouble.

A group of four people spear a bonnacon with curling horns as it flames from its bum. From Morgan Library, MS M.81, folio 37r

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Arendse @arend.se · 02/09/2026

One of the lesser-known fantastical creatures I talked about last week at @laworldcon.bsky.social was the bonnacon. It appears in medieval bestiaries as a bull-like creature with horns curved back on themselves and therefore useless to protect itself. Instead, it expels flaming poop in defense.

A bull-like creature with curved horns expels excrement/flames at a shielded hunter who looks like he's regretting his choices. From Kongelige Bibliotek, GKS 1633 4°, f. 10r

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Harvesting our first batch of potatoes in the new house and I'm just so excited by how purple they are

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Arendse @arend.se · 27/08/2026

Now that WorldCon has started, I have an excuse to hand out my new business cards! 🐉

Red text that says Arendse Lund, with a dragon peering in from the right hand corner (art by the incredibly talented Franklin Hu)

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Arendse @arend.se · 25/08/2026

I'm ready for WorldCon but holy moly is SoCal hot. Maybe I'll adjust by the time the panels start? Anyway, come hear me talk as I slowly melt!

Five places to meet me across four days at WorldCon, listed along with the times, dates, and a qr code for scanning to bring you to the schedule with all the information

Arendse @arend.se · 17/08/2026

And then afterwards...

A man vomiting from BnF. Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal. Ms-2510, f. 17v

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Arendse @arend.se · 16/08/2026

I'm begging people to stop complaining when archivists are photographed handling books with bare hands. I know press departments who've made archivists put gloves on because they either look "more official" or they don't want to deal with the inevitable complaints.

The image on the left is bare hands holding a tiny manuscript, obeying good archival practices and keeping the manuscript safe. The person on the right has a giant red X though it because they have been misled by the media and is wearing white gloves and touching the manuscript ink, probably scraping some off, but likely thinks they're doing the right thing. But now you know better.

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In conclusion, do whatever you want! Leave notes! Make silly drawings! And if you find yourself in Copenhagen in October onward, come drop by the Old University Library for my exhibition "Marginalia: Words and Images on the Edge." The library is beautiful & I promise the marginalia will be profuse.

Fiolstræde 1, the Old University Library, with its burnished wood and two-level system

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Since the bf can't bear to read his gf's annotated books, may I introduce him to the concept of library loans? Then they don't have to buy two copies of every book, which for some reason he thinks they should. He'd probably need a moment if he saw Bishop Knud's notes all the way around this text.

AM 16 8vo, f. 70v-71r (1475-1499). Denmark. Bishop Knud's marginalia extends like a pair of brackets all the way around the main text.

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The margins being a sacred place where no one should write, or draw, is a relatively new idea. Historically, we haven't thought about margins like that at all. How would we know this magic spell for healing wounds if someone hadn't written it in the margins?

AM 187 8vo, f. 16v (1300-1399). Denmark. Someone has written a six-lined spell in the bottom margin.

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Long after the gf is dead, people will have insights into her thoughts & reactions because of the notes she left! This is what gives historians social and cultural clues. In the bf's honor, I'm including this photo of a manuscript where someone tried to erase the marginal notes. It sort of worked?

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It's because of marginalia that people who are long dead, and otherwise unable to talk to us, can tell us what they thought of what they read. Did they like it? Agree with it? Disagree? Straight up think it was stupid? Here someone thought this section was unnecessary and crossed it out.

AM 733 4to, f. 6v (1300-1350). Iceland. In the second column, an individual has crossed out a set of instructions.

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People drew in them too! And the drawings are so great! Here a lion stalks the bottom margin for the opening of Flóvent’s saga, one of the chivalric sagas that was originally derived from a French original.

AM 570 a 4to, f. 15r (1450-1499). Iceland.

A lion stalks the bottom margin for the opening of Flóvent’s saga, one of the chivalric sagas that was originally derived from a French original.

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The boyfriend argues that it's embarrassing & they can't loan out their books to friends because of his gf's marginalia. So what? Here's a 16th-century book where two readers have both written in the margins. In fact, sometimes you see a second reader commenting on the first reader's notes!

AM 79 4to, f. 19r (1575-1599). Norway. One reader has done marginalia in green ink, and drawn a little flower, while a second reader has done marginalia in a light brown ink and has underlined relevant passages. They're both reacting to the law code printed in this book.

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Even the people who wrote the books, wrote in them! Here's a 14th-century manuscript where the scribe wrote at the bottom: "May the writer be healthy."

AM 286 fol., f. 7v (1310-1330). A manuscript from Denmark. On this page, one scribe stops writing and another takes up writing. The second scribe has written a Latin phrase in the bottom margin.

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Arendse @arend.se · 17/07/2026

Her boyfriend argues that books are sacred and annotations are distracting. No, my friend, your arguments are distracting. People have written in books for as long as they've been around. Here's a 15th-century book with a note at the top that says "God, give me the Holy Spirit in my heart."

AM 22 4to, f. 92r (1450-1499). A manuscript from Denmark with marginalia across the top margin.

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A feather-winged dragon biting its own neck to form the letter 'A'

A yellow dragon above a tangle of knots forming the letter A in AM 45 fol., f. 84r

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Arendse @arend.se · 16/07/2026

Now here's a dragon with a long tongue!

A small dragon with a curling tongue and a tail like a leaf in AM 429 12mo, f. 35r

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Arendse @arend.se · 15/07/2026

Two is better than one ― when it comes to dragon heads decorating your medieval throne?

Saul sitting on a throne with dragon heads in AM 226 fol., f. 79r. The figure forms the shape of an inhabited initial.

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Arendse @arend.se · 14/07/2026

Today's medieval dragon has a collar and a star because why not?

A collared dragon-like creature under a star in the margins of AM 304 fol., f.23r.

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Arendse @arend.se · 13/07/2026

Good morning to everyone from this medieval Icelandic manuscript. I'm starting my week working with dragons.

A red-haired woman stands atop a dragon with its tail tied into a knot, her sword stuck in its back. From AM 428 a 12mo, f.1r

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Arendse @arend.se · 17/03/2026

Today's gem is the summary of this research paper on sibling rivalry in piglets. The authors wrote it as a POEM. I'm in porcine awe: A piglet's most precious possession Is the teat that he fattens his flesh on. He fights for his teat with tenacity Against any sibling's audacity...

Poem that reads:
A piglet's most precious possession
Is the teat that he fattens his flesh on.
He fights for his teat with tenacity
Against any sibling's audacity.
The piglet, to arm for this mission,
Is born with a warlike dentition
Of eight tiny tusks, sharp as sabres,
Which help in impressing the neighbors;
But to render these weapons less harrowing,
Most farmers remove them at farrowing.
We studied pig sisters and brothers
When some had their teeth, but not others.
We found that when siblings aren't many,
The weapons help little if any,
But when there are many per litter,
The teeth help their owners grow fitter.
But how did selection begin
To make weapons to use against kin?

Arendse @arend.se · 03/03/2026

Admiring Thiebaud’s paintings, abstract expressionist painter Barnett Newman told him that “[t]hose European surrealists are boys compared to what you can do with a gumball machine. That’s a real surreal object in you.” daily.jstor.org/wayne-thieba...

Three gumball machines filled with brightly colored candies

Arendse @arend.se · 18/02/2026

When you've cycled to work and now have to cycle home again too

A heavily bundled cyclist pedals through the white landscape

Arendse @arend.se · 16/02/2026

A wild week at the Olympics in Milan! The figure skating was incredible, but I'm about ready to drop everything and take up speed skating now. Just...wow.

The arch in milan with some sort of ball of light sculpture in the middle that would rhythmically open to music

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Arendse @arend.se · 05/02/2026

More snow! Now I just need somebody to throw this at...

A gloved hand holding a very flimsy snowball on a snowy backdrop

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Arendse @arend.se · 03/02/2026

I just found out that British Fantasy Society published my award-winning story "The Toll Bridge" at the end of 2025, so I'm sneaking one more story in here for award consideration!

Wet or drooling sea servants stare at the viewer. The page says BFS Horizons #18.

The opening sentences of The Toll Bridge by Arendse Lund
"I saw him first."
"But look at him -- you know he's just my type."
"You hooked the last one."
"That was ages ago."
"Oh please," followed by a wistful sigh. "He was a good one, wasn't he?"

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Arendse @arend.se · 03/02/2026

Copenhagen harbour has completely frozen over! That shiny surface in the distance? That's just smooth ice 🥶

An icy expanse, with a wooden dock for the ferry, and the sun glinting off the buildings on the other side of the harbor.

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Arendse @arend.se · 30/01/2026

And a magician troll who, by pulling a rabbit out of hat, is clearly trying to trick you into thinking he's not magical at all. Won't fool me!

A slender wooden troll with a long beard pulls a rabbit out of a hat

Arendse @arend.se · 30/01/2026

Having a nice meander through Bergen's troll forest. Look at this friendly guy I met!

A wooden cyclops stares, friendly, at you. He wants to be your friend.

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Arendse @arend.se · 29/01/2026

Good morning from the icy hills of Bergen, where the sun rises delightfully late, meaning I can sneak a hike in at a reasonable hour.