The book Baudolino by Umberto Eco has these and many more fantastical creatures. The first half of the book sticks to history (north Italy wars, German emporer Barbarossa, the crusades and Constantinople, etc) but in the second half the characters start traveling to the East on a quest and start coming across these creatures and more...
To be honest i enjoyed the beginning historical parts much more than the quest part of the book. It brought insight to me on some things an Italian friend told me about their history, where there was constant fighting, even to the point where families would build compounds with towers so they could attack their neighbors from the tower. And how when a city was defeated in battle it could be completely dismantled and removed from the face of the earth.
Love me some nonsensical medieval illustrations. Compare and contrast to 2023 illustration of Blemmyes (from a game I was working on a couple years ago):
The book Baudolino by Umberto Eco has these and many more fantastical creatures. The first half of the book sticks to history (north Italy wars, German emporer Barbarossa, the crusades and Constantinople, etc) but in the second half the characters start traveling to the East on a quest and start coming across these creatures and more...
To be honest i enjoyed the beginning historical parts much more than the quest part of the book. It brought insight to me on some things an Italian friend told me about their history, where there was constant fighting, even to the point where families would build compounds with towers so they could attack their neighbors from the tower. And how when a city was defeated in battle it could be completely dismantled and removed from the face of the earth.
Love me some nonsensical medieval illustrations. Compare and contrast to 2023 illustration of Blemmyes (from a game I was working on a couple years ago):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HISYcO-WHmk
Not yet depicted in film? Missed opportunity.