The Adventures of a Little Cat in Medieval Turku

It is a new summer day in medieval Turku. For a little cat, every day is a big adventure here. The waters of the Aura River sparkle and the fields are full of grain. Well this is a good life, thinks the cat with a smile.

However, his attention is now towards the market, the centre of Turku. The little cat’s stomach growls, and he thinks of stealing something to eat from the market. Wow,  what a hustle and bustle it is here! There are people everywhere, lots of market stalls, carts and seagulls. The trade seems to be going well. The cat is looking for food. He sees that there are some green peas, chicken legs, liver, cabbage and turnips available. In addition to food, trinkets and spices are also sold at the market. A wonderful scent hovers over the cat’s nose. Fish! The seller is so focused on counting the coins they have just received, so, the cat takes advantage of the situation and grabs a small fish in his mouth.

A loud laughter scares the cat. A familiar voice… There are children nearby, but where? A few metres away he hears a loud sound, CLOP, CLOP, CLOP. Eeeeek, gigantic children, the cat thinks when he sees what’s coming and rushes away. In reality, they were just kids walking with wooden legs and having fun, but the little cat didn’t understand it. 

There is also much more to the cat to watch out for, in the Middle Ages it was not always so safe. What if Ukko, the God of thunder, suddenly decides to open the sky and direct the storm to the centre of Turku? Or what if the dragon attacks the citizens? Fortunately, these were just stories, but in the Middle Ages they were considered very true. The cat wakes up from his thoughts as the knights with their shiny armour ride past on their horses… I have to stay alert so that I don’t get trampled!

Carrying the fish in his mouth, the little cat continues its journey in search of a suitable place where it could lie down in a shadow and eat in peace. The church bells are ringing. Maybe there would be room for the little cat in a park near the church? The market is so loud, that the cat decides to pad along the river in the direction of the church. He looks around. There, some carpenters and joiners keep making noise in their workshops, and over there, children are enjoying their candy canes and marzipan sweets, lucky ones! Farther away he can see houses where the common people live. There he is going to spend the night later. 

Breathless of his journey, the cat arrives at the church. It’s so big that the little cat starts to get a little dizzy while staring at it. So instead, he heads to a shady and sheltered bush that he just noticed. The fish tastes delicious. Finally, stomach full of fish, he is happy to retreat to a wonderful nap. This is a good life, he thinks, before closing his eyes and falling asleep.