St Margaret, reading, from Anne Boleyn’s Book of Hours, London, BL, King’s MS 9, f. 62v.

Commendation to St. Margaret. The saint, with a cross in her left hand, stands reading under a canopy, with a dragon behind her. Borders of trompe l'oeil decoration with flowers and birds; at the foot, two dogs, including a greyhound. Image and description via The British Library

Saint George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello, 1470

Saint George taming then slaying a dragon is one of the most fantastic saints‘ legends of the Middle Ages. Uccello has compressed two parts of the story into one small and strange picture. The saint plunges his spear into the head of a dragon, whose odd shape mirrors the entrance to his cave. An elegant, if bored-looking, princess already has a leash around its neck. Image and description via The National Gallery 

The Old Garden and Other Verses, by Margaret Deland, illustrated by Walter Crane, Published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston / New York, 1894

Walter Crane (15 August 1845 – 14 March 1915) was part of the Arts and Crafts movement and one of the most prolific and influential artists of his time. He was particularly well known for his magical, botanical illustrations of children’s books. You can find more of his work here.

Detail of a Medieval Manuscript from the British Library showing a butterfly on an iris flower. It's a detail from the border of an illustrated edition of the gospels. Image source: British Library MS Royal 1 E V. 

Da Costa hours, Illuminated by Simon Bening (1483/84–1561) Ghent, Belgium, ca. 1515, 172 x 125 mm, MS M.399, fol. 312v

Bernadinus of Siena, nimbed, tonsured, and wearing a Franciscan habit, holds a fiery disk inscribed IHS in right his hand. He stands within a landscape in front of a patterned hanging with pseudo-inscriptions. The scene is framed by a border decorated with floreate ornament, including a rose and viola, and inhabited by a butterfly, a snail, and a caterpillar. Image and description via The Morgan Library and Museum 

Gemma Ward at Alexander McQueen A/W 2006 The Widows of Culloden

For this collection McQueen revisited his interest in his Scottish ancestry and the historic subjugation of Scotland at the hands of its English neighbours. This time the inspiration was the Jacobite Risings that culminated in the Battle of Culloden (1745), the collection a memorial to the widows who had lost their husbands in the bloody conflict. Description via the Victoria & Albert Museum

Detail from an embroidery with botanical motifs framed by a series of savoy knots. 

Book cover of the culturally significant The Great Red Dragon Or The Master-Key To Popery by Anthony Gavin, which gives a colourful account of the customs of priests and friars, and the rites and ceremonies, of the Roman Catholic religion in 1724. 

A detail in Fee's shepherd's hut studio in Dorset. The hut was recently featured on Inigo's Almanac, read it here.

Shop Fee's Medieval Magic wallpapers and borders here.