diff --git a/redbot/core/utils/menus.py b/redbot/core/utils/menus.py
index f4e9cf364..6285c0e70 100644
--- a/redbot/core/utils/menus.py
+++ b/redbot/core/utils/menus.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import asyncio
 import contextlib
 import functools
 import warnings
-from typing import Union, Iterable, Optional
+from typing import Iterable, List, Optional, Union
 import discord
 
 from .. import commands
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ _ReactableEmoji = Union[str, discord.Emoji]
 
 async def menu(
     ctx: commands.Context,
-    pages: list,
+    pages: Union[List[str], List[discord.Embed]],
     controls: dict,
     message: discord.Message = None,
     page: int = 0,
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ async def menu(
     RuntimeError
         If either of the notes above are violated
     """
+    if not isinstance(pages[0], (discord.Embed, str)):
+        raise RuntimeError("Pages must be of type discord.Embed or str")
     if not all(isinstance(x, discord.Embed) for x in pages) and not all(
         isinstance(x, str) for x in pages
     ):