SPOILER: it’s those vicious Lumbards again. Now a funny video unveils the mystery of another great classic of illustrated manuscripts: snail-fighting knights. “Even if the foolishness of it all occasion no shame, at least one might balk at the expense.” We already talked about killer rabbits in the margins of medieval books. Despite being notoriously famous for their senses of humor, one French Cistercian monk, Bernard of Clairvaux, described in his Apologia of 1125 that the images were “ridiculous monstrosities.” The comedy was not shared by all, however. The most unexpected enemy The most vindictive, and surprising foes to challenge your players on the tabletop. Speaking to CNN in 2016, James Freeman, a medieval manuscripts specialist at Cambridge University Library, said that there was no singular meaning or theme behind the illustrations, leaving the murderous, if not humorous, images open to interpretation and the imagination of the viewer. Medieval manuscript art made into miniature. The rabbits featured in the marginalia were no longer the hunted, they became the hunter - throwing down the proverbial gauntlet to any creature in its path. Hey, when you live in the Middle Ages you gotta get your kicks somewhere. Playful and subversive, they often thumbed the nose at authority figures,” writes CNN.
#KILLER RABBITS IN MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS FULL#
“Usually found in books made for the clergy, these illustrations - known as “marginalia” - were full of symbolism. Other bas-de-page scenes depict sword-wielding rabbits mutilating knights and other poor citizens who had the misfortune of running across the murderous Leporids. Scrawled into the margins of these 14th century texts are images of rabbits riding lions, snails, mythical beasts, hapless humans, and even an occasional woodpecker. The latter also inspired the iconic scene from the 1975 classic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where the fictional medieval character of the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog decapitates and kills Sir Bors the Younger (Terry Gilliam), one of the knights of King Arthur (Graham Chapman). Who knew that Monty Python and the Holy Grail was so historically accurate? No surprise that the French star of medieval monasticism, the Cistercian Bernard of Clairvaux, described those in the Decretals as ridiculous monstrosities, and he also wrote that Even if the foolishness of it all occasion no shame, at least one might balk at the expense. For many Monty Python enthusiasts, the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog scene seemed like a non sequitur - yet the creators were playing on the very real madcap tradition of drawing killer rabbits in medieval manuscripts. Killer rabbits in medieval manuscripts: Breviary of Renaud de Bar, ca. That rabbit’s dynamite!” declared Arthur, King of the Britons. A Killer Sense of Humor: Images of Murderous Rabbits Line Medieval Texts Close Alternative explanation is that hares and rabbits in medieval imagery were said to depict women, which is actually why they are usually shown doing damage to men.
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