![]() The images had to be easily understood / readable because marginal paintings rarely had captions. But a lot of what they did was work with commonly-understood (and thus easily-readable) comments, jokes, and sometimes patron-specific images. Weve already featured People Happily Dying, Battle Snails and Cats. Therefore, medieval manuscripts abound with representations of Jesus surrounded by hares. It was considered humorous because it subverted the “natural law” of things.Ī majority of artists at this time also were not monks, but professionals who worked on commission and did what the patrons requested, although they certainly had quite a bit of artistic license in marginal paintings. Why So Many Medieval Manuscripts Depict Violent Rabbits. The ‘mean rabbits’ theme also was at the simplest level a form of “topsy turvy”, related to fools being able to make fun of kings and women beating their husbands or foxes running away with cocks (NOT male chickens). They are a sign of the weak finally getting up and fighting the good fight. Vorpal Rabbits often materialize as a sign of punishment of ill-gotten deeds. The world turned upside-down was portrayed where the innocent rabbits could take revenge and hunt humans, dogs, or other predators. Inspired by a certain manuscript: Vorpal Rabbit You see a small rabbit humanoid with a big weapon moving at a rapid speed. 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). The role reversal of these rabbits in the marginalia was mainly used for humor. But in medieval manuscripts, the rabbits were depicted as violent. ![]() These darkly humorous images of medieval killer bunnies still strike a chord with modern viewers, always proving a hit on social. This is a very well crafted video overview of conservation at the Freer Gallery of Art. ![]() Paintings featuring Jesus and Mary often contain rabbits, even well into the Renaissance, such as Titian's 1530 painting 'Mary and Infant Jesus with a Rabbit. The most probable explanation would be that these drawings are just a medieval sense of humor: in traditional medieval symbolism, rabbits were generally harmless and cowardly creatures. Rabbits can often be found innocently frolicking in the decorated borders or illuminations of medieval manuscripts, but sometimes, for reasons unknown, these adorable fluffy creatures turn into stone-cold killers. The margins of medieval manuscripts often reveal rabbits drawn simply for the fun of it, as described in Open Culture.
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