Murdering Medieval Bunnies

Ah, the killer rabbits of medieval art—a true enigma wrapped in a bunny-shaped puzzle. When you see a rabbit wielding a sword or gleefully threatening a knight in shining armour, you might wonder if medieval monks had access to something more potent than mead. But fear not! These ferocious hares are actually a sly joke buried in the margins of medieval manuscripts, where bored scribes and illuminators let their imaginations run wild.

The rabbit in Pontifical of Guillaume Durand, Avignon, produced before 1390:

The Noble Rabbit Rebellion

Rabbits, in their natural state, are the embodiment of meekness. They’re prey animals, always on the lookout for hawks, wolves, or someone with a particularly large appetite for stew. In medieval symbolism, rabbits often represented cowardice and timidity. But what happens when the meek decide they've had enough? Enter the "Murdering Medieval Bunnies." These vengeful furballs turn the tables on the mighty, embodying the absurd idea of prey fighting back with a vengeance—and a mace.

Monks Gone Wild

Many of these marginalia, the doodles in the borders of medieval manuscripts, were drawn by monks. After hours of painstakingly copying out scripture by hand, wouldn’t you want a little fun? The killer rabbits were their equivalent of doodling on a notebook during a long meeting. They added a sprinkle of whimsy to an otherwise solemn page. A knight bravely fleeing from a rabbit armed with a lance? That's pure comedic gold, and it helped monks stay awake during long, candlelit nights of scribing.

And it gets worse. The armed rabbits have allies. Like the snails:

Social Commentary, Medieval-Style

These depictions may also have served as subtle social commentary. Imagine you’re a 14th-century peasant tired of taxes and serfdom. Seeing a humble rabbit take up arms against an armoured knight might feel a bit cathartic. It’s a topsy-turvy world where the weak overthrow the strong, a kind of medieval meme about reversing power dynamics.

Murdering Medieval Bunnies Behaving Badly

And then there’s the possibility that these killer rabbits are just plain silliness. Medieval art is chock-full of bizarre humour—snails fighting knights, monkeys wearing crowns, and now rabbits on a murder spree. These are the Easter eggs (pun intended) of the medieval world, little jokes hidden in the margins to entertain and surprise.

Why Does It Still Amuse Us?

The idea of a cute, fluffy bunny turning into a deadly adversary taps into the same kind of humour that made Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s killer rabbit so iconic. It's the unexpected clash between appearance and behaviour that makes it funny. Medieval people, like us, enjoyed the absurd.

So next time you see a medieval killer rabbit, remember: it’s not just a bunny; it’s a centuries-old joke from a monk who really needed a laugh. And if you’re ever approached by one of these marginalia marauders, you’d better run. After all, they might not be as fictional as we think...

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