loqui de leporibus volo

Salvete!

When coming up with ideas for illuminated letters etc I spend a lot of time looking up real examples of medieval manuscripts.  Taking pieces here and there adapting, changing, combining them into something new.  I've seen some fantastic examples that I can only hope to one day replicate, however I have seen some really weird examples as well.  So that bring said, loqui de leporibus volo! (I need to talk about the rabbits).  Seriously I have to talk about the rabbits. 

Here is an example of a rabbit from a medieval manuscript.  I know what you're thinking, "What is so wrong with that?" Here we have a rabbit, looking cute not doing much, being very much rabbit like in his/her behaviour.  Sadly this is NOT the norm.









This is the norm! Rabbits in medieval manuscripts are often violent, extremely violent. I'd even say psychotically violent.  Here we have a rabbit on the back of a snail human hybrid, jousting against a dog riding on the back of a rabbit.  I'll point out that if I were the dog I would be a little concerned with the way the rabbit beneath is looking at him.

 



In comparison the above image, although weird, is rather tame from what we will see next.


So here we have some poor chap being lynched by a couple of rabbits.  It looks like they've already tied his hands up, and it seems likely he is about to have his head bashed in.












 



This poor chap looks like he has been caught in some weird rabbit hunting party.  I can only suspect he was taken to end up being some weird chariot for the rabbits as seen here on the right.








This poor knight has fallen victim to a savage rabbit attack.












Apparently the King of the Dogs has to get involved and lay siege to a rabbit stronghold.












Things get so bad they even battle the angels!

So what on Earth is going on with all the rabbits during the medieval period? If this was one example I would just say the artist was a bit mad.  But we see this time and time again, so what's going on? Why rabbits and not cats? Were these the "cartoon" section of the medieval period? In place of Garfield let's have a rabbit decapitate some random person.

 

However they weren't all bad it seem.  I can only assume this is liturgically correct for the time.

Perhaps we should be focusing our historical efforts in figuring out what went wrong with the rabbits.  Did they all do insane? Was there some secret war between humans allied with Dogs against rabbits?  Is this the real reason they are man's best friend? Please wear your best tinfoil hat before tackling this one.

On a lighter note, here are two women standing in a field of broccoli throwing foxes at each other.  I have no words for this one.