So did everyone have a good encounter with their rabbits today? 👀
(I'm pretty sure the moral of these manuscript details is "careful what you hunt today, lest you be hunted tomorrow." Either that, or "bring the scribe more beer while they're working, if you don't want them to play out their boredom on the pages of important ecclesiastical documents." 50/50! 🙃)
Yes, these ones are found in a folio of ecclesiastical law documents, so they're especially appropriate for their context. They're definitely of the "topsy turvy" variety of animal marginalia!
@MLClark Those 13th century furries and therians had great cover stories.
Considering why though… well it stands to reason :P
SO much easier to hide in plain sight, but... I bet working with all that ink was pretty hard on the fur! :)
My reference to beer was canonical, too, though. Apparently part of these docs was delivered with the following note:
"'The whole thing is finished; give the guy who wrote it a drink."
So it's nice to know labour conditions haven't necessarily worsened over time! Not sure how well therians handle their booze, either, but beer was a fairly watered down affair back then!
I also love that you used the word "meme". I'm just imagining time travelling folk getting all flustered when they see how easy kids have it today.
"Back in my day, if you wanted to share a funny picture, you had to learn how to read and write, commit yourself to a monastery, work your way up to access to the good ink, and THEN, if you were really lucky--"
"Okay, grandpa, we get it, you don't like our GIFs."
"Well, I didn't say THAT, exactly... Show me another one, will you? 👀"
@MLClark That is an amusing images, but meme like images did persist in the Middle Ages, one of which is the Three Hares or Three Rabbits. It started in China and traveled along the Silk Road, until making it to Europe and ending up literally everywhere.
Viral was much harder back in those days, and interpretations were far more local but it points to a universal appeal of certain kinds of design. Which is fascinating.
Oh, I'm aware of medieval literary culture! I studied early saints and medieval manuscripts in a couple of classes in grad school. So many fun images and wonderfully imaginative stories. (Along with approaches to the diversity of spiritual life that would put many rigid ideologues to shame today.)
But I didn't know the history of the Three Hares narrative. That's a beauty of a travelling tale, thank you. 🤗
@NiveusLepus @MLClark
Such images are exactly what Richard Dawkins was referring to (all the way back to cave paintings) when he coined the term "meme" for them.
Yes, I'm aware of the meaning of the word "meme".
I was just chuffed to see it put into use here. Often the word "motif" is used instead for older work, to elevate it from the content we distribute today and to estrange us from the fact that human beings haven't much changed over time.
@MLClark Sorry. I was just showing off that I know a thing about a thing 🤣🤣🤣 @NiveusLepus
🤗 Oh, I think that's on me, Stuey. I'm half an hour out from breaking fast so I'm probably cranky and overly sensitive.
You "Yes, and"-ed with more relevant subject matter! Nothing wrong with that at all!
More data is never a bad thing!
@stueytheround @MLClark @NiveusLepus now that you mention… I first came across “meme” through the theory of Ken Wilber 😁
@Merlin Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, 1976 as far as I know. From the Greek word "to copy".
Totally ok with being wrong about that.
😂 Like I'd risk crossing a hare after sharing the marginalia I just did! I know what happens when you go for the ones that know how to bounce!
🤗 Thanks, you two, for engaging in my silliness with such generosity and care. Hope you're ending your days on a lovely note.
@MLClark @NiveusLepus Ending my day with you guys makes that a "yes".
@MLClark @stueytheround I’m ending my day with my friends, you included, which makes this a great day.
@MLClark the probability of the wabbits getting me are low.. but never zero! 😅
Especially the wascally ones!
@MLClark Spotted this sign last week in my old home town, Claremont CA.
@MLClark My understanding is those are a type of meme that was popular in the time called “The World Turned upside down” A reference to the chaos of the end times when the powerful, and the powerless are in inverse position.