Don't forget Terry Gilliam's genius medieval artwork contained there in as well, specifically God's instructions or "blessing" and the movie title fanfare including a line of musicians blowing trumpets with their butts! 😉
It's strange, these drawings tell more than their own stories - it's like seeing into the consciousness of an age, getting a tiny, tiny feel for a larger experience.
Today some people see drawings of strange beings and want to believe it is proof of aliens. But as we see here, people draw all manner of strange things that are purely from their imagination. I think it’s safe to say no one ever actually saw any of these things in real life?
I love this kind stuff, it shows that no matter what the time period is.... people will try to sneak funny doodles ... And I find the complete insanity of medieval art just fascinating. Especially the odd creatures, bizarre interpretation of regular animals, and nonsensical situations (medieval cats, man-faced babies, and animals that look like the result of a game of telephone gone horribly wrong)
The one showing a small tree with penises.. back then people believe that witches clone men's penises in their sleep and have them as pets,so that they could control men's carnal hunger. Sure people back then love to blame everything to women even as simple as Men having their boner. These aren't just nonsense doodles at all.
05:56 I have heard a theory that snails were meant to depict Lombards. The Lombards were a people who were supposed to be a really war like and often acted in an unchristian manner. They fought often as mercenarries and were known to be vicious in battle. As such they were almost universally hated throughout medieval Europe. As an insult they were often called snails. Sadly I cant remember how that originated. But it explains why knights are often seen fighting snails (Lombards) in medieval manuscripts
All of a sudden I realise the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog wasn't some completely random thing they threw in the film as just another absurd obstacle on the quest.
"The noise of a fart now, is just as funny as it was in the twelfth century." To be fair, the oldest known joke was about a woman not farting in a man's lap, so... apparently longer than that.
Monty Python hits yet another level of depth for me. I just thought it was funny to have a vicious rabbit; I had no idea it was a medieval thing. Killer rabbits.
Snails symbolized the Lombards' retreat from Charlemagne by the way they carry their house on their back. When rabbits are depicted participating in human activities these images are called "drolleries" or "grotesque." The most typical form of drollery is the mixed-species beast, such as a fish with a cow's head or a dog with a dragon tail. When rabbits are depicted participating in human activities these images are called "drolleries" or "grotesque." The most typical form of drollery is the mixed-species beast, such as a fish with a cow's head or a dog with a dragon tail.
“The men of the 21st C. Seemed to communicate with glyphs titled “soyjak” to communicate displeasure, and a rather smug frog titled “papé” to communicate superiority over an adversary.” - future historians, probably
We do not know why the ancient people put so many images of a frog portraying various emotions but some historians believe that this Pepe figure was worshiped as a god. XD
Of all the women in medieval society to pick the...fruit(?)...off of a penis tree, I certainly never expected it to be a nun. Thank you for this most fascinating (albeit wildly entertaining) video. People in the Middle Ages were weird, though clearly no more so than we are.
Worm or any kind of gastropod was a common insult. Creatures without legs were lowest to the ground, and Hell below, therefore were considered the most sinister and impure creatures. It was a serious insult to call someone a snail. That's the theory I was taught, anyway, although it might be from a later period. Anyway, these scribes had some serious talent!
it's too long ago to be sure but I vaguely remember a history class in college where the homicidal rabbits were said to represent the peasantry. The implied message being don't think they're completely harmless.
Don't know where you found these "treasures," but this RUclips video is certainly a delightful (and scandalous) Christmas treat! Many thanks for the gift that will keep on giving!
I had no idea that such artwork was done within otherwise sacred texts. This gives a whole new meaning to the Illuminated Manuscripts though I don't know if this kind of artwork was present there as well. Also this kind of art points to where later painting greats got their ideas. Specifically I'm thinking of Hieronomous Bosch and Peter Bruegel.
The European Bison is not extinct. It was extinct in the wild in 1919. They still had them in zoos and they were also held by private owners. From the 1950s onward they have been reintroduced into the wild. Today they are classified as Near Threaten. That's just one notch down from the top of the conservation scale. So if 6 is perfectly fine and flourishing and 0 is extinct, they are currently sitting at a 5. As of 2019 there were around 7,500 in the wild. Over 25% of which live in Poland.
The phallus tree was an art motif common in Western Europe during the late Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance.[1] Phallus tree in the Fertility Fresco at Massa Marittima, circa 1265 Its concrete significance is hazy, but it appeared in bronze, illuminated manuscript, and paint; it manifested as bawdy humour, religious parody, political comment. The Tuscan Massa Marittima mural, featuring oversized phalluses, some erect, complete with testes, was Guelph propaganda warning that if the Ghibellines were allowed to take control, they would bring with them sexual perversion and witchcraft.[2]
All this insane Medieval MSS illumination artwork explains a lot from Monty Python and the Holy Grail ... including the Knights Who Say Ni demanding that King Arthur cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with... a herring!
Very well done. I'd hate to see any of this art being _marginalized_ today. I'd love to see a few more videos about the art that accompanied ancient texts
These remind me of the little cartoons in the margins in Mad Magazine in the '70's. My favorite was of a man leaning against a piano with a guy playing the piano. The caption read "Francis Scott Keye writes only hit song!"
Awesome video! I've seen many articles about different types of marginalia. Not sure why but I really love them. Sea monsters from ancient maps are just as wonderful.
marginalia have always reminded of the cartoons drawn in the margins of Mad magazine, there was always all kinds of weird stuff going on though not as weird as the medieval renderings shown here LoL i wonder if thats where the cartoonists drew their inspiration from? if not, it just proves that human nature is consistent throughout history.
There’s a paintings in tombs and on papyrus from ancient Egypt where cats herd geese, antelopes play Senet wirh lions, cats are caring for their mouse masters babies… hippos climb trees to get away from mice , etc…. so this kind of art isn’t new at all.
Cool collection of illustrations. I've seen many of these in other places, most separately in other videos on other topics, but it's fun to see them together. BTW, the European Bison is *NOT* extinct. It's still around and is in the lists as "near threatened". In fact, it was recently re-introduced to the fens of Britain as part of re-wilding project.
The fact of marginalia's very existence in these religious tomes suggests that perhaps the scribes knew they were never destined for reading, despite the owners' best intentions -- sorta like today's enormous coffee table editions put out by museums, that might be thumbed through out of boredom but more than likely ignored.
Rabbits are actually vicious and have a strict army like ranking system and have battles against each other's warrens. "Watership Down" was a scientific study anthropomorphized for reading interest. There's another,similar famous book about ants. Anyway, if snails represented Lombards and dogs represented a loyalist (or sometimes a specific saint) I'm sure rabbits must represent a nationality or type of person. Lions are England, unicorns Scotland, griffins are Ireland,dragons are Wales...maybe rabbits are France?
A little clarification about 10:10; the European Bison was indeed hunted to extinction in the early 20th century, but only in the wild. The species survived in captivity and was relatively quickly reintroduced to the wild. The population of European Bisons is, in fact, growing.
List of things 1000 years older than the internet: * Memes * Furries * Weird porn Remember this next time someone tries to blame technology for humans being humans.
I just love these insane images :) to me it’s the epitome of medievality (is there such a word? well, nevermind :))… I mean, the very essence, the spirit of that time.
Those scribes must have been bored out of their minds to come up with such fanciful drawings. Guessing they were younger and still in the "heat of youth" as monks would say.
Well! This certainly explains Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail rabbit skit. 😂😂😂
Agreed, that was my first reaction to this!
Makes the joke deeper on so many levels now.
It wasn’t just random.
Don't forget Terry Gilliam's genius medieval artwork contained there in as well, specifically God's instructions or "blessing" and the movie title fanfare including a line of musicians blowing trumpets with their butts! 😉
Both the vorpal bunny and the Trojan Hare, I'd say. The Python team were quite well educated, and it shows.
@@myfrestuff3453 Exactly what I was going to say. Never mind the rabbit, the ass trumpets were definitely marginalia!
Historians: “What do the snails mean!? WHAT DO THEY MEAN??? FAMINE!? LUST!?”
Medieval scribes: he he funi snale :)
The nun physically blackeyeing a demon had me laugh. So random yet not from their perspective. Whoever drew that had a lot of aggression built up 😂
She looks so content lol
I believe that's supposed to be the virgin Mary, not a random nun.
It's strange, these drawings tell more than their own stories - it's like seeing into the consciousness of an age, getting a tiny, tiny feel for a larger experience.
Today some people see drawings of strange beings and want to believe it is proof of aliens. But as we see here, people draw all manner of strange things that are purely from their imagination. I think it’s safe to say no one ever actually saw any of these things in real life?
Breugel seems less avant garde now.
@@alphagt62 Some used this as a coping mechanism of the hard times that were faced in the period, finding beauty in the benign.
The beast is in the cave.
What, behind the rabbit?
IT IS THE RABBIT!
😅😂
I love this kind stuff, it shows that no matter what the time period is.... people will try to sneak funny doodles ...
And I find the complete insanity of medieval art just fascinating.
Especially the odd creatures, bizarre interpretation of regular animals, and nonsensical situations (medieval cats, man-faced babies, and animals that look like the result of a game of telephone gone horribly wrong)
The one showing a small tree with penises.. back then people believe that witches clone men's penises in their sleep and have them as pets,so that they could control men's carnal hunger. Sure people back then love to blame everything to women even as simple as Men having their boner.
These aren't just nonsense doodles at all.
I love how chill the guy with the sword in his head is.
'Tis but a scratch.
Now that's something to aspire to!
05:56 I have heard a theory that snails were meant to depict Lombards. The Lombards were a people who were supposed to be a really war like and often acted in an unchristian manner. They fought often as mercenarries and were known to be vicious in battle. As such they were almost universally hated throughout medieval Europe. As an insult they were often called snails. Sadly I cant remember how that originated. But it explains why knights are often seen fighting snails (Lombards) in medieval manuscripts
Were they slow in movement, speech or thoughts? 🤔
honestly it could be just a medieval meme.
Yes, I think you are correct. I have read that historic explanation about the Lombards too. 🙂
All of a sudden I realise the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog wasn't some completely random thing they threw in the film as just another absurd obstacle on the quest.
"The noise of a fart now, is just as funny as it was in the twelfth century."
To be fair, the oldest known joke was about a woman not farting in a man's lap, so... apparently longer than that.
Even in the middle ages they knew about the invincible snail and it's never ending approach
Medieval Memes 😂
Monty Python hits yet another level of depth for me. I just thought it was funny to have a vicious rabbit; I had no idea it was a medieval thing. Killer rabbits.
Snails symbolized the Lombards' retreat from Charlemagne by the way they carry their house on their back. When rabbits are depicted participating in human activities these images are called "drolleries" or "grotesque." The most typical form of drollery is the mixed-species beast, such as a fish with a cow's head or a dog with a dragon tail. When rabbits are depicted participating in human activities these images are called "drolleries" or "grotesque." The most typical form of drollery is the mixed-species beast, such as a fish with a cow's head or a dog with a dragon tail.
yeah! Just scrolled down, read it years ago forgot the details. thx
Great video. I remember reading that the snails were used as a kind of slur for Lombards in medieval marginalia (at least sometimes).
Im guessing the hatred for rabbits was because they would ruin people’s hard work raising crops, same with snails
I love all the wacky margin drawings drawn in medieval manuscripts.
I wonder if the medieval killer rabbit doodles inspired that hilarious scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The original Killer Rabbits of Caerbannog??
So technically, Monty Python is historically accurate?!
Yes witches are made of wood.
Hasn't changed much. They had a psychopathic rabbit and we had bugs bunny.
I imagine 1000 years from now, a Vox Cast video on what the meaning of the smug frog and sad man images were.
“The men of the 21st C. Seemed to communicate with glyphs titled “soyjak” to communicate displeasure, and a rather smug frog titled “papé” to communicate superiority over an adversary.” - future historians, probably
We do not know why the ancient people put so many images of a frog portraying various emotions but some historians believe that this Pepe figure was worshiped as a god.
XD
Europeans will be extinct in 1000 years at the current rate of non-reproduction,
@@pablopicaro7649
Europeans need to have sex with non Europeans by that logic then.
And do it a lot.
Of all the women in medieval society to pick the...fruit(?)...off of a penis tree, I certainly never expected it to be a nun. Thank you for this most fascinating (albeit wildly entertaining) video. People in the Middle Ages were weird, though clearly no more so than we are.
Well, maybe they figured the nuns needed/wanted the disembodied penis-fruit more than regular ladies, who probably had access to their own? lol
LOl I am nearly 60 years old and I still giggle when I hear a fart LOL
Worm or any kind of gastropod was a common insult. Creatures without legs were lowest to the ground, and Hell below, therefore were considered the most sinister and impure creatures. It was a serious insult to call someone a snail. That's the theory I was taught, anyway, although it might be from a later period. Anyway, these scribes had some serious talent!
Yes. This is exactly the Christmas video I want to see right now.
it's too long ago to be sure but I vaguely remember a history class in college where the homicidal rabbits were said to represent the peasantry.
The implied message being don't think they're completely harmless.
Don't know where you found these "treasures," but this RUclips video is certainly a delightful (and scandalous) Christmas treat! Many thanks for the gift that will keep on giving!
Amazing channel, the man behind this definitely needs more recognition.
Been binging on these lately.
“Bad Bunny” owes royalties to medieval illustrators😂
Maybe the snail is a symbol of the slow and clumsy Knight in full armour.
And I was wondering about the bloody savage rabbit in one of the "Monty Python" sketches.
Makes you wonder if they were on acid, shrooms or something 😂
Amazing to realise people went from that to the Victorian mentality. Lol.
I suspect that the image of the snails may have symbolized how evil can slowly creep up on one.
I had no idea that such artwork was done within otherwise sacred texts. This gives a whole new meaning to the Illuminated Manuscripts though I don't know if this kind of artwork was present there as well.
Also this kind of art points to where later painting greats got their ideas. Specifically I'm thinking of Hieronomous Bosch and Peter Bruegel.
It also disproves the idea of the “Renaissance”
Currently decorating my dining room in a sort of medieval style and I'm determined to have a picture of a cat licking it's butt somewhere in there
So strange, last video I was thinking to myself "I hope he publishes a video about medieval art" and now you did, thats crazyyy
This is an inspiration to bored students everywhere.
The European Bison is not extinct. It was extinct in the wild in 1919. They still had them in zoos and they were also held by private owners.
From the 1950s onward they have been reintroduced into the wild. Today they are classified as Near Threaten.
That's just one notch down from the top of the conservation scale. So if 6 is perfectly fine and flourishing and 0 is extinct, they are currently sitting at a 5.
As of 2019 there were around 7,500 in the wild. Over 25% of which live in Poland.
This video really exemplifies that people have been weird since the dawn of man.
We really take the knowledge and understanding of the world that we have today for granted.
This is quite silly indeed
The phallus tree was an art motif common in Western Europe during the late Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance.[1]
Phallus tree in the Fertility Fresco at Massa Marittima, circa 1265
Its concrete significance is hazy, but it appeared in bronze, illuminated manuscript, and paint; it manifested as bawdy humour, religious parody, political comment. The Tuscan Massa Marittima mural, featuring oversized phalluses, some erect, complete with testes, was Guelph propaganda warning that if the Ghibellines were allowed to take control, they would bring with them sexual perversion and witchcraft.[2]
All this insane Medieval MSS illumination artwork explains a lot from Monty Python and the Holy Grail ... including the Knights Who Say Ni demanding that King Arthur cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with... a herring!
5:50 nah it's just knights fighting the french, "you are what you eat"
Very well done. I'd hate to see any of this art being _marginalized_ today.
I'd love to see a few more videos about the art that accompanied ancient texts
I see what you did there😏😆
It'd be great to see more videos on Medieval Marginalia/similar bizarre art, such as bestiary art, please!
Agreed. The channel Hochelaga…I think that’s what it’s called, has a bunch of medieval art stuff.
Marginalia, what a great word!
Love the bit about the violent rabbits! I still have a scar across my face inflicted by a bunny 55 odd years ago!
I think the snails are down to a misprint. It was only later that they quested for the Holy Grail instead of Snail
These remind me of the little cartoons in the margins in Mad Magazine in the '70's. My favorite was of a man leaning against a piano with a guy playing the piano. The caption read "Francis Scott Keye writes only hit song!"
Yes! Please, more of this Medieval marginalia, and with more complete background info.
So..all in all, the beginning of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” wasn’t really that far off of what manuscripts had in them?!?!?…….lol.
We've come so far haven't we?...
That was very interesting and funny. I can't imagine a scribe putting naughty drawings in a prayer book and no one notices or cares?
Rabbits are surprisingly violent, even to this day!
The chap at 4:31 doesn't look like a bishop to me: surely a king?
This takes me back to Leviticus something something, when God ordered man to pick fruit from the penis tree
The grandson of a friend of mine used to call farts "bum trumpets." Thinking like a medieval artist.
as i (mis)remember a bit of animation in _...Holy Grail_, a character places a trumpet to his bum and produces a musical note.
Awesome video! I've seen many articles about different types of marginalia. Not sure why but I really love them. Sea monsters from ancient maps are just as wonderful.
Inspiration for Sergio Arogones perhaps 🤔?
I love medieval art, well done, BTW the image @ 6:31 I believe is saying that even a knight must fight snails in the garden.
This was fantastic! Very funny too!
Each Friday I look forward to your video!
Makes me think that most Midieval minds never got beyond puberty!
Yet they were able to build massive, carved-stone cathedrals and steel forging technology to craft full plate armor suits that arrows bounced off of.
I need more of this kind of content
Many more like this please!
As an occasional artist I should add that drawing snails is very easy and satisfying
"He really had a daring talent." - William. Love these Illuminators!
Thanks for this video. I laughed out loud & really enjoyed it a lot!
The farting bull with a kill radius of *three acres*
They were just as nuts and weird as we are. And 1000 years from now, human/AI cyborgs will look back on us and say exactly the same thing.
Need to pop down to the Library to "research" some medieval books
marginalia have always reminded of the cartoons drawn in the margins of Mad magazine, there was always all kinds of weird stuff going on though not as weird as the medieval renderings shown here LoL
i wonder if thats where the cartoonists drew their inspiration from? if not, it just proves that human nature is consistent throughout history.
I'd love to see more videos depicting and explaining super strange artworks like these
0:48 that guy will hate to come back to life today and find lightbulbs exist
You've probably also heard of Fables Of Lafontaine, where anthropomorphic animals are often depicted. 🙂
There’s a paintings in tombs and on papyrus from ancient Egypt where cats herd geese, antelopes play Senet wirh lions, cats are caring for their mouse masters babies… hippos climb trees to get away from mice , etc…. so this kind of art isn’t new at all.
If I may, there seems to be some confusion about rabbits versus hares. The latter are fierce.
I mean I think we need more of these lol
Thank you.
Any art work from the original versions of some childrens stories? The ones which were actually quite gruesome?
When It comes to the snails?. I thought is was a representation of the Lombards . Interesting.
Cool collection of illustrations. I've seen many of these in other places, most separately in other videos on other topics, but it's fun to see them together. BTW, the European Bison is *NOT* extinct. It's still around and is in the lists as "near threatened". In fact, it was recently re-introduced to the fens of Britain as part of re-wilding project.
Well this is sure different It shows no matter the time people had a sense of humor
Love this , ty brother
Don't mind me. I'm just here continuing my Medieval Madness binge.
Feeling pretty good about the doodles on my meeting notes right now
That was cool, thanks!!
The fact of marginalia's very existence in these religious tomes suggests that perhaps the scribes knew they were never destined for reading, despite the owners' best intentions -- sorta like today's enormous coffee table editions put out by museums, that might be thumbed through out of boredom but more than likely ignored.
This channel needs to blow up
YES YES YES! I believe I suggested marginalia in a comment a few months ago. So glad you did it! 👍😂
Rabbits are actually vicious and have a strict army like ranking system and have battles against each other's warrens. "Watership Down" was a scientific study anthropomorphized for reading interest. There's another,similar famous book about ants.
Anyway, if snails represented Lombards and dogs represented a loyalist (or sometimes a specific saint) I'm sure rabbits must represent a nationality or type of person. Lions are England, unicorns Scotland, griffins are Ireland,dragons are Wales...maybe rabbits are France?
@TeleegramMedievalMadness I'm not sure what you mean *head scratch* lol But thanks for making my life happier 🐇🐌
The Bonacon sounds like me after a particularly spicy Vindaloo
Just what you need on Christmas eve
LOL!!! Please more videos like this!!!!!
European bison have been reintroduced in the Blean nature reserve near Canterbury! There have even been babies born there since they were reintroduced
A little clarification about 10:10; the European Bison was indeed hunted to extinction in the early 20th century, but only in the wild. The species survived in captivity and was relatively quickly reintroduced to the wild. The population of European Bisons is, in fact, growing.
Great Video 👍
The shading is still top tier.
List of things 1000 years older than the internet:
* Memes
* Furries
* Weird porn
Remember this next time someone tries to blame technology for humans being humans.
toilet humor will keep existing for as long as culture does
I just love these insane images :)
to me it’s the epitome of medievality (is there such a word? well, nevermind :))… I mean, the very essence, the spirit of that time.
Look up Sheila Na Gig from Ireland. Ladies doing a not-so -lady-like thing!😄👍
Those scribes must have been bored out of their minds to come up with such fanciful drawings. Guessing they were younger and still in the "heat of youth" as monks would say.