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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Rather a jolly illustration of rabbiting on the cover of Graeme White's "The Medieval English Landscape" - Luttrell Psalter I think http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1441135251/ref=rdr_ext_tmb Jane _____ From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jon Cannon Sent: 16 January 2014 11:39 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [M-R] Religious symbolism of rabbits In which case, my resurrection theme is presumably relevant to you. I feel sure the citation was in an article by Paul Everson, in which he described the symbolic dimension of a medieval landscape which (among other things) contained a rabbit warren, and included a medieval source for the symbolic dimension. Most of his work is on Lincolnshire, and much of it is done with David Stocker, but if I was forced to dredge my memory banks further, I'd say that I thought the discussion in this case related to Ludgershall castle, Wiltshire. Sorry this is so imprecise. Jon _____ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 11:18:00 +0000 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [M-R] Religious symbolism of rabbits To: [log in to unmask] medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Well my primary focus is on the symbolism of artificial rabbit warrens, representing places where rabbits burrowed away safely under the protection of a warrener. In contrast, hares don't use burrows but nest above ground. As such, the theological symbolism (if any) of warrens would be unique to rabbits. However, whether those people writing about and depicting rabbits and hares made such distinctions between the two species is a different matter. David. From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ms B M Cook Sent: 15 January 2014 23:45 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [M-R] Religious symbolism of rabbits medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture I really think you should be investigating "Hares and Rabbits" - not rabbits alone. [And that is what you should be saying on March 1st, walking backwards down the stairs, to bring good luck / avert bad luck. ] There is an enormous folk-lore about hares including the very well-known superstitions that (1) a hare was a witch in shape-shift mode and also (2) if a hare crossed the path of a pregnant woman, her baby would be born with a cleft palate - a "hare lip". And that is only the tip of the iceburg!! Brenda, who learned these things at her mother's knee!! ----- Original Message ----- From: Anne Willis <mailto:[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 8:07 PM Subject: Re: [M-R] Religious symbolism of rabbits medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture It is very unlikely that any Anglo-Saxon depiction of rabbits are rabbits; they are far more likely to be hares The received opinion seems to be that although rabbits existed in England prior to the last ice age they died out and were not introduced into this country until after the Norman Conquest. If the Romans introduced them, they did not survive. They are quite delicate beasts; hence the need for warrens and pillow mounds until the 18th century agricultural revolution provided crops for winter food Anne _____ From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Genevra Kornbluth Sent: 15 January 2014 16:47 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [M-R] Religious symbolism of rabbits Dear David, There are certainly various objects depicting rabbits or hares that don't appear to involve lust or procreation. Take a look at this page of my archive: http://www.kornbluthphoto.com/Rabbits.html (including the Arca image mentioned by Sharon Dale-- thanks, Sharon!). The photos there do not show a specific need for protection, but should be relevant. The inclusion of a rabbit/hare in the Otley Cross inhabited scroll (bottom) suggests the kind of approach you describe-- perhaps the Anglo-Saxonists on the list could comment further. The lintel from early Byzantine Cairo is certainly not northern, but the animal's context is again suggestive. best, Genevra ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion