from
https://theconversation.com/why-medieval-manuscripts-are-full-of-doodles-of-snail-fights-206255

Why medieval manuscripts are full of doodles of snail fights
Published: June 13, 2023 11.20am EDT

Author
Madeleine S. Killacky
PhD Candidate, Medieval Literature, Bangor University
Disclosure statement
Madeleine S. Killacky does not work for, consult, own shares in or
receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from
this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their
academic appointment.
Partners
Bangor University
Bangor University provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.
View all partners
CC BY ND
We believe in the free flow of information
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative
Commons license.

A medieval drawing shows a soldier in chainmail aiming his sword at an
oversized snail with blue shell.
Battle in the margins from the Gorleston Psalter (1310-1324). British

The doodles found in the margins of very old manuscripts are often just
as interesting as the content of the manuscripts themselves. One such
example is the frequently recurring – and extremely odd – image of
knights warring against snails.

From the late 13th century through to the 15th century, images of
knights fighting snails pop up in all sorts of unlikely places within
the medieval literary world. And they reveal fascinating insights into
what medieval people thought about the world around them.

Images of knights fighting snails first started to emerge in North
French illuminated manuscripts (which are decorated with richly coloured
illustrations) towards the end of the 13th century (around 1290). A few
years on – although slightly less consistently – these same images
started appearing in Flemish and English manuscripts.

Interestingly, in most cases these snail doodles appear to be unrelated
to the adjoining illustrations of textual passages.

Read news coverage based on evidence, not tweets
Often, the doodles depicted an armed knight confronting a snail whose
horns were extended and pointing like arrows. In the manuscripts of the
French folktale, Le Roman de Renart, the weapons that the knights were
depicted with varied between sticks, maces, flails, axes, swords and
even forks.

A knight on horseback jousting with a snail.
Extreme jousting from Brunetto Latini’s Li Livres dou Tresor, (c.
1315-1325). Courtesy of the British Library
Snail assailants are almost always male knights. However, there is one
known instance of a woman opposing a snail wielding a spear and shield.

As these snail combat doodles increased in popularity within
manuscripts, they became an accepted element of medieval imagery. From
here, they spread to other areas of medieval life.

A page from a manuscript showing a snail facing a monk in the footer.
The monk is disarmed and on his knees.
A disarmed monk faces a snail opponent, from The Book of Hours (c.
1320-1330). Courtesy of the British Library
Decorative panels carved around 1310 on the main entrance of Lyon
Cathedral in France, for example, showcase a knight confronting a snail
and another man threatening a dog-headed giant snail with an axe.

Despite travelling across the continent, the knights versus snails motif
varied little from country to country, which suggests that it may have
had a deeper meaning.

Medieval satire
Nobody knows exactly why battles between snails and knights were so
popular throughout the middle ages. One theory is that these doodles
added humour to texts which were otherwise quite dry and serious.

A knight praying for mercy from a large hovering snail.
The gastropod conqueror from the Gorleston Psalter, 1310-1324. Courtesy
of the British Library
A reader could rest their eyes by taking a moment to laugh at the scene
of snail combat before continuing with their reading.

A rabbit and a snail sit on top of a pair of monkey's shoulders, jousting.
A rabbit, monkeys and snail jousting, from the Harley Froissart (c.
1470-1472). Courtesy of the British Library
Many of the doodles show a knight dropping their sword or kneeling
submissively before their diminutive shelled foe, which accentuates its
satirical implications. There are also several representations of women
pleading with knights not to attack the formidable beasts.

Other similarly lighthearted imagery includes a cat stalking a snail
with the head of a mouse, as well as dogs, monkeys, dragons and even
rabbits in fierce opposition with the molluscs.

The meaning of the snail motif
Snails were recognised in medieval times for their unusual strength,
given that they were able to carry their home on their back.
Confrontation with a snail, therefore, could represent a test of
personal strength as well as mental fortitude.

Once a symbol of deceptive courage, the snail became a creature to be
hunted down and destroyed in a display of strength and bravery.

A knight approaches a large red snail, wielding a club.
A knight versus snail fight from the Smithfield Decretals (
c.1300-1340). Courtesy of the British Library
Like many other subjects popularised in marginal illuminations of the
1300s, the snail and knight duo gradually disappeared as time wore on.
They experienced a brief revival, however, in medieval manuscripts
towards the end of the 15th century.

And they haven’t completely disappeared from the common imagination.
Today the pairing can still be enjoyed in the nursery rhyme,
Four-and-Twenty Tailors Went To Kill a Snail:

Four-and-twenty tailors went to kill a snail,

The best man amongst them durst not touch her tail;

She put out her horns like a little Kyloe cow;

Run, tailors, run, or she’ll kill you all e’en now.

Medieval
Folklore
British history
Knights and dames
Manuscripts
Middle Ages
Snails
European Middle Ages
medieval books
Medieval art
Educate me
Over 1,000 experts have already written for us this year
Our mission is to share their expertise as widely as possible. Now, more
than ever, this public service is vitally needed. Your support helps us
do it. For the price of a streaming service, your gift each month will
provide a stream of quality information. Thank you.

Joel Abrams
Director of Digital Strategy and Outreach

On 6/15/23 10:33, a425couple wrote:
> from
> https://theconversation.com/why-medieval-manuscripts-are-full-of-doodles-of-snail-fights-206255
>
> Why medieval manuscripts are full of doodles of snail fights
> Published: June 13, 2023 11.20am EDT
>
> Author
> Madeleine S. Killacky
> PhD Candidate, Medieval Literature, Bangor University

and here is a very valid comment:

Jacky Smith pin icon Pinned
logged in via Google
On the other hand, the failure to understand this may be down to the
lack of crossover between academics studying such documents &
enthusiastic gardeners.As a gardener, I have no problem appreciating
them - they express exactly how I feel about slugs & snails. Mediaeval
monasteries were dependent on their extensive gardens for all sorts of
things, and they were regarded as the closest thing to paradise that
could be seen on earth. No wonder pests were identified as significant
enemies.
1 day ago

Steven Carr
In reply to Jacky Smith
That sounds like an excellent hypothesis.

Jake Choir
In reply to Jacky Smith
Agreed - that was my first thought. Snails were the main “fight” that
monks would face, so these pictures are probably monks having a giggle
at their juxtaposition to knights.And the uniform spread across Europe
of virtually anything at the time would most likely have been due to the
church.

also, along similar lines

Ted Rethers
logged in via Facebook
The European snail is an extremely aggressive agricultural pest where
farmers resort to burning their fields to reduce their populations . As
the time suggests Europe was in a small ice age and the use of fire
would have been difficult, also at the same time farmers were forcibly
removed in many places and their practie of running ducks and other
poultry as a reduction method would also have been curtailed therefore
as it was up to the knights to look after the people this may have been
one of their responsibilities to help with the combat of such a
destructive pest.