Dicks, killer rabbits, and giant snails: a look at Medieval humor – from the recent discoveries by Dr. James Wade to @weirdmedievalguys and @medievalmarginalia accounts
Memes from the Middles Ages – a short name for a long, complex period
The Middle Ages were a multifaceted period during which culture, daily life, and popular beliefs differed and mirrored our own in ways we might not expect. Its complexity derives from socio-political differences that, like today, set apart areas and regions even in the same continent and from its length.
The dates that by convention are used the most to delineate the Middle Ages, itself a later term that Medieval people would not have used to define their time, is the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD and the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD.
This demarcation makes the Middle Ages a period spanning about a thousand years. It saw the preservation of ancient thinking as seen by the influence of Aristotelic ideas and Galenic medical theories, and it was a time of innovation that saw the invention of spectacles, buttons, universities, banks, and mechanical clocks.
The Middles ages as an unexpected pop-culture sensation
The impact of the Middle Ages cannot be seen in our daily lives alone, thanks to inventions and changes that happened during the time, but in the arts and our culture too. That was true in the past as it is now: during the Victorian Era (1820-1914), the Middle Ages influenced the works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and this period was at the core of the so-called Gothic Revival.
These days, while most people might not be able to describe what makes a picture, a fantasy world, or an outfit ‘medieval-inspired’ we pick up the reference. Our fascination with our idea of the Middle Ages, itself influenced by artists’ takes on what the Middle Ages looked like, has influenced fashion, as seen by the recent popularity of ‘bardcore’ fashion and the ‘whimsy-gothic’ aesthetic.
Music and literature haven’t been immune to the influence of the Middle Ages. Medieval imagery and iconography can be seen in the works of artists such as Irish singer-songwriter Enya and British artists Florence and Machine, Elanor Moss, and Paris Paloma.
Stories set in a fictional version of the Medieval world have become foundation stones of the high-fantasy genre, such as J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, cult classics like the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin and recent takes on the genre like Samantha Shannon’s Roots of Chaos series.
Medieval humor – how people had fun a thousand years ago? The myth of a European medieval ‘Dark Age’ itself is as pervasive as it is inaccurate
In spite of its recurring influence on the zeitgeist, the way we see the Middle Ages is clouded by a series of longstanding myths about this period. Many believe the myths that people in the Middle Ages didn’t bathe, followed the Church’s every command in their daily lives, and thought the Earth was flat.
The myth of a European medieval ‘Dark Age’ itself is as pervasive as it is inaccurate. While our chances to die before reaching puberty would have been higher a thousand years ago, the Middle Ages was at the same time a period that saw changes and developments in several fields, and people managed to find time and energy to have fun and enjoy humor despite the hardship of their time like we do today.
A recent discovery by Dr. James Wade from Cambridge University’s English Faculty and Girton College has given a window into medieval humor and fun. While conducting archival research in the National Library of Scotland, Dr. James Wade found a text about a medieval live comedy performance. «It was an intriguing display of humor, and it’s rare for medieval scribes to share that much of their character». said the researcher in a press release.
Shedding light on the English comic culture of the time – the manuscript by cleric and tutor Richard Heege
This 15th-century manuscript by cleric and tutor Richard Heege is the author of this record of a minstrel’s performance that Heege attended in person: «By me, Richard Heege, because I was at that feast and did not have a drink». This unexpected discovery sheds light on the English comic culture of the time. «Most medieval poetry, song, and storytelling have been lost». Dr. Wade said.
«Manuscripts often preserve relics of high art. This is something else. It’s mad and offensive but just as valuable. Stand-up comedy has always involved taking risks, and these texts are risky. They poke fun at everyone, high and low».
The text contains the earliest recorded use of the ‘+red herring’ in its current use, slapstick, a Chaucerian tale of a killer rabbit entitled The Hunting of the Hare, a mock sermon, and a record of the minstrel poking fun at the audience and encouraging them to drink. «These texts remind us that festive entertainment was flourishing at a time of growing social mobility».
Explained the researcher. «People back then partied a lot more than we do today, so minstrels had plenty of opportunities to perform. They were big figures in people’s lives right across the social hierarchy. These texts give us a snapshot of medieval life being lived well».
The humorous world of Medieval – meaning of the word Marginalia
Medieval humor was visual as well as oral. While the term marginalia can be used to describe anything written or drawn around the edges of book pages, whether to annotate or embellish the text, the Marginalia were part of the manuscripts themselves during the Middle Ages.
Many of these drawings, which might seem salacious or unsettling to modern people, served at the time as illustrations of the text and were understood differently within the context of the book and their time. The imagery of genitalia as a whole, for example, didn’t have the same connotations it has today and was seen as apotropaic.
Other images might have come off as humorous to their contemporaries, poking fun at the text they decorated, and they could be read as playful, satirical, or raunchy. These drawings, whose whole meaning can be lost on us, could be found in both religious and secular texts.
Le Roman de la Rose, an Old French poem and the medieval equivalent of an erotic best-seller
We can find a drawing of a nun harvesting penis-shaped fruits from a tree that to us might not look out of place when decorating Le Roman de la Rose, an Old French poem and the medieval equivalent of an erotic best-seller, and one of the people fighting giant snails on the edges of a Book of hours, a type of Christian private prayer books which was used to pray by laypeople.
Given their shared creativity, potential for satire, ability to convey complex ideas through images, and their connection to their respective times, parallels could be drawn between medieval Marginalia and today’s memes, something people of the future might find themself baffled and amused by in a thousand years from now.
The Middles Ages as memes: Bardcore remakes of popular songs in a comedic style
Given the space the Middle Ages have been taking up in the collective consciousness and in a variety of media, it’s easy to see why the Middle Ages itself and our perception and idea of this period have become a comedy theme.
The British comedy group Monty Python released the medieval-inspired parody of the Arthurian legend Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975, and decades later, medieval-themed comedy in various formats is still going strong.
The Canadian singer and illustrator working under the stage name of Hildegard von Blingin’, a pun on the name of saint, composer, and writer Hildegard von Bingen (1098 – 1179), is one the leading figures of the music microgenre called Bardcore, which consists of remakes of popular songs in a comedic, medieval or renaissance inspired style, and is making in their words ’Bardcore for the discerning clergyman, noble, or muck-gathering peasant’. Their songs include old-timey covers of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, Somebody I Used to Know by Gotye and Kimbra, and Dolly Parton’s Jolene.
Medieval Memes generator: @weirdmedievalguys and @medievalmarginalia
People on the internet are also using medieval art and Marginalia as the base of their memes. The Instagram account @weirdmedievalguys shares bizarre medieval images, as does the account @medievalmarginalia, with these medieval artworks being puzzling and humorous enough to contemporary audiences to become memes in their own right.
Some in the academic world have picked up on this interest in medieval-themed humor and are using it to educate the public about Medieval history. The KB, the national library of the Netherlands (KB nationale bibliotheek), hosts its own online medieval meme generator called Medieval Memes. Through this generator, users can pick a medieval picture, such as the Marginalia depicting a scene from the Old Testament painted by Pierre de Raimbeaucourt on the instructions of Jean de Marcheuil, and learn about its background. Then, the users can add their own text, which will be displayed in the classic meme font.
The KB – National Library of the Netherlands
The National Library of the Netherlands. Founded in 1798, it stores more than 120 kilometers of written heritage in The Hague.
