A case of medieval depression or bullying?

[topum]

Everyone keeps saying that these medieval snail and frog look depressed. But to me the frog looks bullied by the snail and scared. The snail does not look depressed I think, it looks evil.



I remember that they were inexplicably obsessed with snails in those times. Medieval knights were always fighting them in the margins of gothic manuscripts. And I think it is still a mystery why.

Did the snails represent the Lombards who were vilified then? Or did they somehow represent resurrection? Was it just humour? Did they represent the inevitability of death (“Like a snail that melteth away into slime, they shall be taken away" from Psalms)? Apparently we have no idea. Depictions of snail vs knight combat were ubiquitous though.



And some were wonderfully weird.



I like the rabbit on the right. Sweet ride!

Comments

[wosny.livejournal.com]

Wonderful pictures. I didn't realise about the medieval obsession with snails, which is surprising because I do a bit of blackwork and they do appear in those patterns, along with frogs and bees and pomegranates.

[topum.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Yes snails appear very often and mostly being fought by knights. I think pomegranates are a Biblical theme? I see them very often in Judaic art too, including modern Judaic art.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

My money's on the Psalm. :-)

[topum.livejournal.com]

All of those guesses appear possible but quite unlikely to me. I hope we will find out one day.

[doomcookie99.livejournal.com]

Love love love the images. I love museums. :-)

[topum.livejournal.com]

Thanks. What is your favourite museum?

[doomcookie99.livejournal.com]

I like the Royal Ontario Museum (the ROM https://www.rom.on.ca/en) and I like our own town museum Elman W. Campbell Museum (http://tinyurl.com/z96k3lw) and those two are the ones I have visited. I love the Louvre and MOMA and any other museum. I love old stuff .. the ROM is a very good museum. If you are ever in Toronto Canada, you should check that out... and of course if you visit my hometown of Newmarket, the museum there is good. :-)

[beautesauvage13.livejournal.com]

Maybe the snail represented death in some way.  Hence all the fear and the fighting off the snail. 

Not really sure why they choose an innocent snail to represent death other then it is a creature that crawls around on the ground.  Didn't the medieval Era people have this whole thing with the hierarchy of nature?  Things that crawled or slithered on the ground were evil things that flew through the air were good..So snails and snakes were bad.  Birds good.  Snails and snakes were somehow closer to the devil and birds closer to God. .I don't know - I think I remember something about such a thing in that medieval lit class I took eons ago.  Not sure about the frog though I mean it lives mostly on the ground too. 

Athena

[diejacobsleiter.livejournal.com]

The ones with ropewalkers are amazing. Unbelievable, what a association ideas has the painter - to decorate musical scores (whic is nothing but notes on the ropes!!!) by ropewalking. These figures are like live notes.

Judging by notation style, its around XIII century...

[wearwoolf.livejournal.com]

You truly have an eye for art. I love your brand of visual humour on my F-list.

That snail is evil!!!