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In medieval England, the rabbit was a rarity, served at the tables of kings and Norman lords. After the Black Death of 1346 to 1353, it became a much more common animal, eaten and worn by fairly prosperous peasants. This history, traced by Alex Brown in The Conversation and republished by Phys.org, sheds light on the social upheavals of medieval England.
An animal that arrived late on the island
The European rabbit, now so familiar in the British countryside, is not native to the British Isles. According to the article, archaeologists have found a rabbit bone dating from Roman Britain, but written sources only mention it from the Norman period onward.
One of the earliest traces appears in the Scilly Isles, where a landowner, Richard de Wyka, acknowledged in 1176 that he had refused to pay tithes on his rabbits, arguing that this kind of property was not subject to them. His confusion suggests the animal was still a novelty.
The rabbit as royal gift and exceptional dish
In the 13th century, the rabbit remained rare enough to catch the sovereign's attention. In 1235, Henry III gave ten live rabbits to Geoffrey Despenser, lord of Martley in Worcestershire, taken from his park at Guildford. A few years later, he had thirty to forty animals caught, taking care not to exhaust the colony.
The king only began adding rabbits to his feast provision lists from his Christmas meal of 1240. A rabbit then cost four to five times as much as a hen. Landowners protected their warrens against poachers and predators, going so far as to build stone watchtowers and lodges.
The Black Death and the spread of rabbits
The Black Death, which killed between a third and two thirds of Europe's population, transformed the living conditions of the survivors. Land became more easily accessible, and labourers could demand higher wages. Many then imitated the lifestyles of the upper classes.
A law of 1363 sought to regulate clothing according to social rank, as excessive finery threatened, in its words, the ruin of the country. Rabbits followed the same trend: in the 14th and 15th centuries, their meat appeared on the tables of prosperous peasants and their fur on the garments of ambitious artisans. Henry VII even had a nightgown lined with black rabbit fur made.
Pests, poaching and social control
As rabbits multiplied, complaints became more frequent. Manorial accounts regularly record damage to crops caused by the lord's rabbits. Hunting also took on a political dimension: after the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, Parliament passed a law in 1390 targeting the poaching of artisans and agricultural workers, who were considered likely to plot against the king.
A satirical bestiary in the manuscripts
Rabbits also decorated the margins of medieval manuscripts, often in a mocking spirit. Rabbits wielding lances on the backs of snails illustrate the self-mockery that runs through medieval culture. The Smithfield Decretals, illuminated in London in the 1340s, goes further: the rabbits capture, judge and execute their human hunters and their greyhounds, in a world-turned-upside-down logic.
This taste for inversion also recalls the election of a boy bishop at Durham or a "Lord of Misrule" during May festivities. The Caerbannog rabbit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) is a distant comic descendant. In 1555, the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner claimed that England was the country where rabbits proliferated most.
Frequently asked questions
Why was the rabbit a luxury animal in the Middle Ages?
In the 13th century, the rabbit was rare in the British Isles and expensive, about four to five times the price of a hen. It was raised in guarded warrens and reserved mainly for kings and lords. Henry III gave rabbits away or had them caught for his feasts.
Is the rabbit native to England?
No, the European rabbit is not native to the British Isles. A rabbit bone was found in a layer from Roman Britain, but written mentions appear mainly from the Norman period onward. It therefore became established gradually.
What role did the Black Death play in the spread of rabbits?
The Black Death, between 1346 and 1353, wiped out a large part of the population and improved the living standards of survivors. Peasants were able to eat rabbit and wear its fur, which made the animal more common in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Where can you see medieval manuscripts illustrated with rabbits?
The Smithfield Decretals, illuminated in London in the 1340s, is the most frequently cited example of these satirical scenes. Museums and libraries that hold illuminated medieval manuscripts allow visitors to see such images, often displayed in exhibitions on everyday life in the Middle Ages.
Sources
- Rabbits were a medieval royal luxury in England—until the Black Death made them commonplace — Phys.org
Original summary written with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited, checked automatically, then translated from the French original. Information and quotations belong to their authors. Read the French original.
