This week’s marginal image comes to us from the famous Macclesfield Psalter:
The Macclesfield Psalter has made a few appearances in Mmm.. Marginalia over the years. Remember our friends the Knight-Terrorizing Snail, the Man Who Rides a Giant Duck, the Dr. Monkey, M.D., Dog-Ass Man, and Piggyback Aristotle? Of course you do! Now, to their august ranks we may add Horrifically-Maimed Jousting Rabbit.
The image is as self-explanatory as it is gruesome, but two details jump out at me as noteworthy. First, while the green hill with black holes in it is a standard medieval way of representing a pastoral landscape, usually the holes have little rabbit heads poking out of them. The expected rabbits have clearly chosen to flee after they saw what happened to their friend. And second, take a look at the expression on the rightmost horse’s face. He’s apparently quite troubled by what his doggy master has made him a party to.