Why knights fought snails in medieval art

Рет қаралды 3,658,341

7 жыл бұрын

Look in the margins of medieval books and you'll find an unusual theme: knights vs. snails. Follow Phil Edwards and Vox Almanac on Facebook for more: / philedwardsinc1
Lillian Randall's paper is here: www.scribd.com/document/26315...
And Michael Camille's book about marginal art can be found here: www.reaktionbooks.co.uk/displa...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/b...
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Medieval snails and knights - who knew? It turns out that medieval illuminated manuscripts featured a lot of bizarre imagery in the margins, but this pocket of art history might be one of the most intriguing.
Scholar Lilian Randall provides the best theory for the unusual motif: these medieval knights fought snails in the margins because snails represented the Lombards, who had become widely despised lenders throughout Europe. Snail was an insult and, over time, it became a type of meme detached from its original meaning.
Of course, like much of art history, this theory is just a theory. But it gives us an insight into the rich culture of marginal art and all the complexity, confusion, and amusement that sits on the side of the page.
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Пікірлер: 3 700

@sammylong3704 4 жыл бұрын

The answer is simple, in medieval times giant snails were a real menace but thankfully the brave Knights of Europe wiped them all out for us.

@wackwacker8623 4 жыл бұрын

Just like how lamps have shrunk Moths, Newton invented gravity to shrink the snails. The government wants us to believe no beasts can touch us, but I fear the day the moths and snails go back to their original size.

@tavishfinnegandegroot3513 4 жыл бұрын

ur one of the time travelling knights!! even tho theres no such thing as timemachine in the middld ages

@CaptainSeaDog_ 3 жыл бұрын

This is my head canon now

@rahmat4848 3 жыл бұрын

@@wackwacker8623 lol 🤣 good thing Newton invented gravity huh?

@ra_alf9467 2 жыл бұрын

Knight Jiub

@r8them84 5 жыл бұрын

everybody gangsta till the giant snail start fightin

@Ginerization 5 жыл бұрын

Then nobody helps with the dishes after...

@mickymouse2445 4 жыл бұрын

That giant snail that fights everybody really, really hard but also really, really slow

@rahmat4848 3 жыл бұрын

Just throw salt.. problem solved 😌

@healthandsurvival4461 10 күн бұрын

You laugh but just wait....the great prophecy shall come true

@Andy-gq5hb 5 жыл бұрын

The correct title would have been, "Rare medeival memes"

@giantsalsa3977 5 жыл бұрын

Medieval Memes that Kept Them Ol Nobles from Ending it All

@gingataisen 4 жыл бұрын

Medeival?

@jessicavernon8332 4 жыл бұрын

Andy 🔥 comment.

@aliifahbianca5504 4 жыл бұрын

1k!

@bashkillszombies 4 жыл бұрын

Pepe!

@beelzeboo 5 жыл бұрын

Its quite obvious that they were fighting giant snails hundreds of years ago

@GrassPossum 5 жыл бұрын

Or that people were much smaller then.

@anaccountmusthaveaname9110 5 жыл бұрын

@@GrassPossum They wouldn't have written normal sized books then. I think we should leave behind these childish conspiracies about tiny knights and stick to the hard science of gigantic snails.

@kseventytwo 5 жыл бұрын

anAccountMustHaveAName its not exactly ‘hard’ science, unless we talk about the shells

@anaccountmusthaveaname9110 5 жыл бұрын

@B. J. If giant snails aren't real, then explain how you were so slow to get a joke.

@nikolasmichael6377 5 жыл бұрын

That’s what the History Channel would interpret from this

@jordanguy4241 6 жыл бұрын

This is not a question I've ever asked, nor was I ever going to ask. yet here I am for an answer

@ReddishNeck 6 жыл бұрын

Jordan Guy This is how we all feel, I think. Weird. But it's such an intriguing video title, we all just clicked on it.

@SaladinGucman 6 жыл бұрын

😂

@pufwuf 5 жыл бұрын

The answer lies in the stars. Specifically; a snail can be seen in Cassiopeia, where also can be seen the shining 'countenance divine' of William Blake's 'Jerusalem'. This countenance is that of the biblical god (c.f. 'snails! - short for 'god's nails' - being an interjection of surprise and es-car-got translating loosely as 'you're for god') and it is this the knights are confronting, with good cause. There is some myth about the snail returning to Jerusalem (can't locate it at the moment) and I think it safe to say that it is well on it's way. Happy days ahead!

@dionjaywoollaston1349 5 жыл бұрын

Nick Addey I always thought that the snails represent the French, given how the french like to eat snails and it would have been a bit ridiculous to paint a giant clove of garlic, I feel a bit sorry for the knights who had to fight giant snails”my liege why doth That fellow from palastine George get to fighteth a dragon while I must slay a giant snail”speaking in RPG terms would a giant snail be more or less dangerous than a slime?

@Bee_v0mit 5 жыл бұрын

O wow I saw you on a Jack stauber video and I see you in this comment section as well. Nice profile pic btw

@m1l22 4 жыл бұрын

*_So basically this is the birth of shitposting?_*

@philiproe1661 4 жыл бұрын

Nah shitposting dates back to Egypt.

@philiproe1661 4 жыл бұрын

@Aleksa Petrovic Really shitposting is as old as drawing and writing themselves.

@Anti-HyperLink 4 жыл бұрын

Can you speak like a person?

@guyfacks1320 4 жыл бұрын

@Aleksa Petrovic the egyptians are as old to the romans as the romans are to us

@lashlarue7924 4 жыл бұрын

@@guyfacks1320 That is freaking mindblowing, but yeah. Actually I think the Egyptians would have been even more slightly older to the Romans than the Romans are to us (today)...

@FrizzleLamb 4 жыл бұрын

This is the medieval times' equivalent to today's "this meme will be hard to explain in 100 years"

@johnnoahdeandres9458 3 жыл бұрын

True

@Mary_OTT 3 жыл бұрын

I don no If anyone cares but I made the likes 420

@ginterka381996 2 жыл бұрын

Hahaha, true. XD

@rage_2000 2 жыл бұрын

“Here you can see an image of a common guy with a green shirt immersed in some sort of blue flame….”

@johnlee7164 2 жыл бұрын

Try explaining 4 year old memes.

@TheSwordbird98sPage 5 жыл бұрын

i have a feeling it was probably over something dumb. like a well-known person freaked out over a snail once and they started mocking them through drawings of snails vs knights

@foxify_ 5 жыл бұрын

Kind of like sarcasm?

@phanvan4076 4 жыл бұрын

But nope it was racial slur

@natebush8217 4 жыл бұрын

Hmm..."Knights vs. Snails"...yeah, that sounds like the next big Dream Works hit! :D

@venture3800 4 жыл бұрын

and thus dank medieval memes were born

@bashkillszombies 4 жыл бұрын

Doubtful, it was some group so powerful that you couldn't ridicule them. To see who rules over you look to he who you cannot ridicule. Or count the cookies one can bake per year.

@schmurble2254 7 жыл бұрын

RIP dude at the end. Horrifically murdered by a mutant snail from the 1300s. Gone too soon.

@Cyber_Noot 7 жыл бұрын

KSJDbv you're right. Mutant snails are no joke.

@millerrepin4452 7 жыл бұрын

How insensitive my family was killed by mutant snails

@TheOtherNeutrino 7 жыл бұрын

It was a decoy snail

@luiscarvalho6428 7 жыл бұрын

TheOtherNeutrino If that's the decoy snail where's the real one...

@witnesstochange1801 7 жыл бұрын

Luis Carvalho right behind you!!!

@lukmigindnuforhelved 5 жыл бұрын

Knights were the athletes superstars of the time. Monks were the academics. Maybe the nerds were mocking the jocks?

@bluemantis1448 5 жыл бұрын

A time when nerds bullied jocks?

@lukmigindnuforhelved 5 жыл бұрын

@@bluemantis1448 In their little margin world, yes :)

@maosama3695 5 жыл бұрын

Nah it's probably the king hired those knights to kill any snails they could find for if anyone touches the king he'll die.

@deusexrockina 4 жыл бұрын

Haha! Nice

@venture3800 4 жыл бұрын

@@bluemantis1448 not so much bullying as satire? 😂

@itsjustlukeRevive 4 жыл бұрын

Snail: *slimes* on Knight's foot Knight: DEMON!!! 🗡️

@berry.mixxxx 3 жыл бұрын

an f in the chat for the knight getting his foot stabbed

@AbandonedChan8l 3 жыл бұрын

@@berry.mixxxx F

@poggersbutthole8444 3 жыл бұрын

@@berry.mixxxx F

@jeanmichelteub4884 3 жыл бұрын

@@berry.mixxxx F

@DulocGuardsman 2 жыл бұрын

@@berry.mixxxx F

@seepdrer3990 4 жыл бұрын

When you are lvl 1 player, so you have to fight some snails to get some xp.

@hylbertvonmayhem6562 3 жыл бұрын

I know right

@dheiyomain6775 3 жыл бұрын

The grind

@alternimousdimension 19 күн бұрын

Exactly

@dutchministryofdefence604 6 жыл бұрын

its a older meme sir but it checks out

@-yourandyoureare2different612 4 жыл бұрын

an*

@krabbza 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you Robert EO Speedwagon of the Speedwagon Foundation from the popular anime manga franchise Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

@yokokurama5174 3 жыл бұрын

@@krabbza obnoxious*

@Laerei 7 жыл бұрын

600 years from now: why astronauts fought rainbow farting toast cats in digital era internet art.

@mk_rexx 6 жыл бұрын

We'll never know...

@smaugtheimpenetrable8009 6 жыл бұрын

The mystery will be unveiled , but until then...

@anonymous.t6649 6 жыл бұрын

Laerei ajakjsjjsjjehfbiejddjiosjenosodnowienodjdjowkemksidniwisn*djdj*eein(ejiiejdiiskwi*×××

@milascave2 6 жыл бұрын

Is that actually a thing?

@MrGamelover23 6 жыл бұрын

Opinunate ted Well Nyan Cat is the thing he described being fought.

@CraftxTD 4 жыл бұрын

This technically is a meme since a meme is an “element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation.”

@harukasaigusa8906 4 жыл бұрын

Stop talking.

@erikeriks 4 жыл бұрын

Memes are like viruses if you think about it

@hendywijaya3213 4 жыл бұрын

real definition of meme

@alarmy5211 4 жыл бұрын

Haruka Saigusa bro what he do tho

@VictoryDay-qe7vm 3 жыл бұрын

@@harukasaigusa8906 no u

@kitsandcards7968 5 жыл бұрын

Back then they go braggin about "I fought snails more fearsome than you!"

@Corvus__ 5 жыл бұрын

Just like how an f-1 racer today could say "I've seen snails faster than you!"

@lemiov6885 5 жыл бұрын

In the next few decades, it would be mud crabs.

@Corvus__ 5 жыл бұрын

@@lemiov6885 Why mud crabs?

@kitsandcards7968 5 жыл бұрын

@@Corvus__ it's an elder scrolls game reference hehe

@Corvus__ 5 жыл бұрын

@@kitsandcards7968 So mud crabs, aren't a real thing?

@3hallaman 6 жыл бұрын

Man, this guy just ignoring the invasion of the giant alien snails.

@merrittanimation7721 6 жыл бұрын

gingersassy I know right? Those men died valiantly.

@tarasarma2888 6 жыл бұрын

It's shameful. My friend's ancestors died in that war.

@codyg6514 6 жыл бұрын

You mean the Snailens right?

@codyg6514 6 жыл бұрын

Damnit, someone in the comments above already used my joke..

@AT-gk1tw 6 жыл бұрын

Cody Green is a genius.

@mugensamurai 6 жыл бұрын

Maybe they really hated escargot.

@noneofyourbeeswax01 6 жыл бұрын

I was expecting to find that the snail represented the French, a traditional foe of the English and notorious eaters of the cuisses de grenouilles, flesh of le cheval and more pertinently, as you have pointed out, the escargot in question... but apparently not.

@Changeling9au 6 жыл бұрын

Don't trifle with truffles! :)

@Hal-kc5bk 6 жыл бұрын

and the french

@TheLiamis 6 жыл бұрын

mugensamurai or the french

@mywallet7367 6 жыл бұрын

are you in the wrong timeline?

@aabcc 5 жыл бұрын

"Yo dude look at this snail i just drew" "Hey thats a good one!! Imma draw one too." Medieval meme stealing

@cerridianempire1653 3 жыл бұрын

yup it's terriffying to think that our humor will just go full circle and revert back to banana slipping gags

@darrenlynch2619 5 жыл бұрын

The snails were very clearly just a meme for the medival arts

@bashkillszombies 4 жыл бұрын

@hobbesfield1082 7 жыл бұрын

I just kind of learned that medieval monks made memes. I can die happily.

@ghiribizzi 7 жыл бұрын

Hobbesfield well that escalated quickly , well for medieval time standards

@92alexmaster 7 жыл бұрын

There are even older memes. The Three Hares meme is about 1500 years old from China, The Abracadabra is from the Roman Empire and The Sator square dates to the roman republic.

@AxelLeJeff 7 жыл бұрын

And Kilroy has existed since the dawn of man.

@facelessman9224 7 жыл бұрын

History's first trolls!

@crazyeyes8962 7 жыл бұрын

It's really not hard to imagine when you realize that a bunch of dudes who all lived in monasteries totally remote from the rest of the population were in control of almost all written information

@ChronicleLiving 7 жыл бұрын

Legends says that the French Knights are still fighting with snails in their fancy restaurants.

@olddoggeleventy2718 6 жыл бұрын

How dare you insult my French forefathers..."I fart in your general direction." ( Monty Python and The Holy Grail) couldn't resist the opportunity to use that line!

@sendai6694 5 жыл бұрын

Also the snails are eaten in the region of catalonia in spain

@jayrussell1825 5 жыл бұрын

Deww nut git funnee with ME, Meeseuer - - Sir Jacques Clouseau, Knights of the Ringside Tables

@kwest9747 15 күн бұрын

Snails are widely eaten across Europe and can be popular village food, e.g on the island of Lebos. In fact you’ll sometimes find snails in the frozen section of Lidl (not by accident) even in the UK.

@eldaroses.g.r.7945 2 жыл бұрын

So, it’s confirmed. Snail vs knight was a medieval meme. We’ve been memeing way longer than we get credit for.

@thecandlemaker1329 9 күн бұрын

Even longer than you think. Ancient romans shitposted on rocks and the walls of their public structures, leaving such important messages as "On April, 19th I baked a bread"

@TheCasualAbsurder 6 күн бұрын

Absolutely. Dawkins just rehashed some classical rhetorical analysis as an evolutionary advantage. Even “meme” is just a variation and abbreviation of “enthymeme.”

@willhoffman6629 2 жыл бұрын

False. The Knights were granted immortality but in exchanged a snail hunted them down, if caught the Knights would perish. The photos depict said events.

@TurquoiseIcy 2 жыл бұрын

We have come full circle haven't we?

@chistinelane 7 жыл бұрын

The reason we don't see them is because the knights won. The greatest heroes we never knew

@scienceme9794 7 жыл бұрын

Yeah, Don Quixote wiped the giant snails out before he took on the windmills.

@JotaDeeMeO 7 жыл бұрын

Otherwise we would have heroic stories about snails and dragons nows.... and let's not talk about snail movies..

@Wavemaninawe 7 жыл бұрын

Surely you jest. Knights were wiped off the map centuries ago. My brother is still fighting snails in his garden to this day.

@alantomy1444 7 жыл бұрын

chistine lane history favors the victor

@johnpetrov6602 7 жыл бұрын

Yes it is most accurate to say the snails are a meme. In my law class we ran over an ancient Roman law that required individuals to flee from battle if an avenue of retreat was available, rather than to fight an aggressor. This law was meant to prevent personal skirmishes from resulting in pointless death. Two aggrieved parties would menace each other with weapons then slowly back away to avoid combat while keeping their honor. In the margins of the book containing this law, there is a knight defending himself from a snail. Obviously, the point is that he could easily run away from the snail. That's the punch line. Like any meme, every time it appears the joke is slightly different until the original meaning is obscured. The joke might have several origins; there's no telling where it came from.

@OktoPutsch 7 жыл бұрын

one of the most interesting comments here ,Sir, thank you.

@rib_rob_personal 7 жыл бұрын

That's really freakin' cool.

@ixian_technocrat 7 жыл бұрын

Do you happen to remember the title of the manuscript with the aforementioned law and the drawing?

@johnpetrov6602 7 жыл бұрын

Ixian Technocrat Ah well it would probably have been out of the Code of Justinian. That's all I remember.

@barbequesauce7167 6 жыл бұрын

If you removed the old law then you'd have to find every reference to it and change it appropriately, then check the references to _those_ laws to make sure they still made sense... New laws sort of overwrite old ones. There's that one about it being legal to shoot a Welshman with a longbow, but newer laws about bodily harm have priority.

@cluckcluck6494 5 жыл бұрын

Goku: I’ve got the strongest enemies Knights: Hold my beer

@6catsinacoat781 5 жыл бұрын

To be fair... I haven't seen goku fight a snail ...yet.

@cluckcluck6494 5 жыл бұрын

Thomas Ridley Freiza will turn to a snail I tell you!

@JarmalK 5 жыл бұрын

@@cluckcluck6494 r u gay

@jordantampubolon8694 4 жыл бұрын

Hold my snails

@atallguynh 4 жыл бұрын

Hold my mead.

@yeah8598 2 жыл бұрын

Obviously people back then were just immortal,the snail is inevitable.

@tancredi7106 2 жыл бұрын

Finally someone said it 💀

@skellybird8697 2 жыл бұрын

Oh this is Christmas *WAAAR IS OVER IFF YOU WANT IT and what have we done

@SomeoneJustWatching 7 жыл бұрын

England, making memes since 1200

@marmorealcandors 6 жыл бұрын

Donald J Trump isn’t New York your city?

@Jescide 6 жыл бұрын

Leonard Marc Ramos America is his city

@martind349 6 жыл бұрын

Jescide Life and all of these Londons' still

@xenotypos 6 жыл бұрын

The manuscripts (in this video) are written in old french. So I doubt any of those are from england.

@taptapuyo2714 5 жыл бұрын

Harry Sinclair before it was cool. 😎

@jaschabull2365 6 жыл бұрын

1:40: Praying is no use, knight. Snails never do anything quickly!

@teslagirl1 5 жыл бұрын

Shellikybookies. There's a wonderful Irish children's song about snails, and that's what they were called.

@justas423 5 жыл бұрын

My theory is that it's a representation of them fighting boredom.

@bashkillszombies 4 жыл бұрын

You'd be wrong.

@reieben886 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, before printing press, medieval scriber are very boring and time consumming job, they lose time to socializing with other people.. the snails symbolizing slowness and boredom

@therealrenegade Жыл бұрын

YES! Finally! I knew I wasn't the only one think that.

@andyramirez6016 9 күн бұрын

Or sloth…

@gunfiend5175 2 жыл бұрын

The snail has finally caught up with them...it's their final day, and they are going down by their own terms!

@roxyshow123 6 жыл бұрын

The knights killed off the really big snails. So only the little itty bitty mollusks were left.

@aljoschalong625 6 жыл бұрын

@brainchild. Nonono, the knights didn't kill off the big snails - the normal, everyday mollusks, decimated the small anti-mollusc knights to extenction. So we still have snails today, but no knights, especially tiny ones.

@pamungkastabah8163 6 жыл бұрын

Breaking Darwin

@ironsoul941 7 жыл бұрын

Actually, in medieval times animals represented something. Snails possibly represented slothfulness, so fighting slothfulness and to keep copying might have been a theme many monks writings these books were familiar with.

@naverilllang 6 жыл бұрын

You know what represents slothfulness even more than snails? Sloths. Walked right into that one, didn't you?

@rin_etoware_2989 6 жыл бұрын

Sloths lived in America. Walked right into that one, didn't you?

@thatonehamster4130 2 жыл бұрын

@@rin_etoware_2989 and America is a sea away from europe Swam right into that one, didn´t you?

@muhammaddaffaarvianda5050 Жыл бұрын

@@thatonehamster4130 and swimming wasn't invented yet in medieveal Europe Boated, idk, right into that one, didn't you?

@raenaprottengeier 5 ай бұрын

they actually represented strength, because they carry their houses on their backs.

@Nytr8 5 жыл бұрын

Title : why knights are fighting snails in images Video: we don’t know exactly why

@bashkillszombies 4 жыл бұрын

@metalheadz9635 3 жыл бұрын

Don't have to waste my time now,👍

@user-ff9xb7ds9y 5 жыл бұрын

There is an explenation: The knights were french

@dearsol. 4 жыл бұрын

*shook*

@akachi1046 4 жыл бұрын

shut up

@mammontustado9680 4 жыл бұрын

"En garde, escargot!"

@lightningfletch5598 4 жыл бұрын

Remember the Lombards were defeated by Charlemagne was also French. A French king at that.

@Letizia2810 3 жыл бұрын

I don’t like French. Or Northern Italians

@vixen768 7 жыл бұрын

FINALLY! An answer I've been looking for! Thank you. So much.

@Sara3346 7 жыл бұрын

Yes and I also wanted to know about the snails!

@mdarnell514 7 жыл бұрын

vixen768 no way, totally medieval world's misconception of ammonite fossils that could be quite large. You can see in the illustrations that sometimes they look more like modern day Nautilus's... or squid like in the opening... but... who can prove ammonites didn't walk on land? Maybe some were alive then still. >:)

@RIFLQ 7 жыл бұрын

The day I think about why knights fought snails is the day when Vox upload this video

@JacobJonesy 7 жыл бұрын

Okay the problem is that this is just an opinion. Take your "answer" not as fact.

@caityreads8070 6 жыл бұрын

obviously it's because there used to be giant killer snails and the brave heroes killed them all which is why there isn't any anymore

@theAverageJoe25 6 жыл бұрын

Their weapon were made of salt

@Texelion3Dprints 6 жыл бұрын

They probably played Bastion.

@TheSkepticalIdealist 6 жыл бұрын

crusades was actually about snail wars

@pauljones3017 6 жыл бұрын

But there still are snails arround, what we lack is knights. Huw...

@robjossick7380 6 жыл бұрын

The brave men didn't kill the snails... The brave men rode them.

@jeremyuzca7697 3 жыл бұрын

I imagine a video in 2420: Why 2020 memes used to have a frog named Pepe?

@josephsellers5978 16 күн бұрын

No need. There's already a doc out on that.

@weaklistworm 2 жыл бұрын

He tried to fight the immortal snail, a brave soul

@crozraven 7 жыл бұрын

or snails pictures were just medieval trolls

@c.b.kansan1700 7 жыл бұрын

Croz Raven my thoughts exactly

@TechnoMinarchistBall 7 жыл бұрын

Medieval memes

@thelardmaker6806 7 жыл бұрын

In short these are basically medieval memes.

@eeeeea 6 жыл бұрын

The Lard Maker now i'm actually thinking what people in 1000 years from now will think about today's memes

@BOAYang 5 жыл бұрын

Lion: I'm the king of the jungle snail: *I'm about to end this man's whole career.*

@martink9701 5 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂

@Shaun-vy9vi 4 жыл бұрын

Just clarifying something, they were called illluminated manuscripts because they often had gold leafing/inks that appeared to make the pages glow under candle light.

@cristopherrobin5862 Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@fionacowell3544 7 жыл бұрын

So.. Are you telling me.. That snails are the memes of the 14th century???

@quandovoceleroscomentarios9622 7 жыл бұрын

They had memes. They had swords and pretty people. They were cool.

@armanderschreckliche 7 жыл бұрын

Fiona Cowell Lmao 😂😂😂😂👏👏👏👏👌👌👌👌👌

@henryt3802 7 жыл бұрын

Fiona Cowell yup, they were people just like u and me, they also had their jokes, memes and running gags

@henryt3802 7 жыл бұрын

The Banana Melon dude my name's henry you should expect me to talk like that.😂

@Katie-mw7pd 7 жыл бұрын

JIM

@aprilrhoden116 7 жыл бұрын

This was hilarious and informative. This has sparked an interest in me for medieval manuscripts that did not exist before. Thank you, Vox.

@Vox 7 жыл бұрын

We linked the main paper/book in the description. If you want to just look at gorgeous medieval ms scans, this one is great: brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3433279 You'll find a snail/knight battle on 169r. brbl-zoom.library.yale.edu/viewer/1020266 -Phil

@aprilrhoden116 7 жыл бұрын

Thanks again!

@fdsdh1 7 жыл бұрын

It might be worth taking a look at the British Library too, they have a fairly substantial collection of digitised manuscripts www.bl.uk/manuscripts/

@aprilrhoden116 7 жыл бұрын

Okay, Thanks, I'll do that!

@JacobJonesy 7 жыл бұрын

Are you older than 13, April?

@LordBrittish 5 жыл бұрын

Modern snails aren’t what their ancestors once were. Ancient snails used to tower over man, and we had to fight them off with fire and salt.

@N1GHTSTRIKER-45 2 жыл бұрын

Immortal snail meme predecessor

@onewhoisanonymous 7 жыл бұрын

God. I can heard the future historians trying to describe 21st century memes to our distant future generations. "Here we see a photograph of a young person outlaid with a black border. Notice the ancient text encircling the photograph...its true meaning lost to time. Dr. ---- has been studying their cryptic texts for years and theorized...."

@BvousBrainSystems 7 жыл бұрын

My most profound hope is that I'm somehow transported to the future you're describing. I'm basically a meme scholar, I can explain them all about it and finally feel like I'm good at something.

@Diana-mu7pc 7 жыл бұрын

This sounds like a joke on Futurama

@NicolasOrlinski 7 жыл бұрын

All memes will disappear. The 21st Century will be known as the Dark Ages 2 without any written documents. Why? Because in 2017 I can't even use links to the digital articles from 1999, because whole newspapers and portals disappeared and when you google after them you may probably find some notes that they ever existed. The digital world is as stabile as the Facebook account with hundreds of pictures and wise words which get banned and goes to the digital nirvana during the one single minute.

@kipicbloud 7 жыл бұрын

That thought has always been darkly amusing to me. We have "all" the information in the world at our fingertips, but when our civilization collapses and the next one rises, it is almost a given that there will be almost no written accounts of it given our reliance on electronics and transitional media that is wiped daily. Crazy, huh?

@edlingja1 7 жыл бұрын

Brandon Bricker it's like this analogy: Building a tent with no beams, instead we all have to blow as hard as possible to collectively help keep the tent up. If we all stop blowing, it ceases to be a tent and is, instead, simply just a very large blanket. Our current society relies on us ALL partaking in the fields of economics, politics, religion, and all other factors prevalent in our society.

@flensdude 7 жыл бұрын

So it turns out the Monty Python joke about the killer rabbit (and other small animals) has been a long running joke in Europe.

@Abraxas948 7 жыл бұрын

gladomi Ah yes, I remember when King Arthur was arrested and put in a police van before he could fight the battle for the holy grail. Oh, and how could I have forgotten about the holy hand grenade? Those crazy scribes sure were inventive

@VinchVolt 7 жыл бұрын

Gilliam took various liberties for the sake of comedy, but if you remove the jokes it ironically follows the original plot of the legends closer than most other adaptations.

@MrMlinmlin 7 жыл бұрын

but if you remove the jokes theres barely anything left... a dude named Arthur riding around with a bunch od dudes... -_-

@gamingolympian4245 6 жыл бұрын

Which is exactly what it was... What did you think there was some like intense war or something? It's a Dude named Arthur who happens to be king of Wales/Britannia traveling through some shithole looking for the Holy Grail.

@emmytweetie2177 5 жыл бұрын

Is it ok to draw in the margins of my school books now????

@leo.6541 2 жыл бұрын

They fought the snails to protect themselves from the legion of the Immortal Snails; they succeeded, and got rid of all except one.

@leo.6541 2 жыл бұрын

They used creative mode, by the way. Deleted all except the last.

@cheesecakelasagna 7 жыл бұрын

Someone please make this ancient meme great again!

@superpositionhyper-webster6034 7 жыл бұрын

D O U B L E E E

@Peasant_of_Pontus 6 жыл бұрын

Snails=boredom. Reading=fighting boredom. Knights fighting snails=reading to pass time.

@kimurico1 6 жыл бұрын

Nice. I would have thought rather snail = time, knight fighting against snail = scribe finishing a manuscript after a loooong time of hard work

@NikkiKrissoff 4 жыл бұрын

It’s all fun and games till the giant snail comes squirming into the room

@klyntarkenny8046 4 жыл бұрын

Did medieval knights do battle with snails? Ancient Astronaut Theorists say “yes”

@nonamedpleb 7 жыл бұрын

TLDR: IT'S A MEME

@kurz6860 7 жыл бұрын

*TL;DW

@theanonymousmrgrape5911 7 жыл бұрын

noname6500 "Tis a meme ye dip." -13th century monks.

@sirman8886 7 жыл бұрын

*TLDW

@DavidBlaze420 7 жыл бұрын

this means there were huge snails back then but the knights killed them all

@ShipShipMaya 6 жыл бұрын

David Blaze Definitely

@DZ477 4 жыл бұрын

2019: Why knights fought snails in medieval art 2119: Why players fought chickens in CSGO

@100KillStreak 5 жыл бұрын

Fromsoft missed the biggest opportunity to add a snail boss in Dark Souls.

@lancergt1000 4 жыл бұрын

the Phalanx in the Painted World of Ariamis are kinda snails

@Kinopio710 6 жыл бұрын

Medieval memes need to make a comeback 🤔

@SargentoBonzo 6 жыл бұрын

I want Vox to make a video about: Why knights fought RABBITS in medieval art i.pinimg.com/originals/67/00/c4/6700c497d421ae1d0f032e740f7dfd00.jpg

@edwardliu111 6 жыл бұрын

They have www.reddit.com/r/trippinthroughtime/?st=JD6NYJK0&sh=d881a549

@Trashproductions2 6 жыл бұрын

Oh I thought this was a meme.

@lohitjagarapu9351 6 жыл бұрын

+Matt B: What's going to do? Nibble your bum?

@jonathanruiz866 6 жыл бұрын

That's what I was thinking

@coreyshipe 6 жыл бұрын

TLDR: Snails represent the Lombards, who were thought to be slimy merchants who carried their homes on their backs. The snail is a jest insult to the name of the time. (1400 Memes)

@fuckingblackgod 5 жыл бұрын

@@tijuanaforeplay8232 hehe, I understood that.

@hunterkiller7352 5 жыл бұрын

Oy Vey

@Max_Le_Groom 4 жыл бұрын

Only 1400s kids will understand 👍👌

@Gadget-Walkmen Жыл бұрын

lol just no, that's just ONE interpretation but no one knows for sure.

@rickro2878 5 жыл бұрын

"And so, good Knight, thou will have to fight thy Giant Snail for your promotion."

@apexshinbi638 4 жыл бұрын

2:52 *First Battle Royale Mode, colorized (1260)*

@Ares-5933 7 жыл бұрын

And we thought we invented memes, turns out memes are hundreds of years old

@dutch1641 7 жыл бұрын

Ares5933 during ww 2 memes were a thing too

@nos4me 7 жыл бұрын

Ares5933 memes started existing when culture did

@krieginphernjacobson 7 жыл бұрын

memes were born far before humanity, they will also outlive us all.

@horatiotrismegistus616 7 жыл бұрын

Memes are a new invention, like water and dirt.

@werbearjack 7 жыл бұрын

So snails are medieval Pepes?

@iAmTheSquidThing 7 жыл бұрын

Now would be a great time to invest in rare snails before the normies realise.

@happyswedme 7 жыл бұрын

Imagine future scientists being like "at the dawn of the third millennia people liked to draw frogs"

@rocketxiv4980 7 жыл бұрын

𝖄𝖊 𝖔𝖑𝖉𝖊 𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖙𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌

@justcallmehaterik 2 жыл бұрын

So this was the first time the snail was hired to catch some dude? O.o

@cernunnos_lives 5 жыл бұрын

So basically: how an ethnic slur became a meme for perhaps a few generations of scholarship.

@tigerboy1966 7 жыл бұрын

Here's a thought- the pictures were charms to protect the manuscripts from being eaten by snails.

@checkmatefurries286 7 жыл бұрын

I think this is my new favorite Vox video. Meme in peace, scribes. Meme in peace.

@sarahtoonswastaken9990 2 жыл бұрын

the immortal snail came for them

@yosefyonin6824 7 жыл бұрын

*VINTAGE MEMES! VINTAGE MEMES! GET YOUR PERFECTLY PRESERVED 700 YEARD OLD MEMES RIGHT HERE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!*

@booklover569 7 жыл бұрын

so...knights battling snails was an ancient meme?

@yesmansam6686 7 жыл бұрын

Emily Daenzer it would appear so 😐

@lorettap.925 4 жыл бұрын

I really like that first "snail" at 0:34. It's like a cat-snail. Cnail.

@austinreed7343 2 жыл бұрын

Gary?

@BltchErica 5 жыл бұрын

I wonder if they actually had memes inb4 christ. Imagine some egyptian kids drawing mummies with shiny eyes doing t poses on scrolls without any explanation.

@Pugetwitch 4 жыл бұрын

It happened.

@chonacastillo4777 4 жыл бұрын

Nice profile pic.

@Pollicina_db 4 жыл бұрын

There is one. When archaeologist found a place in Egypt with lots of pillars they noticed that one of them had hiyeroglifs. So they climbed up that very tall pillar to see what it said. It said:"This is a veryyyy tall pillar".

@swiggitysk8 3 жыл бұрын

of course they had memes. memes are a human thing. they were just called common jokes up until recently.

@copperlemon1 3 жыл бұрын

Romans had graffiti accusing each other of buggery and cuckholdry, by at least year 79, as demonstrated by inscription preserved at Pompeii.

@warhammernerd52Daxx-Lorenzo898 7 жыл бұрын

+Vox, why don't we see cars in medieval art?

@nemoflexual 6 жыл бұрын

warhammernerd52 those things are way too hard to draw

@thinkgodd2501 7 жыл бұрын

Plottwist Giant Snails Exist!!!

@yiyiyiyiyiyiooo3209 7 жыл бұрын

THINK Godd Loooooool best comment EVER

@gluteusmaximus8881 7 жыл бұрын

God, I really hope not so...

@ysabellabrave 7 жыл бұрын

The knights killed them.

@liviahorowitz2225 2 жыл бұрын

Plot twist: the crusades were actually just wars about killing giant snails, which were considered a delicacy for the elite.

@spineck5499 5 жыл бұрын

everybodys gangsta till the snails roll up in the castle

@tnought 7 жыл бұрын

Vox: Answering the important questions.

@IamMeHere2See 7 жыл бұрын

So it's basically the Wilhelm scream of Gothic literature. Cool.

@trayray9034 6 жыл бұрын

IamMeHere2See I

@edwinpaulhermo7650 2 жыл бұрын

Someone agreed to be immortal, that's what.

@ohnename4076 5 жыл бұрын

*clap clap* meme review.

@yseson_ 6 жыл бұрын

Love the "pray that 🐌 kills you quickly" interesting fact an ex roommate and I would make our own paper and keep it in the basement guess what creature loves to eat fresh paper? 🐌 So I imagine it was a precaution toward being diligent in the care of precious paper

@kriscampbell7807 2 жыл бұрын

Oh gosh, I hadn't thought of that at all.

@markusgorelli5278 2 ай бұрын

So it was a charm of sorts to frighten snails away. Cool!

@IsThisRain 7 жыл бұрын

*Insert comment here stating that the snails were medieval dank memes because no-one has commented this before*

@default2591 2 жыл бұрын

So the immortal snail is real?

@belkYT 2 жыл бұрын

The immortal snail.

@RandallStephens397 7 жыл бұрын

the rare medieval pepe

@octaviosardi3337 6 жыл бұрын

Randall Stephens YES XD

@allhailqueenhelga 6 жыл бұрын

One interesting theory I've heard about the rabbits and snails is that they're simply there because the people writing the manuscripts were monks and one of the main duties of monks was gardening. And who are two of a gardener's main enemies? Rabbits and snails.

@AtZero138 5 жыл бұрын

Who Also.. just got a New Tattoo idea!!????

@wangxian_ 4 жыл бұрын

Did you actually do it??

@plotwist1066 3 жыл бұрын

i think they include it in their drawing because the snails are beautiful and easy to draw because it moves slooooooooooowlyyyyyyy. 🐌

@TheReverendGreene 6 жыл бұрын

What if snails represented procrastination? Imagine you live in a monastery. People judge you harshly all the time, you're pressured to produce, but you never really go anywhere and probably lack motivation all the time. "Sloth" or laziness is a sin. Maybe it was an inside joke about how hard it was to fight off their laziness and actually make the manuscript they were always talking about

@yooringonghan 5 жыл бұрын

honestly that was my interpretation as well

@darkmasterchief227 5 жыл бұрын

Hmm yeah i gathered that too

@jelkel25 5 жыл бұрын

One of the 7 deadly sins, along with the 7 virtues a big part of Western culture that conveniently disappeared.

@RideTheTrack 7 жыл бұрын

Last time I came this early, it was the dark ages

@maggers2580 7 жыл бұрын

*dank meme age

@youreallinsane 7 жыл бұрын

the internet doesn't need to know your fetishes.

@quester09 7 жыл бұрын

Ride The Track and giant snails roamed the earth.

@FERTHEBOSS1 7 жыл бұрын

more like the dank ages

@CeeVell 7 жыл бұрын

@bluemariomedia8351 5 жыл бұрын

Jontron: im a brave boi *see a snail* Jontron: NOT A BRAVE ENOUGH BOI FOR THIS!

@z.xdtcfy 2 жыл бұрын

Immortal snail existed in the middle ages

@davidmccullough4678 7 жыл бұрын

now I understand both memes and Adventure Time

@gforskli4307 7 жыл бұрын

David McCullough lol

@samuelhadjaissa5201 6 жыл бұрын

what you mean adventure time ?

@fulcrum2951 6 жыл бұрын

There is some snail waving its uhh "hand" in the background or something or a talking snail

@samuelhadjaissa5201 6 жыл бұрын

I guess that makes sense

@Mars-ii6ki 7 жыл бұрын

YES I LOVE UR GUYS' VIDS ABOUT HISTORY

@malahamavet 4 жыл бұрын

BEHOLD THE MIGHTY SNAIL MEME!!! one of the oldest memes in history

@smallstudiodesign 3 жыл бұрын

Seems like we’re heading back into *The Dark Ages* - so why not learn more about Medieval Art?

@kurz6860 7 жыл бұрын

It's interesting how the monks could draw clothes perfectly but knew barely anything about anatomy.

@JustinCage56 7 жыл бұрын

360sblulev I can't believe your comment got upvoted

@kurz6860 7 жыл бұрын

I'm not complaining about humans combined with animals or other impossible stuff, that would be hypocrytical of me because I like to draw crazy creatures too, I have nothing against it. It just seems weird for me that they made the clothes look extremely realistic while the faces and body proportions of normal humans are kinda off.

@grandsome1 7 жыл бұрын

Max Hofman Words and symbols had litteral reality bending property in the mind of the ancient people (especially when a nobleman can get killed with one word), so artists would often refrain from drawing living things too well by fear of the drawing becoming alive or of fear of blasphemy. There's that sort of motif in many story from the Jewish golems to Pinocchio. This is also why Egyptian drew the way they did, and were afraid of writing some people names on walls. And this is also where the concept of spells comes from.

@kurz6860 7 жыл бұрын

That's cool to know! Thanks for informing me.

@neeneko 7 жыл бұрын

Keep in mind that a lot of it was stylistic, and the styles changed over time.