[MR] History Blog: Knight Riding Goat Declared Treasure

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Intrigued? I am. Yesterday the History Blog commented on a unique piece
culled from the British Museum's annual report on treasure finds. It is a
small decorative item, perhaps a belt fitting, showing a knight riding a
goat, the latter's horns merging into an enormous snail shell. Wow! Is this
cool or what?

Well, yes it is cool, I think. But not totally unique. Knights doing battle
with giant snails, or maybe tiny knights doing battle with normal-sized
snails, are a popular motif of medieval marginalia, those often bizarre
drawings which curl around the edges of manuscripts. Other popular motifs
were chimera figures of humans merged with animals or plants, monkeys
performing human activities, and armed rabbits fighting back against
hunters. These are examples of a popular satire style known as *monde
reverse*´, or the "world turned upside down". They were a symbolic way for
the commoners to laugh at figures of authority and power, sort of like a
medieval MAD MAGAZINE (remember their "marginal thinking, tiny cartoons
around the edges of features).

You can enjoy the knight errant at
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/61010 .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆