Birmingham.
_The Rabbit as a Symbol_ (Vol. v., p. 487.).--It will be remembered that
Richard of the Lion Heart, on his way to the Holy Land, proceeded to
Sicily, where he played all manner of rough fantastic tricks, to the
infinite disgust of the king and people of the island. On pretence of
certain assumed claims, but the rather _pour passer le temps_, our Achilles
and his myrmidons fixed a quarrel upon the reigning sovereign, Tancred the
Bastard, whose immediate predecessor, William the Good, had married
Joanna[6], Richard's sister; took forcible possession of an important
fortress; turned the monks out of a monastery whose situation was
convenient for the purposes of his commissariat; and at last, by an act of
most unjustifiable aggression, laid siege to the city and castle of
Messina, {598} on whose walls was soon triumphantly planted the royal
banner of the Plantagenets. Now the hare and rabbit frequently occur upon
the coins of Spain and Sicily, of which countries they were, indeed, the
particular and well-recognised symbols. (Fosb. _Ency. Antiq._, pp. 722.
728.); and I would suggest that the device in question has reference to
Richard's proceedings in the latter kingdom, which, in an age whose
acknowledged principle was that "Might makes Right," would be looked upon
as redounding vastly to his credit and renown, and most worthy, therefore,
of commemoration amongst the other emblematic representations which give so
remarkable a character to the monumental effigies at Rouen. Regarding it in
this point of view, there appears to be much inventive significancy in this
device, and the exercise of a little ingenuity would soon, I think, render
manifest the peculiar applicability of its "singular details" to the
circumstances of Richard's transactions with Tancred, as they are presented
to us by our own chroniclers.
The appearance of this symbol or device of a rabbit, upon old examples of
playing cards, as referred to by SYMBOL, is easily accounted for. These
"devil's books" came to us originally from Spain; and in ancient cards of
that country, columbines were Spades, _rabbits_[7] Clubs, pinks Diamonds,
and roses Hearts.--Fosb. _ut sup._, p. 602.