Major Project Research: Hares as bad omens.
- willikoms
- Dec 17, 2020
- 2 min read
In this article by Joseph Pentangelo. The topic covers the existing appearances of creature called a Grant in the third book of Otia Imperialia (c. 1211). He intends to draw connections with this demonic myth and how it may have been construed with a common hare.
This is covered in the chapter Hares, Misfortunes, and Fire.
The belief just discussed combines two different, more general, associations of the hare: one characterizes its appearance as a bad omen, and the other associates the animal with fire. A general notion that meeting with a hare causes bad luck is prevalent throughout Europe, but the exact implications of such an encounter are rarely specified (Brand 1842, 106; Britten 1887, 264; Daniels and Stevans 1903, 641). In 1658, Sir Thomas Browne wrote that ‘if a hare cross the highway, there are few above three-score years that are not perplexed thereat, which, notwithstanding, is but an augurial terror’ (320). Over two centuries later, West Sussex folklorist Charlotte Latham reported having met with educated and ignorant people alike who professed that:
If a hare were the first animal that crossed their path upon their leaving home, [they] would turn back, regarding it as a warning, that if they went any further on their way, death, or some dire mishap, would certainly befall them. (Latham 1878, 56)
On the more specific side of things, a hare crossing a pregnant woman’s path was believed to cause a cleft lip (‘hare lip’) in the unborn child, and a Cornish belief held that a white hare indicated an ensuing storm (Daniels and Stevans 1903, 641). In Wheal Vor mine, a hare spotted in an engine-house was thought to foretell a deadly accident (Black 1883, 85).
I absolutely love the idea of the hares association with fire and bad luck, especially with the idea of the pregrant woman giving birth to a child with a cleft lip (Hare lip). It might give me some additional ideas for scenes in the project. As this seems to link back in with the rabbits intention to have a child with the girl. One such idea could be a brief encounter with human/rabbit child hybrid with a hare lip, it could be a somewhat grizzly and creepy character to add. I may make some sketches later.
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