Why Did Medieval Artists Draw Butt Trumpets? | Medieval Marginalia Explained
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The Curious History of One of the Middle Ages' Strangest Obsessions
"Is that... is that rabbit really playing a trumpet with its bottom?"
It's one of the questions we hear most often when people discover our Medieval Butt Trumpet collection.
Visitors usually stare at the design for a few seconds before asking:
"Surely someone made that up?"
Nope.
The astonishing truth is that medieval artists really did fill the pages of priceless illuminated manuscripts with rabbits, monkeys, foxes and even people enthusiastically blowing trumpets from places trumpets were never designed to go.
Even stranger?
Nobody is entirely sure why.
Welcome to the gloriously weird world of medieval marginalia, where the sacred and the ridiculous lived happily side by side.
The Middle Ages Weren't Nearly as Serious as You Think
When most people picture medieval Europe, they imagine gloomy castles, stern monks, endless prayers and absolutely no sense of humour.
History paints a very different picture.
The people who built magnificent cathedrals also loved festivals, music, drinking, storytelling, visual jokes and practical humour.
If social media had existed in the fourteenth century, there's a fair chance someone would have invented memes before lunch.
The evidence?
It's hiding in the margins of medieval books.
So... What Exactly Is a Butt Trumpet?
The phrase itself is modern.
Medieval artists didn't label their drawings "butt trumpets."
Instead, it's the affectionate name now given to the many illustrations showing people or animals apparently playing trumpets or horns from their backsides.
Some feature long ceremonial trumpets.
Others use hunting horns.
Some are surprisingly elaborate.
They're absurd.
They're childish.
They're unforgettable.
Which probably explains why people are still talking about them more than seven hundred years later.
Yes, These Images Really Exist
One of the biggest misconceptions is that these pictures are modern jokes or AI-generated artwork.
They're neither.
Many survive in genuine manuscripts created between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Some of the best-known examples come from:
- The Luttrell Psalter
- The Smithfield Decretals
- The Maastricht Hours
- Manuscripts preserved by the British Library
- The Getty Museum
- The Morgan Library & Museum
Together they contain hundreds of wonderfully strange illustrations that continue to puzzle historians today.
So Why Did Medieval Artists Draw Butt Trumpets?
The honest answer is...
Nobody knows for certain.
Several theories have been suggested.
Carnival Humour
During medieval festivals, the normal rules of society were temporarily turned upside down.
Kings became fools.
Servants mocked their masters.
Respectability disappeared.
The strange illustrations may reflect that playful spirit.
Medieval People Had a Wonderful Sense of Humour
It's easy to imagine the Middle Ages as a bleak and joyless time.
The manuscripts tell a different story.
People laughed.
A lot.
They enjoyed comic stories.
Practical jokes.
Drinking songs.
Absurd characters.
Talking animals.
Ridiculous visual humour.
The more you study medieval art, the more obvious it becomes that people seven hundred years ago weren't all that different from us.
Why Do We Still Find Them Funny?
Psychologists often say humour comes from incongruity.
We laugh when two completely unrelated ideas collide.
A trumpet belongs at someone's mouth.
Move it somewhere entirely different...
Instant comedy.
It's exactly the same reason cartoons, memes and surreal internet humour still make us laugh today.
The technology has changed.
Human nature hasn't.
From Medieval Manuscripts to Modern Mugs
At Wyrd Dezigns, we've been fascinated by medieval marginalia for years.
Not because it's crude.
Not because it's shocking.
But because it's wonderfully human.
Seven hundred years ago, someone sat patiently painting an expensive manuscript and decided the world needed a rabbit playing a trumpet with its backside.
We couldn't agree more.
That's why we've created our own collection inspired by these gloriously bizarre illustrations, bringing a little medieval humour to mugs, coasters, wrapping paper and gifts for people who appreciate the wonderfully weird.
The Last Laugh
The anonymous artist who first painted a medieval butt trumpet could never have imagined their work surviving for more than seven hundred years.
They certainly wouldn't have predicted that people around the world would one day drink coffee from mugs inspired by it.
Yet here we are.
Their wonderfully odd little joke escaped the margins of a manuscript, survived kingdoms, wars and centuries of history, and somehow found its way onto kitchen tables around the world.
Not bad for a picture of a trumpet being played from entirely the wrong end.
If that isn't proof that good humour is timeless, we don't know what is.
References and Further Reading
If today's journey into the wonderfully weird world of medieval marginalia has piqued your curiosity, these collections are well worth exploring:
The British Library – Digitised Medieval Manuscripts
https://www.bl.uk/collection/digitised-manuscripts-archives
Explore one of the world's finest collections of illuminated manuscripts, including many filled with extraordinary marginalia.
The British Library Images – Luttrell Psalter
https://www.imagesonline.bl.uk/search/?searchQuery=Luttrell+Psalter
Browse high-quality images from one of England's most famous medieval manuscripts.
The Getty Museum – Medieval Manuscripts
https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/
A remarkable collection of illuminated manuscripts, many available to explore online.
The Morgan Library & Museum – Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts
https://www.themorgan.org/collection/medieval-and-renaissance-manuscripts
One of the finest collections of medieval manuscripts in the United States.
Books
Camille, Michael. Image on the Edge: The Margins of Medieval Art. Harvard University Press, 1992.
Randall, Lilian M. C. Images in the Margins of Gothic Manuscripts. University of California Press, 1966.
Enjoyed this article?
If you love medieval marginalia and wonderfully bizarre historical humour, you might also enjoy exploring our collection of mugs, coasters, wrapping paper and gifts inspired by genuine medieval manuscript illustrations.
https://wyrddezigns.com/search?q=butt+trumpet&options%5Bprefix%5D=last