Rabbits share their history as intermittently domesticated animals with feral horses. Although wild animals, they were very early on considered a nice supplement and hence “farmed” and domesticated for different purposes

What exactly is the advantage of wild rabbits in Europe? In Scandinavia? When did they arrive? And from where? Should they be considered an invasive species?

Ancient Rabbits

When the Romans arrived in present-day Spain c. 200 BC, they must have encountered rabbits. The Roman polymath, Marcus Terrentius Varro (116–27 BC) who sojourned there, who wrote a book based on his experience to his wife, instructed her to keep rabbits in her leparium, i.e., “hare yard,” and fatten them in rabbit-hutches before slaughter (De Re Rustica, chapter 3.12). A particular delicacy was unborn rabbit phoetuses, which, somewhat gruseom, were considered a special treat. Pliny the Elder (AD 23/24–79) mentioned them as a highly delicate dish (Naturalis Historia 8.55). Nevertheless, the geographer Strabo (63/64 BC – AD 24 )reports that Roman immigrants to the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, etc.) complained that rabbits were so numerous that they appealed to Emperor Augustus to send a Roman legion to eradicate the animals. Pliny also noted elsewhere that rabbits had dug tunnels around Tarragona’s fortifications, undermining them completely. It appears that rabbits were early on cinsidered a blessing in disguise.

Not so in Prehistory. Archaeology has shown that the small animal was a favourite delicacy on the Iberian Peninsula and in southwestern France as early as in Epipaleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic times, i.e., between 20,000 and 10,000 BC. Archaeologists have thus been able to map that Stone Age people’s hunted these animals with nets. This hunting practice was probably common as it might not require as much investment in energy as big game hunting. Children could easily participate. Also, the soft skin must have been a significant byproduct.

The story goes that the French rabbits were pushed into Spain during the last Ice Age, around 18,000 BC, only to re-invade France after the end around 12,200 BC; but now with an altered genetic profile. It is this genetic profile that is found among modern European rabbits. So, all things considered, France ended up as the original home of our medieval rabbits. However, Spain’s initial significance in this context is not important to remember. Spain derives from Hesperia, which in Phoenician meant “the land of African rabbits”.

People have speculated whether rabbits were also known in England in Roman times. Around 58-49 BC, Caesar wrote about the Celts in Britain how they kept poultry and rabbits (or hares) in warrens for pleasure and divination rather than eat them. Now, hares are not easy to tame, and it is generally assumed that the animals were rabbits. Thus, rabbits may have been present in England for over 2000 years, perhaps introduced via the lively shipping in the Antiquity along the Atlantic coast between Cornwall and the Mediterranean. Cornwall was later in the Middle Ages a particular hotspot fro rabbit-farmin. Nonetheless, a recent archaeological survey has shown that brown hares were known from at least the Middle Iron Age in British zooarchaelogical assemblages (250 to 100 BC), and culminating in the Late Roman period. These osteological remains represented hares and not rabbits. Also, a hiatus in the zooarchaeological evidence after the Anglo-Saxon invasion and up until the Normans arrived indicate that rabbits until then had a tenuous hold on the British mainland.

Trelleborg

The oldest traces of rabbits in Denmark come from Trelleborg around 980. Archaeologists have pondered whether they were imported from Northern France and ended up in the Vikings’ soup-pot near Slagelse. It is conceivable, however, that rabbits had simply migrated from the south on their own soft furry paws. At that  time they were widespread in the European landscape, and the weather had grew warmer after c. 800 pushing their range northwards.

For now, we must content ourselves with noting that rabbits at our latitude were present in the Viking Age, and that the word we use in Denmark to designate the animal kanin is derived from the original Latin cuniculus, and not the French rabotte (English rabbit), which originally referred only to young animals (as opposed to the mature animals, which in France are labelled Lapin). In Danish, we encounter the rabbit in writing for the first time in King Valdemar’s Land Register (ca. 1241) as cuning, cyning. The Dictionary of the Danish Language states that this word is derived from Anglo-Saxon coning. Although the word is indeed known from English dialects, the term or derivations thereof are also known in Dutch, French, German, Spanish, etc. So the exotic word here is rabbit  – a Norman import post 1066, and not the Latin-derived kanin, which is known throughout Western Europe. Curiously, cuniculus might derive from Celtiiberian, meaning dog. Hence, cuniculus was a “small dog”.

It is often claimed that the monks brought the art of keeping and farming rabbits to wider Europe in the early Middle Ages. The reason was supposed to be found in a  Papal decree, which in the 7th century should have classified rabbit fetuses as fish, hence allowing them to be eaten during Lent. This, however is a fairy tale. On the contrary, the story, which comes from Gregory the Great, is that a certain Roccolenus, who had planned to plunder Tours, died before he could carry out his intention because he had eaten rabbits during fast. Although the story of the rabbit being declared a fish by the Pope appears to have been a 19th-century hoax, it does not mean that the monks were not active as importers of the idea of keeping rabbits. Rabbits were a convenient early source for protein during early spring.

Most traces of rabbits, however, are not found near medieval monasteries but rather in connection with castles and hunting lodges. One of the first English references dates to 1235, when Henry III gifted 10 rabbits from his park at Guildford to   However, rabbits are mentioned on Scilly Isles as early as the 12th century.

These noble rabbits were kept in three ways. Firstly, it was common to designate a field as a rabbit yard and even fence it with a regular pallisade or wall. This was called a garenne in French or a coneygarth in English. In Danish, it was called a kanin have. The second way was to release them in dunes surrounded by marshes or digged channels, as is known from Amrum in North Frisia in the Wadden Sea. Here the animals are called Amrumer Karnickel. The third possibility was to release them on islands. The latter method is documented in King Valdemar’s Land Register from AD 1241, where rabbits were kept as game on Orø in Roskilde Fjord and Sprogø in the Great Belt. Here, they were hunted with bows and arrows or by keeping ferrets for the purpose.

From a slightly later time, we know about the rabbits on Hjelm in Kattegat, where the king-slayer and his outlaw companions resided in the years between 1290 and 1306. On this fortified island, the medieval rabbit tunnels have been excavated, just as 161 rabbit bones were found in the waste from the castle kitchen.

Rabbit Breeding and Ornamental Animals

Rabbits were as witnessed by their price (double that of a chicken) considered a delicacy. In 1355, in France, keeping rabbits in rabbit yards became a noble privilege, which was first abolished during the revolution in 1789. Such privileges are also known from England in the high Middle Ages typically sold as grants permitting the exclusive right to hunt rabbits, pheasants, partridges, and hares within a given area. Such grants might also include was the right to snare or hunt the predators that went after the rabbits, namely foxes, wildcats, martens, and lynx.

Later in the Renaissance, people began to keep the animals in cages and breed them to make them particularly large and tasty. The first proper rabbit yard in Denmark was established in 1616 by Christian IV at Charlottenlund Castle Garden. Later, Frederick III’s queen Sophie Amalie imported Dutch rabbits, which she placed on an islet in Lake Furesø outside the castle Dronninggård (today better known as Næsseslottet). She was familiar with the practice from Northern Germany, where rabbit gardens on islets were well-known. Rather amusing, the islet in Lake Furesø was called “Malta,” probably because this Mediterranean island was already known for its rabbit hunting.

Throughout this history, rabbits with a special appearance were bred. Such animals came to be in special demand in the early 19th century when rabbits transmorphed into decorative “wild” animals bringing life and colour to the new romantic English gardens.

To conclude, rabbits were certainly prey among prehistoric hunters and gatherers; in Antiquity, they were deliberately transported to islands in the Mediterranean, farmed and consumed as unique delicacies and hence, forced to reproduce in cages. Later in the Middle Ages, they were kept as fenced-in animals in natural hills or barrows living inside self-constructed warrens. Finally, after 1500, they were bred to develop special rabbit types and colours. For this purpose, breeding in cages was necessary. Today, rabbits have finally taken on the role of soft bunnies for sweet children.

Wild Rabbits

The rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, is a small mammal with upright ears, soft fur of greyish-brown guard hair, and a light grey undercoat. However, colours might cover the spectrum from lucid white to jetblack. When the rabbit runs, the tail is grey on top and white underneath. The animals live on grasses, herbs, and other coarse plant food such as shoots, bark, and roots. Just like the hare, a close relative, the rabbit eats its own faeces to utilize the plant residue optimally.

It is a social animal that lives in a flock in a warren. At the core is a central and privileged rabbit nest where the dominant mother keeps her litter. However, there are many passages into the nest and its outliers, and they are equipped with a multitude of openings and less privileged nests. Among the animals, there is a strict hierarchy, where the dominant male gets access to maintain a harem overseen by a dominant female. Rabbits are diurnal and nocturnal animals that seek food at dusk in hedges and thickets, where you can see them darting over sticks and stones or simply playing around.

On average, rabbits have three to four litters a year. Each litter consists of two to ten kittens, which are nursed for a month, after which they must fend for themselves. The mother visits the nest once daily to nurse her litter. The rest of the time, the kittens are left to seek each other’s warmth in the litter. Large litters, however, are no advantage unless they are born early in the year. Here, the need for warmth is balanced by the fact that the mother’s milk has to stretch to the many young. Birds of prey gladly take the larger individuals, while foxes and martens are fond of the young.

Rabbits live in groups of 1-5 males and 1-8 females. The groups are hierarchically organized, although primarily expressed within their respective gender groupings. Despite living in mixed-gender groups, the social dynamics do not unfold between the sexes. Male rabbits called bucks dominate their competitors by patrolling their warren and displaying aggressive behaviour or – more rarely – instigating direct combat. Female rabbits dominate through often despotic behaviour, which, among other things, is expressed by the dominant in a mother group mating with the dominant male rabbit and, therefore, having access to the innermost and warmest burrow.

In contrast, the less fortunate members of the mother group often have to make do with colder and more peripheral nests. Some studies suggest that these less fortunate mothers organize themselves more egalitarian. The animals are very territorial and, therefore, kick out the younger male rabbits as soon as they are sexually mature at three to four months. Afterwards, the migrants try to seek admission to the neighbouring group.

In Denmark, there are large populations of wild rabbits in Southern Jutland as well as in the islands of Fanø, Lolland, Bornholm, Funen, Fænø, and Endelave. The wild rabbit is not red-listed. On Endelave, you can walk “The Rabbit IslandTour”and experience the animals jumping around your feet. The rabbit population of perhaps 50.000 individuals derive from six animals imported in 1924. Occasionally – every 8 to 10th year – they are in danger of dying out as they get hit by myxomatosis, a virulent virus, which in its European strain may kill 60 – 95% of a rabbit colony. Observations on Endelave have shown that the rabbits there provide  widespread ecosystem services when they roam the earth, creating fine possibilities for Andrenas or ground-nesting bees. Also, butterflies and birds nesting on the ground profit from the messy landscape with its many warrens. Finally, the wild rabbits feed numerous predators like foxes and birds of prey. Biologists consider them an important part of the island’s ecosystem. 

Are they an invasive species? In 2010, a Finnish environmental expert wrote in an official report that “Conflicts will arise when it comes to eradicating attractive invasive species such as the lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) and the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), neither of which are native to Nordic nature”.

However, the story of the European rabbits tells us how truly nonsensical it is to regard these small, yet enigmatic animals as an invasive species. Yes, they have been farmed, kept, bred and petted. But they also live wildly, as they have done since their early introduction to the Iberian Peninsula before the latest Ice Age. From here, they spread slowly across the continent to furrow their way into the barrows and hills of yesteryear.

The Easter Bunny

During the Middle Ages, the rabbit or hare gained a symbolic value as a sign of renewal and goodness. Often, a white rabbit was posited at the feet of the Virgin, symbolizing her victory over lust while at the same time fulfilling her role as the Mother of God. While a newborn lamb was considered the proper centrepiece of a traditional Easter dinner, the rabbit was often substituted for this in Germany (and probably elsewhere among less wealthy commoners in wider Europe). For many people, the rabbit must have played a decisive role as a lifesaving protein source at the end of a harsh winter followed by the relentless Lenten with its strict dietary restrictions. To be precise, rabbits were there for the taking from March onwards, pace the lord and his privileges; and pending on the local priest not discovering the poaching .

Likely, these symbolic interchanges forged the mythological and artistic motif of the rabbits or hares catching the hunter or his dog to restrain and bring them to justice. We find this topic in medieval sculptural decorations on churches and in manuscripts such as prayer books.

The earliest known mention of the Easter hare or bunny can be traced back to 1682, when Georg Franck von Franckenau documented the tradition of an Easter egg hunt in Heidelberg, Protestant Germany. This significant reference provides a historical context for the tradition’s long-standing roots.  Jacob Grimm later associated this tradition with a potentially mythical pagan goddess, Eostre, mentioned by Bede in the 7th century and introduced to Germany in the 19th century. However, recent research by P. A Shaw has revealed that this pagan goddess was part of the Early Germanic pantheon and was worshipped by cults led by matrons, known as matronae Austriahenae.

Perhaps this cult was witnessed by numerous lagomorph brooches and inscriptions found in a Northwestern European context and dated to Late Antiquity. Recent genetic studies have also shown that the Brown Hare in England is genetically coupled with ancestors in Saxony near to the Danish border. These animals appear to have arrived on the British shores, accompanying Anglo-Saxon migrants. Here, though, we are dealing with brown hares and not rabbits. When the latter animals were imported from Normandy in the wake of 1066, they were primarily linked with festive food served at Christmas. Archaeological remains have been excavated at sites such as the royal residence at Woking Palace and Little Pickle at Bletchingley in Surrey. Later, however, the precious animals escaped from their closely guarded warrens and became both a pest and an ordinary peasant fare. Likely, this took off in the 16th century following the Reformation when the upcoming Bourgeosie adopted a plethora of cultural artefacts formerly belonging to the closely guarded cultural inventory of the late Medieval nobility. In the same period, rabbit furs became sought after by craftsmen, who specialised in creating exotic fake furs by stamping the skins so that they might look like lynx, ermine, etc.

Rabbit Pâté

A staple on the medieval menu was the medieval pâté, where a mixture of minced meat and spices was filled into a pâté mould lined with pie crust (use your usual recipe).

The content is prepared from 1 dl pine nuts and 1 dl raisins, which are gently fried in butter until golden. This mixture is added to a bowl where you have already worked a mixture of 1/2 kg coarsely chopped rabbit, 4 eggs, 2 dl chopped cheese, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground pepper, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp sugar or honey, and 2 tsp salt.

The pie or pâté is baked for about an hour at 160º C. If the pâté is covered with a pastry lid, as in a pie it might be glazed with a splash of almond milk mixed with a little saffron and salt. If the pâté is open, it should be covered with aluminium foil to prevent it from drying out.

One particular and popular version was on the menu in Germany after the Reformation set in. The reason, of course, was that fasting during Lent was abolished, creating a cultural opening for setting the rabbit of hare paté on the menu.

The post-reformational version derives from the numerous books with recipes published in the late 15th and early 16th century. In this version, 350 gr of chopped meat from a deboned rabbit is mixed with 125 gr of chopped pork and a futher 500 gr striped bacon, and two eggs. Add to this mixture crumbs from a small piece of bread and some milk. Season with salt, pepper, ground ginger, nutmeg, 30 gr of raisins and a tbsp of sweet wine. The crust is made from 500 gr flour, 75 gr lard, 4 tbsp water, four eggs and 1 tsp salt. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 160 – 175º C as the oven heats.

Rabbit Stew or Checonys in Cyrip

The best way to prepare rabbits, however, is to simmer them in a pot – preferably in a hay box. The rabbit is salted and cut into smaller pieces, after which it is slowly cooked in a good broth to which a couple of slices of bacon, whole cinnamon, whole cloves, and whole peppercorns (possibly cubeb or Java pepper) have been added. The rabbit should not cook too long, as it quickly turns dry. The rabbit is taken out of the cooking broth, which is strained of spices and seasoned with sweet wine (vin santo, tokaji, sauterne, or whatever you have). To this, raisins, prunes, apple pieces, and possibly some chopped ginger are added. When the raisins and prunes have swelled, the soup is thickened, and the rabbit is served with the stewed fruits in the sauce accompanied by a delicious bread. If the sauce is too sweet, it can be seasoned with a little wine vinegar. In the Middle Ages, the sauce would have been served aside.

The recipe dates from the 14th century and is found in many versions in various cookbooks.

FEATURED PHOTO:

Wild Rabbit from arter.dk CC BY Jesper Michael Møller

SOURCES:

Alle Tiders Kaniner – Kaninen i Danmarkshistorien gennem 800 år
Af: Peter Dragsbo
Tiko Media 2018

Celebrating Easter, Christmas and their associated alien fauna
By Malene Lauritsen et al
In: World Archaeology (2018) Vol 50 No 2 pp 285-299
The Archaeology of Celebrations

Experiment in Focus: Imitations of Fur
By Sophie Pitman
In: Refashioning the Renaissance Everyday Dress in Europe, 1500–1650 Edited by Paula Hohti, Manchester University Press, 2025, pp 101-106

Kanino-Fortællinger. Om Endelaves natur og historie set fra Kaninoruten. 
Foreningen Endelave Natur og Miljø 2024

Norden Natur – frem mod 2010, Marja Pylvänäinen
Nordic Council of Ministers, 2010

Pagan Goddesses in the Early Germanic World: Eostre, Hreda and the Cult of Matrons.
By p. A. Shaw
London: Bristol Classical Press and Bloomsbury, 2011

Rabbit genome analysis reveals a polygenic basis for phenotypic change during domestication
Af Miguel Carneiro et al
Science (2014) Vol 345, nr. 6200

Rabbits and the Specious Origins of Domestication
By Evan K. Irving-Pease, Laurent A.F. Frantz, Naomi Sykes, Cécile Callou, and Greger Larson
Trends in Ecology & Evolution (2018) Volume 33, Issue 3, Pages 149-152

Social Structure and Stress in the Rabbit Warren
By R. M. Lockley
Journal of Animal Ecology, (1961) Vol 30 No. 2 , pp. 385-423

The rabbit and the medieval East Anglian economy
By M. Bailey
The Agricultural History Review(1988) vol. 36 no 1 pp. 1 – 20.

The distribution of rabbit warrens in medieval England: an east–west divide?
By David Gould
In: Landscape History (2017) Vol 38 No 1 pp 25-41

Way of the Rabbit
By Hawthorne Mark (Author)
Changemakers Books 2021

Recipees from:

Zu Tisch bei Martin Luther
Von Alexandra Dapper
Landesamt für Denkmalpflegeund Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt/Theiss 2008.

 

 

 

 

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