The symbol features threehares orrabbits chasing each other in a circle. Like thetriskelion,[8] thetriquetra, and their antecedents (e.g., thetriple spiral), the symbol of the three hares has a threefoldrotational symmetry. Each of the ears is shared by two hares, so that only three ears are shown. Although its meaning is apparently not explained in contemporary written sources from any of the medieval cultures where it is found, it is thought to have a range of symbolic or mystical associations with fertility and thelunar cycle. When used in Christian churches, it is presumed to be a symbol of theTrinity. Its origins and original significance are uncertain, as are the reasons why it appears in such diverse locations.[1]
TheSantu Gonger motif appears in sixteen of the Mogao Caves and dates between the Sui Dynasty and theFive Dynasties. It is always accompanied by lotus motifs reminiscent of the lianhua zaojing (莲花藻井) designs from theNorthern Dynasties.[13][14]
Liu Haiyan of the Dunhuang Academy notes that thezaojing paintings historically had symbolic functions as protection against fire through water symbolism. Both the lotus and the hare were associated with water during the Sui and Tang dynasties—the lotus through its aquatic nature, and the rabbit through its link to the moon and the moon's influence over tides.[14][15] The popularity of theSantu Gonger motif also coincides with the status of rabbits as axiangrui (Chinese: 祥瑞), an often officially designated auspicious omen. During the Early Tang Dynasty, white hares were demoted to a third-levelxiangrui , while the blackish-red hares was classified as a second-levelxiangrui. Coincidentally, only reddish-black hares appear in early TangSantu Gonger paintings while other periods had moreSantu Gonger designs and with hares in both white and blackish-red colors.[14]
Guan Youhui, a retired researcher from theDunhuang Academy, who spent 50 years studying the decorative patterns in theMogao Caves, believes the three rabbits—"like many images inChinese folk art that carry auspicious symbolism—represent peace and tranquility".[9][10]SeeAurel Stein.
The spread of the three hares symbol between 600 and 1500
The three hares appear on a copper coin, found inIran, dated to 1281.[16][17][18] Another appears on an ancient Islamic-madereliquary from southern Russia. Another 13th or early 14th century box, later used as a reliquary, was made inIran underMongol rule, and is preserved in the treasury of theCathedral of Trier in Germany. On its base, the casket has Islamic designs, and originally featured two images of the three hares. One was lost through damage.[19]
One theory pertaining to the spread of the motif is that it was transported from China across Asia and as far as the south west of England by merchants travelling the Silk Road and that the motif was transported via designs found on expensiveOriental ceramics. This view is supported by the early date of the surviving occurrences in China. However, the majority of representations of the three hares in churches occur in England and northern Germany. This supports a contrary view that the three hares occurred independently as English or early German symbols.[1][9][10][20]
Some claim that the Devon name, Tinners' Rabbits, is related to localtin miners adopting it. The mines generated wealth in the region and funded the building and repair of many local churches, and thus the symbol may have been used as a sign of the miners' patronage.[21] Thearchitectural ornament of the three hares also occurs in churches that are unrelated to the miners of South West England. Other occurrences in England include floor tiles atChester Cathedral,[22] stained glass atLong Melford, Suffolk[A] and a ceiling inScarborough, Yorkshire.[1]
The motif of the three hares is used in a number of medieval or more recent European churches, particularly in France (e.g., in theBasilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière inLyon)[23] and Germany. It occurs with the greatest frequency in the churches ofDevon, United Kingdom, where it appears to be a recollection of earlierInsular Celtic design such as thetriaxially symmetrictriskele and otherRomano-British designs which are known from early British 'Celtic' (La Tène) metalwork such as circular enamelled and openwork triskel brooches (fibulae). The motif appears inilluminated manuscripts amongst similar devices such as the anthropomorphic "beard pullers" seen in manuscripts such as theBook of Kells,[24] architecturalwood carving,stone carving, windowtracery, andstained glass. In South Western England there are over thirty recorded examples of the three hares appearing on 'roof bosses' (carved wooden knobs) on the ceilings inmedieval churches inDevon, (particularlyDartmoor). There is a good example of a roof boss of the three hares atWidecombe-in-the-Moor,[8] Dartmoor, with another in the town ofTavistock on the edge of the moor. Themotif occurs with similar central placement in Synagogues.[2] Another occurrence is on theossuary that by tradition contained the bones ofSt. Lazarus.[25]
Where it occurs in the United Kingdom, the three hares motif usually appears in a prominent place in the church, such as the central rib of thechancel roof, or on a central rib of thenave. This suggests that the symbol held significance to the church, and casts doubt on the theory that they may have been a masons' or carpenters' signature marks.[1] There are two possible and perhaps concurrent reasons why the three hares may have found popularity as a symbol within the church. Firstly, it was believed that the hare washermaphrodite and could reproduce without loss ofvirginity.[26] This led to an association with theVirgin Mary, with hares sometimes occurring inilluminated manuscripts andNorthern European paintings of the Virgin andChrist Child. The other Christian association may have been with theHoly Trinity,[19][27][unreliable source?] representing the"One in Three and Three in One" of which the triangle or three interlocking shapes such as rings are common symbols. In many locations the three hares are positioned adjacent to theGreen Man, a symbol commonly believed to be associated with the continuance ofAnglo-Saxon orCelticpaganism.[28] These juxtapositions may have been created to imply the contrast of the Divine with man'ssinful, earthly nature.[19]
In Judaism, theshafan inHebrew has symbolic meaning.[B][C] Rabbits can carry positive symbolic connotations, like lions and eagles. 16th century German scholarRabbi Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, saw the rabbits as a symbol of theJewish diaspora. The replica of theChodorowSynagogue from Poland (on display at theMuseum of the Jewish Diaspora inTel Aviv) has a ceiling with a large central painting which depicts a double-headed eagle holds two brown rabbits in its claws without harming them. The painting is surrounded by a citation from the end ofDeuteronomy:
כנשר יעיר קינו על גוזליו ירחף. יפרוש כנפיו יקחהו ישאהו על אברתו
This may be translated: "As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, hovereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her pinions (...thus isGod to the Jewish people)."[2]
The hare frequently appears in the form of the symbol of the rotating rabbits. An ancient Germanriddle describes this graphic thus:
There are three hares and only three ears, and yet each hare has two.[30][2]
This curious graphic riddle can be found in all of the famouswooden synagogues from the period of the 17th and 18th century in theAshknaz region (in Germany) that are on museum display inBeth Hatefutsoth Museum in Tel Aviv, theJewish Museum Berlin and TheIsrael Museum in Jerusalem. They also appear in the Synagogue fromHorb am Neckar (donated to the Israel Museum). The three animals adorn the wooden panels of the prayer room fromUnterlimpurg nearSchwäbisch Hall, which may be seen in replica in the Jewish Museum Berlin. They also are seen in a main exhibit of the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv. Israeli art historian Ida Uberman wrote about this house of worship: "... Here we find depictions of three kinds of animals, all organized in circles: eagles, fishes and hares. These three represent the Kabbalistic elements of the world: earth, water and fire/heavens... The fact that they are always three is important, for that number . . . is important in theKabbalistic context".[2]
Not only do they appear among floral and animal ornaments, but they are often in a distinguished location, directly above theTorah ark, the place where theholy scriptures repose.[2]
"Drei Hasen und der Löffel drei und doch hat jeder seine zwei." (Germany, 1858)
"Drei Hasen und der Ohren drei und doch hat Keiner mehr als Zwei." (Alsace)
"Three hares, and three ears, and yet no one has more than two."
Jurgis Baltrusaitis's 1955Le Moyen-Âge fantastique: Antiquités et exotismes dans l'art gothique[33] includes a 1576 Dutchengraving with the puzzle given in Dutch and French around the image. This is the oldest known dated example of the motif as a puzzle, with a caption that translates as:
The secret is not great when one knows it. But it is something to one who does it. Turn and turn again and we will also turn, So that we give pleasure to each of you. And when we have turned, count our ears, It is there, without any disguise, you will find a marvel.[20]
One recent philosophical book poses it as a problem in perception and anoptical illusion—an example ofcontour rivalry. Each rabbit can be individually seen as correct—it is only when you try to see all three at once that you see the problem with defining the hares' ears. This is similar to "The ImpossibleTribar" byRoger Penrose,[20] originated byOscar Reutersvärd. CompareM.C. Escher'simpossible object.
The Community ofHasloch'sarms[34] isblazoned as:Azure edged Or three hares passant in triskelion of the second, each sharing each ear with one of the others, in chief a rose argent seeded of the second, in base the same, features three hares. It is said, "The stone with the image of three hares, previously adorned the old village well, now stands beside the town hall."[35] Hasloch is in theMain-Spessart district in theRegierungsbezirk ofLower Franconia (Unterfranken) inBavaria, Germany.[36]
Tinners' Rabbits is the name of aBorder Morris dance of many forms involving use of sticks and rotation of three, six or nine dancers.[41][42]
The hare is rarely used in Britisharmory; but "Argent, three hares playingbagpipesgules" belongs to theFitzErcald family of ancientDerbyshire.[43] Parenthetically, in heraldry the "Coney", that is the rabbit, is more common than the hare.[43] Three coneys appear in the crests of the families: Marton, co. Lincoln; Bassingthorpe co. Lincoln; Gillingham co. Norfolk and Cunliffe co. Lancashire.[44]
Ushaw College (St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw) is a Roman Catholicseminary which includes "Three coneys" in its crest. This adornment is from the family coat of arms ofWilliam Allen.
Other coats of arms of English and Irish families have three conies or hares.[46]
"Three Conies Inn" was the name of a 17th-century inn, and three rabbits feeding was used as a motif on the obverse of itstrade token.[47] "The property is believed to date from at least the 17th century; the stone sundial above the former front door shows the date 1622. One of the earliest documented references to the property is an advertisement for the sale of a dwelling in the Northampton Mercury in September 1738. The 1777 Militia List also refers to the 'Three Coneys'".[48]
Among hunters, a collection of three hares ("abrace and a half" ortierce)—or three creatures of any kind, especially greyhounds, foxes, bucks—is called "aleash".[49][50][51]
^InHebrew, the rock hyrax is calledשפן סלע (shafan sela), meaningrockshafan, where the meaning ofshafan is obscure, but iscolloquially used as a synonym for rabbit in modern Hebrew.Slifkin, Nosson (1 March 2004)."6"(PDF).Shafan–The Hyrax. Southfield, MI;Nanuet, NY: Zoo Torah in association with Targum/Feldheim Distributed by Feldheim. pp. 99–135.ISBN1-56871-312-6. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 16 June 2012. Retrieved25 April 2012.{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)ISBN978-1-56871-312-0.
^Although rabbits are listed as a non-kosher animal in the Bible, they at least arguably chew their cud, even though they are not aruminant, lacking cloven hooves.[29]
Rietstap gives: Quarterly, 1st silver, a lionsable armed and langued reds; to 2e gules, a silver sword adorned with gold and 3e gules, a sword of gold band and a rifle gold bars, in saltire; to 4e Silver, a chevron azure, with three rabbits sand stream.
Borel Hauterive gives, in the Yearbook of the nobility of France and the royal houses of Europe, T. 21, Paris, 1865: Quarterly, 1st silver, a lion sable armed and langued reds; to 2e gules a sword high silver barons fair district military-3e gules, a sword and a rifle gold necklace set with (weapons of honor) to 4e Silver, achevron azure, three rabbits with sand, which is Brumauld.
^The "three hares motif from a window of the Paderborn cathedral cloister (Unity and Trinity as a symbol of the Trinity, the central mystery of faith of the Catholic Church and the whole of Christendom)".Coat of Arms, BishopPaul-Werner Scheele,Bischof von Würzburg 1979–2003.SeeEcclesiastical heraldry.
^abcChapman, Chris; Wei, Zhang; Rasmussen, Peter (August 2004)."The Three Rabbits in China".Adapted from a presentation at the International Conference onGrottoes Research. Dunhuang China. Archived fromthe original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved25 April 2012.
^Guan Youhui. Dunhuang shiku quanji, Vols. 13, 14. Xianggang: Shangwu yinshuguan youxian gongsi, 2003. With expanded views of the ceilings of eight of the three-rabbits caves.
^Terrier, Michel; Greeves, Tom; Andrew, Sue (9 September 2007)."Trois lièvres à oreilles communes" [Three hares and their ears commune] (Blog) (in French). Retrieved20 September 2012.
Dunhuang Research Academy (2006). Jinshi Fan. ed. China Dunhuang. Nanjing: Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House.ISBN7-5344-2082-2. Photography by Wu Jian, including Caves #305 and #407.
Goepper, Roger. (1996)Alchi: Ladakh's Hidden Buddhist Sanctuary: The Sumtsek. London: Serindia Publications.ISBN978-1-57062-240-3. Photos of the three hares onMaitreya's dhoti.
Goepper, Roger. The "Great Stupa at Alchi" inArtibus Asiae, Vol. LIII 1/2 (1993), pp. 111–43.
Dunhuang Research Academy (2005). Wenjie Duan; Fan, Jinshi. ed. 敦煌石窟全集. 1, 再现敦煌. Hong Kong: The Commercial Press (H.K.) Ltd.ISBN962-07-5299-6.
Simpson, Geoffrey (6 February 2018).The Three Hares: Bloodline. Three Hares Series. Vol. 1 (Illustrated ed.). Canton, Georgia: thewordverve Incorporated.ISBN978-1948225182.
Ueckermann, Erhard:Das Hasensymbol am Dom zu Paderborn, im Kloster Hardehausen, in der Kathedralkirche St. Paulus in Münster und der Klosterkirche Haina. In:Zeitschrift für Jagdwissenschaft 41 (1995), S. 285–29.
Tan Chung, Editor. (1994)Dunhuang Art: Through the Eyes of Duan Wenjie. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications.ISBN81-7017-313-2.
Xizang Zizhiqu (1991)wenwu guanli weiyuanhui. Guge gucheng (The Site of the AncientGuge Kingdom). Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, with photos of four hares and other impossible shared-body images.
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