I'm fascinated by the school lesson material at the U.K. National Archive site. That cartoon is from one titled "A Medieval Mystery" that asks students to "decode the dark secrets of this cartoon" and offers tips on things to look for (e.g., devils) and prompts with questions like "How has the cartoonist shown that the man and the woman are Jewish?"
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By having the devil point at their noses?
In 1492 Columbus was discovering the new world and the King of Spain was kicking the Jews out of Spain and who ever was in charge of Ireland was kicking the Jews out of there too.
Large probosci? Do I win anything for that?
Genetic phenotype?
By their nose ye shall knows them!
I dig the quatrefoil tracery
Kings sure looked funny back in those days.
Some early relatives of Cedarford created this?
Not pointing, the devil is touching them on the nose.
The Inquisition, wotta show
The Inquisition, here we go
Is it a "cartoon?" I'm not sure it was meant to be funny. It more likely served as an illustration for those people who couldn't read.
C4 alert.
Neo-cons on the loose in 1233 Merrie Olde England?
I mean, who knew?
"s it a "cartoon?" I'm not sure it was meant to be funny. It more likely served as an illustration for those people who couldn't read."
How do you define cartoon? I think the word extends to representations like this, but the word wasn't in the English language until after this thing was drawn, according to the OED.
The oldest meaning of "cartoon" has to do with a plan for a painting.
There's also the word "comic," which books like "Understanding Comics" take way back in history. If I remember correctly, both words are not limited to things that are trying to be funny, and the basic distinction is between a series of panels (a comic) and a single drawing (a cartoon). Thus, "The Far Side" is a cartoon and not a comic.
"How has the cartoonist shown that the man and the woman are Jewish?"
Objection your honor, leading the witness
I wrongly assumed a "cartoon" was meant to be funny or satirical.
It would be good for the school lesson materials to raise the meaning of "cartoon" among the questions.
Edict of Explusion
In 1290, King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England.
Link
Edict of Explusion
Because his head looks like a big circumcised pennis*?
*Olde English spelling for schlong.
Speaking of wood, maybe because he has that Woody Allen-look of angst? Woody was quite the rage back then, very popular with the movie-going English commoners you know.
Cartoons were sort of preliminary sketches in the olden days. One of the prized possesions of the Royal Art Collection is their 600 Da Vinci cartoons.
Too taxing.
It's hard to believe that from this humble beginning, Steamboat Willie flowered.
Of course, only those aware of the nez slur will get the reference.
The gold Star of David sewn on their lapels?
The serial numbers tattooed on their forearms?
Don't know about the woman, but the man is wearing a medieval "Jew hat" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jew_hat).
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