Rabbits went from royal treat to common food in England

Archaeologists discovered that rabbits first arrived in Britain during the Roman period, but they remained rare until the 12th century when the Norman aristocracy began gifting them.

Kings like Henry III carefully managed rabbit populations in their parks, sending hunters to collect between 30 and 40 rabbits at a time if the warrens were healthy. Rabbits were a luxury, costing four to five times more than chickens, and landowners built towers and lodges to protect them from poachers.

Following the Black Death from 1346 to 1353, the surviving population in England experienced improved living standards and greater access to land and resources. This led to a shift in social norms, as laborers and peasants began to adopt the lifestyles of the upper classes. Consequently, rabbits became more widely consumed by common people during the 14th and 15th centuries, with their fur also used by craftsmen.

Medieval society also expressed satirical humor through depictions of rabbits, often portraying them as rebellious figures who turned the tables on hunters. Manuscript illustrations showed rabbits capturing, trying, and executing their human pursuers, reflecting a broader cultural trend of inverting social hierarchies for comedic effect. By 1555, Conrad Gesner noted England’s abundance of rabbits, indicating their successful integration into the British landscape.