View source for Rabbit of Caerbannog

{{short description|Fictional animal in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}
{{Infobox character
| name           = Rabbit of Caerbannog
| image          = The Rabbit of Caerbannog.webp
| caption        = 
| series         = Monty Python
| species        = Rabbit
| colour         = White
| first          = ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''
| last           = [[Spamalot]]
| creator        = Monty Python and [[Eric Idle]]
}}

The '''Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog''' is a fictional character in the [[Monty Python]] film ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]].''<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of British Humorists: Geoffrey Chaucer to John Cleese|author=Steven Gale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AH-fDkzVH1cC|isbn=0-8240-5990-5|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=155|year=1996}}</ref> The scene in ''Holy Grail'' was written by [[Graham Chapman]] and [[John Cleese]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The First 200 Years of Monty Python|last=Johnson|first=Kim Howard|publisher=St Martin's|year=1999|isbn=9780312033095|pages=[https://archive.org/details/first200yearsofm00john/page/200 200]|url=https://archive.org/details/first200yearsofm00john/page/200}}</ref> The rabbit is the antagonist in a major [[set piece]] battle, and makes a similar appearance in ''[[Spamalot]]'', a musical inspired by the movie.<ref>{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/theater/reviews/18spam.html?position=&pagewanted=all&position=| title=A Quest Beyond the Grail| author=Ben Brantley| date=18 March 2005| work=The New York Times| access-date=2008-05-03}}</ref> The [[Cultural icon|iconic]] status of this scene was important in establishing the viability of the musical.<ref>{{cite book|title= The Greedy Bastard Diary: A Comic Tour of America|author=Eric Idle|year=2005|quote="Will there be a Killer Rabbit?" "Yes." "Then I'm coming," he said, and went off gleefully shouting, "Ni!" Mike Nichols looked shocked. And impressed.|url=https://archive.org/details/greedybastarddia00idle|url-access= registration|isbn=0-06-075864-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/greedybastarddia00idle/page/n333 312]|publisher= HarperEntertainment|location= New York}}</ref>

== In the film ==
The Cave of Caerbannog is the home of the Legendary Black Beast of Arrrghhh.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Chapman | first1 = Graham | last2 = Jones | first2 = Terry |  title = Monty Python and the Holy Grail (BOOK) / Monty Python's second film: a first draft | publisher = Methuen | date = 1977  | location = London | pages = 78 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TiEcAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Legendary+Black+Beast+of+Arrrghhh%22 | isbn = 0458929700  }}</ref>  This is guarded by a monster which is initially unknown.<ref>{{cite book|title=Arthurian Romance: A Short Introduction|author1=Derek Albert Pearsall |author2=Derek Pearsall |page=[https://archive.org/details/arthurianromance0000pear/page/150 150]|url=https://archive.org/details/arthurianromance0000pear|url-access=registration|isbn=0-631-23320-2|year=2003|publisher=Blackwell Pub.|location=Malden, MA}}</ref> King Arthur ([[Graham Chapman]]) and his knights are led to the cave by Tim the Enchanter ([[John Cleese]]) and find that they must face its guardian beast. Tim verbally paints a picture of a monster so terrible as to have killed everyone who has tried to enter the cave, and warns them, "death awaits you all – with nasty, big, pointy teeth!". As the knights approach the cave and the rabbit, their "horses" become nervous, forcing the knights to dismount. Despite the cave's entrance being surrounded by the bones of "full fifty men" fallen, Arthur and his knights no longer take it seriously. Ignoring Tim's warnings ("a vicious streak a mile wide!"), King Arthur orders [[Bors]] ([[Terry Gilliam]]) to chop the rabbit's head off. Bors draws his sword and confidently approaches it. The rabbit suddenly leaps at least eight feet directly at Sir Bors' neck and bites clean through it in a single motion, [[decapitation|decapitating]] him to the sound of a [[can opener]].  Despite their initial shock, and the sounds of Tim's loud laughter, the knights attack in force, but the rabbit injures several of the knights and kills [[Gawain]] and [[Sir Ector|Ector]] with ease. The knights themselves have no hope of killing or injuring the rabbit. Arthur panics and shouts for the knights to retreat ("Run away!"). Sir Galahad asks if taunting the rabbit could cause it to make a mistake, Sir Robin asks if running away "more" would confuse it, and Sir Lancelot suggest bows. Knowing they cannot risk attacking again, they try to find another way to defeat the beast. The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is ultimately used to kill the rabbit, and allow the quest to proceed.<ref>{{cite book|title=Monty Python, Shakespeare and English Renaissance Drama|author1=Darl Larsen |author2=William Proctor Williams |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Z6yKtyT-cYC&q=monty+python+grail+rabbit&pg=PA69|isbn=0-7864-1504-5|page=69|year=2003|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, NC}}</ref>

=== Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch ===
[[File:British Sovereigns Orb.jpg|thumb|The [[Sovereign's Orb]] of the United Kingdom, which The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch satirises]]

The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is a visual satire of the [[Sovereign's Orb]] of the United Kingdom, and may refer to the mythical [[Holy Lance#Antioch|Holy Spear of Antioch]]. The Holy Hand Grenade is described as one of the "[[relic|sacred relics]]" carried by Brother Maynard (Idle). Despite its ornate appearance and long-winded instructions, it functions much the same as any other hand grenade. At King Arthur's prompting, instructions for its use are read aloud (by [[Michael Palin]]) from the fictitious ''Book of Armaments,'' Chapter 2, verses 9–21, parodying the [[King James Bible]] and the [[Athanasian Creed]]:

{{Quote|text=...And Saint [[Attila]] raised the [[hand grenade]] up on high, saying, "O {{LORD}}, bless this Thy hand grenade, that with it Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits, in Thy mercy." And the {{LORD}} did grin, and the people did feast upon the [[domestic sheep|lambs]] and [[sloth]]s and [[carp]] and [[anchovy|anchovies]] and [[orangutan]]s and [[breakfast cereal]]s, and [[fruit bat]]s and large chu... [''At this point, the friar is urged by Brother Maynard to "skip a bit, brother"'']... And the {{LORD}} spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it."<ref name="John Cleese page 76">John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The Screenplay'', page 76, Methuen, 2003 (UK) {{ISBN|0-413-77394-9}}</ref>}}

Arthur then pulls the pin, holds up the Holy Hand Grenade and cries out "One! Two! Five!" Sir Galahad (Palin) corrects him: "Three, sir!" (Arthur's [[Numeracy|innumeracy]] is a running gag in the picture).<ref name="John Cleese page 76" />  Arthur then yells "Three!" and hurls the grenade towards the rabbit.  The grenade soars through the air – accompanied by a short bit of angelic choral [[a cappella]] – bounces, and explodes. The killer rabbit is defeated, and the hapless knights errant continue on their quest. The noise also attracts policemen who were investigating the murder of a historian by a mounted knight earlier in the film.

== Production ==
[[File:Tomnadashan Copper Mine - geograph.org.uk - 28792.jpg|thumb|[[Tomnadashan|Tomnadashan copper mine]]]]
The rabbit [[scene (film)|scene]] was shot outside the [[Tomnadashan|Tomnadashan mine]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.panoramio.com/photo/1449658|title=Panoramio – Photo of Tomnadashan mine|work=panoramio.com|access-date=29 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622025917/http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1449658|archive-date=22 June 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> a cave 4 miles (6.5&nbsp;km) from the [[Perthshire]] village of [[Killin]].  For the 25th anniversary DVD, [[Michael Palin]] and [[Terry Jones]] returned to be interviewed in front of the cave but they could not remember the [[filming location|location]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Monty Python & The Holey Grail|newspaper=Sunday Mail|date=20 August 2000|page=29|author=Charles Lavery}}</ref><ref>"Python's Killer Rabbit Search is a Holy Farce", Alastair Dalton, [[Scotland on Sunday]], 20 August 2000, Pg. 3</ref>

The rabbit was portrayed in the movie by both a real rabbit and a puppet.<ref name="GilliamJones">{{cite AV media|last1=Gilliam |first1=Terry |last2=Jones |first2=Terry |title=Monty Python and the Holy Grail commentary |date=2001 |publisher=Columbia Tristar |medium=DVD }}</ref>

The name "Caerbannog", though fictitious, does reference real world [[Welsh toponymy|Welsh naming traditions]]. In this case, the element ''[[caer]]-'' implies the presence of a castle, as with Caerdydd ([[Cardiff]]) and [[Caerphilly]], while ''bannog'' can have a variety of meanings, the most apposite here being "turreted".

== Antecedents ==
[[File:Paris - Cathédrale Notre-Dame - Portail du Jugement Dernier - PA00086250 - 154.jpg|thumb|upright|The façade on [[Notre Dame de Paris|Notre Dame]] that gave inspiration]]
The tale of the rabbit has a parallel in the early story of the [[Roman de Renart]] in which a foe takes [[hubris|hubristic pride]] in his defeat of a ferocious [[hare]]:<ref>{{cite book|pages=156–157|title=Animal Body, Literary Corpus: The Old French "Roman de Renart"|author=J. R. Simpson|isbn=90-5183-976-6|publisher=Rodopi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cncpHnIHlioC|year=1996}}</ref>

{{poemquote|
''Si li crachait en mi le vis''
''Et escopi par grant vertu''<ref>Le Roman de Renart, Ernest Martin, ed., vol. 2, Strasbourg: Trubner, 1887, p. 199</ref>}}

The idea for the rabbit in the movie was taken from the façade of the cathedral of [[Notre Dame de Paris]].  This illustrates the weakness of [[cowardice]] by showing a [[knight]] fleeing from a rabbit.<ref>{{cite book|title=And Now for Something Completely Digital|page=66|author1=Alan Parker |author2=Mick O'Shea |year=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G49bRxbeH1kC|isbn=1-932857-31-1|publisher=Disinformation|location=New York}}</ref>

== Merchandise ==
The rabbit has been reproduced in the form of merchandise associated with the movie or musical. Such items include [[cuddly toy]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toymania.com/columns/spotlight/hgrabbit.shtml|publisher=Toy Mania|access-date=2008-05-04|title=Killer Rabbit with Big Pointy Teeth}}</ref> slippers<ref>{{cite news|title=Killer Bunnies and Comedy in King Arthur's Court|author=Lisa Traiger|newspaper=Washington Post|date=9 June 2006|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR2006060800592.html}}</ref> and [[stapler]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toydirectory.com/monthly/article.asp?id=2765|publisher=Toy Directory|title=Toy Sleuth: It's a Big, Big World Minis and Scary Staplers Fight for the Spotlight|author=Mark Zaslove|date=November 2007}}</ref> The plush killer rabbit was rated the second geekiest plush toy of all time by Matt Blum of the [[GeekDad]] blog on [[Wired.com]], coming second to the plush [[Cthulhu]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://archive.wired.com/geekdad/2008/09/the-10-geekiest/|magazine=Wired|date=22 September 2008|title=The 10 Geekiest Plush Toys Money Can Buy|last1=Blum|first1=Matt}}</ref>

== Reception ==
The rabbit was declared the top movie bunny by [[David Cheal]] in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3575298/Top-five-movie-bunnies.html|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=5 October 2006|title=Top five movie bunnies | location=London | first=David | last=Cheal | access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> It also ranked high in an Easter 2008 poll to establish Britain's best movie rabbit, coming third to [[Roger Rabbit]] and Frank from ''[[Donnie Darko]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Diary|author=Alba|newspaper=The Scotsman|date=24 March 2008}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
The rabbit is sometimes used as a metaphor for something which seems ostensibly harmless but is, in fact, deadly.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Competition in Regulated Industries: Essays on Economic Issues|author1=William W. Betteridge |author2=James F. Niss |author3=Michael T. Pledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cb5AAAAAIAAJ|year=1975|publisher=Center for Business and Economic Research, Western Illinois University}}</ref> Such hidden but real risks may even arise from similarly cuddly animals.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Fierce creatures|journal=EMBO Reports|volume=4|issue=10|pages=921–924|year=2003|author=Holger Breithaupt|doi=10.1038/sj.embor.embor949|pmid=14528257|pmc=1326407}}</ref> The humour of the scene comes from this inversion of the usual framework by which safety and danger are judged.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Neither clear nor present: The social construction of safety and danger|author=R Simpson|journal=Sociological Forum|publisher=Springer|volume=11|date=September 1996|issue=3|pages=549–562|doi=10.1007/BF02408392|s2cid=145706377}}</ref> Four years after the release of the movie, ''Killer Rabbit'' was the term used widely by the press to describe the [[swamp rabbit]] that "[[Jimmy Carter rabbit incident|attacked]]" then U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]] while he was fishing on a farm pond.<ref>{{cite book|title=Something Happened: A Political and Cultural Overview of the Seventies|author=Edward D. Berkowitz|url=https://archive.org/details/somethinghappene00berk|url-access=registration|isbn=0-231-12494-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/somethinghappene00berk/page/115 115]|year=2006|publisher=Columbia Univ. Press|location=New York}}</ref>

===Video games===
*In the sandbox game ''[[w:Minecraft|Minecraft]]'', there is a command that players can run that will spawn in the killer rabbit, or, as it is called in the game, "The Killer Bunny". It is white with red eyes and attacks the player, foxes and wolves, unlike normal rabbits in the game.<ref>{{cite book |title=Minecraft For Dummies |date=2015 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |page=107}}</ref>

*In the beat 'em up game ''[[w:Dragon's Crown|Dragon's Crown]]'', there is one boss found at the end of Path B of the Lost Woods called "Killer Rabbit". The Rabbit has relatively low HP compared to other bosses but primarily uses high damaging single-target attacks. The Killer Rabbit is a small, white rabbit with red eyes. Although it looks like an ordinary rabbit, once it gets aggressive it opens its mouth wide, revealing many massive teeth that it uses to rip its enemies to shreds. If the player takes too long to defeat the Rabbit, the Highland Knights come out to fight the Rabbit and will continue to come out endlessly. A box of Bombs also appear off to the side near the exit to throw at the Rabbit, another reference to the Holy Hand Grenade in ''[[Monty Python]]''.

*The fourth installment of the Quest for Glory series features a "Vorpal Bunny" as a repeating enemy that can be encountered in the Mordavian forest during the day. The name "vorpal" comes from the Lewis Carroll poem ''Jabberwocky'', while the rabbit itself is inspired by the Rabbit of Caerbannog from ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''.

*In the MMORPG ''[[w:Old School RuneScape|Old School RuneScape]]'' there is a hidden boss called simply 'Rabbit'. Although it has the same combat level as normal rabbits in the area, the boss version has much higher statistics including an incredibly high hitpoints level. In reference to [[Monty Python]] the Rabbit drops a grail when defeated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/w/Rabbit_(Prifddinas)|access-date=2022-11-13|title=Rabbit (Prifddinas)}}</ref>

* [[w:Worms (series)|''Worms'' series of games]] has a Holy Hand Grenade weapon, which is the most powerful grenade in the series. It is a direct tribute to the one mentioned here, has nearly identical appearance, and also has a 3-second timer.

*In the MMORPG ''[[w:World of Warcraft|World of Warcraft]]'' there is the Darkmoon Rabbit, a clear reference to the Rabbit of Caerbannog. It drops as a pet that can be used as a companion and in the pet battle minigame. It also exists in the connected digital CCG ''[[Hearthstone]]'' as an epic minion card.

*In the spaceship salvaging game ''[[w:Hardspace: Shipbreaker|Hardspace: Shipbreaker]]'', there is a small possibility of a pink rabbit plushie spawning inside the ship. Collecting it awards the player the achievement "The Killer of Caerbannog".

*In the game ''[[w:Guardian Tales|Guardian Tales]]'', the killer rabbit is mentioned and encountered in World 8, which the player can defeat using Holy Hand Grenade obtained from a pope dispatched to defeat said rabbit.

===Technology===
*In Apple Inc.'s iOS system, [[w:Siri|Siri]] may say that the "Rabbit of Caerbannog" is its favorite animal when asked.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=montypython|number=619183682163769344|date=9 July 2015|title=Has anyone ever asked Siri what's it's favourite animal is?!#killerrabbit #MontyPython|link=https://twitter.com/montypython/status/619183682163769344|access-date=13 July 2017}}</ref>
*When a [[w:Tesla Model 3|Tesla Model 3]] is named "the rabbit of Caerbannog" a link to the Monty Python [[YouTube]] channel in the [[w:Tesla, Inc.|Tesla]] Theatre will appear.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Media|first=Ryan Daws {{!}} 7th October 2019 {{!}} TechForge|date=2019-10-07|title=Tesla will allow users to customise their vehicle's horn and motor sounds|url=https://iottechnews.com/news/2019/oct/07/tesla-users-customise-vehicles-horn-motor-sounds/|access-date=2020-06-28|website=Internet of Things News|language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Miscellaneous===
*''Creatures & Treasures'', a sourcebook for [[Iron Crown Enterprises]]' ''[[Rolemaster]]'' tabletop role-playing game, includes a "Killer Rabbit" monster entry. The creature's outlook is given as "Hostile", with a note that it "bounds for the throat, never for another part of the body." Another note in the description instructs the gamemaster to "treat 'exploding' attacks [made against the rabbit] as 'slaying' (H.H.G.O.A.)", a clear reference to the [[Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch]].<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Charlton | first1 = S. Coleman | last2 = Short | first2 = Lee O. | last3 = Ney | first3 = Jessica M. | last4 = Fenlon | first4 = Peter C. | last5 = Britton | first5 = Richard | last6 = Scott | first6 = Tim "Dwelf" | last7 = Bouton | first7 = Brian | last8 = Johnston | first8 = Olivia | last9 = Kubasch | first9 = Heike | title = Creatures & Treasures | publisher = Iron Crown Enterprises | date = 1985 | location = Charlottesville VA, USA | page = 30 | isbn = 0915795302 | display-authors = 2 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Monty Python and the Holy Grail|state=collapsed}}
{{Monty Python|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Film characters introduced in 1975]]
[[Category:Fictional monsters]]
[[Category:Fictional rabbits and hares]]
[[Category:Fictional rampage and spree killers]]
[[Category:Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]
[[Category:Comedy film characters]]
[[Category:Musical theatre characters]]
[[Category:Monty Python characters]]