By now we all know the Ghanaian coffin porters meme, in which the video of a more or less dangerous behavior gives way to the image of these funeral professionals who dance with a coffin in tow (as we explained in this report). But recently what seems like a medieval illustration has begun to be shared with the protagonists of this scene.
When your feudal lord dies pic.twitter.com/vCxsmNJyQ6
- Rafa Dguez (@Rafa_Dguez) April 19, 2020Unfortunately, this is not a real miniature of any more or less foreboding manuscript: this meme and similar ones are the work of the creators of Deus lo vult, a board game set in the Middle Ages, created and designed by three friends of Kiev (Ukraine).
Mike Badelin, its developer, explains to Verne by email that the company planned to start shipping the game a few weeks ago to those who bought it via crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. However, "the shipment was greatly delayed due to quarantine, first in China and then everywhere." With the packages stopped in Shanghai, the authors began sharing the medieval versions of some well-known memes: “We did the little we could do: brighten up our community with silly pictures. It worked and people found it fun. "
Probably his most shared meme is that of the porters, published on April 13, which has often circulated with the signature cut off: "It is the price of popularity, I imagine ... But please," he adds, addressing those who share it- , do not cut the signature. We do not charge to use it ”. There is even a second version of this meme, in which the moment the coffin falls is seen, as it happens in one of the porters' videos.
In his account there are classic and new memes, like that of the porters, but they have also adapted some to the current pandemic. For example, Drake's meme, only replacing the American musician with death. In this version, death approves the actions that do well for her, such as not respecting social distance and dueling with the helmet visor raised. In this regard, Badelin explains that humor can be "the best way for people to remember some of the new rules."
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Cover your mouth during social interactions to keep the plague at bay! #deuslovult #deusvult #coronavirus #coronavirusmemes #coronavirusmeme #meme #crusade #plague #pandemic #boardgame #boardgames #memedieval
A shared post from Hiatus Games (@hiatusgames) on Mar 24, 2020 at 7:28 PDT
Others are classic memes, like the distracted boyfriend or the woman screaming at a cat. There's even a humorous version of popular networked math puzzles and memes inspired by the tram's ethical dilemma. The company offered to design for Verne a version of the "wonderful move" meme, starring Leontxo García, chess chronicler from EL PAÍS, which we publish below. We have put together a few more examples at the end of the article.
What memes and thumbnails have in common
The style of these publications is the one that can be found in their board game, which takes its name from the Christian motto that means "God wants it" and that was used in the first crusade. There are no memes in the game, although there are more than 300 illustrations inspired by medieval manuscripts from the 12th to 15th centuries.
According to Badelin, these images pay special tribute to "the illuminations of the great chronicles of France by Saint Denis and the art of the Limbourgh brothers", authors of The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry. Badelin is the developer of Deus lo vult, but for the illustrations he had the work of Alexander Komyakhov and Mykhailo Skop, who is also the author of the memes. The three met while studying Art History.
In Badelin's opinion memes have much more in common with medieval miniatures than it may seem at first glance. In his opinion, both these illustrations from centuries ago and the images shared on social networks “give more presence to the pictorial component than to the verbal one, they depend on various crossed cultural contexts, they are hermeneutic -that is, they require interpretation-, they are symbolic and they are also very canonical, since they are based on thousands of unwritten norms ”, which lead to a clear visual consistency despite the fact that there are“ innumerable anonymous authors ”.
Although the goal was not to advertise the game, Badelin notes that "more people know him now" and they hope that this will help them sell more and start the second crowdfunding campaign , now that the boxes are finally being distributed to their buyers. On top of that, they have released a free, printable version of their game "to help people get through quarantine." It can be downloaded both on their website and on their Kickstarter profile. In this version, Crusaders and Saracens appear with a mask.
Badelin defines this game as "a dark joke about one of the darkest, dumbest, and yet most majestic and exalted initiatives in the history of Europe." And it points out to Spanish readers that one of the players can take the Kingdom of Castile and play with the Cid or with the Catalan Templar and troubadour Olivier lo Templier. The developer also recommends other games for this era of pandemic and confinement: This War of Mine, "If You Feel Macabre Enough", and Pandemic, which, as the name suggests, consists of containing a pandemic.
And, if someone has come for memes and not for history, here are a few more:
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VISIT OUR MEMEDIEVAL MEMERCHANDISE STORE! ⠀ Link in bio. #memedieval #meme #deuslovult #deusvult #crusade #plague #boardgame
A post shared by Hiatus Games (@hiatusgames) on Apr 21, 2020 at 3:49 PDT
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It was bound to happen sooner or later. • • • #deuslovult #meme #cat #woman #womanyellingatcat #crusade #boardgame #humor #memes #fun #history #art #memesdaily #memereview @boredgametable #boardgamememes #memedieval
A shared post from Hiatus Games (@hiatusgames) on Feb 18, 2020 at 9:41 PST
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hard times, desperate measures 🚃 #memedieval #memes #meme #deuslovult #deusvult #crusade #boardgame #coronavirus # covid19 #coronavirusmeme #covidmeme #plague #coronavirusmemes #covidmemes #quarantine
A post shared by Hiatus Games (@hiatusgames) on Apr 7, 2020 at 1:19 p.m. PDT
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some #memedieval math ⚔️ #deuslovult #deusvult #crusade #crusaders #boardgame #puzzle #math #medieval #history
A shared post from Hiatus Games (@hiatusgames) on Apr 10, 2020 at 7:15 p.m. PDT
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Plague wants you to carry it around. Please stay at home to prevent it from spreading! 💀 #safetytips #deuslovult #deusvult #coronavirus #pandemic # covid_19 #coronavirusmeme #coronavirusmemes #memedieval
A shared post from Hiatus Games (@hiatusgames) on Mar 25, 2020 at 6:20 PDT
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We're going on with filing all import / export papers. US-bound container will be sent in a few days, while EU-bound is still on hold because of bureaucratic issues and all this pandemic chaos in total. Meanwhile, Kyiv is under total lockdown since today. Everything is closed, everyone is quarantined. May the Lord shed His mercy on our sinister souls! #deuslovult #deusvult #coronavirus #pandemic #boardgame #memedieval
A shared post from Hiatus Games (@hiatusgames) on Mar 18, 2020 at 7:11 PDT
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