CAMEL

14th December 2023

I have been studying how I my compare

This prison where I live unto the world,

And for because the world is populous

And here is not a creature but myself,

I cannot do it. Yet I’ll hammer it out.

My brain I’ll prove the female to my soul,

My soul the father, and these two beget

A generation of still-breeding thoughts,

And these same thoughts people this little world,

In humours like the peoples of this world

For no thoughts is contented. The better sort,

As thoughts of things divine, are intermixed

With scruples, and do set the word against itself

Against the word, as thus: “Come, little ones,”

And then again,

“It is as hard to come as for a camel

To thread the postern of a small needle’s eye.”

RICHARD: Richard II, Act 5, Scene 4

CAMEL (Camelus spp.)

Camels turn up in three Shakespeare plays: Hamlet, Richard II and Troilus and Cressida. The reference in Richard II is closely related to the Bible Text in Mark 10:25 “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Camels were known through Bible texts as well as through imagery such as embroidery and painting. The Abraham tapestries in Hampton Court include several depictions of Camels.

There are 3 living species of Camel today: the Dromedary or Arabian Camel, one hump (Camelus dromedarius); the Bactrian Camel of Central Asia, two humps (Camelus bactrianus); the Wild Bactrian Camel (Camelus ferus). The Wild Camel is assessed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Global Red List. Eward Topsell in his 1607 History of Four Footed Beasts clearly recognised the different Camel species and their importance in the cultural of different parts of the world.

Camels are important domesticated animals which provide transport and textiles in arid regions of the world. Camel racing in the Arabian peninsular has been recognised by UNESCO as part of intangible cultural heritage.

More Information

Geneva Bible 1599 edition: (accessed via BibleGateway.com)

IUCN Global Red List: Camelus ferus

Topsell, 1607 History of Four-Footed Beasts (accessed via 1658 edition on Archive.org)

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: Camel Racing

YEAST

Cork Oak