The internet is an engine producing a constant supply of shared insanity. There's an ever-evolving language being spoken in cats, tea-loving Muppets, and prequel Jedi. But as we've shown you before , nonsensical memes were around long before the internet made monkey haircuts and birds with human arms normal. For example ...

5 Ancient Drawings Of Knights Vs. Snails Turned Up Everywhere

When you picture the illustrations in medieval manuscripts, you probably imagine dry, functional drawings of astronomers being burned alive or unfaithful wives being stoned by mobs of bored villagers. What you might not think of is an endless barrage of batshit drawings of knights going toe-to-toe with giant snails. No one knows how it started or why it continued, but you see this running joke(?) in practically every 13th- and 14th-century manuscript, no matter the subject. Let's take a look at some.

via British Library

This one is squirting raisins?

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It seems like a snail is an easy fight for someone holding a sword and moving 500 or 600 times faster than it. Plus, the one above isn't exactly "giant." Sure, it's big for a snail, but it's about the same threat as a very sleepy dog wearing a French horn. What if it got a little bigger, though?

via British Library

"OK, shit. This might be trouble."

You probably get the sense that the snails don't do well in these historical battles. At best they're hoping to get gross amounts of slime on you when they cleave themselves in half on your sword. And the news gets worse for the poor snails.

via British Library

"I've got a horse now, fucker!"

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It doesn't matter if you're the toughest snail in the garden -- when a mounted knight is coming at you from the margins of the book, you're dead. And when the snails got clever and tried to team up, the knights pulled out the big guns.

via British Library

"Oh, there are two of you? Then IT'S CHIMERA CENTAUR MODE, SNAILS!"

Why are they killing these snails? What does it mean? Are the men heroes or inhuman snail murderers? As with modern memes, we're assuming it's an inside reference whose meaning was lost even to the people copying it. And like the intentionally nonsensical images kids post these days, with each iteration, somebody added their own twist. Note the horrified squirrel bystander in this one. Look at him! He is absolutely losing his shit.