There seem to be three viewpoints from which the lamb is seen. These are religious, pragmatic, romantic.
The religious, specifically Christian, perspective on the lamb is as The Lamb of God/Agnus Dei, representing Christ.
The pragmatic outlooks are those of the sheep farmer - who sees the lamb as a product, to render income, and of the consumer - a public that wishes for lamb-obtained products of meat, milk, wool, and skin.
The romantic attitude to the lamb is the populace’s general instinct to ‘go gooey’ at lambs, seeing them as endearing and appealing and regarding them as portraying innocence and pure joy because of the manner in which they behave, thus essentially having the appeal of any new-born - but ‘with knobs on’ due to lambs’ innate visual attractiveness.
The religious, Christian, lamb is strong and very manifest due to longstanding-ness of mention and depiction over two millennia. Volume and range of representations have given reinforcement, from ‘Lamb and Flag’ pubs to classical music’s ‘Behold, the Lamb of God’ (text from St John Gospel, Chapter 1, verse 29) and ‘Worthy is the Lamb’ (text from Revelation 5, verse 12), of which both are in Handel’s Messiah. The Lamb and Flag has its origin in St John Gospel Chapter 1, verse 29, and it can refer to the Middle Temple, the Knights Templar, England’s St George.
Now to look at the sheep farmer’s attitude. Having already given particular care and attention to ewes’ pre-time of lambs’ birth in order to see that the mothers are in best condition to give birth to healthy lambs and then to be able to give the lambs good nourishment, they put much dedicated time and effort towards lambs getting born without impediment or disaster. And if then a lamb is weakly, or is rejected by its mother, they will continue with highly-attentive care and inspired approaches to try to ensure a lamb will survive and thrive. So, while pragmatism is always present, in this birth and early stage of life of the lamb, a soft, very caring, side to a sheep farmer is displayed.
But, from lambs’ weaning - therefore onwards from between two to four months following the birth - pragmatism rules. After then a period of consuming some nice summer grass, certain lambs are chosen to be meat (and also are often providing the bi-product of lambskin) and are sent to slaughter, and others are sold to be store lambs and then to be slaughtered. Certain ewe lambs will be kept for breeding. Shearing to deliver lambswool occurs at around seven months after the lamb’s birth.
A lamb. Lamb and Flag: Middle Temple. Lamb and Flag: pub.
To consider now how the lamb is seen by the general public. It seems the public’s romanticised outlook on the lamb is a feature within a general sap-rising, spirit of hope and expectation of better days, induced by spring’s arrival and sight of new growth in nature. The light-heartedness lambs display in their play is uplifting. The lamb indicates rebirth and renewal. In counterpoint to the value and the pleasure humans take from lambs when they are alive is that - and religion and pragmatism appear here - traditionally, humans have seen lamb as for Easter/spring eating. Of the religious appearances are these: in the Christian religion, Jesus’ crucifixion and death (at Eastertide) is seen as accomplishing the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb; in the Jewish religion, on the eve of the Passover, the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the Paschal lamb was sacrificed and consumed (and the Passover happened in spring).
In the context of religion, it can be stated that, from Christianity’s long elapse and strong prominence, the lamb is viewed with reverence. In the farming context, the lamb inspires in sheep farmers at one time great attitudes of care, yet at another time repudiation - essentially. In regards the general public’s views of the lamb, it is that of perfect adoration, but yet it can conceive of eating lamb.
To two of the three viewpoints defined - those of sheep farmers, those of the general public - there is, therefore, a sort of schizophrenia. Sheep farmers clearly feel great joy at lambs’ arrival and go to endless effort to ensure that they do not die in birth or early days; yet in a matter of months they will be finishing many of the lives of their lambs. And the populace loves lambs; but it may eat them.
Consideration of the lamb leads to another, rather key, matter. Clearly the public loves lambs. It smiles at them, goes out of its way to see them, feels its heart uplifted by them. In short, the lamb has high visibility and appreciation with the public. But what about sheep? When not lambs, sheep seem to go unnoticed by people. Sheep seem to simply be a part of the landscape, merging with it, and not deemed worthy of look or attention. Why is this? Is it the sheer ubiquity of sheep? Or is there another reason? Have sheep lost attractiveness or appeal when they are grown up and have stopped gambolling playfully and portraying innocence? Are sheep of no interest to the general public unless they are young and cute? Whatever the reason, sheep, as opposed to lambs, seem to have almost complete invisibility with the public. And there could be a lot of implications to this. Put another way, ovines seem only to engage the general public’s attention at a phase of the year, a limited phase when they are presenting as lambs.
Now to return directly to the lamb. It can be seen that a lot of deep and fundamental things link to it. The lamb, in the context of the connections it has, the associations it delivers, and the impulses it produces, carries a lot of baggage on its so young shoulders. And, most sadly, for certain products of the lamb to be rendered - those which are neither wool nor the next year’s lambs - a lamb’s life is deeply short. Lambs certainly need to gambol while they may.
22nd March 2021