Lewis, Liam  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1734-3467 and O'Regan, Hannah
2026.
The origins of bear-baiting: Evidence from Medieval England and France.
Society and Animals
10.1163/15685306-bja10301
|
Preview |
PDF
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (13MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Bear-baiting, the act of setting dogs on tethered bears to fight, was an important social and economic activity in early modern England. It has been suggested that baiting was practiced in Western Europe during the Middle Ages, but the evidence for such claims has largely been restricted to images of bears in manuscript marginalia. For the first time, this article presents an interdisciplinary overview of the literary, archival, archaeological, and visual evidence for the development of bear-baiting in England and France from the 12th century onwards. Our combined analysis of bears in texts and high-status locations (castles, abbeys, and towns) reveal similar customs crossing social strata in England and Northern France. This research also demonstrates an increased visibility of the practice in England after the Norman Conquest, changing our understanding of the development of bear-baiting in medieval and early modern England.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Published Online |
| Status: | In Press |
| Schools: | Schools > English, Communication and Philosophy |
| Publisher: | Brill Academic Publishers |
| ISSN: | 1063-1119 |
| Date of First Compliant Deposit: | 27 July 2026 |
| Date of Acceptance: | 28 April 2026 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Jul 2026 14:34 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/188486 |
Actions (repository staff only)
 |
Edit Item |
Dimensions
Dimensions