The Norman Invasion of England in 1066 and resulting conquest imposed a new ruling elite who brought with them their own versions of entertainments. This included Bear Baiting – where tethered bears would be set upon by dogs.

A study by Cardiff University and the University of Nottingham brings together archaeological analysis of bear bones and archival records to show the prevalence of the animals in England and northern France during medieval times.

It has long been known that bear baitings were organised for Elizabeth, Queen of England, and took place in Bankside, London in Shakespeare’s day. These latest findings show it was widespread much earlier than this – approximately 400 years before. There is even an image of a bear baiting scene in the lower margin of the Bayeux Tapestry.

Although wild bears were native to Great Britain, they became extinct by the Roman period. Researchers believe that brown bears were imported into England from Europe, with remains being confirmed from as far afield as Colchester and Carlisle.

Dr Liam Lewis, based at Cardiff University’s School of Global Humanities, said:

“The combination of literary, archival, archaeological, and visual analysis enables us to definitively conclude that bear baiting was an established activity in England by the twelfth century.

“The lack of bear remains from live animals in England prior to the Norman Conquest, and their appearance in London and North Yorkshire immediately afterwards, suggests that there was an increase in the importation of live bears to England after that time.

“Our research demonstrates that the activity of baiting, while associated with marriages, aristocratic pastimes, and raucous festivities in medieval stories and sermons, was clearly popular entertainment among the general public as well, with bear bones indicative of live animals being found in a number of English towns. This is despite bears needing to be imported to England from overseas and therefore presumably carrying costs for importation, travel and sustenance.”

Researchers have long looked at images of dancing and performing bears in the margins of medieval manuscripts and wondered whether it was common for people to encounter bears in the Middle Ages. This is the first detailed study bringing together archaeological and documentary evidence that shows a widespread pattern of owning bears and moving them around England as far back as the time of William the Conqueror.

Bear bones from the period have been identified at 10 sites in England and France, with a new date on a shoulder blade from Richmond demonstrating bears were in northern England immediately after the Norman Conquest. Documents such as the Domesday Book, historical records and medieval manuscripts were also surveyed for information about medieval bears.

Professor Hannah O’Regan of the University of Nottingham’s Department of Classics and Archaeology said:

“Bear baiting was an important social and economic activity in early modern England, and here we demonstrate that it has much longer roots. This is the first study of its medieval origins and the new radiocarbon date on the bear from Richmond, North Yorkshire shows that bears were widespread very early in the medieval period.”

The authors worked with the The Yorkshire Museum to sample the Richmond scapula for radiocarbon dating. The scapula was dated by Dr Thibaut Devièse at the University of Oxford as part of the NERC-funded Decline of the Bear project with Professor O’Regan. The unexpectedly late radiocarbon date placed the bear firmly into the medieval period, which was already being studied by Lewis and O’Regan as part of the AHRC-funded Box Office Bears project.

Dr Lewis added:

“This work has shown just how widespread bear baiting was, and that it had strong medieval precursors. The Richmond date, on a scapula found in 1864 and held in The Yorkshire Museum demonstrates the importance of keeping samples and examining old collections, as we still have much more to learn.

“Even more excitingly, Richmond is also mentioned in one of the earliest references to a named medieval ‘bearward’ – Spenellus, who lived there in the early 1200s.”

Click on this link to access, ‘The Origins of Bear Baiting: Evidence from Medieval England and France’, published in the journal Society and Animals.