Bear baiting was already an established form of entertainment in medieval England centuries before it became notorious in ShakespeareŌĆÖs London, according to new research combining archaeology, historical records, literature and medieval art.
Researchers from Cardiff University and the University of Nottingham found that the practice became increasingly visible after the Norman Conquest of 1066, as live bears were imported into England and transported between towns, castles and royal centres. Their study, published in Society & Animals, traces evidence for bear baiting in England and northern France from the High Middle Ages onwards.
ŌĆ£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,ŌĆØ said Dr Liam Lewis, based at Cardiff UniversityŌĆÖs School of Global Humanities.
Although brown bears had disappeared from Britain by the medieval period, imported animals continued to appear in archaeological and documentary evidence. Before the Norman Conquest, bear remains found in England largely consist of paw bones that may have arrived attached to imported skins. After 1066, however, bones from other parts of the skeleton begin appearing at English sites, providing evidence that living bears were being brought into the country.
The researchers are careful not to argue that bear baiting was completely unknown in England before the Normans arrived. Domesday Book records that before 1066, Norwich was supposed to provide the king with a bear and six dogs ŌĆ£for the bearŌĆØ, suggesting that some form of bear-related entertainment may already have existed at the royal court.
What changes after 1066 is the quantity and range of evidence. The researchers found live-bear remains in towns and other settlements, while written sources increasingly describe baiting as part of public festivities and aristocratic entertainment. Their conclusion is that the Norman period saw an increase in the importation and visibility of bears rather than the sudden introduction of an entirely new custom.
A medieval bear from Richmond
One of the studyŌĆÖs most important pieces of archaeological evidence comes from a bear shoulder blade discovered near Richmond, North Yorkshire, during engineering works in 1864.
Radiocarbon dating places the animal between AD 1024 and 1155, with the researchers finding it considerably more likely to date from between 1078 and 1155. That would put the bear firmly in the decades following the Norman Conquest.
The bone also has an unusual modern history. It had previously been published as coming from Skipsea in East Yorkshire and was thought to have been lost. When researchers examined the specimen itself, however, they discovered the word ŌĆ£RichmondŌĆØ written faintly on it, allowing its original findspot to be restored.
ŌĆ£Bear baiting was an important social and economic activity in early modern England, and here we demonstrate that is has much longer roots,ŌĆØ said Professor Hannah OŌĆÖRegan of the University of NottinghamŌĆÖs Department of Classics and Archaeology.
ŌĆ£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,ŌĆØ OŌĆÖRegan added.
Other archaeological discoveries support that picture. Three bear bones found together at Plantation Place in London, dating to around AD 1050ŌĆō1150, came from different parts of the skeleton: a radius, tibia and calcaneum. Their presence together indicates that a complete animal had been at the site rather than simply an imported bearskin.
The distinction matters because isolated paw bones can remain attached to animal hides. Several such finds have been discovered at high-status medieval sites. A claw bone from Eynsham Abbey has been dated to around the 10th century, while a bear phalanx was recovered from Barnard Castle in deposits dating to around 1130ŌĆō1160. At Wigmore Castle in Herefordshire, another phalanx came from post-Conquest or early 12th-century deposits associated with high-status consumption and displayed multiple cut marks, suggesting that it had been part of a bearskin.
The evidence for more complete animals comes from a wider range of settlements as well as castles. This suggests that encounters with living bears were not restricted to royal courts or aristocratic households. Imported bears could have been seen by people from a broad range of social backgrounds.
ŌĆ£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,” Lewis explained. “This is despite bears needing to be imported to England from overseas and therefore presumably carrying costs for importation, travel and sustenance.ŌĆØ
Bears, weddings and public spectacles
One of the earliest accounts examined by the researchers comes from Ardres in what is now northern France. Writing around the end of the 12th century, Lambert of Ardres described how Arnould, lord of Ardres, returned from England in the 1080s with an exceptionally large bear.
The animal was attacked by townspeople and their dogs, and the spectacle proved so popular that residents wanted to see it repeated on feast days. They even offered bread from every oven in the town to help pay for obtaining and maintaining a bear for regular performances. Lambert portrayed the enthusiasm critically, presenting the spectacle as part of a morally questionable custom.
By the later 12th century, bear baiting appears clearly in descriptions of English urban life. William Fitz StephenŌĆÖs account of London describes bears fighting dogs as part of winter feast-day entertainment. Another text from Chester in 1194 describes crowds going to watch dogs and mastiffs tear at bulls and bears.
Medieval romances also repeatedly place bear baiting alongside weddings, music, feasting and other noisy celebrations. In The Romance of Thebes, for example, the festivities surrounding the wedding of Oedipus and Jocasta are said to have included the baiting of more than a hundred bears. Other French and Anglo-Norman works describe similar spectacles accompanied by musicians, drums and jongleurs.
The authors caution that literary descriptions cannot simply be treated as records of actual events. Medieval writers could exaggerate and draw upon established literary conventions. Nevertheless, the repeated appearance of bear baiting in these settings suggests that it had become a recognisable part of the cultural imagination.
Documentary sources also reveal how much organisation was needed to maintain and transport the animals. In 1249, a royal mandate instructed the mayor of Northampton to send a bear to the king. Three years later, Henry IIIŌĆÖs menagerie at the Tower of London received a white bear from Norway. Its upkeep and that of its keeper cost four pence a day, while the keeper was supplied with a muzzle and an iron chain to control the bear when it was out of the water. A long, strong cord allowed the animal to fish in the Thames.
Bears were also being moved considerable distances within England. A 1265 entry in the Winchester Pipe Rolls records a payment of 12 pence to ferry a bear ŌĆ£to the countessŌĆØ, which the researchers suggest may refer to an animal being transported from the area of modern Southampton to the Isle of Wight. Such records point towards an increasingly organised system for keeping and moving bears around medieval England.
Bear baiting in medieval art
The study also reassesses depictions of bears in medieval manuscripts. The researchers warn that an image of a chained or muzzled bear does not necessarily depict bear baiting. Medieval artists also represented trained bears, menageries and other forms of human control over animals.
The Bayeux Tapestry contains one of the earliest intriguing examples. In its lower margin is a bear wearing a muzzle and chain or rope, facing a human figure carrying a sword and shield. Rather than treating the scene as definitive evidence of bear baiting, the researchers place it within a broader medieval tradition of images showing bears restrained or subjected to human control.
That distinction becomes important when looking at 13th-century manuscripts. A manuscript produced in Paris between about 1275 and 1325 shows a collared bear tied to a stake while people strike it with truncheons. Another manuscript produced around 1280 in Picardy depicts a muzzled and collared bear being taunted by a man carrying a staff. In these earlier images, humans rather than dogs are generally the animalsŌĆÖ aggressors.
By the later Middle Ages, the imagery becomes clearer. The Luttrell Psalter, produced in England between the late 13th and early 14th centuries, depicts a muzzled bear chained to a stake while dogs attack it. Spectators, including a woman, watch nearby, while a man holding two long sticks appears to control the contest.
The visual evidence therefore suggests a gradual development. Training and restraining bears was already a recognisable activity on both sides of the English Channel by the end of the 13th century, while unmistakable depictions of dogs being set upon bears become more apparent later. The researchers also caution that manuscript marginalia cannot be treated as straightforward pictures of everyday medieval life: such images could carry political, moral or allegorical meanings.
Taken together, the archaeological, documentary, literary and visual evidence suggests that bear baiting evolved over several centuries. It was established in England by the 12th century, increasingly associated with both elite and popular entertainment, and gradually developed into the more regulated spectacle familiar from early modern England.
ŌĆ£This work has shown just how widespread bear baiting was, and that it had strong medieval precursors,ŌĆØ Lewis concludes.
News article released today at Cardiff University: ŌĆśBear Baiting became more common following the Norman ConquestŌĆÖ.
The article, “The Origins of Bear-Baiting: Evidence from Medieval England and France,” by Liam Lewis and Hannah OŌĆÖRegan, is published in Society & Animals. Click here to read it.
Bear baiting was already an established form of entertainment in medieval England centuries before it became notorious in ShakespeareŌĆÖs London, according to new research combining archaeology, historical records, literature and medieval art.
Researchers from Cardiff University and the University of Nottingham found that the practice became increasingly visible after the Norman Conquest of 1066, as live bears were imported into England and transported between towns, castles and royal centres. Their study, published in Society & Animals, traces evidence for bear baiting in England and northern France from the High Middle Ages onwards.
ŌĆ£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,ŌĆØ said Dr Liam Lewis, based at Cardiff UniversityŌĆÖs School of Global Humanities.
Although brown bears had disappeared from Britain by the medieval period, imported animals continued to appear in archaeological and documentary evidence. Before the Norman Conquest, bear remains found in England largely consist of paw bones that may have arrived attached to imported skins. After 1066, however, bones from other parts of the skeleton begin appearing at English sites, providing evidence that living bears were being brought into the country.
The researchers are careful not to argue that bear baiting was completely unknown in England before the Normans arrived. Domesday Book records that before 1066, Norwich was supposed to provide the king with a bear and six dogs ŌĆ£for the bearŌĆØ, suggesting that some form of bear-related entertainment may already have existed at the royal court.
What changes after 1066 is the quantity and range of evidence. The researchers found live-bear remains in towns and other settlements, while written sources increasingly describe baiting as part of public festivities and aristocratic entertainment. Their conclusion is that the Norman period saw an increase in the importation and visibility of bears rather than the sudden introduction of an entirely new custom.
A medieval bear from Richmond
One of the studyŌĆÖs most important pieces of archaeological evidence comes from a bear shoulder blade discovered near Richmond, North Yorkshire, during engineering works in 1864.
Radiocarbon dating places the animal between AD 1024 and 1155, with the researchers finding it considerably more likely to date from between 1078 and 1155. That would put the bear firmly in the decades following the Norman Conquest.
The bone also has an unusual modern history. It had previously been published as coming from Skipsea in East Yorkshire and was thought to have been lost. When researchers examined the specimen itself, however, they discovered the word ŌĆ£RichmondŌĆØ written faintly on it, allowing its original findspot to be restored.
ŌĆ£Bear baiting was an important social and economic activity in early modern England, and here we demonstrate that is has much longer roots,ŌĆØ said Professor Hannah OŌĆÖRegan of the University of NottinghamŌĆÖs Department of Classics and Archaeology.
ŌĆ£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,ŌĆØ OŌĆÖRegan added.
Other archaeological discoveries support that picture. Three bear bones found together at Plantation Place in London, dating to around AD 1050ŌĆō1150, came from different parts of the skeleton: a radius, tibia and calcaneum. Their presence together indicates that a complete animal had been at the site rather than simply an imported bearskin.
The distinction matters because isolated paw bones can remain attached to animal hides. Several such finds have been discovered at high-status medieval sites. A claw bone from Eynsham Abbey has been dated to around the 10th century, while a bear phalanx was recovered from Barnard Castle in deposits dating to around 1130ŌĆō1160. At Wigmore Castle in Herefordshire, another phalanx came from post-Conquest or early 12th-century deposits associated with high-status consumption and displayed multiple cut marks, suggesting that it had been part of a bearskin.
The evidence for more complete animals comes from a wider range of settlements as well as castles. This suggests that encounters with living bears were not restricted to royal courts or aristocratic households. Imported bears could have been seen by people from a broad range of social backgrounds.
ŌĆ£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,” Lewis explained. “This is despite bears needing to be imported to England from overseas and therefore presumably carrying costs for importation, travel and sustenance.ŌĆØ
Bears, weddings and public spectacles
One of the earliest accounts examined by the researchers comes from Ardres in what is now northern France. Writing around the end of the 12th century, Lambert of Ardres described how Arnould, lord of Ardres, returned from England in the 1080s with an exceptionally large bear.
The animal was attacked by townspeople and their dogs, and the spectacle proved so popular that residents wanted to see it repeated on feast days. They even offered bread from every oven in the town to help pay for obtaining and maintaining a bear for regular performances. Lambert portrayed the enthusiasm critically, presenting the spectacle as part of a morally questionable custom.
By the later 12th century, bear baiting appears clearly in descriptions of English urban life. William Fitz StephenŌĆÖs account of London describes bears fighting dogs as part of winter feast-day entertainment. Another text from Chester in 1194 describes crowds going to watch dogs and mastiffs tear at bulls and bears.
Medieval romances also repeatedly place bear baiting alongside weddings, music, feasting and other noisy celebrations. In The Romance of Thebes, for example, the festivities surrounding the wedding of Oedipus and Jocasta are said to have included the baiting of more than a hundred bears. Other French and Anglo-Norman works describe similar spectacles accompanied by musicians, drums and jongleurs.
The authors caution that literary descriptions cannot simply be treated as records of actual events. Medieval writers could exaggerate and draw upon established literary conventions. Nevertheless, the repeated appearance of bear baiting in these settings suggests that it had become a recognisable part of the cultural imagination.
Documentary sources also reveal how much organisation was needed to maintain and transport the animals. In 1249, a royal mandate instructed the mayor of Northampton to send a bear to the king. Three years later, Henry IIIŌĆÖs menagerie at the Tower of London received a white bear from Norway. Its upkeep and that of its keeper cost four pence a day, while the keeper was supplied with a muzzle and an iron chain to control the bear when it was out of the water. A long, strong cord allowed the animal to fish in the Thames.
Bears were also being moved considerable distances within England. A 1265 entry in the Winchester Pipe Rolls records a payment of 12 pence to ferry a bear ŌĆ£to the countessŌĆØ, which the researchers suggest may refer to an animal being transported from the area of modern Southampton to the Isle of Wight. Such records point towards an increasingly organised system for keeping and moving bears around medieval England.
Bear baiting in medieval art
The study also reassesses depictions of bears in medieval manuscripts. The researchers warn that an image of a chained or muzzled bear does not necessarily depict bear baiting. Medieval artists also represented trained bears, menageries and other forms of human control over animals.
The Bayeux Tapestry contains one of the earliest intriguing examples. In its lower margin is a bear wearing a muzzle and chain or rope, facing a human figure carrying a sword and shield. Rather than treating the scene as definitive evidence of bear baiting, the researchers place it within a broader medieval tradition of images showing bears restrained or subjected to human control.
That distinction becomes important when looking at 13th-century manuscripts. A manuscript produced in Paris between about 1275 and 1325 shows a collared bear tied to a stake while people strike it with truncheons. Another manuscript produced around 1280 in Picardy depicts a muzzled and collared bear being taunted by a man carrying a staff. In these earlier images, humans rather than dogs are generally the animalsŌĆÖ aggressors.
By the later Middle Ages, the imagery becomes clearer. The Luttrell Psalter, produced in England between the late 13th and early 14th centuries, depicts a muzzled bear chained to a stake while dogs attack it. Spectators, including a woman, watch nearby, while a man holding two long sticks appears to control the contest.
The visual evidence therefore suggests a gradual development. Training and restraining bears was already a recognisable activity on both sides of the English Channel by the end of the 13th century, while unmistakable depictions of dogs being set upon bears become more apparent later. The researchers also caution that manuscript marginalia cannot be treated as straightforward pictures of everyday medieval life: such images could carry political, moral or allegorical meanings.
Taken together, the archaeological, documentary, literary and visual evidence suggests that bear baiting evolved over several centuries. It was established in England by the 12th century, increasingly associated with both elite and popular entertainment, and gradually developed into the more regulated spectacle familiar from early modern England.
ŌĆ£This work has shown just how widespread bear baiting was, and that it had strong medieval precursors,ŌĆØ Lewis concludes.
The article, “The Origins of Bear-Baiting: Evidence from Medieval England and France,” by Liam Lewis and Hannah OŌĆÖRegan, is published in Society & Animals. Click here to read it.
See also their project Box Office Bears
Top Image: A muzzled bear and cub depicted in a 13th-century English bestiary. BnF, Latin 3630, fol. 79v.
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Facts Only
* Bear baiting was an established form of entertainment in medieval England before becoming notorious in Shakespeare’s London.
* Researchers found evidence for bear baiting in England and northern France from the High Middle Ages onwards.
* The combination of literary, archival, archaeological, and visual analysis concludes that bear baiting was an established activity in England by the twelfth century.
* Bear remains found in England before 1066 largely consist of paw bones attached to imported skins.
* After 1066, bones from other parts of the skeleton began appearing at English sites, indicating living bears were being brought into the country.
* Domesday Book records suggest a bear and six dogs were provided for the king in Norwich before 1066.
* A bear shoulder blade found near Richmond, North Yorkshire, dated between AD 1078 and 1155.
* Three bear bones found at Plantation Place in London date from approximately AD 1050–1150.
* Bear remains from high-status sites, such as a claw bone from Eynsham Abbey (c. 10th century) and a bear phalanx from Barnard Castle (c. 1130–1160), exist.
* Documentary sources record royal mandates for sending bears to the king and organized transport payments across England in the 1249 and 1265 years.
Executive Summary
Bear baiting was an established practice in medieval England centuries before it became widely known in Shakespeare’s London, based on research combining archaeology, historical records, literature, and art. Evidence suggests the custom existed by the twelfth century, although the visibility and quantity of evidence increased after the Norman Conquest of 1066 due to the importation and movement of live bears into England. Archaeological findings, such as bear remains found in various locations, suggest that living bears were present across England during the medieval period. Literary sources, including accounts from the 12th century and later romances, describe spectacles involving bears, dogs, and public festivities, indicating a cultural engagement with this practice among both elite and general populations.
The evidence demonstrates an evolution: while bear baiting was rooted in earlier practices possibly at royal courts, the period following 1066 saw an increase in the importation and visibility of bears, evidenced by archaeological finds in settlements beyond royal centers. Documentary records also point to organized systems for moving animals across regions within England, suggesting that encounters with live bears were not limited to aristocratic settings but extended to broader social groups.
Full Take
The narrative moves from an understanding of a deeply rooted, ancient activity to a structured, observable social phenomenon, mediated by shifting historical power dynamics post-1066. The central tension lies in distinguishing between the *existence* of bear interaction and the *nature* of that interaction—whether it was aristocratic ritual or general public spectacle. The shift from paw bones on hides pre-Conquest to complete animal remains post-Conquest suggests a transformation in how bears entered the English sphere, moving from exotic imports to more tangible, integrated elements of localized social life.
The evolution seen in visual evidence is particularly telling: earlier depictions suggest restraint or human control over bears as aggressors (e.g., the Bayeux Tapestry), while later manuscript imagery, such as the Luttrell Psalter, explicitly shows dogs attacking muzzled bears watched by spectators and controllers. This sequence implies that cultural representation was not a linear progression of fact but a layering of evolving social emphasis—from moral critique to explicit depiction of popular festivity. Furthermore, the documentary evidence concerning transport systems reveals an underlying infrastructure that facilitated these spectacles, suggesting that public entertainment relied on complex, organized logistical networks rather than spontaneous occurrences. The implication is that understanding medieval customs requires weighing archaeological reality against the cultural amplification provided by written and artistic traditions.
Bridge Questions: If the Domesday Book suggests royal provision of bears, what does this imply about the actual private distribution and ownership of these animals across the broader social spectrum? How do the shifts in artistic representation—from bears as symbols of control to bears as objects of chaotic entertainment—reflect changing medieval hierarchies rather than purely behavioral evolution? What role did the economic realities of importation and transport play in determining which forms of bear-related spectacles were deemed culturally significant versus merely incidental?
Sentinel — Human
The article presents a detailed synthesis of multi-disciplinary evidence to trace the evolution of bear baiting, relying heavily on scholarly findings and careful contextualization rather than simple assertion.