Bear Baiting Analysis

During the Renaissance era bear baiting was popular in all classes, especially the upper class. Kings and nobles, kept their own bear wards and watched bear baiting frequently in the gardens at their palaces. Bear baiting ‍is when dogs are forced to attack a bear that is chained to a stake by the neck or leg. The dog’s job was to tear the bear’s throat while the bear would try to defend himself. The positioning and expressions of the animals and men show Medieval Bair Baiting by Geoffrey Luttrell Psalter to suggest that bear baiting, a familiar type of entertainment, involves a submissive animal and vicious dogs and humans provoking the animal into suffering whereas the positioning and expressions of the animals and men in Bear Baiting in Saxton Times by Richard Caton Woodville suggests bear baiting to involve a violent beast who is coerced into fighting to the death for the joy of the spectators.

Many artists created pieces of art that portray bear baiting. However, they show various perspectives of the entertainment as a whole. The positioning and expressions of the animals in the two pieces of art are very different. In Medieval Bair Baiting by Geoffrey Luttrell Psalter pictures a bear in a rather submissive position. In Bear Baiting in Saxton Times by Richard Caton Woodville it shows the bear in a beastly position.

In Psalters image the bear is shown hunched over caressing one of the dogs as the other dogs viciously pounce at it. The dog that the

bear is in contact with does not seem to be threatened due to its seated position and calm facial expression, compared to the three dogs lunging at the beast viciously with snarling faces. This image seems overall less chaotic, it makes this activity seem merciful rather than cruel and monstrous as seen in Woodvilles. On the other hand, in Woodvilles piece the bear is shown being forced to attack while vicious dogs are fighting to the death. The bear is very aroused and flustered as seen by the claws ready on his paw and it forcefully holding one of the attacking dogs while growling and intimidating the other dogs away. In this image, there are more dogs shown and they are overall more disturbed. The dogs shown are biting different limbs of the bear, agitating the beast in multiple ways. This piece is distinctly more violent and makes the entire scene seem horrifying. The two images show very different interpretations of this entertaining event, the level of brutal fighting between animals is minimal in one, while amplified in the other.

Although the crowd is just observing the event, The positioning and expressions of the men in Medieval Bair Baiting by Geoffrey Luttrell Psalter indicates that the men were provoking the dogs into attacking the otherwise submissive bear. Contrary to that image, Bear Baiting in Saxton Times by Richard Caton Woodville indicates that the animals were forced to fight off the bear as entertainment. Psalters version shows the three men guiding the dogs towards the bear by nudging them on the back to pounce at the bear. The men are pictured as older men that are remaining calm even up close and personal to the fighting. One of the kneeling men is showed praying indicating that he is asking God to protect the dogs. The man that is standing behind the bear has his hand placed on the bears back while pointing a long stick at the vicious dog, this implies that he is graciously keeping the fight under control. When comparing Psalters to Woodvilles, Woodville interpreted a large crowd, gathering to watch the beasts fight to the death for their joy. The audience is captured in a rambunctious state while being entirely intrigued with the show. One individual is shown monitoring the fight from a chair, observing every little movement very closely. Like the first image mentioned, an individual is shown with a long stick patrolling the attacks of the vicious dogs. The pieces of work shown suggest that there is always an individual supervising the fights. The images contrast when comparing the crowd size. Psalter implies it to be a small exclusive event, while Woodville indicates it to be a large, popular, and public event.

Although the pictures represent the same general topic, the pieces display entirely incomparable versions of the event.

Medieval Bair Baiting by Geoffrey Luttrell Psalter shows a small event in which the bear is seen as pleasant and gentle. While Bear Baiting in Saxton Times by Richard Caton Woodville models a large public gathering watching the violent, dangerous animals fight as entertainment. The images suggest different perspectives on bear baiting as a whole, one is very chaotic while the other is

simple.