Bull running
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Bull running was a custom practised in England until the 19th century.[a] It involved chasing a bull through the streets of a town until it was weakened, then slaughtering the animal and butchering it for its meat.[2] Bull running became illegal in 1835, and the last bull run took place in Stamford, Lincolnshire, in 1839.[3][4] The practice was not confined to any particular region, with bull runs also documented at Axbridge in the south west, Canterbury and Wokingham in the south east, Tutbury in the midlands, and Wisbech in the east.[5][6]
The origins of the custom are uncertain, and the date of observance varied across the country. In Stamford, the bull run took place on
Origins
The earliest documented instance of bull running appears in 1389, among medieval guild records collected by Joshua Toulmin Smith. The document—from Stamford's "Gild of St. Martin"—states that "on the feast of St. Martin, this gild, by custom beyond reach of memory, has a bull; which bull is hunted [not baited] by dogs, and then sold; whereupon the bretheren and sisteren sit down to feast."[9] The phrase "custom beyond reach of memory" leaves uncertainty about whether the custom pre-dated the guild—which was established by 1329—or was instituted by the guild itself. Local folklore in Stamford maintained that the tradition was begun by William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, during the reign of King John (1199—1216). The story, recorded by Richard Butcher in his The Survey and Antiquitie of Stamford Towne (1646), and described by Walsh as "patently fictional", relates how Warenne:
...was looking out of his castle window one 13 November and spied out on the meadow two bulls fighting over a cow. The Stamford butchers then came with their dogs to part the bulls, enraging them further and causing them to stampede through the town tossing about men, women and children. Earl Warenne joined the wild mêlée on horseback and so enjoyed himself that he gave to the butchers of Stamford that piece of mating ground, thereafter called "Bull-meadow", on condition that they replicate the event yearly thereafter.[10][c]
A similar origin-story involving a noble is found at Tutbury, Staffordshire, where the tradition was said to have been started by
...through the emulation in point of manhood, that has long been cherish't between the Staffordshire and Derbyshire men, perhaps as much mischief may have been done in the triall between them, as in the Jeu de Taureau or Bull-fighting practised at Valentia, Madrid, and many other places in Spain, whence perhaps this our Custom of Bull-running might be derived, and set up here by John of Gaunt, who was King of Castile and Leon, and Lord of the Honour of Tutbury; for why might not we receive this sport from the Spanyards, as well as they from the Romans and the Romans from the Greeks?[13]
Walsh observed that the bull running that took place in November occurred in the calendar around
Other bull running
It was reported on 23 January 1792 that a mad ox was run in the Market-place, Peterborough. "it was one of the finest but most ferocious creatures ever seen. Another of the breed is to be run next week".[21] It was reported in February 1799 "About a fortnight since J.W Draper, Esq. of Peterborough, gave a bull- running at that place,- which afforded much entertainment to the inhabitants, and the more so, as no mischief endued. The beast was afterwards killed, and distributed amongst a number of indigent families, which proved a great relief to them at this inclement season. It is Mr. Draper's intention to "give a bull running every year at Peterborough, on the anniversary of Bishop Blaze, and to dispose of the meat in the same way."[22]
See also
- Stamford bull run
- Bull-baiting
- Bullfighting
- Bull-leaping (ancient)
- Course landaise (modern France)
- Recortes (modern Spain)
- Jallikattu (India)
- Running of the bulls (Spain, Portugal, France, Mexico)
- bou embolat
- Pacu jawi (bull race), Indonesia
Notes and references
Notes
- ^ Griffin-Kremer has suggested that bull running, as distinct from bull baiting, may also have occasionally occurred in Waterford, Ireland; however, the release of the bull through the town seems to have been a protest at the failure of newly-elected mayors to provide the traditional rope, collar and buckle "at the charge of the city revenue" for the annual bull baiting.[1]
- ^ Peacock notes that in Stamford, "So fond were the people of the sport that a second bull was frequently subscribed for and run in some of the streets on the Monday after Christmas."[8]
- ^ Walsh writes of the story: "[T]he most this actually tells us is that Stamford’s folk-imagination (if we can talk of such a thing) could not imagine anything earlier than the reign of King John."[9]
References
- ^ Griffin-Kremer 2003, pp. 107–8.
- ^ a b Peacock 1904, p. 199.
- ^ Malcolmson 1973, p. 133.
- ^ "Stamford Bull Running". The Times. London. 17 November 1838. p. 5.
- ^ Bushaway 1993, p. 76.
- ^ "Country News". The Times. London. 18 August 1788. p. 4.
- ^ Bushaway 1993, pp. 77, 79.
- ^ Peacock 1904, pp. 200–201.
- ^ a b Walsh 1996, p. 240.
- ^ Walsh 1996, p. 238.
- ^ a b Bushaway 1993, p. 81.
- ^ Simpson & Roud 2000, p. 38.
- ^ Plot 1686, p. 440.
- ^ Pegge 1773, p. 86-8.
- ^ Pegge 1773, p. 89.
- ^ Walsh 1996, p. 241.
- ^ Hone 1826, p. 710.
- ^ Langeslag 2015, p. 50.
- ^ Langeslag 2015, pp. 50–51.
- ^ Fitzstephen 1772, p. 50.
- ^ "Gleanings from 1792". Stamford Mercury. 13 May 1859. p. 7.
- ^ "About a fortnight since". Ipswich Journal. 2 February 1799. p. 2.
Bibliography
- Bushaway, Bob (1993), "Bulls, Ballads, Minstrels and Manors: Some Observations on the Defence of Customs in Eighteenth-Century England", in Buckland, Theresa; Wood, Juliette (eds.), Aspects of British Calendar Customs, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, pp. 75–93, ISBN 1-850-75243-5
- Fitzstephen, William (1772), Pegge, Samuel (ed.), Fitz-Stephen's Description of the City of London, London: B. White
- Griffin-Kremer, Cozette (2003), "May Day and Mayhem: Portraits of a Holiday in Eighteenth-Century Dublin Ballads", in McKean, Thomas A. (ed.), The Flowering Thorn: International Ballad Studies, Logan: Utah State University Press, pp. 101–128, ISBN 0-87421-491-2
- Hone, William (1826), The Every Day Book, Or, A Guide to the Year, London: Hunt & Clarke
- Langeslag, Paul S. (2015), Seasons in the Literatures of the Medieval North, Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, ISBN 978-1-843-84425-9
- Malcolmson, Robert W. (1973), Popular Recreations in English Society 1700-1850, London: ISBN 0-521-20147-0
- Peacock, Mabel (1904), "Notes on the Stamford Bull-Running",
- Plot, Robert (1686), The Natural History of Stafford-Shire, Oxford: Theater
- Simpson, Jacqueline; Roud, Stephen (2000), A Dictionary of English Folklore, Oxford: ISBN 978-0-192-10019-1
- Walsh, Martin W. (1996), "November Bull-Running in Stamford, Lincolnshire" (PDF), hdl:2027.42/73551