The tumult of humans at the fair was matched by the noise, smell and sight of animals.
The surviving evidence shows the dancing bear to be the most common example of performing animal on the fair. However, we must not forget the countless beasts bought and sold on the fairs of medieval Europe – not only the exotic but the trader with his horse, the peasant with her geese – they too were on show and to be admired or envied. Similarly, the slaughtering of animals and their public consumption as food, was an vital element in the spectacle of the fair, without which no image of medieval life can be complete.
Bull baiting was a popular sport in Elizabethan England. This picture is from much later (c. 1820) but it shows the main features of the cruel game. Dogs were sent in to worry a bull and eventually to bring it down. A we can see it was a sport loved by all classes of society.
A tamer with his animal in Rome. The little girl on the left wants to cuddle the bear but her mother won’t let her. Gypsies travelling with bears are called Ursan.
Who never dreamt of having a drink with a monkey? This rather romantic impression of a travelling showman’s life was made in 1882. Monkeys appeared at German fairs in the 17th century. In the 19th century ‘monkey theatres’ toured Germany.
The Dutch painter Hendrik Gerrit Ten Cate (1803-1856) captured this kermis in Haarlem. Everybody on this tableau is having a good time.
A trainer of rats attracts a great deal of attraction. His menagerie also includes owls and a hare. The long-eared rodent seems to have a grin upon its face.
The rat trainer was no common sight at the fair. Most people stared at them with mixed feelings because many of them had to live in rat infested houses. Sewage systems and public hygiene were still rare in the 19th century. Rats are cheap and smart animals: sometimes poor barrel organ grinders sported a rat kept on a leash instead of a monkey. The counterpart was the Marchand de mort-aux-rats who presented poisons, traps and….dead rats.
Didactic poem with an illustration concerning a tamer of bears.
Man fighting a bear, 1877. The bear seems to be angry, but the musicians fiddle on and no one in the crowd panics.
Trained bears are known since Roman times. Until the 19th century some regions in the Pyrenees specialized in taming these fierce predators. In Germany the first travelling showmen with bears appeared in the 14th century. Most of them were from Eastern Europe. Some trainers wrestled with the animals for show. This was a very dangerous act. Even a playful bear can break your bones. Bears are difficult and vicious animals. But, as circus people say, they are also good travellers.