How would one muzzle a full grown polar bear in the 13th century?












2















In his answer to a recent question on whether there had been a Viking Exchange between Europe and the Americas, LangLangC brings up that the King of Norway offered a polar bear to Henry the 3rd in 1252 (1251?), and that another such polar bear made its way to the Sultan of Egypt via Emperor Frederik earlier that century.



The official Historic Royal Palaces website adds this nugget:




Although it was kept muzzled and chained, the bear was allowed to swim and hunt for fish in the Thames.



A collar and a ‘stout cord’ were attached to the bear to keep it from escaping.




Insofar as I understand, male polar bears range from 350-700kg and measure 2.4-3m, and females are about half that size, and I'm not aware of any reason why that might have changed much in the past thousand years. Its medieval zookeepers would have been about an inch shorter on average than we are today.



Even in the best of scenarios (a small female) polar bear is comparable in size and weight to a typical adult male black bear, so I'd imagine they were captured and tamed while still cubs. Still, I'm somewhat struggling to make any sense of how one would go about with muzzling an adult polar bear without tranquilizer, except perhaps one (dead or injured) zookeeper at a time.



Is there any documentation anywhere on how they were handling the beasts? More specifically, on how they'd get the muzzle on without anyone getting injured or worse?










share|improve this question




















  • 2





    I actually heard a tourist ask one of the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London this question once. The answer was "Very carefully, madam".

    – sempaiscuba
    1 hour ago











  • That sounds British enough, yes. Almost beats Hemingway's "Gradually, then suddenly." :D

    – Denis de Bernardy
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    You must not have watched the Crocodile Hunter. Lots of people, lots of ropes.

    – justCal
    1 hour ago













  • @justCal: LOL. On a less humorous note, TIL that alligator wrestling and (declawed and muzzled) bear wrestling are actual things done as sport.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    One would imagine the process wasn't too much different then than the one the Ivanovo Circus uses to muzzle Polar Bears today.

    – T.E.D.
    40 mins ago
















2















In his answer to a recent question on whether there had been a Viking Exchange between Europe and the Americas, LangLangC brings up that the King of Norway offered a polar bear to Henry the 3rd in 1252 (1251?), and that another such polar bear made its way to the Sultan of Egypt via Emperor Frederik earlier that century.



The official Historic Royal Palaces website adds this nugget:




Although it was kept muzzled and chained, the bear was allowed to swim and hunt for fish in the Thames.



A collar and a ‘stout cord’ were attached to the bear to keep it from escaping.




Insofar as I understand, male polar bears range from 350-700kg and measure 2.4-3m, and females are about half that size, and I'm not aware of any reason why that might have changed much in the past thousand years. Its medieval zookeepers would have been about an inch shorter on average than we are today.



Even in the best of scenarios (a small female) polar bear is comparable in size and weight to a typical adult male black bear, so I'd imagine they were captured and tamed while still cubs. Still, I'm somewhat struggling to make any sense of how one would go about with muzzling an adult polar bear without tranquilizer, except perhaps one (dead or injured) zookeeper at a time.



Is there any documentation anywhere on how they were handling the beasts? More specifically, on how they'd get the muzzle on without anyone getting injured or worse?










share|improve this question




















  • 2





    I actually heard a tourist ask one of the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London this question once. The answer was "Very carefully, madam".

    – sempaiscuba
    1 hour ago











  • That sounds British enough, yes. Almost beats Hemingway's "Gradually, then suddenly." :D

    – Denis de Bernardy
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    You must not have watched the Crocodile Hunter. Lots of people, lots of ropes.

    – justCal
    1 hour ago













  • @justCal: LOL. On a less humorous note, TIL that alligator wrestling and (declawed and muzzled) bear wrestling are actual things done as sport.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    One would imagine the process wasn't too much different then than the one the Ivanovo Circus uses to muzzle Polar Bears today.

    – T.E.D.
    40 mins ago














2












2








2








In his answer to a recent question on whether there had been a Viking Exchange between Europe and the Americas, LangLangC brings up that the King of Norway offered a polar bear to Henry the 3rd in 1252 (1251?), and that another such polar bear made its way to the Sultan of Egypt via Emperor Frederik earlier that century.



The official Historic Royal Palaces website adds this nugget:




Although it was kept muzzled and chained, the bear was allowed to swim and hunt for fish in the Thames.



A collar and a ‘stout cord’ were attached to the bear to keep it from escaping.




Insofar as I understand, male polar bears range from 350-700kg and measure 2.4-3m, and females are about half that size, and I'm not aware of any reason why that might have changed much in the past thousand years. Its medieval zookeepers would have been about an inch shorter on average than we are today.



Even in the best of scenarios (a small female) polar bear is comparable in size and weight to a typical adult male black bear, so I'd imagine they were captured and tamed while still cubs. Still, I'm somewhat struggling to make any sense of how one would go about with muzzling an adult polar bear without tranquilizer, except perhaps one (dead or injured) zookeeper at a time.



Is there any documentation anywhere on how they were handling the beasts? More specifically, on how they'd get the muzzle on without anyone getting injured or worse?










share|improve this question
















In his answer to a recent question on whether there had been a Viking Exchange between Europe and the Americas, LangLangC brings up that the King of Norway offered a polar bear to Henry the 3rd in 1252 (1251?), and that another such polar bear made its way to the Sultan of Egypt via Emperor Frederik earlier that century.



The official Historic Royal Palaces website adds this nugget:




Although it was kept muzzled and chained, the bear was allowed to swim and hunt for fish in the Thames.



A collar and a ‘stout cord’ were attached to the bear to keep it from escaping.




Insofar as I understand, male polar bears range from 350-700kg and measure 2.4-3m, and females are about half that size, and I'm not aware of any reason why that might have changed much in the past thousand years. Its medieval zookeepers would have been about an inch shorter on average than we are today.



Even in the best of scenarios (a small female) polar bear is comparable in size and weight to a typical adult male black bear, so I'd imagine they were captured and tamed while still cubs. Still, I'm somewhat struggling to make any sense of how one would go about with muzzling an adult polar bear without tranquilizer, except perhaps one (dead or injured) zookeeper at a time.



Is there any documentation anywhere on how they were handling the beasts? More specifically, on how they'd get the muzzle on without anyone getting injured or worse?







middle-ages animals






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 1 hour ago







Denis de Bernardy

















asked 1 hour ago









Denis de BernardyDenis de Bernardy

14.6k24755




14.6k24755








  • 2





    I actually heard a tourist ask one of the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London this question once. The answer was "Very carefully, madam".

    – sempaiscuba
    1 hour ago











  • That sounds British enough, yes. Almost beats Hemingway's "Gradually, then suddenly." :D

    – Denis de Bernardy
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    You must not have watched the Crocodile Hunter. Lots of people, lots of ropes.

    – justCal
    1 hour ago













  • @justCal: LOL. On a less humorous note, TIL that alligator wrestling and (declawed and muzzled) bear wrestling are actual things done as sport.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    One would imagine the process wasn't too much different then than the one the Ivanovo Circus uses to muzzle Polar Bears today.

    – T.E.D.
    40 mins ago














  • 2





    I actually heard a tourist ask one of the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London this question once. The answer was "Very carefully, madam".

    – sempaiscuba
    1 hour ago











  • That sounds British enough, yes. Almost beats Hemingway's "Gradually, then suddenly." :D

    – Denis de Bernardy
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    You must not have watched the Crocodile Hunter. Lots of people, lots of ropes.

    – justCal
    1 hour ago













  • @justCal: LOL. On a less humorous note, TIL that alligator wrestling and (declawed and muzzled) bear wrestling are actual things done as sport.

    – Denis de Bernardy
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    One would imagine the process wasn't too much different then than the one the Ivanovo Circus uses to muzzle Polar Bears today.

    – T.E.D.
    40 mins ago








2




2





I actually heard a tourist ask one of the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London this question once. The answer was "Very carefully, madam".

– sempaiscuba
1 hour ago





I actually heard a tourist ask one of the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London this question once. The answer was "Very carefully, madam".

– sempaiscuba
1 hour ago













That sounds British enough, yes. Almost beats Hemingway's "Gradually, then suddenly." :D

– Denis de Bernardy
1 hour ago





That sounds British enough, yes. Almost beats Hemingway's "Gradually, then suddenly." :D

– Denis de Bernardy
1 hour ago




1




1





You must not have watched the Crocodile Hunter. Lots of people, lots of ropes.

– justCal
1 hour ago







You must not have watched the Crocodile Hunter. Lots of people, lots of ropes.

– justCal
1 hour ago















@justCal: LOL. On a less humorous note, TIL that alligator wrestling and (declawed and muzzled) bear wrestling are actual things done as sport.

– Denis de Bernardy
1 hour ago





@justCal: LOL. On a less humorous note, TIL that alligator wrestling and (declawed and muzzled) bear wrestling are actual things done as sport.

– Denis de Bernardy
1 hour ago




1




1





One would imagine the process wasn't too much different then than the one the Ivanovo Circus uses to muzzle Polar Bears today.

– T.E.D.
40 mins ago





One would imagine the process wasn't too much different then than the one the Ivanovo Circus uses to muzzle Polar Bears today.

– T.E.D.
40 mins ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















2














One primary source I can trace for this is appears to be the Calendar of the liberate rolls



On Sept 13, 1252 it states:




To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let a white bear, which the
king is sending to the Tower to be kept there, and its keeper, have
4d. daily for their maintenance so long as they are there.




On Oct 30, 1252 it states:




To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let the keeper of the king's
white bear, which was lately sent to him from Norway and is now in the
Tower of London, have a muzzle and an iron chain to hold the bear when
out of the water, and a long and strong cord to hold it when fishing
in the Thames.




Lucy Inglis, in Georgian London: Into the Streets implies that the animal was not full-grown when it arrived, but there is no source for this. If true, then it may have been possible to tame it to some extent as in the (modern) case of Mark Dumas and the 800 lb Agee (there's also a video):




Agee is a 60-stone (800lb) polar bear that they've managed to train to
star in high-budget TV adverts and movies. She's also often seen
messing about with Mark, giving him bear hugs, accepting loving kisses
and even swimming with him.







share|improve this answer

































    2














    An accessible source for the story of the "White Bear", which is presumed to be a polar bear, is to be found in Thomas Maddox's The history and antiquities of the Exchequer of the kings of England. This also includes the instructions to the Sheriffs of London to build a house at the Tower of London for the King's elephant:




    "The Sheriffs of London were commanded to supply four Pence per Diem, for the Maintenance of the King's white Bear and his Keeper in the Tower of London The fame Sheriffs were commanded to provide a Muzzle and an Iron Chain and a Cord for the King's white Bear in the Tower of London (a); to build a little House in the Tower of London for the King's Elephant (b); and to find Necessaries for the King's Elephant and his Keeper in the Tower of London (c)"



    (a) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod cuidam Urso nostro Albo quem mittimus usq; Turrim nostram Londoniae ibidem custodiendum, & custodi ipsius, singulis diebus quamdiu fuerint ibidem, habere faciatis quatuor denarios ad sustentationem suam. T. Rege apud S. Edmundum xiij die Seplembris. Liberat. 36. H. 3. m. 4. [Hanc instantiam, & sequentes sex septemve, mecum communicavit Vir in me amicissimus Georgius Holmes Generosus, Antiquarius.]



    (b) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus, vobis quod custodi albi Ursi nostri, qui nuper missus suit nobis de Norwagia & est in Turri nostra Londoniae, habere faciatis unum Musellum & unam Cathenam ferream, ad tenendum Ursum ilium extra aquam, & unam longam & fortem Cordam ad tenendum eundem Ursum piscantem in aqua Thamisiae; Et custum &c computabitur &c. T. R. apud Windesore xxx die Octobris. Liberat. 37. H. 3- m. 15.



    (c) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod de firma Civitatis noftrae Londoniae, sine dilatione construi facialis apud Turrim noftiam Londoniae, unum domum longitudinis xl pedum & latitudinis xx pedum, ad Elefantem nostrum; provisuri quod taliter fiat & ita fortis fit, ut cum opus fuerit ad alios usus apta & necessaria. Et custum &c computabitur vobis ad Scaccarium. T. R. apud Westmon. xxvj die Februarij. Liberat. 39. H. 3. 7n. 11.






    To the best of my knowledge, we have no record of any injuries sustained by the keeper responsible for the white bear, so I think we can assume that, however he attached the muzzle in practice, the bear was fairly amenable, and the keeper good at his job!






    share|improve this answer
























    • Your answer is every bit as excellent as the one Lars gave, and I'd give it a tick too if I could. What tipped things his way merely was him answering first.

      – Denis de Bernardy
      9 mins ago












    Your Answer








    StackExchange.ready(function() {
    var channelOptions = {
    tags: "".split(" "),
    id: "324"
    };
    initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

    StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
    // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
    if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
    StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
    createEditor();
    });
    }
    else {
    createEditor();
    }
    });

    function createEditor() {
    StackExchange.prepareEditor({
    heartbeatType: 'answer',
    autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
    convertImagesToLinks: false,
    noModals: true,
    showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
    reputationToPostImages: null,
    bindNavPrevention: true,
    postfix: "",
    imageUploader: {
    brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
    contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
    allowUrls: true
    },
    noCode: true, onDemand: true,
    discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
    ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
    });


    }
    });














    draft saved

    draft discarded


















    StackExchange.ready(
    function () {
    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fhistory.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f52334%2fhow-would-one-muzzle-a-full-grown-polar-bear-in-the-13th-century%23new-answer', 'question_page');
    }
    );

    Post as a guest















    Required, but never shown

























    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes








    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    2














    One primary source I can trace for this is appears to be the Calendar of the liberate rolls



    On Sept 13, 1252 it states:




    To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let a white bear, which the
    king is sending to the Tower to be kept there, and its keeper, have
    4d. daily for their maintenance so long as they are there.




    On Oct 30, 1252 it states:




    To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let the keeper of the king's
    white bear, which was lately sent to him from Norway and is now in the
    Tower of London, have a muzzle and an iron chain to hold the bear when
    out of the water, and a long and strong cord to hold it when fishing
    in the Thames.




    Lucy Inglis, in Georgian London: Into the Streets implies that the animal was not full-grown when it arrived, but there is no source for this. If true, then it may have been possible to tame it to some extent as in the (modern) case of Mark Dumas and the 800 lb Agee (there's also a video):




    Agee is a 60-stone (800lb) polar bear that they've managed to train to
    star in high-budget TV adverts and movies. She's also often seen
    messing about with Mark, giving him bear hugs, accepting loving kisses
    and even swimming with him.







    share|improve this answer






























      2














      One primary source I can trace for this is appears to be the Calendar of the liberate rolls



      On Sept 13, 1252 it states:




      To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let a white bear, which the
      king is sending to the Tower to be kept there, and its keeper, have
      4d. daily for their maintenance so long as they are there.




      On Oct 30, 1252 it states:




      To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let the keeper of the king's
      white bear, which was lately sent to him from Norway and is now in the
      Tower of London, have a muzzle and an iron chain to hold the bear when
      out of the water, and a long and strong cord to hold it when fishing
      in the Thames.




      Lucy Inglis, in Georgian London: Into the Streets implies that the animal was not full-grown when it arrived, but there is no source for this. If true, then it may have been possible to tame it to some extent as in the (modern) case of Mark Dumas and the 800 lb Agee (there's also a video):




      Agee is a 60-stone (800lb) polar bear that they've managed to train to
      star in high-budget TV adverts and movies. She's also often seen
      messing about with Mark, giving him bear hugs, accepting loving kisses
      and even swimming with him.







      share|improve this answer




























        2












        2








        2







        One primary source I can trace for this is appears to be the Calendar of the liberate rolls



        On Sept 13, 1252 it states:




        To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let a white bear, which the
        king is sending to the Tower to be kept there, and its keeper, have
        4d. daily for their maintenance so long as they are there.




        On Oct 30, 1252 it states:




        To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let the keeper of the king's
        white bear, which was lately sent to him from Norway and is now in the
        Tower of London, have a muzzle and an iron chain to hold the bear when
        out of the water, and a long and strong cord to hold it when fishing
        in the Thames.




        Lucy Inglis, in Georgian London: Into the Streets implies that the animal was not full-grown when it arrived, but there is no source for this. If true, then it may have been possible to tame it to some extent as in the (modern) case of Mark Dumas and the 800 lb Agee (there's also a video):




        Agee is a 60-stone (800lb) polar bear that they've managed to train to
        star in high-budget TV adverts and movies. She's also often seen
        messing about with Mark, giving him bear hugs, accepting loving kisses
        and even swimming with him.







        share|improve this answer















        One primary source I can trace for this is appears to be the Calendar of the liberate rolls



        On Sept 13, 1252 it states:




        To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let a white bear, which the
        king is sending to the Tower to be kept there, and its keeper, have
        4d. daily for their maintenance so long as they are there.




        On Oct 30, 1252 it states:




        To the sheriffs of London. Contrabreve to let the keeper of the king's
        white bear, which was lately sent to him from Norway and is now in the
        Tower of London, have a muzzle and an iron chain to hold the bear when
        out of the water, and a long and strong cord to hold it when fishing
        in the Thames.




        Lucy Inglis, in Georgian London: Into the Streets implies that the animal was not full-grown when it arrived, but there is no source for this. If true, then it may have been possible to tame it to some extent as in the (modern) case of Mark Dumas and the 800 lb Agee (there's also a video):




        Agee is a 60-stone (800lb) polar bear that they've managed to train to
        star in high-budget TV adverts and movies. She's also often seen
        messing about with Mark, giving him bear hugs, accepting loving kisses
        and even swimming with him.








        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited 1 hour ago

























        answered 1 hour ago









        Lars BosteenLars Bosteen

        45.1k9205277




        45.1k9205277























            2














            An accessible source for the story of the "White Bear", which is presumed to be a polar bear, is to be found in Thomas Maddox's The history and antiquities of the Exchequer of the kings of England. This also includes the instructions to the Sheriffs of London to build a house at the Tower of London for the King's elephant:




            "The Sheriffs of London were commanded to supply four Pence per Diem, for the Maintenance of the King's white Bear and his Keeper in the Tower of London The fame Sheriffs were commanded to provide a Muzzle and an Iron Chain and a Cord for the King's white Bear in the Tower of London (a); to build a little House in the Tower of London for the King's Elephant (b); and to find Necessaries for the King's Elephant and his Keeper in the Tower of London (c)"



            (a) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod cuidam Urso nostro Albo quem mittimus usq; Turrim nostram Londoniae ibidem custodiendum, & custodi ipsius, singulis diebus quamdiu fuerint ibidem, habere faciatis quatuor denarios ad sustentationem suam. T. Rege apud S. Edmundum xiij die Seplembris. Liberat. 36. H. 3. m. 4. [Hanc instantiam, & sequentes sex septemve, mecum communicavit Vir in me amicissimus Georgius Holmes Generosus, Antiquarius.]



            (b) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus, vobis quod custodi albi Ursi nostri, qui nuper missus suit nobis de Norwagia & est in Turri nostra Londoniae, habere faciatis unum Musellum & unam Cathenam ferream, ad tenendum Ursum ilium extra aquam, & unam longam & fortem Cordam ad tenendum eundem Ursum piscantem in aqua Thamisiae; Et custum &c computabitur &c. T. R. apud Windesore xxx die Octobris. Liberat. 37. H. 3- m. 15.



            (c) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod de firma Civitatis noftrae Londoniae, sine dilatione construi facialis apud Turrim noftiam Londoniae, unum domum longitudinis xl pedum & latitudinis xx pedum, ad Elefantem nostrum; provisuri quod taliter fiat & ita fortis fit, ut cum opus fuerit ad alios usus apta & necessaria. Et custum &c computabitur vobis ad Scaccarium. T. R. apud Westmon. xxvj die Februarij. Liberat. 39. H. 3. 7n. 11.






            To the best of my knowledge, we have no record of any injuries sustained by the keeper responsible for the white bear, so I think we can assume that, however he attached the muzzle in practice, the bear was fairly amenable, and the keeper good at his job!






            share|improve this answer
























            • Your answer is every bit as excellent as the one Lars gave, and I'd give it a tick too if I could. What tipped things his way merely was him answering first.

              – Denis de Bernardy
              9 mins ago
















            2














            An accessible source for the story of the "White Bear", which is presumed to be a polar bear, is to be found in Thomas Maddox's The history and antiquities of the Exchequer of the kings of England. This also includes the instructions to the Sheriffs of London to build a house at the Tower of London for the King's elephant:




            "The Sheriffs of London were commanded to supply four Pence per Diem, for the Maintenance of the King's white Bear and his Keeper in the Tower of London The fame Sheriffs were commanded to provide a Muzzle and an Iron Chain and a Cord for the King's white Bear in the Tower of London (a); to build a little House in the Tower of London for the King's Elephant (b); and to find Necessaries for the King's Elephant and his Keeper in the Tower of London (c)"



            (a) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod cuidam Urso nostro Albo quem mittimus usq; Turrim nostram Londoniae ibidem custodiendum, & custodi ipsius, singulis diebus quamdiu fuerint ibidem, habere faciatis quatuor denarios ad sustentationem suam. T. Rege apud S. Edmundum xiij die Seplembris. Liberat. 36. H. 3. m. 4. [Hanc instantiam, & sequentes sex septemve, mecum communicavit Vir in me amicissimus Georgius Holmes Generosus, Antiquarius.]



            (b) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus, vobis quod custodi albi Ursi nostri, qui nuper missus suit nobis de Norwagia & est in Turri nostra Londoniae, habere faciatis unum Musellum & unam Cathenam ferream, ad tenendum Ursum ilium extra aquam, & unam longam & fortem Cordam ad tenendum eundem Ursum piscantem in aqua Thamisiae; Et custum &c computabitur &c. T. R. apud Windesore xxx die Octobris. Liberat. 37. H. 3- m. 15.



            (c) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod de firma Civitatis noftrae Londoniae, sine dilatione construi facialis apud Turrim noftiam Londoniae, unum domum longitudinis xl pedum & latitudinis xx pedum, ad Elefantem nostrum; provisuri quod taliter fiat & ita fortis fit, ut cum opus fuerit ad alios usus apta & necessaria. Et custum &c computabitur vobis ad Scaccarium. T. R. apud Westmon. xxvj die Februarij. Liberat. 39. H. 3. 7n. 11.






            To the best of my knowledge, we have no record of any injuries sustained by the keeper responsible for the white bear, so I think we can assume that, however he attached the muzzle in practice, the bear was fairly amenable, and the keeper good at his job!






            share|improve this answer
























            • Your answer is every bit as excellent as the one Lars gave, and I'd give it a tick too if I could. What tipped things his way merely was him answering first.

              – Denis de Bernardy
              9 mins ago














            2












            2








            2







            An accessible source for the story of the "White Bear", which is presumed to be a polar bear, is to be found in Thomas Maddox's The history and antiquities of the Exchequer of the kings of England. This also includes the instructions to the Sheriffs of London to build a house at the Tower of London for the King's elephant:




            "The Sheriffs of London were commanded to supply four Pence per Diem, for the Maintenance of the King's white Bear and his Keeper in the Tower of London The fame Sheriffs were commanded to provide a Muzzle and an Iron Chain and a Cord for the King's white Bear in the Tower of London (a); to build a little House in the Tower of London for the King's Elephant (b); and to find Necessaries for the King's Elephant and his Keeper in the Tower of London (c)"



            (a) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod cuidam Urso nostro Albo quem mittimus usq; Turrim nostram Londoniae ibidem custodiendum, & custodi ipsius, singulis diebus quamdiu fuerint ibidem, habere faciatis quatuor denarios ad sustentationem suam. T. Rege apud S. Edmundum xiij die Seplembris. Liberat. 36. H. 3. m. 4. [Hanc instantiam, & sequentes sex septemve, mecum communicavit Vir in me amicissimus Georgius Holmes Generosus, Antiquarius.]



            (b) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus, vobis quod custodi albi Ursi nostri, qui nuper missus suit nobis de Norwagia & est in Turri nostra Londoniae, habere faciatis unum Musellum & unam Cathenam ferream, ad tenendum Ursum ilium extra aquam, & unam longam & fortem Cordam ad tenendum eundem Ursum piscantem in aqua Thamisiae; Et custum &c computabitur &c. T. R. apud Windesore xxx die Octobris. Liberat. 37. H. 3- m. 15.



            (c) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod de firma Civitatis noftrae Londoniae, sine dilatione construi facialis apud Turrim noftiam Londoniae, unum domum longitudinis xl pedum & latitudinis xx pedum, ad Elefantem nostrum; provisuri quod taliter fiat & ita fortis fit, ut cum opus fuerit ad alios usus apta & necessaria. Et custum &c computabitur vobis ad Scaccarium. T. R. apud Westmon. xxvj die Februarij. Liberat. 39. H. 3. 7n. 11.






            To the best of my knowledge, we have no record of any injuries sustained by the keeper responsible for the white bear, so I think we can assume that, however he attached the muzzle in practice, the bear was fairly amenable, and the keeper good at his job!






            share|improve this answer













            An accessible source for the story of the "White Bear", which is presumed to be a polar bear, is to be found in Thomas Maddox's The history and antiquities of the Exchequer of the kings of England. This also includes the instructions to the Sheriffs of London to build a house at the Tower of London for the King's elephant:




            "The Sheriffs of London were commanded to supply four Pence per Diem, for the Maintenance of the King's white Bear and his Keeper in the Tower of London The fame Sheriffs were commanded to provide a Muzzle and an Iron Chain and a Cord for the King's white Bear in the Tower of London (a); to build a little House in the Tower of London for the King's Elephant (b); and to find Necessaries for the King's Elephant and his Keeper in the Tower of London (c)"



            (a) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod cuidam Urso nostro Albo quem mittimus usq; Turrim nostram Londoniae ibidem custodiendum, & custodi ipsius, singulis diebus quamdiu fuerint ibidem, habere faciatis quatuor denarios ad sustentationem suam. T. Rege apud S. Edmundum xiij die Seplembris. Liberat. 36. H. 3. m. 4. [Hanc instantiam, & sequentes sex septemve, mecum communicavit Vir in me amicissimus Georgius Holmes Generosus, Antiquarius.]



            (b) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus, vobis quod custodi albi Ursi nostri, qui nuper missus suit nobis de Norwagia & est in Turri nostra Londoniae, habere faciatis unum Musellum & unam Cathenam ferream, ad tenendum Ursum ilium extra aquam, & unam longam & fortem Cordam ad tenendum eundem Ursum piscantem in aqua Thamisiae; Et custum &c computabitur &c. T. R. apud Windesore xxx die Octobris. Liberat. 37. H. 3- m. 15.



            (c) Rex Vicecomitibus Londoniae salutem. Praecipimus vobis, quod de firma Civitatis noftrae Londoniae, sine dilatione construi facialis apud Turrim noftiam Londoniae, unum domum longitudinis xl pedum & latitudinis xx pedum, ad Elefantem nostrum; provisuri quod taliter fiat & ita fortis fit, ut cum opus fuerit ad alios usus apta & necessaria. Et custum &c computabitur vobis ad Scaccarium. T. R. apud Westmon. xxvj die Februarij. Liberat. 39. H. 3. 7n. 11.






            To the best of my knowledge, we have no record of any injuries sustained by the keeper responsible for the white bear, so I think we can assume that, however he attached the muzzle in practice, the bear was fairly amenable, and the keeper good at his job!







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 44 mins ago









            sempaiscubasempaiscuba

            55.9k6194245




            55.9k6194245













            • Your answer is every bit as excellent as the one Lars gave, and I'd give it a tick too if I could. What tipped things his way merely was him answering first.

              – Denis de Bernardy
              9 mins ago



















            • Your answer is every bit as excellent as the one Lars gave, and I'd give it a tick too if I could. What tipped things his way merely was him answering first.

              – Denis de Bernardy
              9 mins ago

















            Your answer is every bit as excellent as the one Lars gave, and I'd give it a tick too if I could. What tipped things his way merely was him answering first.

            – Denis de Bernardy
            9 mins ago





            Your answer is every bit as excellent as the one Lars gave, and I'd give it a tick too if I could. What tipped things his way merely was him answering first.

            – Denis de Bernardy
            9 mins ago


















            draft saved

            draft discarded




















































            Thanks for contributing an answer to History Stack Exchange!


            • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

            But avoid



            • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

            • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


            To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




            draft saved


            draft discarded














            StackExchange.ready(
            function () {
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fhistory.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f52334%2fhow-would-one-muzzle-a-full-grown-polar-bear-in-the-13th-century%23new-answer', 'question_page');
            }
            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown





















































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown

































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown







            Popular posts from this blog

            數位音樂下載

            When can things happen in Etherscan, such as the picture below?

            格利澤436b