L'ours. Histoire d'un roi déchu

by Michel Pastoureau

Longtemps en Europe, le roi des animaux ne fut pas le lion mais l’ours, admiré, vénéré, pensé comme un parent de l’homme. Les cultes dont il a fait l’objet plusieurs dizaines de millénaires avant notre ère ont laissé des traces dans l’imaginaire et les mythologies jusqu’au cœur du Moyen Âge chrétien. De bonne heure, l’Église chercha à les éradiquer, effrayée par la force brutale du fauve, et surtout par la croyance selon laquelle il était sexuellement attiré par les jeunes filles.
Michel Pastoureau retrace les différents aspects de cette lutte de l’Église contre l’ours pendant près d’un millénaire : massacres, diabolisation, humiliation et promotion du lion sur le trône animal… Inscrivant l’histoire culturelle de l’ours dans la longue durée, il tente ainsi de cerner ce qui, jusqu’à nos jours, a survécu de son ancienne dignité royale et retrace l’étonnante transformation d’un fauve en ours en peluche, dernier écho d’une relation passionnelle venue du fond des âges.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Mythology, Nature, Art

417 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Pastoureau was born in Paris on 17 June 1947. He studied at the École Nationale des Chartes, a college for prospective archivists and librarians. After writing his 1972 thesis about heraldic bestiaries in the Middle Ages, he worked in the coins, medals and antiquities department of the French National Library until 1982.
Since 1983 he has held the Chair of History of Western Symbolism (Chaire d'histoire de la symbolique occidentale) and is a director of studies at the Sorbonne's École pratique des hautes études. He is an academician of the Académie internationale d'héraldique (International Academy of Heraldry) and vice-president of the Société française d'héraldique (French Heraldry Society). When he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lausanne in 1996, he was described as an eminent scholar who has made a radical contribution to several disciplines.
Professor Pastoureau has published widely, including work on the history of colours, animals, symbols, and the Knights of the Round Table. He has also written on emblems and heraldry, as well as sigillography and numismatics.

Reviews

[Jory Dayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply fascinating, almost haunting study of man's relationship with bears. I will be thinking about the contents of this book for some time. It has changed the way I think about many stories and studies with which I was already familiar, and repeatedly inserts itself into narratives I am currently working with.

[Orsolya · Rating 2 out of 5]

On a quick, personal note; I have a strong affiliation with bears. This began on the day of my birth as my name means, “Little Bear” or “She-Bear” in Latin. The connotation has shaped much of both my personality and journey in life with bears serving as one of my two spirit animals. Naturally, I would find myself interested in the social, cultural, and symbolic history of bears. That’s where Michael Pastuoreau comes into the picture. Pastoureau explores these facets of bears in his work, “The Bear: History of a Fallen King” (translated by George Holoch).

Pastoureau configures “The Bear” with a chronological outline dating back to the Paleolithic era to the present and focuses on the many incarnations, interpretations, rise, fall, re-growth, and manifestations of bears. Or, more accurately, this is what Pastoureau attempts to accomplish.

“The Bear” begins with a rather strong inception which sweeps the reader away and sets the stage for an excellent discourse on the history of bears. Pastoureau combines intellectual scholarly writing and extensive research with beautiful text (in terms of language skills which translate equally magnificently); with interesting material/content. Sadly, this isn’t maintained and “The Bear” dwindles quickly.

In respect to writing chops, Pastoureau’s “The Bear” holds a high-caliber spot. The issue arises with the content. At the end of the day, “The Bear” only focuses on bears mentioned in stories, fables, myths, and the Bible and 95% of the book is about medieval times. This becomes insanely repetitive (with certain passages literally being repeated), tedious, dry, and a loss of reader attention results as a consequence. Credibility suffers and not much knowledge is truly gained.

Yes, this coverage obviously showcases the symbolism of bears in literature/stories; but, this does not depict or cover the overall cultural and social history mentioned in Pastoureau’s thesis. Again, “The Bear” is well-written but is noticeably weakened unless a reader is only seeking an insight into the mentioning of bears in stories.

Another issue with “The Bear” is Pastoureau’s habit of wandering off on tangents and highlighting anything BUT bears. This gives a sort of overview of the factors involved with and/or effecting bears but more so provides skimmable material that won’t interest the average readers whom were expecting the focus to be on bears.

On a positive note, some of Pastoureau’s analysis and interpretations are truly inspired and thought-provoking. His line of thinking in this respect is highly intelligent and readers gain the ability to view the facts from different, monumental angles.

For those readers turned off by nonfiction writers whom pepper their pieces with comments such as, “I argue that…” and “I discuss this…”; will be aggravated by “The Bear”. Pastoureau including himself in the writing comes off as too casual or as though “The Bear” is a transcript of a lecture. It is best to keep oneself and opinions out of this type of writing. This is added to the list of distractions within “The Bear”.

The concluding chapter of “The Bear” which sets out to foray on the modern life of bears is noticeably ‘lighter’ and more accessible than the previous chapters. However, even this is still off-topic (the medieval era is still mostly the main conversation) and repetitive which results in a weak and less-than-memorable ending. Not to mention, much of what one would expect to be on the pages off current pop-cultural or trending of bears is missing from the text. Pastoureau’s Epilogue (discussing teddy bears) is the only bright highlight in “The Bear” but this can’t, naturally, single-handedly save the entire book.

“The Bear” includes two sections of photo plates and is supplemented by lengthy notes and a bibliography.

Although the subject matter of “The Bear” is an exciting one and the execution isn’t terrible in terms of outline and writing; Pastoureau is repetitive, dry, and off the aim and thesis of the work. Bluntly, the author misses his mark and causes “The Bear” to be weak and without any ‘oomph’, spirit, energy, or memorable facts. “The Bear” is only recommended for research value on the symbolism of bears in medieval fables/literature (as this is the emphasis of the writing) or those who have to read everything bear-related. Otherwise, “The Bear” can be skipped.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, thorough exploration of how humans' and bears' histories intertwine and why, as Pastoureau says, "It has never been a good idea to resemble human beings too closely." A must read for anyone interested in cultural, ethnographical, or folkloric histories, and the meaning behind animalistic metaphors and imagery.

[SrMrm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non avevo dubbi sulla validità di questo lavoro. Già dalla prima sbirciata in libreria avevo notato l'impianto saggistico accurato, a livello di costruzione del discorso, di note e di bibliografia. Qualche tempo fa ho letto un libro che pensavo analogo, ma dedicato al lupo: ora so quello mi aveva deluso perché mi aspettavo un lavoro come invece quello che Pastoureau ha dedicato all'orso.
Il taglio dell'opera è non tanto zoologica quanto culturale: ad essere ricostruita è la parabola dell'orso in quanto simbolo. Qua e là viene in effetti considerato anche da un punto di vista più biologico ed ecologistico, ma incidentalmente. Le informazioni sono sempre precise e corredate di fonti, per verificare o approfondire i vari spunti, e non manca un repertorio fotografico a supporto di alcuni dei temi trattati. Inoltre la prosa è molto fluida, a dispetto della natura non propriamente divulgativa del testo.
Le prospettive offerte sono molte, e vanno dalla mitologia al marketing (molto carino l'accenno alla nascita del Teddy Bear), ma sicuramente lo sforzo principale dell'autore si è concentrato sull'analisi religiosa e sui motivi - questa la sua tesi - che avrebbero spinto il Cristianesimo medievale a colpire mortalmente l'Orso non solo come animale fisico, ma anche e soprattutto come simbolo potente di un paganesimo che doveva a sua volta morire. La strategia della Chiesa sarebbe stata spietata e avrebbe causato, oltre che una netta riduzione nel numero degli orsi in Europa, anche la loro trasformazione da Re degli animali temuto e rispettato a goffo saltimbanco o personaggio stupido e ghiottone di favole e racconti popolari. Non so quanto le conclusioni di Pastoureau siano corrette o meno, ma sono rimasta molto colpita nel constatare quanto nell'antichità il valore simbolico dell'orso fosse diverso da quello che penso la società odierna gli attribuisca (animale sì grosso e selvatico, ma quasi "pacioccone"), per cui è indubbio che l'Uomo nel corso dei secoli debba aver cambiato le carte in tavola piuttosto radicalmente. In questa denuncia forse l'autore a volte non riesce ad essere del tutto equidistante, perdendo un po' dell'obiettività che un saggista dovrebbe mantenere. In compenso, con questa sua - pur discreta - partecipazione, il libro ne acquista in sensibilità e la storia triste di un re decaduto riesce a evocare nel lettore una certa empatia che, nel complesso, non guasta.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm left scratching my head.

On the one hand, I'm glad someone sat down to look into the historical place of the bear in the cultural pantheon. It has always struck me as odd that the lion figures so prominently in the Western bestiary--they aren't easy to come by in, say, England. There is a promising story here, and a neat, focused history to render.

On the other hand, this book feels like an article being stretched to fit the needs of a hardcover. Certainly clear that a lot of sleuthing went into this. But the claims here struck me as unexciting: the bear was once important in iconography; then it ran afoul of early Christian geopolitics, so it declined in importance; finally, today the picture is somewhat less dire for the bear, but still not great. And that last chapter on the bear's plight foreshadowing that of humans? Oof. Felt tacked on.

So I thought the early archaeological and ethnographic speculation was fascinating. And I found some of the early Middle Ages stuff interesting. By the end, I felt like the liberal sprinkling of historical anecdote impeded the forwarding of new and interesting claims. Repetitive. I'd recommend this book, but probably to people with very specific interests.

[Mary Stephanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once venerated and feared, the bear was supplanted by the lion as King of the Beasts in the middle ages. Today the bear is a disappearing species subject to the related indignities of neglect and misunderstanding. In The Bear: History of a Fallen King, French cultural historian Michel Pastoureau traces the descent of this majestic beast in religious history and in the popular imagination. The roots of the bear’s fall, he argues, lie primarily with Christian leaders in Europe, who effectively hid the bear’s historic importance by appropriating ancient bear festivals, bear cult sites, and even bear names for their own use. Pastoureau relies primarily on religious and especially literary evidence from the middle ages to make an impassioned argument for the bear as ancient brother to all humanity. The book might have benefited from a deeper investigation into the ancient and prehistoric evidence, and its overall dry, academic tone may put off the casual reader. Recommended for medievalists, cultural historians, and anyone with an interest in the relationship between human and bear.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed pretty interesting, but just ... too much bear. :D

The author also wrote like he had an axe to grind. I was more interested in the symbolism of the bear and its importance to early European cultures than an academic/religious feud.

[Christian Kiefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some feeble arguments but a good solid overview of the role of the brown bear in French culture (particularly of the 12-18th centuries).

[Anna Maria Apostolidu · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book.. it was a mandatory read for school and i picked it up without actually knowing what it is about. At first i thought the name is a metaphor for a real king, real person.. but no, it is seriously about the animal. Around 242 pages reading about bear’s sexuality and his desires to rape young women is not for me. But towards the end it was getting slightly better. I enjoyed the explanation of how teddy bear was created!

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a 2.5 than a 2, and a book that I knew going in would be more academic in tone than I maybe wanted.

A great concept, incredibly well-researched, and some scholarly analysis/synthesis that's really thought-provoking, but the middle of the book really sags under the weight of examining individual artifacts and primary sources. The book's translation (originally written in French) gets the job done, but it's not great and I felt like some turns of phrase were distractingly clunky.

That said, it's really fun to learn about the evolution of the bear in its relation to humans, mostly as a symbol. The stuff about prehistoric cave art was great, as was the medieval church's war on the bear because of its ties to pagan cults. There's a lot to like here, but it's not presented quite as concisely or clearly as I was hoping. It's short page-wise, but not always the quickest reading.

Recommended for anyone willing to sift through a few laborious academic passages to get a new look at European history & its relation to the natural world.

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out wonderfully interesting, quickly spiraled into repetitive, boring stories from the vast amount of medieval research that only this author cares about. Would have loved it to relate to today, maybe discuss why I should be reading this, why it's relevant, but it really just became a vessel to impart useless knowledge on an increasingly bored reader.

[vlthm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beyond the bear you will go through history of Europe in a very interesting way. This is a history book with a point of view, but doesn't limit to it (while trying to stay focused). Lots of informations and observations are included which will please thos who look for christianity inner workings in Europe.

[Donovan Foote · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting and enjoyable book although it felt like a compilation of information more than a theory or argument. Informative, but lacked in intrigue and connecting ideas.

[Dan Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating - Lot of research went into this but it is not a dry book of facts but a well reasoned and argued history of how the Bear has been thought of in Europe from way back to the present.

[Clara Mazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Solo per amanti di storia, storia medievale, letteratura francese e letteratura comparata).
Un libro meraviglioso scritto da una persona appassionata e coltissima. Una storia del rapporto orso-uomo sia per quanto riguarda la somiglianza fisica (il suo antropomorfismo evidente era interpretato come una potenza umana amplificata – un grande sogno dell’uomo), sia per quanto riguarda la ricchezza dei suoi doni per l’uomo (una volta ucciso, si ricavavano tante cose dall’orso: le ossa che si usavano come carburante, le pelli, la carne e anche a tanto altro utilissimo, ancora oggi in medicina e farmacologia) sia per quanto riguarda la sua rappresentazione (nelle grotte, nell’araldica) dalla preistoria ad oggi, tracciando questa sua triste parabola che dall’alto lo vede decadere inesorabilmente.
E’ plantigrado, sa nuotare, scalare, correre, cacciare, pescare, combatte con le zampe anteriori ed eretto come un uomo, è onnivoro, è mammifero; il suo letargo segna e spiega (forse) il ciclo della vita (e della morte?), entrandoci verso San Martino ed uscendone verso la Candelora, quanto tutto il sistema naturale riprende a risvegliarsi: forse è per tutte questo che è stato visto come una divinità naturale cui gli uomini si sono rivolti sempre con grande rispetto, ammirazione.
Tutta questa carica di potenza e di ammirazione, l’ha reso una presenza ingombrante per la Chiesa che lottava duramente per imporsi come unica forma di pensiero e che per raggiungere questo scopo ha dovuto sradicare anche tutte le antiche credenze, sostituendo agli antichi riti, santi e cerimonie cristiane: in quel periodo di novembre in cui l’orso va in letargo e che i Celti celebravano con una festa in onore dei loro morti a segnare la fine di un anno (Halloween), la Chiesa vi ha collocato la festa di San Martino; invece quando l’orso (e la natura) si risvegliano, la Chiesa ha organizzato la festa della Candelora (festa già esistente come festa delle candele, della luce della fine dell’inverno). Per fare tutto questo e per cancellare letteralmente la figura dell’orso, la sua aura e la sua potenza, impiega quasi mille anni - e tanta energia. Purtroppo ci riesce, rendendo quest’animale così particolare, così importante, così sacrale, un fenomeno da baraccone. A riempire lo spazio di maestà che occupava l’orso, la Chiesa vi inserisce il leone, animale così lontano dall’Europa e dai cicli naturali della fascia temperata da non essere percepito come una minaccia al diffondersi del cristianesimo.
Deriso per la sua stupidità (dicevano), per la sua golosità, per la sua goffaggine, per la sua libidine (dicevano), l’orso scompare quindi dall’immaginario europeo di forza, di coraggio, di prodezza. Ricomparirà accanto all’uomo contemporaneo, riacquistando una certa posizione a livello affettivo (ma non certo di dignità) dopo la seconda guerra mondiale, grazie alla passione per gli orsi di Teddy Roosevelt: la Chiesa, ancora una volta, che aveva impedito per secoli, la costruzione di giocattoli a forma di animale per timore di risvegliare tutte quelle feste popolari che celebravano la natura servendosi di travestimenti che richiamavano ora uno ora un altro animale, aveva, dopo un millennio e passa un po’ allentato la presa e il primo giocattolo animaloide è quello a forma di orso.
Un libro affascinante, dicevo, un po’ ripetitivo su qualche concetto, un po’ lungo su altri dall’interesse non così pertinente (come unici casi letterari in cui viene citato un orso e la conseguente e dettagliatissima analisi di quest’unico testo – interessante, ma si tratta di un unicum..) che però manca a mio avviso di un confronto più approfondito col lupo, animale che invece sostituisce appieno l’orso per quello che riguarda la ferocia: il lupo, animale per nulla temuto fino a Medioevo inoltrato (era molto più temuto il maligno), col decadere dell’orso e la sua eliminazione anche di fatto, aumenta sensibilmente la sua presenza concreta (avendo eliminato l’orso, un predatore di lupi, questi sono aumentati costretti però a dividersi un territorio di caccia più ristretto e rifacendosi quindi sulle bestie dell’uomo, il quale trasferisce su di lui quella “paura” della ferocia della natura e della cattiveria).
Se vi interessa l’argomento, è un libro veramente interessante.

[Thom Ericsson]

En tant que lecteur assidu d'ouvrages historiques, particulièrement intéressé par le haut moyen-âge, je ne pouvais pas ne pas être séduit par cet ouvrage qui retrace le parcours, écologique autant que symbolique, de l'ours dans l'Europe des origines à nos jours. En effet, le traitement chronologique est ambitieux et les thématiques abordées sont variées: de la ménagerie à l'hagiographie en passant par l'héraldique et l'animal en peluche, parmi tant d'autres.
L'auteur passionné transparaît régulièrement sous l'historien méthodique, ce qui rend le propos plus humain et engageant; sans se faire au détriment de la rigueur. La diversité et la richesse des sources invoquées en est un témoignage.
On peut regretter, tout en le comprenant, que l'ouvrage se limite à l'histoire européenne: il aurait été sans doute trop ambitieux et noyé de précisions. De plus, il se centre autour d'un parcours de l'ours (d'une position royale ou divine à une déchéance progressive, menée principalement par l'église chrétienne, avant un dernier sursaut surprenant), qui s'applique principalement (sinon uniquement) sur ce continent.

Une prose élaborée mais agréable, quelques répétitions quand un épisode ou un fait sert plusieurs arguments. Globalement une lecture édifiante et agréable qui, bon signe, m'a donné envie de lire plusieurs des sources mentionnées.

[William Collen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at how the story of Europe's most powerful beast has interacted with human culture for the last several millennia. Of particular interest is Pastoureau's account of the three-pronged attack by the Christian church to dismantle the system of bear worship that prevailed in the Germanic and Norse cultures of northern Europe by destroying the bear's credibility as a powerful and dangerous beast worthy of fear and awe—an attack which seems to have mostly succeeded. Pastoureau deliberately takes a European perspective in his account, which is fine; but I hope someday to read a cultural history of the bear in America as well. The story probably wouldn't be as heavily dramatic as the European story, but even in America the bear is a repository of intense symbolic meaning, as evidenced by Faulkner's "The Bear."

[Samantha Moras · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing and in-depth look of not only the anthropology, dig site finds, and behaviour of the bear, but also the historical references and research into bears in our past, as well as it's cultural and religious significance. While this may sound quite dry, and parts of the book that discuss dig sites, and the more archeological, and anthropologic parts of the bear are a bit of a push to get through, overall I loved this read. I found it to be incredibly encompassing, and learned so much about the bears significance and participation in not only myth and religion, but also in terms of real life, in how people interacted and treated bears. Really is a good read.

[Katarína Ristveyová · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kniha o dejinách ľudského nazerania na medveďa a ich vzájomných vztahoch - sústreďuje sa najmä na stredovek.. Ako sa z malieb na stenach jaskýň dostal do beštiarov, tak sa z uctievaneho zvieraťa stával posol démonov a krvilacna príšera.. Autor sa často opakuje, niekedy mi pripadala kniha akoby sa točila len dookola.. Časť kde hovorí o postupnom vymierani (dnes ohrozené druhy) medveďa a jeho ponižovani v cirkusoch, je kratka ale poučná a ma morálne posolstvo.. Skoda, že ten stred sa stále točil, pokazilo to dojem z knihy a ťažšie sa tým pádom čítala..

[Emilie Viguier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enfin fini ! Très complet, il regorge d'information donc je l'ai lu assez lentement. Mais tout est très bien présenté (et très bien recherché évidemment. Je ne pensais pas être aussi proche de la fin, parce que les ~90 dernières pages de mon livre sont les notes et citations), et j'ai apprécié que certains éléments soient répétés, ça évite de s'y perdre, surtout quand on lit sur plusieurs mois comme moi... Les anecdotes sont intéressantes, et on ressent bien la passion de l'auteur. Je conseille !

[Rafelmenmell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pastoueau parece saberlo todo sobre la edad media y la teoría de la que parte es muy interesante: el significado icónico de los animales ha variado a lo largo de la historia y el caso del oso es singular.
Para mi gusto se olvida de la parte biológica del asunto, las poblaciones de oso fueron esquilmadas y paso de ser un carnívoro en contacto muy cercano con el hombre a un herbívoro apartado en las zonas montañosas.
Quizá esto tuvo más influencia en su cambio de rango que la Iglesia

[Nagru · Rating 1 out of 5]

"I know of a Russian researcher who thinks he has found vestiges of the worship of bears by bears themselves...". With a citation that says "I thank [person] for having drawn my attention to the issue." and that's it. No further elaboration and if it's intended as a joke that's not clear.

Could be fine in theory with some explanation, but without that it's hard to take the rest of the book seriously.

[Jed Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was made especially for me.

Masterpiece.

[eight · Rating 5 out of 5]

énorme banger 🔥🔥🔥

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thinking that some of this went way over my head because of how academic the writing is, but I really enjoyed this! Great review of the natural & mythological history of bears.

[Andrea Samorini]

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FROM BOOK: Il corvo. Una storia culturale (Michel Pastoureau)