The gate of the year

Figure above:

Illustration from the manuscript n. 500 of the Municipal Library of Valenciennes, France, datable to about 1175, describing the life and miracles of Saint Amand. The legend, according to which a bear, after having devoured one of the mounts of the Saint, submitted peacefully to the packsaddle to carry the baggage of the latter or to pull his wagon, has been attributed to several Saints: among them Saint Blaise, Saint Gall, Saint Martin, Saint Arige (bishop of Gap), and so forth. It is possible that these legends portrayed the process of Christianization, which has suppressed the ancient cults of the bear, still living in popular religiosity, substituting them with the worship of the local Saint. In these tales, the bear, protagonist of pre-Christian beliefs, was in part demonized and in part domesticated, thanks to the power of the Saint who proves to be stronger than the animal’s and subjected it to the packsaddle like a donkey or to the muzzle. In this sense, one can glimpse here a parallel with the chained and tamed bears which were taken around by trainers and jugglers, later by gypsies, from one village or market to the other. The animal became in this way, from a feared and admired animal, a circus beast, which dances and entertains the audience (Pastoureau 2012, p. 68-69).
[Image: http://bibebook.valenciennes.fr/MS0500/index.htm]

Figure below:

Tapestry of the XV century, representing Saint Vaast who tames a bear, now in the Art Museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts), Arras, France. According to the legend, the animal ravaged the country, killing men and animals. The Saint went to meet it and intimated, in the name of God, to abandon that place and the bear immediately obeyed.

[Image: http://vivrevouivre.over-blog.com/article-30063350.html]




Animals

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Figure above: Illustration from the manuscript n. 500 of the Municipal Library of Valenciennes, France, datable to about 1175, describing the life and miracles of Saint Amand. The legend, according to which a bear, after having devoured one of the mounts of the Saint, submitted peacefully to the packsaddle to carry the baggage of the latter or to pull his wagon, has been attributed to several Saints: among them Saint Blaise, Saint Gall, Saint Martin, Saint Arige (bishop of Gap), and so forth. It is possible that these legends portrayed the process of Christianization, which has suppressed the ancient cults of the bear, still living in popular religiosity, substituting them with the worship of the local Saint. In these tales, the bear, protagonist of pre-Christian beliefs, was in part demonized and in part domesticated, thanks to the power of the Saint who proves to be stronger than the animal’s and subjected it to the packsaddle like a donkey or to the muzzle. In this sense, one can glimpse here a parallel with the chained and tamed bears which were taken around by trainers and jugglers, later by gypsies, from one village or market to the other. The animal became in this way, from a feared and admired animal, a circus beast, which dances and entertains the audience (Pastoureau 2012, p. 68-69). [Image: http://bibebook.valenciennes.fr/MS0500/index.htm] Figure below: Tapestry of the XV century, representing Saint Vaast who tames a bear, now in the Art Museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts), Arras, France. According to the legend, the animal ravaged the country, killing men and animals. The Saint went to meet it and intimated, in the name of God, to abandon that place and the bear immediately obeyed. [Image: http://vivrevouivre.over-blog.com/article-30063350.html]