The white bear of Henry III was given to King Henry III of England by King Haakon IV of Norway in 1252. Its exact identity is not certain, but it was most likely a polar bear. Henry housed the bear at his Royal Menagerie in the Tower of London. It was exercised in the tower grounds and, following an order by the king in 1253, allowed to swim in the River Thames. The bear was a popular attraction in the city, and later monarchs also kept similar bears.
Although earlier monarchs had kept exotic animals at the Tower of London, it was Henry III (reigned 1216–1272) who established the Royal Menagerie on a permanent footing. The first animals kept in the menagerie were three "leopards"—though the term was more fluid in the medieval era and probably referred to lions—given to Henry by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in 1235 upon his marriage to Henry's sister Isabella. Animals were kept in the menagerie continuously thereafter until 1834, when concerns over welfare of the animals led to its closure. [1] [2]
An animal, described as a "pale" or "white" bear, was given to Henry by Haakon IV of Norway in 1252. [2] [3] The species of the animal is not known definitively, but it was most likely a polar bear; [3] polar bears were known as white bears in Britain before the 19th century. [4] Alternative explanations, such as unusually-coloured specimens of the Eurasian brown bear, would likely not have been considered sufficiently regal a gift. The light-coloured Syrian brown bear is another possibility, but Haakon had around this time also gifted a "white bear" to Frederick II, who reigned in Sicily and would already have had access to these animals. [5]
The Norwegian and Baltic populations of polar bears had been exterminated by the 10th century. For a polar bear to have reached Norway, it would either have arrived on drifting ice or been procured by Haakon from Greenland, over whose Norse settlements he was exerting increasing control. [4] [6] The white bear was an important royal symbol in Norse history, similar in status to leopards and lions of the English crown, so the gift had great diplomatic value. It is not known if the bear had an individual name. [3]
The white bear was housed in the menagerie of the Tower of London, and its handler occasionally led it around the grounds for exercise. [5] Henry was shocked by the expense of keeping the bear, so he delegated its upkeep to the sheriffs of London; [7] [8] the order was made by the king on 13 September 1252 at Bury St Edmunds and communicated to the sheriffs from Windsor on 29 September. [9] The sheriffs' allowance of four sous a day proved hardly sufficient for the animal. They were also responsible for providing clothing to the bear's Norwegian handler. [3]
Henry was concerned that the bear was insufficiently provided for, and so made a further order to the sheriffs on 30 October 1253. [9] He ordered that a muzzle and chain be made for the animal so it could be walked outside of the Tower's grounds, and that it be permitted to swim, bathe, and fish in the River Thames tethered by a long rope. [3] The upkeep payments were also increased to six pence per day. [10] The bear would be taken to the Thames daily, where it fished for sturgeon and salmon. The excursions proved popular with the public, who flocked to the river to view the animal. Traffic on nearby roads was halted to facilitate the bear's movements. [11] [3]
The bear was a popular attraction for the city, and its popularity in the menagerie was surpassed only by the arrival of an elephant in 1255, a gift of Louis IX of France. [3] The tower records note payments for the transport of another white bear named Lynn in 1287. This individual is presumed to have been shipped from a place of the same name—perhaps Lyngen Fjord—and been caught in Svalbard; it was likely a replacement for Henry's original bear. [5] Another white bear was present at the menagerie by 1549. [12] James VI and I received two polar bear cubs in 1609 and kept them in his bear garden. [13] The white bear, or its replacements, led to a number of public houses adopting the name "The White Bear". [11] [12] The bear may also have inspired the symbol's use on token coins such as those issued by traders in Bride Lane (off Fleet Street) in the 17th century. [14]
The polar bear is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). The species is sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white- or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water.
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded toward the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was initially a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new Norman ruling class. The castle was also used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under kings Richard I, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.
London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. In 1831 or 1832, the animals of the Tower of London menagerie were transferred to the zoo's collection. It was opened to the public in 1847. As of December 2022, it houses a collection of 14,926 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom.
Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway is a member of the Norwegian Royal Family. She is married to Crown Prince Haakon, the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne.
Maud of Wales was Queen of Norway as the wife of King Haakon VII. The youngest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, she was known as Princess Maud of Wales before her marriage, as her father was the Prince of Wales at the time.
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner is the second daughter of King Olav V and his wife, Princess Märtha of Sweden. She is the older sister of King Harald V of Norway and younger sister of the late Princess Ragnhild.
Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Västergötland was a Swedish prince. Through his daughters Märtha and Astrid, for whom he arranged dynastic marriages, he is an ancestor of current members of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg, Belgian royal family and Norwegian royal family.
Prince Eugen of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Närke was a Swedish painter, art collector, and patron of artists.
A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden.
Sir Roger de Leybourne (1215–1271) was an English soldier, landowner and royal servant during the Second Barons' War.
Bergenhus fortress is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Located at the entrance of Bergen harbour, the castle is one of the oldest and best preserved stone fortifications in Norway.
Events from the 1250s in England.
Edinburgh Zoo is a zoological park in Corstorphine, Edinburgh, Scotland which opened on 22 July 1913. Edinburgh had previously been home to a zoological garden which failed to thrive. The new zoo is owned and run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and initially opened as the Scottish National Zoological Park. Modern zoological methods allowed animals to survive in Edinburgh's cold climate.
Thames Street, divided into Lower and Upper Thames Street, is a road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It forms part of the busy A3211 route from Tower Hill to Westminster. The London Bridge underpass marks the divide between Upper and Lower Thames Street, with Lower to the east and Upper to the west.
Kendra Haste is a British wildlife artist who produces both public and privately commissioned sculptures using galvanised chicken wire mesh to create wire sculptures of wild animals. She is a member of the Society of Wildlife Artists, the Royal British Society of Sculptors and the Society of Animal Artists. She lives in Surrey, England.
Old Martin was a large grizzly bear given in 1811, when already full-sized, to George III by the Hudson's Bay Company. The bear was sent to the Royal Menagerie, housed at the Tower of London. Although this was the first grizzly bear in England, the king said he would rather have had been given a new tie or a pair of socks. The Royal Menagerie was closed in 1831 or 1832 by the Duke of Wellington, the governor of the Tower. The bear and other animals were moved to the new London Zoo in Regent's Park – Old Martin died there in 1838.
The elephant of Henry III was an animal of the king's Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London. The elephant is thought to be one given by Egypt to Louis IX of France as a diplomatic gift during the Seventh Crusade. The animal was given to Henry III as he was travelling through France in late 1254. It was kept for a while at Wissant on the northern French coast, whilst transport was arranged to England.