marystephanos 's review for:

The Bear: History of a Fallen King by Michel Pastoureau

4.0

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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.