Sunday 10 January 2016

What is a Pet? A Historical Perspective

Pets are important to me and I can’t imagine life without them. Fortunately, in the modern day pet keeping is accepted and thought of as normal – but this wasn’t always the case.
In medieval times it was the strongly held Christian belief that God created animals for the use of man. Animals had the status of slaves, there to serve, with man as their superior. It was held that a deep affection for a pet was a sin.


Times were tough so you can understand this functional outlook on life. After all if you were a regular man or woman struggling to feed your family, then it could easily be argued it was a sin to put food into the mouth of an animal that didn’t have a use or purpose.
Although people did keep pets in the dark and middle ages, this was largely the preserve of the wealthy. Any self-respecting Lord and his lady kept pets because they had the money to do so and wanted to advertise the fact as a sign of their status and power. Indeed, these pets were often overweight as they were overfed to make it obvious that their owner wanted for nothing.

In medieval times people expected animals to live outdoors and to be functional, so the idea of indoor animals that existed purely for companionship or amusement seemed alien and extravagant.
It took a shift in attitude in the 18th century, for pet-keeping to become more widely accepted. This change took place because of a philosophical argument that taking good care of animals articulated what it was to be a human or “humane”. Keeping a pet was looked on as a sign of moral-care rather than profligacy.
In the 18th century saw the birth of consumerism. More people were living in towns and cities, and so more people were spending more time indoors. The idea of “indoor animals” or pets was truly born. As the British Empire expanded and travelers returned with exotic animals, this coincided perfectly regular people having a modicum of disposable cash and their interest in keeping pets.

But what of the word “pet” itself?
The first reference to a “pet” comes from 1539 and refers to a lamb hand-reared in the house. These two characteristics, being tame and living in the house, formed the basis for the definition of pet but fails to hint at the favoritism with which pets are held.
A modern definition is: “A domestic or tamed animal or bird kept for companionship or pleasure.”
And finally, historian Prof Keith Thomas proposed three defining features of a medieval pet:
·         It’s kept in the house
·         It’s given a name
·         It’s never eaten…

Can’t say fairer than that! 

10 comments:

  1. Fascinating first picture. What is it supposed to depict? Is the dog standing on the dead knight eating or licking him. Ar the knights with swords killing the loyal dogs of their prisoner? If you know any more about the picture, please share!

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    1. Hi Helena,
      Great question!
      The picture is taken from a medieval manuscript (I believe the Rochester Bestiary). It's an illustration of King Garamantes being rescued by his hounds - although exactly how they are rescuing him isn't clear in the picture!
      The story goes that Garamantes was captured by his enemies. He was freed when packs of dogs attacked his captors and escorted the king back to safety.
      It sounds a good yarn anyhow!
      Thanks for visiting,
      G x

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    2. PS In answer to your question I suspect the dog's not being friendly to the knight on the ground...

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  2. Sorry, correction. I meant the second picture with the knights and dogs (as you probably guessed from my questions.)

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  3. Interesting and informative. Of course, it also makes perfect sense. At a time when people were especially religious and starving, keeping pets might not have seemed wise.

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    1. Pet keeping (especially cats) is a subject I'm very interested in. Cats seem to be a 'special case' as they were functional (as vermin catchers) as well as super companions.
      Thanks for visiting,
      G x

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  4. Dear Grace Elliot... Save for one less "t", you have the name of my biographical subject in My Lady Scandalous!

    See: http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Scandalous-Outrageous-Dalrymple-Courtesan/dp/074326262X

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    1. Hi Jo,
      I honored to have you visit! The pen name is no coincidence - I do indeed have your book about Grace Dalrymple Elliott and it occurred to me it was a great pen name - especially as it's not a million miles away from my own (That missing "T"...)
      Thank you so much for visiting,
      G x

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  5. Great post:) It's fascinating to see how the outlook on pets has evolved over time, especially since these animals have been a key aspect of human life for so long. Very cool:)

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