Brief history of bullfighting

History of Bullfighting – Origins.

Bullfighting in Spain seems to have its origins during the 8 long centuries of the Spanish.

War of Reconquest (711-1492 AD) when the knights of the Moors and

The Christians organized hunting contests as a respite from the slaughter.

each other and soon they realized that of all the prey the Iberian bull

offered the greatest challenge since, unlike other animals, it preferred to die

fighting instead of fleeing.

It seems likely that a nobleman captured some of these brave beasts.

and took them to his village to recreate the thrill of the hunt before

his subject admirers. Thus, a remote part of medieval Spain saw the

origins of what is today the Spanish national bullfighting show.

The history of bullfighting recalls that the first real bullfight, or

bullfight, took place in the inn 1133 of Vera, Logroño in honor of the coronation

of King Alfonso VIII. Thereafter they became a popular pastime in many

important events and continued after the wars of reconquest had ended

offer the nobles an outlet to demonstrate the zeal and daring with which

defeated the Moors.

However, King Philip II found the spectacle repugnant and recruited the

help from Pope Pius V to get banned by paper decree. This, along with

the increasing pleasures to be had at the royal court resulted in

the nobility gave up their interest in bullfighting but not the

peasant who enthusiastically took him seriously and thus became a symbol

of something genuinely Spanish.

In 1726 they were ready to adopt their first bullfighting hero in that of

Francisco Romero from Ronda. He was a man of humble origin who became the first

professional bullfighter in Spain. With him the run became

more of an art form. He introduced the rapier, the sword and the crutch,

the little cape used in the last part of the fight as it is easier

wielded.

History of Bullfighting – the Modern Bullfight.

Today’s bullfight is very similar to the one that took place in Romero’s time.

Normally 6 bulls and 3 matadors are required in the afternoon

run. The three matadors dressed in their lights suits

enter the arena accompanied by their banderilleros and picadores and the

strains of a traditional paso doble. The gate of the totil or bull

pen, it opens and one of the bulls emerges.

The matador greets him with a series of maneuvers, or passes, with a

large coat these passes are usually veronic, the basic coat

maneuver (the name of the woman who held out a cloth to Christ in his

way to the crucifixion). Contrary to popular belief, bulls are actually

colorblind and go for the cape not because it is red but because

It is moving.

The second part of the bullfight is the work of the mounted picadors who

throws the bull, usually three times. Then a trumpet sounds and the

flaggers on foot move to place their flags (brilliantly

colored spike sticks) on the beast’s shoulders to make it lower its head

to kill. After this another trumpet sounds, signaling

the task or final phase of the bullfight. The fabric of the crutch is covered

the rapier and here the matador shows his skill in the passes he makes.

These consist of the trench that is normally the opening pass that is made

on one knee then there is the signature pass in which the matador

remains motionless as the cloth passes under the bull’s nose. Tea

manoletina consists of holding the crutch behind the body and the natural

pass is one in which the danger to the killer increases as the

rapier is removed from the crutch this reduces the target size and

tempting the bull to charge against the largest object: the bullfighter.

After performing these passes for several minutes during which the matador

tries to excite the crowd by getting closer and closer to the horns, finally

and lines up the bull to kill.

The blade has to pass between the

shoulder blades and as the space between them is small the bull’s legs

You have to be together while the bullfighter rushes on the horns. The slaughter

is done correctly by aiming directly on the bull’s horns and

sinking the rapier between the cross in the region of the aorta.

This requires considerable skill and discipline, not to mention a certain

amount of courage, and for this reason it is known as “the memento

of truth “or the moment of truth.