Dear REED-Lers:
I've just come across a reference to an entry in the Winchester Pipe Rolls
from 1265-6 that mentions 12d spent "pro urso passand' ad comitissam." The
historian who mentions this suspects that scribal error is involved, but
perhaps some countess the bishop of Winchester knew actually did want a
bear? I haven't found any reference to bears or bearwards earlier than the
15th century in a quick trawl through the REED volumes I have on my
shelf. Does anyone else know of such an early bear record? What do you
think of this?
Peter Greenfield
University of Puget Sound
