Everything about Menagerie totally explained
Menagerie is the term for a historical form of keeping wild and exotic animals in human captivity and therefore a predecessor of the modern
zoological garden. The term was foremost used in
seventeenth century France originally for the management of the household or domestic stock, but later primarily for an
aristocratic or royal animal collection. The French-language "Methodical Encyclopaedia" of 1782 defines a menagerie as an "
establishment of luxury and curiosity." Later on the term was referred even to travelling animal collections that exhibited wild animals at fairs across
Europe and
the Americas.
Aristocratic menageries
A menagerie was mostly connected with an aristocratic or royal court and it was thus situated within a garden or park of a palace. The aristocratic menageries have to be distinguished from the later
zoological gardens since they were founded and owned by aristocrats whose intention wasn't primarily of scientific and educational interest. These aristocrats wanted to illustrate their power and wealth, because exotic animals, alive and active, were less common, more difficult to acquire, and more expensive to maintain.
Medieval period and Renaissance
Already within the
Middle Ages, several sovereigns across Europe maintained menageries at their royal courts. The most prominent animal collection in medieval
England was the
Tower Menagerie in
London that began in 1235, during the reign of
Henry III. In effect it was the royal menagerie of England for six centuries.
By the end of the
fifteenth century, during the
Renaissance period, the
Italian aristocracy, wealthy patricians and clergymen, what eventually began to collect exotic animals at their residences on the outskirts of the cities. The role played by animals within the gardens of Italian
villas expanded at the end of the
sixteenth century, for which a remarkable sign was the
Villa Borghese at
Rome.
Versailles and its legacy
During the
seventeenth century, when the
palace of Versailles was built,
Louis XIV of
France also erected a menagerie within the palace’s park. Most of it was constructed in 1664 when the first animals were introduced, although the interior fittings were not finished until 1668-70. Situated in the south-west of the park, it was Louis XIV’s first major project at Versailles and one of several pleasure houses that were gradually assembled around the palace. It represented the first menagerie according to
Baroque style. The prominent feature of Baroque menageries was the circular layout, in the middle of which stood a beautiful pavilion. Around this pavilion was a walking path and outside this path were the enclosures and cages. Each enclosure had a house or stable at the far end for the animals and was bounded on three sides with walls. There were bars only in the direction of the pavilion. This design was adopted by many other monarchs across Europe, particularly by the
Habsburg monarchy in Austria. In 1752
Francis I erected his famous Baroque menagerie in the park of
Schönbrunn Palace near
Vienna.
In the
nineteenth century the aristocratic menageries were displaced by the modern
zoological gardens with their
scientific and
educational approach. Today, the only remaining menagerie is that of
Tiergarten Schönbrunn, but in the twentieth century it evolved into a modern zoological garden with a scientific, educational and
conservationist orientation. Due to its local continuity, the
Vienna Zoo, the former menagerie, is often seen as the oldest remaining zoo in the world. Although many of the old Baroque enclosures have been changed, one can still obtain a good impression of the symmetrical ensemble of the formerly imperial menagerie.
Travelling menageries
In
England travelling menageries had first appeared at the turn of the eighteenth century. In contrast to the aristocratic menageries, these travelling animal collections were run by
showmen who met the craving for sensation of the ordinary population. These animal shows ranged in size but the largest was George Wombwell's. The earliest record of a fatality at one such travelling menagerie was the death of
Hannah Twynnoy in 1703 who was killed by a tiger in
Malmesbury,
Wiltshire.
Also in
North America travelling menageries became ever more popular during that time.
The first exotic animal known to have been exhibited in America was a lion, in
Boston in 1716, followed five years later in the same city by a camel. A sailor arrived in
Philadelphia in August 1717 with another lion, which he exhibited in the city and surrounding towns for eight years. The first elephant was imported from
India to America by a ship’s captain, Jacob Crowninshield, in 1796. It was first displayed in
New York City and travelled extensively up and down the East Coast. In 1834 James and William Howes’ New York Menagerie toured
New England with an elephant, a rhinoceros, a camel, two tigers, a polar bear, and several parrots and monkeys.
America’s touring menageries slowed to a crawl under the weight of the depression of the 1840s and then to a halt with the outbreak of the
Civil War. Only one travelling menagerie of any size existed after the war: The Van Amburgh menagerie travelled the
United States for nearly forty years. Unlike their
European counterparts, America’s menageries and
circuses had combined as single travelling shows, with one ticket to see both. This increased the size and the diversity of their collections.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus advertised their shows as the “World’s Greatest Menagerie”.
Trivia
A menagerie is also the main focus of the pilot of
Star Trek.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Menagerie'.
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