Bos primigenius in Britain: or, why do fairy cows have red ears? - Research Article - Critical Essay

Folklore, April, 2002 by Jessica Hemming

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The purported wildness of the herd is another problem. If there have never been any truly wild European cattle except the aurochs, which became extinct in Britain in the Bronze Age and to which the Chillingham cattle are not especially closely related, then by definition neither they nor any other herd in Britain can possibly be wild. The Chillingham herd could have become feral at any time prior to the seventeenth century, when records begin, but they must have been domesticated at one stage. The late president has stated in print the refusal of the cattle to be driven, or even closely approached, proves that they must have always been wild, despite their emparked state (Bennet 1991, 22). However, seven hundred years is a very long time, and the cattle could easily have reverted to wild behaviour within the three hundred acres of Chillingham Park during this period. Alternatively, they could have become feral some time in the early Middle Ages before they were enclosed. The Association apparently takes it for granted, as have many scholars, that the animals enclosed in the thirteenth century had been living wild in the Caledonian forest, when it must have been either a feral or a domestic herd which was emparked. One should remember that livestock in the Middle Ages was often allowed to wander more or less freely in the forest, so that the distinction between domestic and feral was less clear-cut than it is today. It is also possible, in the absence of any evidence before 1692, that the ancestors of the present herd were purchased and placed in the park at any stage between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, although this cannot be ascertained, and once they became wild in their behaviour it is unlikely that anyone moved them anywhere much. The bottom line is that, as there were never any wild (as opposed to feral) cattle in medieval Britain, the Chillingham cattle must descend either from domestic or feral stock.

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There is an excellent article by Harriet Ritvo in which she analyses the reluctance of the aristocratic owners of white cattle (both White Park and Chillingham varieties) to acknowledge any arguments that challenge either the wildness or the primeval nature of the animals. This argument has been going on since the eighteenth century and appears to be tied up with issues of "race, descent, and pedigree" as they relate to the families keeping the cattle (Ritvo 1992, 2). Ritvo argues that the cattle are identified symbolically with their owners and that to question their wildness, and thus primordial, indigenous nature, is to cast similar doubts on the ancient lineages and quintessential Britishness of the noble families on whose estates they live (ibid., 10-14). In light of the material published on the subject, and also of the evident sensitivity of the Association's late president to questions about the cattle's origin (he was also the son of the eighth earl of Tankerville by his second marriage to the present patron of the Association), Ritvo's article seems both convincing and enlightening. There are good psychological and symbolic reasons why some parties want the cattle to be prehistoric and immemorially wild, but the scientific studies do not bear out these claims.

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Bos primigenius in Britain: or, why do fairy cows have red ears? - Research Article - Critical Essay

Folklore, April, 2002 by Jessica Hemming

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