BULL-FIGHTING

bull-fighting, the national spanish sport. the spanish name is _tauromaquia_ (gr. [greek: tauros], bull, and [greek: mache], combat). combats with bulls were common in ancient thessaly as well as in the amphitheatres of imperial rome, but probably partook more of the nature of worrying than fighting, like the bull-baiting formerly common in england. the moors of africa also possessed a sport of this kind, and it is probable that they introduced it into andalusia when they conquered that province. it is certain that they held bull-fights in the half-ruined roman amphitheatres of merida, cordova, tarragona, toledo and other places, and that these constituted the favourite sport of the moorish chieftains. although patriotic tradition names the great cid himself as the original spanish bull-fighter, it is probable that the first spaniard to kill a bull in the arena was don rodrigo diaz de vivar, who about 1040, employing the lance, which remained for centuries the chief weapon used in the sport, proved himself superior to the flower of the moorish knights. a spirited rivalry in the art between the christian and moorish warriors resulted, in which even the kings of castile and other spanish princes took an ardent interest. after the moors were driven from spain by ferdinand ii., bull-fighting continued to be the favourite sport of the aristocracy, the method of fighting being on horseback with the lance. at the time of the accession of the house of austria it had become an indispensable accessory of every court function, and charles v. ensured his popularity with the people by killing a bull with his own lance on the birthday of his son, philip ii. philip iv. is also known to have taken a personal part in bull-fights. during this period the lance was discarded in favour of the short spear (_rejoncillo_), and the leg armour still worn by the _picadores_ was introduced. the accession of the house of bourbon witnessed a radical transformation in the character of the bullfight, which the aristocracy began gradually to neglect, admitting to the combats professional subordinates who, by the end of the 17th century, had become the only active participants in the bull-ring. the first great professional _espada_ (_i.e._ swordsman, the chief bull-fighter, who actually kills the bull) was francisco romero, of ronda in andalusia (about 1700), who introduced the _estoque_, the sword still used to kill the bull, and the _muleta_, the red flag carried by the _espada_ (see below), the spear falling into complete disuse. for the past two centuries the art of bull-fighting has developed gradually into the spectacle of to-day. imitations of the spanish bull-fights have been repeatedly introduced into france and italy, but the cruelty of the sport has prevented its taking firm root. in portugal a kind of bull-baiting is practised, in which neither man nor beast is much hurt, the bulls having their horns truncated and padded and never being killed. in spain many vain attempts have been made to abolish the sport, by ferdinand ii. himself, instigated by his wife isabella, by charles iii., by ferdinand