Cat burning explained

Cat burning was a form of cruelty to animals as an entertainment or festivity in Western and Central Europe prior to the 1800s. People would gather cats and hoist them onto a bonfire causing death by burning or otherwise through the effects of exposure to extreme heat. In the medieval to early modern periods, cats, which were associated with vanity and witchcraft, were sometimes burned as symbols of the devil.^[1]

Descriptions

In 1758, the Benedictine Dom Jean François wrote a dissertation on cat burning in Metz, France.^[2] According to historian Norman Davies, the burning of cats was an attraction at the Midsummer's Fair in 16th century Paris. He describes a celebration where a stage was built so the celebrants could lower a net containing dozens of cats into a bonfire.^[3] This phenomenon was also described in The Great Cat Massacre, a collection of essays by American historian Robert Darnton:^[4] Other historians including Roger Chartier and Harold Mah have criticized Darnton's interpretation, citing issues with his methodology and questionable interpretations of primary sources.^{[5] [6]}

See also

• • Dutch; Flemish: [[Kattenstoet]] (Ypres, Belgium)

Notes and References

1. Book: Rebold Benton, Janetta . Hoy Terrors: Gargoyles on Medieval Buildings . Abbeville Press . 1 April 1997 . 82 . 9780789201829 . registration.
2. Book: François, Jean . Dissertation sur l'ancien usage des feux de la Saint-Jean, et d'y brûler les chats à Metz . Dissertation on the ancient use of the bonfires of St. John's Day, and of burning cats in Metz . fr . Cahiers Élie Fleur . 1758 . 49–72 .
3. Book: Davies, Norman . . 1996 . Oxford University Press . 0198201710 . 543.
4. Book: Darnton, Robert . The Great Cat Massacre: And Other Episodes in French Cultural History . 2009 . Basic Books . 9780465012749 . 83–84 . Google Books.
5. Mah . Harold . Suppressing the Text: The Metaphysics of Ethnographic History in Darnton's Great Cat Massacre . . Spring 1991 . 31 . 31 . 1–20 . 4289048. 10.1093/hwj/31.1.1.
6. LaCapra . Dominick . Dominick LaCapra . Chartier, Darnton, and the Great Symbol Massacre . The Journal of Modern History . 1998 . 60 . 1 . 95112 . 10.1086/243336 . 1880407 . 145601773 .