Unshackling the Bear: What Does It Mean, and Does It Matter?

This year, the University of Warwick rebranded. The iconic purple ‘W’ was out, replaced with a logo more closely resembling the University’s coat of arms. In the bottom-right corner of both sits the bear and ragged staff – a familiar symbol of Warwickshire. Yet the new logo features a bold change: the bear has turned its back on the staff. Has the University bastardised this iconic emblem of the county, or merely updated it for the modern age? Here, I look back at the history of this heraldic device to answer that question.

The bear and ragged staff have not long been associated with the county itself; rather, they were historically tied to the Earls of Warwick. They were first used in this context by the Beauchamp family, most likely in the 14th century. Several examples can be found in the stunning Beauchamp Chapel at St Mary’s Church, Warwick. At the foot of the tomb of Thomas Beauchamp I (d. 1369) lies a bear, strongly suggesting that the animal was already linked to the family and the earldom. However, it was his son, Thomas Beauchamp II, who would synthesise the bear and the ragged staff. Records indicate that by 1387, his bedding was adorned with a silver staff and golden bear, and by 1397 the pair featured prominently on his great seal.

Although the Beauchamps ceased to hold the earldom after 1449, Richard Neville – the infamous ‘Kingmaker’ – ensured that the bear and ragged staff remained synonymous with Warwick. When he led his armies during the Wars of the Roses, their red livery was adorned with the silver staff, and he too used the symbols on his seal.

While we can trace when and how the bear and ragged staff came into use, it’s impossible to determine precisely what they represent. In 1483, John Rous compiled the Rous Roll – a highly fictionalised history of England that sought to flatter Warwick’s rulers. He claimed the bear had been passed down from Arthgallus, a knight of the legendary King Arthur. According to Rous, another ancient lord named Gwayr had been attacked by a giant wielding an uprooted tree; after slaying the beast, Gwayr seized the 'ragged staff'. In the 1650s, William Dugdale similarly claimed that an earl named Morvidus had killed a giant with a broken tree branch, and he echoed Rous’ links between Arthgallus and the bear. Allegedly, Arthgallus believed his name was derived from artos, the Welsh word for bear, and so adopted the creature as his symbol.

These stories are, of course, mythical – but in the medieval period, such legends were taken seriously. As historian Emma Mason has argued, the Beauchamps’ attempts to legitimise their heraldry were almost certainly political. The Earldom of Warwick was created in 1088, and the Beauchamps only acquired it in 1268. By linking their devices to ancient British lore, they reinforced their claim to the title and embedded themselves within the national historical canon.

Over the last two centuries, however, the bear and ragged staff have come to represent Warwickshire itself. In the 19th century, local regiments and the constabulary adopted the symbol. More significantly, in 1907, Warwickshire County Council secured exclusive rights to the pair – which is why, even today, most variations differ subtly from the official design. In 2016, Warwickshire finally adopted an official flag: a white bear and ragged staff on a red field. However, at the insistence of the council, the flag had to diverge from the old baronial arms. As a result, the bear was ‘unshackled’, with the chains binding it to the staff removed. Still, the iconic pair remained side by side.

So, do the University’s alterations truly matter? In short: not massively. But ever since the Beauchamps first used them, the bear and ragged staff have symbolised continuity – a thread between Warwickshire’s past and present. The University may have turned the bear away to look to the future. But in doing so, it may also have turned its back on something we value just as much: the past.

Bibliography:

Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain: An Edition and Translation of the Britonum [Historia Regnum Britanniae], ed. by Michael D. Reeve, translated by Neil Wright (Martlesham: Boydell & Brewer, 2007) 

Turbull, Stephen R. , The Book of the Medieval Knight (London: Arms and Armour Press, 1985) 

Mason, Emma, ‘Legends of the Beauchamps’ ancestors: the use of baronial propaganda in medieval England’, Journal of Medieval History, Vol. 10, No. 1 (1984), pp. 25-40 

Hartley, Laura, ‘Revealed: Why Warwickshire’s controversial bear and ragged staff logo was changed’, Coventry Live, 7 May 2017, <https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/revealed-warwickshires-controversial-bear-ragged-12979079> 

Heritage & Culture Warwickshire, ‘The Coat of Arms of Warwickshire County Council’, <https://api.warwickshire.gov.uk/documents/WCCC-863-86> 

Rous, John, This rol was laburd & finished by Master John Rows of Warrewyk (London: William Picerking, 1845)