The End of Festival Culture and the History of the Festival

As much as the fancy of fairs and festivals seemed great, there was a downside. Moral reformers, the magistracy, and the police often tried to stop fairs because of the undesirable threats it brought to the community. They believed the crowd's attracted pickpockets, thieves, street traders, whores, and other undesirables. Moreover, they believed that fairs were the birthplace of drunkenness, lewd behavior, and were always threatening to bring violence to a peaceful crowd. Also, the creation of a unifying rail system in England lead to an end of fairs because people sought to travel to new places rather than go to local festivals. Circus players everywhere cried and threw buckets over mush and gruel over the loss of their livelihood. 4

The history of fairs and festivals showcasing the abnormal features of the grotesque has been around for centuries. The first festivals can be traced back to early Greek ropedancers and the Romans training elephants to walk ropes. Clowns were always present in some noble court although most are referred to as jesters. Jester typically gave an individual show satirizing someone or something either from the present or the past. King Alfred the Great of England enjoyed watching foreign animals, which is probably a testament to England lack of relativity wild beasts. Moreover, William the Conqueror brought sought out ropedancers, tumblers, and contortionists from France to England. The 17th and 18th century unified the various forms of entertainment and packaged them into one. Philip Astley, a former horse rider, is documented as the founder of the first circus. He based his circus around his ability to stand on a horse and ride in circles, thus creating the circular seating associated with today's circus. Later, Astley and others incorporated other acts into the show to create what we call today, the greatest show on earth. 5