Bull-leaping: Fresco from Knossos, Crete
Bullfighting is often linked to Rome, where many human-versus-animal events were held as competition and entertainment, the Venationes. These hunting games spread to Africa, Europe and Asia during Roman times. There are also theories that it was introduced into Hispania by the Emperor Claudius, as a substitute for gladiators, when he instituted a short-lived ban on gladiatorial combat. The latter theory was supported by Robert Graves (picadors are related to warriors who wielded the javelin, but their role in the contest is now a minor one limited to "preparing" the bull for the matador.) Spanish colonists took the practice of breeding cattle and bullfighting to the American colonies, the Pacific and Asia. In the 19th century, areas of southern and southwestern France adopted bullfighting, developing their own distinctive form.
Religious festivities and royal weddings were celebrated by fights in the local plaza, where noblemen would ride competing for royal favor, and the populace enjoyed the excitement. In the Middle Ages across Europe, knights would joust in competitions on horseback. In Spain, they began to fight bulls.
In medieval Spain bullfighting was considered a noble sport and reserved to the rich, who could afford to supply and train their animals. The bull was released into a closed arena where a single fighter on horseback was armed with a lance. This spectacle was said to be enjoyed by Charlemagne, Alfonso X the Wise and the Almohad caliphs, among others. The greatest Spanish performer of this art is said to have been El Cid. According chronicle of the time, in 1128 "... when Alfonso VII of León and Castile married Berengaria of Barcelona daughter of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona at Saldaña among other celebrations, there were also bullfights."
Mithras killing a bull
The Spanish introduced the practice of fighting bulls on foot around 1726. Francisco Romero is generally regarded as having been the first to do this. This type of fighting drew more attention from the crowds. Thus the modern corrida, or fight, began to take form, as riding noblemen were replaced by commoners on foot. This new style prompted the construction of dedicated bullrings, initially square, like the Plaza de Armas, and later round, to discourage the cornering of the action.
The modern style of Spanish bullfighting is credited to Juan Belmonte, generally considered the greatest matador of all time. Belmonte introduced a daring and revolutionary style, in which he stayed within a few centimetres of the bull throughout the fight. Although extremely dangerous (Belmonte was gored on many occasions), his style is still seen by most matadors as the ideal to be emulated.
Today, bullfighting continues traditions established in 1726, when Francisco Romero, from Ronda, Spain, used the muleta in the last stage of the fight and an estoque to kill the bull.
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