I didn't find it

I was taken in by historical revisionism. I thought the Bartenura was an early source for the custom of bonfires on Lag B'Omer (and I know I said I wouldn't talk about bonfires any more, but this is about the dangers of revisionism and how stupid I am).
I even cited the Bartenura correctly, that he writes that he saw the fires on 28th of Iyar. Then the editor corrects him and says he must mean the 18th of Iyar, which is the Yarzheit of the Rashbi.
Since I was looking for Lag B'Omer bonfires, that is what I found. If I had used my brain a bit I would have known firstly that the Bartenura would never have thought that Lag B'Omer was the Yarzheit of R' Shimon bar Yochai, because that is based on the kitvei AriZal (and another editorial emmendment) which wasn't written until at least 100 years later. And also, that 28th of Iyar is a real Yarzheit of someone more important to Yerushalayim - Shmuel HaNavi. There was an age old tradition to go to his grave on the 28th of Iyar, which only came to an end in 1948 when the Jordanians captured his grave and did not allow Jews to go there. His Yarzheit was eclipsed 19 years later when that date became Yom Yerushalayim, the day that Jews were once again allowed to go to his grave (but more importantly also allowed to go the kotel and the old city).
So there is no source for Lag B'Omer bonfires from the Bartenura. It was the 'editors' trying to make history fit with the reality as they dreamt it up. Unfortunately nowadays there is a lot of made up history - to the extent where nobody believes anything they read in any Jewish publication (I hope) nor in any Artscroll book. But don't think this is a new thing. Editors have been changing the facts of history for well over a century.
So, there is no medieval source for bonfires on Lag B'Omer (and my brother sent me 4 modern sources who are against the whole 'Meron', bonfire celebration thing). I have learnt not to trust meddling editors, and I feel like an idiot.
Thanks for reading.

I found it

I found it! I found a source for lighting fires on Lag B'Omer that goes back earlier than a few decades.
Rabbi Ovadiah Bartenura travelled to Israel and wrote letters to his brother back in Spain. These are published as Darkei Tzion, and are available online at HebrewBooks.org. If you look on page 17b (which is 33 of the scanned version) he says the following (this was written in 5149 - 1389):

On the 28th of Iyar on the day of his death (at this point the editor has 'fixed things up and added: It seems that this is a scribal error, and should say 18th of Iyar which is the day that the G-dly Tanna Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai died, and is his yoma hilula) people gather from all around and light great torches, apart from the one which they use to light the eternal light.


So we have a historical basis for the custom of lighting bonfires on Lag B'Omer. I still think this custom has pagan origins, but at least it wasn't just made up in the past few weeks. The Bartenura doesn't give any explanation or reason for this custom, and neither does Rabbi KiTov, whose book gave me the clue to find this.

Does anyone else know of any sources that discuss this custom? I know of one Jerusalem Shul Rav who stood up on Shabbat and told his congregation that it is forbidden to go to the bonfires, because apart from the (lack of) safety issue, the pyres are made from wood that has been stolen by the kids from all sorts of places, and it is forbidden to get benefit from stolen things.

OK, I suppose that is probably enough about bonfires, and I should go back to making fun of the government now (and especially the defense minister, who disagrees with the Wingrad commission's findings, and thinks that he did an excellent job as defense minister - certainly better than all those war mongers with 'experience' would have done. At least he is honest enough to say that it would be a bad idea to have elections now because the wrong kind of people would get into government (i.e. anyone who isn't him). The article is here - if you feel like a laugh. It is on JPost

This is not Jewish!

Look at these photographs that kumah took last night! These bonfires are several stories high. And to place a kid on top of one of them to show how high it is! What is going on?





In Scotland, on the top of Calton Hill in Edinburgh, they do a similar thing (although they also paint themselves with woad and get naked - so don't go looking on the web for images - it can be bad for your spiritual health) - it is called Beltane and occurs on April 30 (so no connection to Lag B'Omer then is there)



This is a pagan fire ritual, and marks the beginning of the pastoral summer season.
Is this bonfire thing yet another pagan ritual adopted and 'koshered' by Judaism?
I'm just glad the Jews decided to keep their clothes on!

BTW There are many other pagan fire rituals that this custom could have been taken from, not to mention Guy Fawlkes (if you are British you will know what I mean). I just happen to know about Beltane, having lived in Edinburgh for 4 years and heard stories of what goes on there.