Lecture 8 February 9, 2005
Medieval hunting and the game laws, or
“Headless Hunters, Damsels in Distress, and Robin Hood and his Merry Men”
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Announcements:
(1) Reminder about sources for outline of English history in the links section of the web page: http://www2.dnr.cornell.edu/courses/nr212/linksofinterest.htm .
(2) One handout today.
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The handout today is from the Parliament of the Three Ages, discussed in Thiebaux (e.g., p. 22).
Also take a look at some of the Arthurian legend material on the web: e.g., http://www.uidaho.edu/student_orgs/arthurian_legend/hunt/arthur
II. Stages of the Hunt
[SLIDE]:
1. The Unharbouring of the Game
2. The Gathering
3. Posting the Relays
4. The Departure and Laying on the Pack
5. The Change
6. The Recheat
7. The Game Exhausted
8. The Bay
9. The Death
10. The Quarry
FERRETS IN ART HISTORY: see http://doctorbeer.com/joyce/ferrets/frhistpg.htm
III. The Arthurian Hunt
[SLIDE]
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell (ca.1450)
The Joy of the Court (a.k.a. Erec and Enide)
Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur , or the Death of Arthur, (ca. 1470)
IV. Gawain and the Green Knight
Written by an anonymous English poet ca.1350
Influence of Gawain today
V. Gaston’s Livre de chasse
[SLIDES from http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/manuscrits/aman10.htm ]
Basic parts of Gaston’s book:
1. natural history of animals
2. training of dogs and the training of boys
3. chasse parforce “hunt by strength”, with horses, hounds and horns
4. petit chasse, hunts of poachers, “hunts of lazy fat men”
[BEAUTY AND THE BEAST CLIP]