Medieval Hunting by Tyson Hass

Tyson Hass
Med Stds 210
Grotans

Medieval Hunting

Hunting in the medieval world was a large event that involved many people, animals and stages.
Hart was the most hunted animal in many of the medieval countries (Cummins 32). A hart is a male deer that is usually red. The hart was hunted for many reasons that include its noble appearance and agility making hunting these creatures a challenge to kill (Cummins 32). According to Warneke the hart was regarded as one of the noblest creatures of creation and it even had religious symbolism to some by comparing the hart to Christ shedding his blood for salvation (Warneke 2006).The meat of a hart, venison, was a staple to both the royal and aristocratic people of the medieval world (Cummins 32).
The hunting of harts was usually done by using hounds and killing harts that were at least a “hart of ten”, which means the animal had to have at least ten tines on his antlers (Cumming 32). According to Johnson (2004) “Hounds were an indispensable part of the hunt and while the finer points are deeply contested, the role of the hound is never questioned” (pg. 4). The season for hunting these animals varied by country but usually was somewhere between June and September (Cummins 33).
The technique of hunting with hounds was divided into many distinct stages: the quest, the assembly, the relays, the moving, the chase, the death, the unmaking and the curee (Cummins 33).
The quest portion of the hunt was where many of the best huntsmen would go and seek out the best available hart in an area, ideally the group was looking for a hart that was better than just a hart of ten (Cummins 33 and 34). Each hunter in the group had a lymer, which is a hound with very good scenting abilities. These lymers were trained to work on a leash and to pick up and follow a hart’s scent (Cummins 34). According to Cummins the basic reason for this stage was to both gather evidence for the location and suitability for hunting several harts, in order for a decision to be made as to where to begin the hunt (34).
The evidence that the huntsmen would look for were such things as tracks, frayings of bark where a hart may have rubbed the velvet off its antlers, flattened grass where the hart would have laid down and hart droppings. Some of these pieces of evidence could be used to determine whether or not the animal was a hart of ten or not (Cummins 34). The German hunters made track examination an interesting science, where they used such things as depth, width and relative position to tell how old and big a hart might be (Cummins 34). Another way that a huntsman may get evidence is by tying his lymer to a tree and climbing it to get a view of the hart he is tracking (Cummins 35). After collecting all of this evidence the huntsmen would return to the assembly and show what he had collected and tell what he knew (Cummins 35).
The assembly was both a social gathering and a meeting used for planning the hunt (Cummins 35). The assembly would eat a breakfast together and when the huntsmen came back and put their evidence on the table, each huntsman would propose a case for hunting the hart they found (Cummins 35). After viewing the evidence collected by the huntsmen and hearing what they saw, the assembly would discuss and eventually decide which hart they would hunt that day (Cummins 36).
When a decision had been made as to which hart to hunt, the next stage began called the relays. This was a precise way of positioning the hounds in small packs along the direction the hart was expected to run, once it was stirred (Cummins 36). The packs were position based on the lie of the land and the previous experience each had (Cummins 37). Knowing each hound individually well was a quality essential for huntsmen to have so they could decide where each would run in the pack based on their strengths and weaknesses (Taggart 2007). According to Cummins a huntsman who was stationed with a relay of hounds would not release them as soon as they saw the hart, instead he waited until at least half of the hounds pursuing had past before letting them go (37). The reason for doing this was that the fresh excitement of the hounds just released might add vigor to the tired hounds that had started the chase (Cummins 37). It was important to not release the hounds before the hart had passed because the hounds needed to take up the scent in pursuit of the hart and not in the other direction which let to total confusion and chaos (Cummins 37).
The next stage of the hunt was called the moving. This was basically where the hounds would start the hart moving to begin the chase. The lymer was the most important part of this stage of the hunt in making sure the hounds took the scent of the correct hart and not a different one (Cummins 38). Keeping the lymer’s nose to the ground was very important so that it did not lose the scent, so the huntsman would use encouraging words to keep his lymer on the correct track (Cummins 38).
If the hunter came upon the area where the hart was resting he would usually use his hand or face to feel the warmth of the bedded area to tell how recent it was that the hart was there (Cummins 38). The hunter could also tell a lot by the tracks left by the animal. If the tracks leaving the bedding area were deep and spread wide, he could tell that the hart was probably running because of fear meaning they were close (Cummins 38). When the huntsman found a piece of evidence that led him to believe they were close he would blow a horn signaling all the other hounds to be brought near and unleashed (Cummins 39).
During the chase, the next stage, the success of the hunt normally depended on how well the hounds could keep on the scent of the hart they were pursuing and not to be thrown of track by other animals or the elusiveness of the hart (Cummins 39). It was also important that the huntsmen encourage the hounds and listen to the frequency and vigor of the hounds cries because they were informative (Cummins 39). The horn was also important for this stage of the hunt. It was used to not only encourage the hounds to help tell information about the hunt, like how far the hounds were from the hart, if the hart went into the water and other positioning instructions of the hounds (Cummins 40).
When the hart ran out of all of its resources and elusiveness and was surrounded by the hounds the huntsmen would sound the horn to inform any other hunters who had not unleashed their hounds to do so (Cummins 40). The hart was kept at bay like this until the arrival of the lord, but could not wait for too long because of the possibility of the trapped hart injuring or killing one of the hounds (Cummins 40 and 41). When the time finally came to kill the animal it was usually done by piecing its heart by thrusting a sword right behind its shoulder (Cummins 41). The other way of killing the hart was to approach it from the back while it was focused on the hounds and cut one of the main tendons of its rear legs; this was called hamstringing, and was effective for reducing the danger to the huntsman himself (Cummins 41). When the animal was dead all the huntsmen blew the horns again to signify the death and a successful hunt (Cummins 41).
After the death of the hart the next stage called the unmaking began. According to Cummins (1988) “The most striking and imposition of ceremonial on activities essentially practical came after the death, in the flaying and butchering of the animal and in the curee” (pg. 41). The hart was precisely taken apart often by the king or the most distinguished person present, it was taken apart very precisely and ritualistically (Cummins 41). Special instruments for butchering the animal were carried such as knives and small forks for handling delicate pieces of meat that were usually decorated with gold or precious stones (Cummins 41). While butchering the dead hart the hounds and lymer were allowed to eat at the meat of the hart’s neck for a short period of time to reinforce their work for a successful hunt after which they were chained up (Cummins 41). The unmaking was not always done at the site of death; it was sometimes postponed until returning to the hunting lodge which was often helpful in encouraging the hounds to return home after a long hunt because of the reward the would receive upon arrival (Cummins 42).
The final stage was the curee. This was the ritual rewarding of the hounds (Cummins 44). The reason for this was to help train the hounds and help them associate the sight and smell of a hart to the reward of its meat (Cummins 44). The curee was usually a mix of the hart’s blood, small intestine (which was emptied, washed and chopped), and sometimes heart, lungs, and liver all mixed with bread (Cummins 44). Sometimes this mixture was made in the empty body cavity of the hart before butchering (Cummins 44). Finally the lymer was usually rewarded a little more than the hounds, usually by being allowed to tear some meat from the hart’s head (Cummins 45).
Medieval hunting was clearly a large event that involved many people, animals and stages. Every stage had a very important part to play in the success of the hunt. Due to these stages teamwork and rituals were critical for success.



Bibliography

Cummins, John. (1988). The Hound and the Hawk: The Art of Medieval Hunting. New
York: St. Martin’s Press.

Johnson, Loreena. (2004). The hochs Jagd – The High Hunt. Cockatrice: The Lochac
Arts and Sciences Magazine, (issue 23). Retrieved May 25, 2008, from
http://www.sca.org.au/cockatrice/uploads/issue23_high_hunt.pdf

Taggart, Talbot Mac. (2007). Training for a Career in the Hunt. Retrieved May 23, 2008,
From http://www.vanishedwood.org/castle/library/articles/hunt.php

Warneke, Sara. (2006). Medieval Attitudes to Animals. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from
http://www.gardenhistoryinfo.com/medieval/medanimals01.html

May 30, 2008 11:34 AM