User:Wescoast11/New sandbox

Notes on Medieval Hunting
Source 1: Lost Letters of Medieval Life: English Society 1200-1250


 * Royal forest was a special area designated to kings for hunting and forestry, which also produced forest law
 * royal forest included woodland, heathland, and even agricultural land
 * Foresters enforced forest law for the king, among the most hated of king officials
 * Applied levy of charges for poaching game and farming on royal forest
 * heavy fines and imprisonment could be charged for doing illegal activities on royal forest
 * Aristocrats enjoyed hunting deer with bow and arrow for illegal sport in some restricted royal forest areas or by taking too much game than permitted
 * Poaching was a common offense, sometimes highly organized crime, often tolerated by society
 * Often foresters would handle the enacting of forest law, but the king could also employ the help of a local sheriff with poaching
 * Poachers often resisted arrest, even assaulting and shooting foresters
 * Not just game was poaching but wood also from royal forest
 * Lords often sought to expand their royal forest boundaries, created disputes among each other
 * Lords royal forest grounds sometimes extended beyond their territory's boundaries

Source 2: The Kings and Their Hawks: Falconry in Medieval England


 * Due to differences in their makeup, hawks and falcons used different styles of attack
 * due to the hawk having shorter rounder wings and longer tail, they cruised at low altitudes followed by a quick burst of speed
 * they then clutched talons onto game and held on until the prey was dead
 * Due to the falcon having narrow, longer wings and narrow tapered tail, they flew high up and dive bombed for the kill, slashing with talons and killing usually with the first blow
 * Falcons hunt better in open fields, hawks hunt better in woodland or marsh area
 * female is bigger and stronger, male considered to be one third smaller
 * gyrfalcon was considered to be the best falcon to use, especially the white ones from Greenland
 * best because according to Frederick II "out of respect for their size, strength, audacity, and swiftness."
 * goshawk more highly valued of hawks, but in some medieval romances the sparrowhawk is given higher status
 * goshawks were more expensive and earned more money for training; ones from Scandinavia were highly sought after
 * Duck, cranes, and heron were the common targets of falcons and hawks

Source 3: Medieval Crime and Social Control


 * By 14th century, reserve forestry a common and featured part of England
 * King Richard issued the first game law in 1390, constituting a property requirement to have hunting dogs or certain hunting equipment.
 * Punishment for not adhering to this law was a year of prison.

Source 4: Animal Encounters: Contacts and Concepts in Medieval Britain


 * English and French accounts agree on the general shape of how hunting operates.
 * Some nobles performed hunting not for the size of the game but for the process of the hunt.
 * Approached it like a ritual, Gaston argues against more efficient ways to hunt and bag more game saying "I speak of this against my will, for I should only teach how to take beasts nobly and gently."
 * The ritual of the hunt was meant to heighten danger within a controlled context of a process.
 * Gaston describes joy he receives from killing a boar with a sword.
 * "the Chace dou cerf begins 'this sport is so sovereign that any king, or count, or even Gawain, if he lived and loved it well, would gain honor for it"

Source 5: The Archaeology of the Medieval English Monarchy


 * Hunting provided some basic training to young men in royalty and nobility who were able to utilized the skills of horsemanship, weapons management, wood-crafting, terrain assessment, and strategy formation in wars.
 * Henry I had a fascination with pet animals; his parks included all kinds of wildlife including lions and leopards.
 * Nearly a third of England's property in the twelfth century were fenced in by royal forest.
 * Hunting reserves were also used to cultivate cattle and natural resources in the area for income.
 * From ages 7 to 8, young boys learned how to handle a horse, travel with a company in forests, and handle a weapon.
 * the hunt was considered an important factor of the upbringing and education of the aristocracy
 * Hunts were planned out before going out so everyone knew their role and what ground they were covering.