1st Edition
Animals and Hunters in the Late Middle Ages Evidence from the BnF MS fr. 616 of the Livre de chasse by Gaston Fébus
This book explores views of the natural world in the late Middle Ages, especially as expressed in Livre de chasse (Book of the Hunt), the most influential hunting book of the era. It shows that killing and maiming, suffering and the death of animals were not insignificant topics to late medieval men, but constituted a complex set of issues, and could provoke very contradictory thoughts and feelings that varied according social and cultural milieus and particular cases and circumstances.
Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction Part II: The Game 2. Fébusian Bestiary 3. Noble and Ignoble Endings 4. Post-Mortem Products Part III: The Hound 5. Types of Hunting Dogs 6. Daily Care and Training of Hunting Dogs 7. Canine Ailments, Old Age, and Death Part IV: The Hunter 8. The Career of a Huntsman 9. A Path to Paradise – Goals and Benefits of Hunting 10. The Good Hunter Part V: Conclusion 11. Conclusion
Biography
Hannele Klemettilä received her Ph.D. in medieval history from the University of Leiden. She is the author of Epitomes of Evil: Representations of Executioners in Northern France and the Low Countries in the Late Middle Ages, and several other books on cultural history of late medieval Europe.
