Scavenger Hunt Research Paper

The main reason for hunting was not the display of nobility, but the thrill of the hunt, the danger it presents, the exhilaration of the kill. To add to the challenge nobles often would use inconvenient methods. Such as killing a bore with a knife, or charging a bear while on horseback.

The medieval style of hunting dates back to the ancient Assyrian kings, who commanded their soldiers to encircle a lion within a wall of shields. The king or champion would ride into the middle and attempt to vanquish the beast. As time progressed, anyone who owned land, owned the hunting rights to the land. So, because the monarchs owned all the land they alone controlled all hunts. For the nobles, hunting rights added to their prestige and power. Instead of being a simple pastime hunting often became an obsession; Carolingian Charlemagne became so obsessed that he hunted till his death at the age of seventy two. Several nobles founded huge hunting reserves and protected acres of forests in which none but they alone could hunt. Any peasant caught hunting even birds or rabbits in the forests, would be rewarded, with death in most cases.

The tools and animals of the Hunt, perfected over centuries, displayed the status of the nobles who used them.

Hundreds of items were used in the hunt, but two of the most important were the dog and the horse. The horses were kept in the stables and cared for by skilled grooms and pages. The more powerful the nobles, the more stables, the more grooms, the more horses. The horses were judged based on their abilities; the least valued was the pack horse then came the panfry witch was extremely useful for human transport. The destriers were the strongest most powerful horse more commonly known as the war horse. While all the horses performed their tasks well, none were as useful during the hunt as the coarser. The corsair, fast agile and fearless, could doge between trees and would hold its ground when

attacked.

The horse was one of the most important animals in the hunt second only to the dog. The dog’s powerful sense of smell was invaluable in finding the quarry. The nobles employed several different kinds of dogs during the hunt. The first dog employed was the fox hound who was valued for its outstanding nose and long lasting stamina. The greyhound, employed second, was deadly fast, but couldn’t run for long. The grey hound would corner the quarry, then distract it long enough for either a rider to dismount, or for the mastiffs to be released. Vicious and violent, mastiffs were dogs used for attacking large animals, taking down bears, and guarding the estate. These valuable beasts were kept in a spacious kennel with several levels and oak slabs for the dog’s beds.

In most monarchs eyes, these beasts were only as noble as the hunt they participated in. an adult red tailed deer was the most noble of all quarry. It could be hunted two ways, Par force, and par force de chitin. The only notable difference was in par force, one of the riders would make the kill, and in par force de chitins the dogs would kill the quarry. Every hunt required a huntsman or game keeper, his job was essential to any kind of hunt. The huntsman would track the quarry for weeks. Learning its habits, finding its favored watering hole and eventually, hopefully finding its sleeping spot. Occasionally the quarry would lead the huntsman back to the herd. In which case the herd would be driven into an enclosed area where would killed by archers. This process yielded more meat, but less prestige.