Today I have the pleasure of Pauline
Montagna guesting on my website. Pauline was born into an Italian family in Melbourne, Australia. After
obtaining a BA in French, Italian and History, she indulged her artistic
interests through amateur theatre, while developing her accounting skills
through a wide variety of workplaces culminating in the Australian film
industry. In her mid-thirties, Pauline returned to university and qualified as
a teacher of English as Second Language, a profession she pursued while
completing a Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing. She has now retired
from teaching to concentrate on her writing. As well as The Slave, she has published a short story collection, Suburban Terrors.Today Pauline talks to us about hunting in Medieval Italy
Italians have
always loved hunting or la caccia.
It’s the reason why one sees so few birds in Italy these days apart from the
ubiquitous pigeon, though there was a time when Italian hunters disdained such
small fry. Their quarries of choice in the Middle Ages were the hart and the
boar.
Hunting was
not just about the meat, or even the sport. It was about the exercise, about
keeping men in trim and in form for war. It was also a social occasion,
preceded and followed by good food, wine and jollity, by boastful arguments
about one’s exploits and the joyful consumption of the kill with one’s family,
peers and dependents. And, with the symbolic linking of the hunt with
seduction, it provided a thrilling setting for amorous dalliance.
Each type of
prey had its season. The boar was hunted in winter, from September to February,
the hart in summer, from June to September, the fox in spring, from March to
June. The hare was also hunted in spring from March to April, though in some
parts there was no closed season on this small but fast and wily animal, ideal
for keeping one’s hand in during the off-season. In the remote hills, bear
might be hunted when the snows had cleared, from May to December, while the
wolf might be chased down all through the winter months from September to
March.
The larger
beasts of prey were hunted ‘par force’, with hounds and horses. A variety of
hounds were used such as the swift-footed greyhound, the burly little running
hound, the handsome, smooth-coated alaunt and the huge mastiff. Smaller prey
and birds might be hunted with the aid of tamed falcons and hawks.
The hart, a
mature male deer, was the largest prey to be hunted. This elegant animal could
be gentle, timid and wily, yet with its broad spread of antlers could easily
kill a hound or a man. Once the hounds had been loosed to follow the scent, the
hunters would set off in pursuit, the beaters on foot, the lords in the saddle,
listening for the baying of the hounds far ahead of them and the bellow of the
horn that would signal when the hart was sighted, chased over field and through
forest, and then held at bay by the hounds.
This was
perhaps the most dangerous moment, when the great beast, worn down and
desperate might use its waning strength to turn on man and dogs. Yet the
hunters would hold their hounds back, for it was only the lord himself who had
the privilege of killing the noble beast, bringing him down, perhaps with an
arrow, before finishing him off with a sword through the heart.
Then once more
the horns would be sounded to signal the kill. The lord would turn up his
sleeves to ceremoniously begin butchering the hart, rewarding the hounds with
offal or bread mixed with blood. The dead beast would be carried home with
great fanfare, offered to the women of the family as the spoils of manly
exploits.
But by far the
most dangerous prey was the boar. This massive, ugly beast was generally black,
with wide malevolent eyes, its mouth horrific with bristles and teeth, flanked
by curved, gleaming tusks. Though not as subtle and evasive as the hart, the
boar was fearless, impervious to pain, could call on boundless stamina and
unrelenting ferocity and was capable of bringing down a horse as easily as a
man or a hound.
A boar could
be found rooting about for fruit in an orchard or acorns in a forest. More
often than not it would turn on the dogs that found it, attacking them
repeatedly before turning to run so hard and long that relays of fresh hounds
would be needed to keep up with it. Once it was cornered, both hunter and horse
would need the utmost courage and dexterity to approach it. Quick reflexes and
calmness were essential as the hunter watched the boar’s eyes to predict its
movements before lunging with sword or spear. Miss and the boar could kill them
both.
Falconry
enjoyed a revival in fourteenth century Italy. In this sport the hunter could
develop a
personal relationship with his hawk, getting involved in the raptor’s taming and training, flying with it in spirit as it left his arm and soured, free and independent, swiftly and deftly bringing down its prey. Hawks were used to hunt small game such as rabbits and hares, low-flying land birds such as partridges and pheasant, as well as aquatic birds such as ducks and herons. Dogs might also be brought along to retrieve the larger game.
personal relationship with his hawk, getting involved in the raptor’s taming and training, flying with it in spirit as it left his arm and soured, free and independent, swiftly and deftly bringing down its prey. Hawks were used to hunt small game such as rabbits and hares, low-flying land birds such as partridges and pheasant, as well as aquatic birds such as ducks and herons. Dogs might also be brought along to retrieve the larger game.
You can read a vivid description of a deer
hunt in my novel, ‘The Slave’: (Join
my mailing list by May 31 to get your own free complimentary e-book copy of ‘The Slave.’)
The stable yard was a confusion of noise and movement when Aurelia emerged from the house in the early morning light of a warm summer day. Restless horses stomped backwards and forwards, turning on themselves, their masters pulling at the reins to keep them in check. Dogs bayed, straining at their leashes, held in packs by their keepers who pulled them back, shouting at them to heel. Peasants conscripted as hunters and beaters stood in groups, talking and laughing, leaning on staffs or long bows. Loud voices shouted out orders and warnings. Servants ran hither and thither with flasks of wine to serve drinks to riders and huntsmen alike. Confounded, Aurelia looked around for her own horse.
Read More… http://theslavepaulinemontagna.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/43-come-on-if-you-want-to-be-in-on-kill.html
Find out more
about Pauline and her books on her website http://paulinemontagna.net
References
‘The hound and the hawk: the art of medieval hunting’ by John Cummins (1988)
Images from Wikimedia Commons
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Nobleman_picnic.jpg/654px-Nobleman_picnic.jpg?uselang=en-gb
The hunt picnic
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Livre_de_Chasse_40v.jpg?uselang=en-gb
Hunting dogs
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Gaston_Phoebus_2.jpg?uselang=en-gb
Chasing a hart
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Medieval_forest.jpg?uselang=en-gb
Cornering a hart
The
Slave Click here to purchase
Aurelia Rubbini, the only child of a rich
merchant in fourteenth century Italy, has been raised to be a dutiful daughter,
wife and mother, but she longs for something more than the restricted life
intended for her. Then one day, her father brings home from a buying trip an
Asian slave boy, Batu, who will reshape Aurelia’s destiny.
Aurelia and Batu are inexorably drawn to
each other, but their relationship is forbidden as Aurelia is destined for an
arranged marriage to further her father’s political ambitions. When Aurelia
marries Lorenzo de Graziano, a nobleman with a dangerous reputation, Batu
insists on going with her for her protection. But Batu’s presence arouses
violent passions that Aurelia, in her innocence, can never understand.
Short
Description
Aurelia Rubbini, the only child of a rich
merchant in fourteenth century Italy, has been raised to be a dutiful daughter,
wife and mother, but she longs for something more than the restricted life
intended for her. Then one day, her father brings home from a buying trip an
Asian slave boy, Batu, who will reshape Aurelia’s destiny.
Fantastic post!
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