The Medieval Hunt
Of the many methods of pursuing wild animals, including traps, snares, and pits, as well as with a variety of weapons, the medieval aristocracy preferred the hunt à force, the pursuit of a larger animal such as the stag on horseback with hounds across an expanse of land. The typical hunting party included the lord of the hunt (often the owner of the locale of the hunt) and fellow aristocrats, along with other members of various ranks: master huntsman (themselves frequently titled nobles), pages, valets, assistants, huntsmen, and servants. The organization and events of the hunt followed a particular order and design with each participant performing specific duties during the formalized activity. The remaining staff fulfilled various obligations, such as caring for the hounds, participating in the tracking and cornering of prey, and assisting in the killing and ritual dismemberment of certain animals. Much less practical and efficient than using traps, snares, nets, and pits, the hunt à force was elevated above other methods, indicating its social importance.
Hunting on horseback with swords mirrored knightly combat and the aristocracy considered the hunt appropriate practice for the horsemanship, courage, prowess, and strength necessary for battle. In this aspect, the hunt à force shared more similarities with other blood sports like the tournament than with the pursuit of animals for food. Both activities established noble status through participation and recognition of particularly aristocratic skills by an audience of peers. Le livre de chasse not only established Gaston as a worthy participant in this noble activity but identified him as possessing such acumen to warrant his composition of a hunting manual.
As Susan Crane persuasively argues, the medieval hunt in its entirety became a ritual by virtue of the “formal articulation of human unity” through group participation, a “recurrent celebration” as a pleasurable pastime, and as a social spectacle legitimatized by witnesses to “make and mark” a transformation, the death of a nonhuman animal. Ultimately, the pursuit and resulting demise of the animal during the medieval hunt perpetuated noble authority and as such, the hunted prey became an object in the service of affirming aristocratic prowess. The ritual of the hunt both celebrated and endorsed the ideal attributes of noble status and became essential to the formation of not only a noble masculine identity but a human one. As an object which both codifies and illustrates the ritual of the hunt, Le livre de chasse reveals the complex realities of identity for Gaston Fébus as a self-perceived master of humans and nonhuman animals through text, image, and function.