Home Literary Studies Grundelemente der mittelalterlichen Jagd in einer quellenkritischen Perspektive. Naturräumliche Voraussetzungen, herrschaftliche Bezüge, Funktionen
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Grundelemente der mittelalterlichen Jagd in einer quellenkritischen Perspektive. Naturräumliche Voraussetzungen, herrschaftliche Bezüge, Funktionen

  • Clemens Dasler
Published/Copyright: September 25, 2009
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Abstract

This article highlights several topics which, it will be argued, are crucial for an understanding of medieval hunting, but which are not always given sufficient thought when this activity is made the subject of historical claims. The first issue to be dealt with are the natural preconditions for hunting. Foremost among them are the living conditions of game animals, which is where the forest enters the picture. As will be pointed out, woodland areas are the natural habitat of many animal species, but not all species that were hunted in the middle ages are forest dwellers, at least not exclusively. Therefore, although the ties between forests and hunting were close, they were by no means inseparable. The same goes for the use of a forest for hunting and for other purposes. These two broad categories of use could be in the hands of different persons or institutions. It further emerges that the natural environment has to be taken into account as a factor limiting the incidence of hunting, before mentalities or other assumed facts of medieval life are invoked as explanations. Similarly, other parts of the evidence have to be carefully evaluated in order to determine whether they really support a given assumption. In the light of this question, the article discusses the relation between hunting and lordship and the various functions of hunting. Geographically, the focus is on the German-speaking territories.

Published Online: 2009-09-25
Published in Print: 2008-12

© by Akademie Verlag, Berlin, Germany

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