Abstract

It is not unusual to find hunting listed among the virtues of mediaeval heroes. Kings and nobles, even saints, were made to participate in that diversion and display their skill. Saint Eustace and Saint Hubert, Alisaunder, the Emperor Octovyen, Arthur, Charlemagne, Partonope of Blois, Siegfried, Ipomadon, Bevis of Hampton, and Tristan are only a few of the hunters of worth and rank. Some of these were noted for their especial diligence and achievements in the sport; certain others met their respective destinies while hunting. Notwithstanding the tendency in imaginative literature to mingle fantasy with realism, the narratives in which these heroes appear, and others like them, reflect attitudes about hunting consistent with what is expressed in manuals of cynegetic instruction. The passion for hunting is linked to excellence. Hunting had an ennobling effect upon its practitioners, and by the same token, adroitness in matters of the hunt was the mark of a noble person. jQuery.click { event.preventDefault(); })