Hunting

Hunting is the recreation of seeking out (generally fluffy) animals, for the purpose of killing them, in order to obtain food or for sport or to collect trophies. Various weapons and other tools were used, depending on the target. It generally required a degree of coordination between the hunters, their hunting animals (eg. dogs or hunting birds) and their staff (eg. beaters).

Notes, by species

• Stag -- Usually hunted with aid of dogs (the more the better) and bows and arrows, in order to stay out of range of the horns.
• Boar -- Usually hunted with the aid of dogs and with very long spears, in order to stay away from the tusks.
• Foxes -- Usually hunted by chasing them with dogs and letting the dogs tear the fox apart. Foxes are rarely hunted as food.
• Rabbits -- Usually hunted by sending trained dogs or ferrets down the burrow, who either kill the rabbit underground and bring back the corpse, or flush the rabbit from the burrow so it can be caught. Also chased over land by greyhounds.
• Otters -- Usually hunted (again) with dogs. Also usually hunted for sport not food.
• Game birds (geese, ducks, pheasant, partridge, grouse etc.) -- usually hunted with dogs to chase them into taking off, then with bow and arrow to bring them down, and dogs (again) to fetch the corpses back. Again more usually killed for food.
• Peasants
• Bores -- Loud bipeds, usually hunted with blunt instruments (to extend the kill and add the pain factor), in order to benefit the general populace.

External Links

• Atlantian A&S Links: Hunting
• Hunt Scenes in Medieval and Renaissance Works of Art