PUBLICATION: 19 JUNE 2003
HARDBACK £20.00 RRP
ISBN: 0 7509 2162 5

The latest book on all aspects of hunting in medieval European society

Includes 50 stunning illustrations

Offers a historical perspective on current debates about hunting and countryside use

Hunting was a major economic and leisure occupation throughout the European Middle Ages, and while it has featured in studies of medieval literature, there is no study of the methods, techniques and social history of hunting itself.

Richard Almond's book brings vividly to life hunting as an economic necessity and as an expression of medieval humanity's sense of oneness with nature. It will dispel some of the myths and misunderstandings about hunting, including the view that it was chiefly an aristocratic pursuit, and a male one at that! Richard Almond shows that hunting (in which he includes fishing, hawking and poaching) was enjoyed by all classes and by women as well as men.

Using a variety of sources - hunting treatises, assize books, manorial and ecclesiastical records, books of hours and literary collections - and pictures which include two ladies jousting, peasants rabbiting with ferrets, and camouflage techniques, the author offers a detailed and captivating picture of a pre-urban world from which the modern age has much to learn in terms of land use and conservation.

Richard Almond is course leader in history at Darlington College of Technology where he is in charge of the BA History programme in History and English. He has written numerous articles on medieval hunting for Deer: The Journal of the British Deer Society, Medieval History and Medium Aeuvm. He has participated in most field sports and his knowledge of techniques and vocabulary proved invaluable during his research for this book. He lives in Richmond, North Yorkshire.