Emperors and elites -- Merovingians and magnates -- Charlemagne and the chase -- Louis the Pious and his legacy -- Hounds and hawks -- Peasants and poachers -- Bishops and boars -- Danger and death
Summary:
"This book seeks to understand the connections between hunting, kingship, and masculinity in early medieval Europe. To answer this question, Goldberg traces the dynamic history of hunting from the late Roman empire, through the eras of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, up to the death of the last Carolingian king, Louis V-fittingly, in a hunting accident-in 987. He argues that hunting played a fundamental role in the creation of aristocratic status and manhood throughout these centuries. Moreover, he demonstrates how hunting experienced a number of significant developments during this era that reflected and shaped larger changes in politics and society. Not only did cynegetic techniques, law, and geography evolve across the centuries, but the Carolingians also transformed the activity into a symbol of Frankish kingship and political identity. This connection between hunting, kingship, and Frankishness first emerged under Charlemagne (768-814), reached its highpoint under his heir Louis the Pious (814-840), and continued under Louis's sons. Carolingian royal hunting then experienced a long period of transformation during the later ninth and tenth centuries until Louis V's death. In the end, the Carolingians' emphasis on the hunt as a badge of royal power and Frankish identity endured long after the end of their dynasty"-- Provided by publisher