Royal or noblewomen hunting?

Did noble or royal women of the 15th century take part in hunting? If so, could anyone suggest a book with information about the subject?

Margaret of Anjou was keen on horses and had that famous pack of hounds that King Louis coveted, but would she have hunted herself? And (to bring this more on topic) we know that Richard loved hunting, but would Anne and her ladies have accompanied him on the hunt?

I do know that noblewomen of the 17th and 18th centuries were known to hunt - or at least ride alongside the men who hunted - but I'd be interested to know how early the custom had started. I do vaguely remember seeing some Mediaeval pictures of women hunting on horseback, shooting a stag with a bow, and laying traps; but I don't know if those pictures reflected reality or whether they were referring to some mythical scenes.

Don't know if this will help, but women (or at least one woman) created a book of "venery" (hunting terms), the so-called Book of St. Albans, 1486. Her name was Julian(a) Barnes, and she is believed to have been a prioress.

Judy
  
Loyaulte me lie


________________________________
From: pansydobersby <[email protected]>
To:
Sent: Sunday, August 11, 2013 12:33 PM
Subject: Royal or noblewomen hunting?



 
Did noble or royal women of the 15th century take part in hunting? If so, could anyone suggest a book with information about the subject?

Margaret of Anjou was keen on horses and had that famous pack of hounds that King Louis coveted, but would she have hunted herself? And (to bring this more on topic) we know that Richard loved hunting, but would Anne and her ladies have accompanied him on the hunt?

I do know that noblewomen of the 17th and 18th centuries were known to hunt - or at least ride alongside the men who hunted - but I'd be interested to know how early the custom had started. I do vaguely remember seeing some Mediaeval pictures of women hunting on horseback, shooting a stag with a bow, and laying traps; but I don't know if those pictures reflected reality or whether they were referring to some mythical scenes.

--- In , pansydobersby <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> Did noble or royal women of the 15th century take part in hunting? If so, could anyone suggest a book with information about the subject?
>
> Margaret of Anjou was keen on horses and had that famous pack of hounds that King Louis coveted, but would she have hunted herself? And (to bring this more on topic) we know that Richard loved hunting, but would Anne and her ladies have accompanied him on the hunt?
>
> I do know that noblewomen of the 17th and 18th centuries were known to hunt - or at least ride alongside the men who hunted - but I'd be interested to know how early the custom had started. I do vaguely remember seeing some Mediaeval pictures of women hunting on horseback, shooting a stag with a bow, and laying traps; but I don't know if those pictures reflected reality or whether they were referring to some mythical scenes.
>
Carol responds:

There's actually a medieval painting of women hunting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medieval_women_hunting.jpg

As I recall, noblewomen used falcons just as men did but usually preferred a particular falcon bred just for them. (I was thinking it was the kestrel, but apparently, it was the merlin:

http://www.wingmasters.net/falconry_history.htm

I suspect that women avoided dangerous prey like wild boars but hunted stags and possibly foxes along with the men. At any rate, just Google "medieval women hunting" (no quotes) and you'll find lots of information.

Carol

--- In , Judy Thomson <judygerard.thomson@...> wrote:
>
> Don't know if this will help, but women (or at least one woman) created a book of "venery" (hunting terms), the so-called Book of St. Albans, 1486. Her name was Julian(a) Barnes, and she is believed to have been a prioress.
>
> Judy
>   
> Loyaulte me lie
>


Thank you, Judy - very interesting! Must find that text somewhere.

Interestingly, this Juliana Berners' niece appears to have been Thomas Bourchier's sister-in-law. Small world, eh...

Pansy

Gets smaller all the time! :-)
Judy
 
Loyaulte me lie


________________________________
From: pansydobersby <[email protected]>
To:
Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 2:17 PM
Subject: Re: Royal or noblewomen hunting?



 
--- In , Judy Thomson <judygerard.thomson@...> wrote:
>
> Don't know if this will help, but women (or at least one woman) created a book of "venery" (hunting terms), the so-called Book of St. Albans, 1486. Her name was Julian(a) Barnes, and she is believed to have been a prioress.
>
> Judy
>   
> Loyaulte me lie
>

Thank you, Judy - very interesting! Must find that text somewhere.

Interestingly, this Juliana Berners' niece appears to have been Thomas Bourchier's sister-in-law. Small world, eh...

Pansy

It's why I have to keep remembering that England at that time had one-tenth the population it does now. A city of five thousand souls would be considered quite large - and would in fact be one of the top five cities in the country.

Everyone really did know each other - they had to simply for society to function.

Tamara



--- In , Judy Thomson <judygerard.thomson@...> wrote:
>
> Gets smaller all the time! :-)
> Judy
>  
> Loyaulte me lie
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: pansydobersby <[email protected]>
> To:
> Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 2:17 PM
> Subject: Re: Royal or noblewomen hunting?
>
>
>
>  
> --- In , Judy Thomson <judygerard.thomson@> wrote:
> >
> > Don't know if this will help, but women (or at least one woman) created a book of "venery" (hunting terms), the so-called Book of St. Albans, 1486. Her name was Julian(a) Barnes, and she is believed to have been a prioress.
> >
> > Judy
> >   
> > Loyaulte me lie
> >
>
> Thank you, Judy - very interesting! Must find that text somewhere.
>
> Interestingly, this Juliana Berners' niece appears to have been Thomas Bourchier's sister-in-law. Small world, eh...
>
> Pansy
>
>
>
>
>
>