hunting during the dark ages was important for survival only in the early middle ages.as new techniques for farming were d**covered and used,sedentar**m became common rendering hunting(for survival)virtually useless.
in the early medieval times,for the hunter who killed to survive,education had to be given first.educating a hunter began when he was only seven years of age.he was then assigned a tutor who taught him basic skills for h** trade including fletching,crafting and surviving in the wilderness.when the young hunter was seven,he was appointed to watch and learn from h** master while taking care of tools and learning basic concepts.when he was about 16 years of age,he could go hunting alone and later on,if the family was wealthy or the kingdom willing,a ceremony would take place to congratulate him for becoming a new hunter.before the celebration,he had to attend church for a full day to pray.
hunting for the ar**tocracy was not viewed as a way to survive,but as pure entertainment and training.weapons were different and even cros**ows were frequently used.the most commonly used weapon,however was the bow(specially the short bow).additionally,spears,swords and shields were all used when nobles hunted.
hunting itself was not a main source of food.farms brought vast quantities of bread,vegetables and fruits,but it was noted that those who complimented meat with that food would grow healthier.nobles were those who ate the most meat and the poor hunters,instead of eating the meat for themselves,frequently sold it to the ar**tocracy in exchange for money to buy cheaper food.
hunting weapons:
bows and archers-they are regular bows used for hunting.sometimes bows varied,but most of the time the bows used for warfare were the bows used for hunting.
read about bows in the archery article.
swords-swords were also used for hunting.they were mainly used for training purposes and to kill animals when already hurt by a projectile.
spears-spears were common for hunting as well.they were not as common as swords and bows,but they were frequently employed by the poor since they could be improv**ed and easily fixed.
for **rmation about medieval weapons,v**it the medieval weaponry article.
hunting of course was a major source of medieval entertainment.additionally,hunting was a way of survival for many and during castle siege,hunting was almost always practiced inside a castle since mice and birds could be used as food for the defenders.
a good hunter,of course,was a good soldier as well.hunting severely increased an archer's accuracy which was necessary for battle.for th** reason,many archers were given different tasks by their masters which included the killing of birds with their bows,the hunting of deer and the capture of rare animals.
the implementation of cros**ows into hunting changed the way it was done enormously.even though cros**ows were only introduced after the xii century during the first crusade,they were widely employed afterward.
the church itself banned the use of cros**ows at some point because of their effectiveness-hunting was not an exception.cros**ows were so effective at killing an animal that archers who hunted animals were no longer respected by their peers.
the same applies to long bows which were also outstandingly effective against deer.unfortunately for the lower classes,acquiring a long bow or a cros**ow was very expensive and they had to rely on their old bows which had been transmitted down from generation to generation.
the importance of hunting during the middle ages ** conspicuous in the many paintings made to represent th** practice.of course,they did not view it like we view it today(as a sport).instead,they thought of it as a way to train themselves and rarely;to survive by providing food to their table.
hunting ** a practice as old as men.egyptians left many scrolls about correct ways to hunt and so did the greeks-which were both a great influence for medieval hunting.of course,a regular hunter could easily kill an animal without any prior knowledge.but nevertheless,the fl**or of the meat was different depending on how the animal was killed.an skilled hunter knew th** and would kill the animal peacefully in order to **oid a bad fl**or.
horses were a hunter's best friend.they always accompanied them to their hunting activities and when successful,they would also serve them to carry the dead animal hastily.of course th** was also mainly reserved for the upper classes because the poor could by no means afford a horse.
reference:http://medieval-castles.org/index.php/medieval_hunting_weapons_uses_and_hunter