Contextualizing the curée ritual in Master of Game : hunting as a performance of social order

Abstract

The ritual nature of medieval hunting has been widely noted by historians. Noble hunting practices in particular have been examined as rituals designed to project notions of noble ascendancy over society. In the medieval era, the noble hunt is generally presumed to have been a spectacle designed to underscore the natural hierarchy of society. Although the ritualistic nature of medieval hunting practices has generally been acknowledged, the ritual forms that these practices embraced have nonetheless generally not been examined. The present thesis aims to address this shortcoming by examining the ritual formulae of Master of Game within their proper historical and ritual context. In so doing, Master of Game will be considered as a unique point in the evolution of medieval hunting rituals which discloses not only methods for the mimesis of power in the early 15th century but also how these methods drew on contemporary religious ritual forms to achieve meaning. Similarities between hunting rituals and religious rituals will be highlighted, as will the interpellative role of the spectator. In examining how power and ritual intertwine in Master of Game, this thesis argues that contextualizing hunting rituals affords a more nuanced understanding of the ideological aims and means of noble hunting in the medieval era.