Description
Book SynopsisThis is a scholarly study of hunting and poaching, both of which played significant roles in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Deer-hunting was an integral part of aristocratic and gentry culture. It afforded not only recreation, but also served as a symbolic substitute for war and revellion. It provided the occasion for adolescent rites of passage, displays of power and feats of daring, the pursuit of aristocratic feuds and competition for forest and game offices. The distinction between lawful and unlawful hunting remained unclear, for the Game Laws were obscure and difficult to enforce, and tumultuous hunting was frequently a reaction to changes in land use and conflicting use-rights.Professor Manning''s meticulously researched study explores symbolic and covert forms of protest, and adds much to our knowledge of the interaction between aristocratic and popular culture in early modern England.
Trade Review'This is a fascinating and highly readable book on an important subject.' Jean Birrell, The Agricultural History Review
a worthy additon to the literature that shows how deeply deer hunting was embedded in Tudor-Stuart life, especially among the nobility and gentry...The strength of the book lies in the presentation of extensive detailed examples. * American Historical Review *
a solidly researched work that details the essentials of participating in an organized hunt, as well as methods of poaching ... the book is worthwhile for social and cultural historians of England * William Rednour, City College of New York, Renaissance Quarterly *
Manning's study, chronologically set as it is in the Tudor and early Stuart periods, provides a useful contrast to work completed on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century poaching ... we should be grateful for having an imaginative and well-documented work which advances our knowledge of both topics. * J.A. Sharpe, University of York, EHR, June 1996 *
Table of ContentsThe cultural and social context of hunting; poaching as a symbolic substitute for war; the game laws; the purlieu men and ancient constitution; hunting and land use in sylvan societies; the structure of poaching; poachers and keepers; hunting, poaching and social privilege; conclusion - the persistence of the deer-hunting culture.
