Subject: Waidknecht huntsman/woodsman

Culture: German

Setting: Holy Roman Empire 16-17thc

Evolution:

Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Event Photos)

* Sabean 1984 p65 (quoting a 1648 account of Hans Keil's vision of Christ)

"[T]he Lord Jesus complains that the Holy Son and the all-Holy Name of God which one should praise, honor, and glorify are profaned by godless hunters (Waidknechte). They blaspheme with god-blaspheming swearing and cursing, over which the Lord Jesus is mightily angered and offended."

Crossbow

* Boeheim 1890 p413-

Sword

* Coe/Connolly/Harding/Harris/LaRocca/Richardson/North/Spring/Wilkinson 1993 p102 (

"Fifteenth- and sixteenth-century hunting scenes depict huntsmen wearing short curved swords clearly based on the cleaver-like medieval falchion. The rear quillon is extended to form a short knuckleguard and the grip is usually made of two plaques of bone or wood rivetted through the tang. A selection of bodkins and small knives fit snugly into pockets at the top of the scabbard. Unfortunately scabbards tend to disintegrate with age and very few hunting swords survive with their matching accoutrements.

"[...] At some time before 1550 it became customary to add a small shell guard to hunting swords. This became much larger as the century progressed, offering more scope for decoration. The blade also became ornate, often engraved with scenes of the chase."

* Stone 1934 p

Costume

Cup

Trousse

* Coe/Connolly/Harding/Harris/LaRocca/Richardson/North/Spring/Wilkinson 1993 p (

"[The hauswehr] was single-edged, good for chopping and stabbing, and had a single small quillon and a grip made of two plates of wood or bone rivetted through the tang. A larger version was made in the later Middle Ages, equipped with various smaller knives, bodkins and other implements sheathed in extra pockets on the leather scabbard. Several such hunting trousses survive, dating from the sixteenth century."

* Fryer 1969 p68

"Trousse-de-chasse A set of implements, usually a large knife and sundry small knives, etc., contained in one sheath. It was used when hunting to eviscerate the kill."

* Stone 1934 p

Staff