Veidekongen, olifanten og bøkeskogen

Abstract

This article discusses aspects of aristocratic hunting in the Viking and Middle Ages. Falconry requires great knowledge of birds, dogs and horses and the ability to make them interact. The hunt itself should involve danger and required large resources. Falconry and other types of hunting was associated with high status, partly because hunting was considered training for war. In the King’s Mirror from the 13th century, emphasis is placed on the positive aspects of hunting, such as allowing the king to maintain his health, and as having sporting fun with hawks, dogs, horses and weapons makes one accustomed to the use of weapons and war. Earlier scholars have usually considered Norway as an exception from the general trend of aristocratic, warpreparing hunting, as hunting was practiced solely for food or economic gains. Furthermore, Norway, together with Iceland, has mainly been seen as a mere supplier of hunting birds. Following recent research, this paper considers certain aspects of the archaeological record from Norway, as well as written sources, that indicate falconry and other formsof aristocratic hunting practices. It is furthermore argued that the substantial beech forests of SE Norway were in fact established as hunting parks in the Viking Age and later.