[Sca-cooks] Re: The Gaston Phoebus hunting book

[Lis]

For those unable to locate the below volume, you can look at it for free.
http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/manuscrits/aman10.htm
Find the entire series of illustrations online at the above link. Poorly
Gilded, but never the less recognisable. Note the incredible and elaborate
background treatment in the MS, which appear to have been gilded  as an
afterthought in some of the illustrations.

After loking at the series, I concurr with Cindy. The fellows shown handling
the food items in question are some of the dog-handlers in the previous
pictures, based upon the colors of their clothing. The same fellows appear
thoughout the series with the dogs, though they seem to change hoods a bit.
The guy with the dagged hood (holding the sack) in the picture in question
is probably the head dog handler or Master of Hounds. After looking closely
at the series and their captions, I agree that he is feeding the dogs, not
the humans ;).

I'd also like to note that art is a tricky way to document reality. I don't
suppose you could reliably use art as a perfect indicator of  what existed,
since we have no idea if the artist is prtraying what he SAW, what he
Interpreted from someone else's description, or simply MADE IT UP in his own
mind and recorded iton paper. Or, possibly a combination of the above, when
an artist needed to fill in bits he wasn't terribly familliar with.


Aoife



Johnna Holloway commented:
If anyone has the time, the book is out in
English as the title listed below. Perhaps
that would offer a better description/illustration
so that we can clear this up.

The hunting book of Gaston Phoebus :
manuscrit fran=E7ais 616, Paris, Biblioth=E8que nationale /
Gaston, Count of Foix;  Marcel Thomas;  Fran=E7ois Avril;  Wilhelm Schlag
1998 English  Book 138 leaves, 80 p. : col. ill. ; 20 cm.
London : Harvey Miller, ISBN: 1872501974