The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestry Set: a Recontextualization

The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestry Set: A Recontextualization

Item Type text; Electronic Thesis

Authors Hogan, Ariel

Citation Hogan, Ariel. (2021). The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestry Set: A Recontextualization (Master's thesis, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA).

Publisher The University of Arizona.

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THE HUNT OF THE UNICORN TAPESTRY SET: A RECONTEXTUALIZATION

Ariel Rhenee Hogan

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the

SCHOOL OF ART

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

In the Graduate College

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

2021

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my committee chair, Dr. Irene Romano. Her dedication and insight were instrumental in the completion of this research and I am forever grateful she accepted such a position. I would also like to extend thanks to my other committee members, Dr. Pia Cuneo and Dr. Sarah J. Moore. Their comments helped shape my research into a form I could not have attained myself. To have been mentored by my committee members throughout my time in grad school was an honor and privilege.

I would also like to thank my partner, John, who has ridden the inevitable highs and lows of academia with me. His support and encouragement have always been worthwhile and means more to me than I can ever express.

I would also like the extend my undying gratitude to those whose lifelong support played a role in my academic achievement. To my parents, grandparents, friends, and everyone in between, thank you. Without you, I could have never reached this current level of success.

Thank you all for your unwavering support.

DEDICATION

To every person who wholeheartedly supported my academic endeavors

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………………..6

ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………...8

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………….…9

CHAPTER II: CYCLE DESCRIPTION AND FORMAL ANALYSIS……………………………….……. 13

CHAPTER III: PROVENANCE AND OBJECT HISTORIES……………………………………………..21

CHAPTER IV: PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP CONCERNING THE

INTERPRETATIONS OF THE HUNT OF THE UNICORN TAPESTRIES………………………….27

CHAPTER V: THE HUMAN-CANINE RELATIONSHIP WITHIN THE HUNT OF THE UNICORN…………33

CHAPTER VI: HYPOTHETICAL TEXT PANELS FOR THE HUNT OF THE UNICORN FOCUSED ON

15TH-CENTURY ARISTOCRATIC HUNTING AND THE HUMAN-CANINE RELATIONSHIP……..39

CHAPTER VII: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………...48

REFERENCES……..……………………………………………………………………………….78

LIST OF FIGURES

FIG. 1…………………………………………………………………………………….….……50

FIG. 1.1………………………………………………………………………….…….….51

FIG. 1.2…………………………………………………………………………….….….52

FIG. 1.3…………………………………………………………………………….….….53

FIG. 2……………………………………………………………………………………….….…54

FIG. 2.1………………………………………………………………………………..….55

FIG. 2.2………………………………………………………………………………..….56

FIG. 3…………………………………………………………………………………………..…57

FIG. 3.1…………………………………………………………………………….….….58

FIG. 3.2……………………………………………………………………………….…..59

FIG. 4……………………………………………………………………………………………..60

FIG. 5……………………………………………………………………………………………..61

FIG. 6……………………………………………………………………………………………..62

FIG. 6.1…………………………………………………………………………………...63

FIG. 6.2…………………………………………………………………………………...64

FIG. 6.3…………………………………………………………………………………...65

FIG. 7……………………………………………………………………………………………..66

FIG. 7.1…………………………………………………………………………………...67

FIG. 8……………………………………………………………………………………………..67

FIG. 9……………………………………………………………………………………………..68

FIG. 10…………………………………………………………………………………..………..69

FIG. 11…………………………………………………………………………………..………..70

FIG. 12…………………………………………………………………………………..………..71

FIG. 13…………………………………………………………………………………..………..72

FIG. 14…………………………………………………………………………………..………..73

FIG. 15…………………………………………………………………………………..………..74

FIG. 16…………………………………………………………………………………..………..75

FIG. 17…………………………………………………………………………………..………..75

FIG. 18…………………………………………………………………………………..………..76

FIG. 19…………………………………………………………………………………..………..77

ABSTRACT

The original narrative and purpose of The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries on display at The Cloisters of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have been lost to time. Theories abound in an attempt to expound this lost narrative, including traditions of courtly love and the belief that the cycle represents the story of Christ’s Passion. While I offer my own insights as to why I do not fully agree with these interpretations, I argue that the narrative of the hunt is plain in this cycle and that there is much to learn in analyzing the human-canine relationship present in nearly every scene, rather than focus on what we can only hypothesize is there. In this research project my purpose is not to refute the main interpretations proposed in the past for The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries; rather, I intend to redirect the dialogue about the tapestry set, focusing on the human-canine relationship depicted. Referencing various manuscripts of Gaston Phébus’ Livre de la Chasse, I connect the imagery within the illuminations to the scenes of the tapestry set, hoping to bring further attention to the importance of the relationship in the hopes that it serves as a starting point for museum visitors who may be interested in the tapestry set, but may be too intimidated by the vast scholarship surrounding the artworks. At the culmination of this research, I offer two hypothetical text panels I have written regarding 15th-century aristocratic hunting and the human-canine relationship required for the practice of venery, hunting with hounds, to further contextualize the intimidating tapestry set for the average museum visitor of The Cloisters.

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

The aristocrats of 15th-century Northern Europe held a deep love for tapestries; those woven with fine silks, wool, and gilt threads were among the most prized art of this period. 1 Elaborately woven tapestries were a common art form among aristocracy during the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods, serving the dual purpose of décor and functionality to keep drafty rooms warm and comfortable in cold climates; their portability and the cost required for such artworks made them more valuable in the eyes of nobility than wall or panel paintings or sculptures, especially as the tapestries themselves could be removed, rearranged, and relocated into new contexts.2 While they were designed to be used as decorative hangings, their warmth and durability also made them excellent candidates for bed coverings and table rugs.3 Woven by teams of craftsmen in Northern Europe, their dazzling visual richness and meticulously selected iconography aided in defining the spaces of political power and in serving as other markers of rule and superiority.4

Perhaps the most famous of these tapestry sets is The Hunt of the Unicorn series, a seven- tapestry cycle dated 1495-1505, likely woven in Flanders (modern-day Belgium).5 The Hunt of

1 Marina Belozerskaya, Rethinking the Renaissance: Burgundian Arts across Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2012), 106. 2 Belozerskaya, Rethinking the Renaissance: Burgundian Arts across Europe, 104. 3 Adolph S. Cavallo, Medieval Tapestries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993), 27. 4 Belozerskaya, Rethinking the Renaissance: Burgundian Arts across Europe, 105. 5 Acc. Nos. 37.80.1; 37.80.2; 37.80.3; 37.80.4; 37.80.5; 37.80.6; 38.51.2; “The Hunters Enter the Woods (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d., https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467637; “The Unicorn Purifies Water (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d., https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467638; “The Unicorn Crosses a Stream (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d., https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467639; “The Unicorn Defends Himself (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed December 11, 2020, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467640; “The Hunters Return to the Castle 9

the Unicorn tapestries are understood by many to be read as a narrative series, although their long life with many gaps in their provenance throw this hypothesis into question (this will be explored further in Chapter III). They currently are on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters, the only American museum facility dedicated to medieval art and architecture. The cycle is believed to have been designed in France—or with French influence—and woven in Brussels by a team of weavers.6 After close examination of the costumes within the set, as well as the weaponry, Margaret B. Freeman, Curator Emerita of the Cloisters, believes that they were woven around 1500 and that the cartoons—full-sized paper drawings that are gridded with each square representing one knot of a particular color—were either executed by French artists or by non-French artists working in France who may have been influenced by north Netherlandish paintings or miniatures.7

While the term “tapestry” is now used to describe any number of decorative textiles, traditionally and technically, tapestries of the fifteenth century are a weft-faced textile woven by hand on a loom. In Europe, looms consisted of two rollers with plain warp threads stretched between them; these threads were the load-bearing threads and in the Low Countries were traditionally made of wool.8 Traditionally, as loom-woven works, all tapestries in the same series would have been the same width of whatever loom was used; their full and true sizes can only be

(from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed December 11, 2020, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467641; “The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d., https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467642; “The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed December 11, 2020, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467653; Adolph S. Cavallo, The Unicorn Tapestries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York: Henry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1998). 6 Margaret B. Freeman, “The Unicorn Tapestries,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 32, no. 1 (April 1973): 219. 7 For a more complete analysis of the costumes and weaponry and why they are attributed to the French, see Margaret B. Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries (New York: E.P. Dutton, INC., 1976) 206-207. 8 Thomas P. Campbell, “How Medieval and Renaissance Tapestries Were Made,” The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, February 2008, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tapm/hd_tapm.htm. 10

estimated—the sizes of the tapestries vary greatly, likely due to their rough treatment by French revolutionaries9—although they are roughly within a foot or so of one another in width and height. Working from the reverse side of the tapestry, the weaver would pass colored weft threads through the sheds—the empty spaces between the warp threads—using a handheld shuttle. The shuttle is a small spindle that held the colored weft threads; as the weft threads held no tension, they could be made of finer materials, such as silk.10 The Hunt of the Unicorn cycle follows Northern tradition by using wool warps, and wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts to create sumptuous and rich scenes.

Despite the fame enjoyed by the tapestries, countless questions surround them that have confounded scholars since the Met’s acquisition of them in 1937 from John D. Rockefeller Jr. The original narrative and purpose of The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries have been lost to time.11 Theories abound in an attempt to explain this lost narrative, including a focus on traditions of courtly love or on the belief that the cycle represents the story of Christ’s Passion. The Met has chosen to rigidly contextualize the tapestries within the speculative belief that they depict the story of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion.

Due to the gaps in the history of The Hunt of the Unicorn, the exact order of the supposed series is unclear. For this reason, I have chosen to refer to the tapestry cycle as a set, rather than a narrative series. For the sake of the reader, however, the set will be introduced and discussed in the order suggested by the Met and will include citations of the accession numbers of the tapestries to aid the reader.

This research will focus on the firm foundation of the depiction of the hunt in the tapestry cycle and what this can tell us about the human-canine relationship in fifteenth-century Netherlandish regions, rather than arguing for a Christian allegory. In this thesis I offer my own insights regarding these interpretations. Referencing Gaston Phébus’ Phébus, des Déduits de la chasse des bêtes sauvages et des oiseaux de proie (Le Livre de Chasse) (1389), I argue that the

9 Margaret B. Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries (New York: E.P. Dutton, INC., 1976), 223. 10 Campbell, “How Medieval and Renaissance Tapestries Were Made.” 11 Cavallo, The Unicorn Tapestries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 13. 11

narrative of the hunt is plain in this cycle, and by analyzing the human-canine relationship present in nearly every scene I demonstrate the importance of that relationship, as well as the link between the demonstration of power that is evident in the hunting narrative and the tapestry cycle itself. I will also investigate the insufficiencies of both the courtly love narrative as well as the narrative of Christ’s Passion presented by the Cloisters. Lastly, I offer some suggestions for ways that the Cloisters might recontextualize these tapestries with a focus on canines and hunting, taking the attention away from the more problematic interpretation of the Passion of Christ.

In the next chapter, The Hunt of the Unicorn set will be introduced, as stated before, in the order recommended by the Met; through describing each scene, I will focus specifically on the hunt and the human-canine relationship. Chapter III traces the known provenance of the tapestry set as well as conservation efforts, highlighting the holes left in the object histories. Chapter IV investigates the widely accepted interpretations of the set, the “courtly love” narrative and, as contextualized by the Met, the story of Christ’s Passion. Chapter V will focus on the human-canine relationship in the context of the hunt, using Gaston Phébus’ seminal work on the hunt. In chapter VI, I closely examine the labels and audio guides used by the Met regarding the tapestries and offer my own examples of text panels regarding the aristocratic hunt of 15th-century France and the human-canine relationship. It must be stated that due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been unable to travel to the Met, so this research project will be using materials from the webpages of each tapestry.

CHAPTER II: CYCLE DESCRIPTION AND FORMAL ANALYSIS

Before one can delve deeply into the meaning and function of The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestry set, the practice of looking closely must be employed, as the tapestries are resplendent with imagery that delights the eye. Within the set, there are over a hundred different plant species—about eighty-five have been confidently identified—that create a marvelous setting for the fantastical hunt.12 The first and last tapestries of the set are particularly rich, woven in the style of millefleur, a French style of tapestry that translates to “a thousand flowers.” While the tapestries contain a multitude of florals, the palette of the background is relatively muted, with deep forest greens that, with the large scale of the tapestries, places the viewer in the woodland setting. This contrasts with the bright colors of the hunters’ clothing throughout the series; their costumes change colors and styles slightly throughout the set, indicating that they may be separate tapestries and not a series; alternatively, this may have been intentional in order to enchant viewers with bright new scenes.

The first and last of the supposed series, as numbered and arranged by the Cloisters, differ stylistically from the other five—the human figures in the first tapestry are noticeably stiffer than the figures with more naturalistic poses in the rest of the set. It is noteworthy, however, that throughout the set, the figures are relatively the same size, and their canine companions seem to be realistically scaled in relation to their masters, indicating that these artworks do not employ the hierarchical scaling of earlier medieval works. Throughout the series, the cipher/monogram/abbreviation “A&E” is present—usually within a corner of a tapestry, but once in the center (FIG. 1.3)—potentially alluding to the set’s first owner. The provenance of the tapestries is spotty, however, and their original patrons have been lost to time.

A second set of initials— “F&R”—is present in the third tapestry (FIG. 4.1). Due to the discoloration of the fabric of that section—and since the warps of this section are finer than those in the rest of the tapestries—the initials were likely added after their initial weaving for their

12 Freeman, “The Unicorn Tapestries,” 179; Jules Janick and Anna Whipkey, “The Fruits and Nuts of the Unicorn Tapestries,” Chronica Horticulturae 54, no. 1 (2014): 12–17. 13 eventual owners, the noble La Rochefoucauld family.13 The provenance of the set will be investigated further in Chapter III.

While traditionally, the focus has been on the unicorn in the tapestries, this analysis will focus on the canines within the scenes, their relation to their human masters, and their important role within the hunt. The dogs present in the Unicorn Tapestries are generally shown in broad leather collars inscribed with florals and initials; the collars have been variously interpreted as either representing the owners and their dogs or indicating the family for whom the tapestries were originally woven. Some dogs are restrained, but it is clear that dogs were integral to the hunt, and as my analysis will show, their actions depicted in the tapestries realistically reflect the role hunting dogs played. The collaboration between the canines and humans to achieve a successful hunt is obvious, with the two mirroring one another in multiple tapestries as they attack their quarry.

THE HUNTERS ENTER THE WOODS

The possible first in the set, entitled by the Met, The Hunters Enter the Woods (FIG. 1; acc. 37.80.1; 368.3 x 315cm), depicts the typical theme of the medieval stag hunt. In this tapestry set the stag has been replaced by the mythical unicorn, an animal believed by many of the time to be true and real, known for its invincibility and the supposed therapeutic property of its horn.14 This is the only tapestry where the unicorn is not present, however. Rather, three noblemen are about to enter the woods to begin their search for the unicorn. The group has forgone the usual hunting attire of leather leggings and other practical garments in lieu of sumptuously decorated outfits and feathered hats.15

The second man from the left is believed to be the seigneur, or feudal lord; accompanying him are his two dignified companions and their two hound-keepers, as well as a page who has already entered the woods and is frantically waving at the group, likely signaling

13 Freeman, “The Unicorn Tapestries,” 223 14 Arden G. Christen and Joan A. Christen, “The Unicorn and the Unicorn Horn Among Apothecaries and Physicians,” Journal of the History of Dentistry 59, no. 3 (Winter 2011): 136. 15 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 204-05. 14

that the unicorn has been spotted.16 The companion to the lord’s right is guided by a leashed

greyhound while two more strain against the leash held by one of the hound-keepers (FIG. 1.1). Two running hounds—a type of hound that led hunters by their keen scent17—guide the party into the woods, one with his head low to the ground sniffing for a scent, while the other lifts his

paw and head in the typical “pointing” position (FIG. 1.2).

THE UNICORN PURIFIES THE WATER

In the second tapestry, The Unicorn Purifies the Water (FIG. 2; acc. 37.80.2; 368.3 x 378.5cm), the unicorn is shown for the first time in the set; it is also the first time the seigneur’s estate is shown in the background of the scene. In the very center of the tapestry is a simple fountain with gold details, including what looks to be golden roundels in the shape of lion heads that spit water into the stream that flows across the foreground of the scene. As the horn of the unicorn was believed to have medicinal properties ranging from curing illness to purifying water, the unicorn kneels and dips his horn in the stream.18 Several animal species, including lions, a hyena, and a stag, sit patiently as they wait to drink from the newly purified water. The hunters surround the unicorn; however, the seigneur holds his hand up, halting the other hunters as they witness in awe the act of purification. This signal is not only to ensure the hunters appreciate the unicorn’s act but also because the rules of the hunt dictated that the party must hold back until the quarry begins to run, as the chase itself is the hunter’s paramount challenge.19 To attack the unicorn as he is incapacitated would have spelled unsportsmanlike conduct and would be deemed inappropriate.

While the hunters gather in closer to exclaim to one another excitedly about the scene they witness, the hounds heel, ever patient in response to the actions of their masters. A hound- keeper in a yellow tunic grasps the leashes of four hounds just outside of the main group. In front of him, a greyhound peers over the foliage, wherein two more greyhounds sit patiently. To the

16 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 179. 17 Edward of Norwich, “Chapter XIV: Of Running Hounds and of Their Nature,” in The Master of the Game: The Oldest English Book on Hunting, Kindle (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013), loc. 1489. 18 Elmer G. Suhr, “An Interpretation of the Unicorn,” Folklore 75, no. 2 (1964): 93-4. 19 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 185. 15

far right, two greyhounds heel next to one of the hunters, with one looking up towards the man

while the other hound stares directly out at the viewer (FIG. 2.1). To the far left, a hound-keeper points to the unicorn in shock; his hound strains against the leash to renew the smell of his quarry

(FIG. 2.2).

THE UNICORN CROSSES A STREAM

In the next tapestry, The Unicorn Crosses a Stream (FIG. 3; acc. 37.80.3; 328.3 x 426.7 cm), the hunt is back in full swing. As the unicorn attempts to cross the stream, the hunters surround it and stab at it with their spears, their hounds guiding the unicorn and aiding their human companions. Three running hounds stand in the river on either side of the unicorn, while two greyhounds run along the opposite side of the stream. A third greyhound runs across a small plank bridge over the stream to cut off the beast’s path. Several other dogs are partially covered by foliage across the tapestry, while two greyhounds are either being released from their leash or tied up to the left of the scene; the action of their hound-keeper is unclear. The scene is again decorated lavishly with flowering plants of all seasons to add richness and vibrancy, all in the wake of such a violent and enigmatic scene. In the background again looms the seigneur’s estate, serving as a reminder of his wealth and power.

THE UNICORN DEFENDS HIMSELF

After the huntsmen begin stabbing at the unicorn, one moves onto the next tapestry in the

set—The Unicorn Defends Himself (FIG. 4; acc. 37.80.4; 368.3 x 401.3 cm). This is the tapestry that gives me immediate pause in believing that the tapestry set serves as an interpretive allegory of Christ’s Passion. That argument will be fully addressed in Chapter IV after all tapestries are introduced. In this scene, the hunters continue to spear the unicorn, as hounds surround him, biting at his legs. Hounds surround the beast from all directions, and with nowhere to go, the unicorn defends himself ardently. A small wound can be seen on the unicorn's back, as he rears his back legs to kick at a hunter behind him and uses his horn to gut a greyhound in the belly. Directly above the unicorn, a hunter holds a greyhound by the collar while the dog twists his head to the left of the scene. In the upper left quadrant of the tapestry stands a worn, older man, grasping a flask and what seems to be a cloth bundle fastened to the staff perched on his

16 shoulder; he would likely have provided celebratory food and drink to the huntsmen after the conclusion of the hunt. A younger man to his left is wielding an axe and has just felled a beech tree; it is likely that he is preparing firewood as, traditionally, the huntsman who successfully tracked the stag to its lair received wood as a reward.20 The variety of birds along the stream flap their wings, alarmed by and simultaneously contributing to the air of excitement and disorder.

THE UNICORN SURRENDERS TO A MAIDEN

Unfortunately, the fifth tapestry—The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden (FIG. 5; acc. 38.51.1 & 38.51.2; 168.9 x 64.8 cm & 198.1 x 64.8 cm)—has been on the receiving end of time’s wear and tear. The Met only has fragmentary remains of this tapestry that have been mounted onto a modern handwoven fabric that complements the texture of the original weaving. After the renovations of the Cloisters in 1998, the tapestries and fragments of the fifth were removed, giving scholars the opportunity to closely examine them. Six years later, in 2004, the three fragments were removed again, allowing conservators the time to reinforce fragile areas, then remount the tapestry on handwoven fabric and reinstall it with the other six.21 While much of the tapestry is missing, one can see that a woman, a unicorn, and a second woman believed to be a virginal maiden—one can only see her right hand and her elegant brocaded sleeve as she caresses the mane of the unicorn—are inside a fenced-in garden, a hortus conclusus or enclosed garden that symbolized purity during this period.22 During the period the tapestries were woven, it was believed that a virgin could subdue the beast easily, as he would become greatly enamored of her and lay his head in her lap.23 So beguiled is the unicorn in this image that he seems unaware of the hound dogs biting his haunches, thin lines of blood flowing down his back. To the right of his horn, an “A” has been cut in half, likely another “A&E” cipher. The maiden’s lady companion in the background seems to beckon to a hunter hidden in the woods to signal that the unicorn is subdued and has fallen for the virginal ruse; the hunter, in response, blows his

20 Freeman, “The Unicorn Tapestries,” 200. 21 Katherine Colburn, “Three Fragments of the Mystic Capture of the Unicorn Tapestry,” The Metropolitan Museum Journal 45 (2010): 98. 22 “Hortus Conclusus | Glossary | National Gallery, London,” accessed December 10, 2020, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/glossary/hortus-conclusus. 23 Terence Hanbury White, ed., The Book of Beasts: Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century, trans. Terence Hanbury White (Dover, 1984), 21, https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Book_of_Beasts/ihy4APkOjioC?hl=en&gbpv=0. 17 horn and alerts his companions. There are an additional two dogs to the right of him; one seems to be a running hound and the other, a greyhound, however, the damage caused to the tapestry has cut off the majority of the canine’s face. The greyhound’s collar, however, is visible—a thick red band with the letters “HIS,” another cipher that perplexes scholars.

THE HUNTERS RETURN TO THE CASTLE

The next tapestry—The Hunters Return to the Castle (FIG. 6; acc. 37.80.5; 368.3 x 388.6 cm)—differs from the other six, as it employs the tool of a continuous narrative. In the upper left corner of the tapestry, a group of hunters spear the unicorn as their hounds converge on the beast, destabilizing his legs and gnawing on his haunches. The scene is small within the tapestry— taking up only the upper left quadrant (FIG. 6.1)—but the emotion is palpable, and the suffering of the beast is undeniable as his eyes roll back and blood streams down his body. Directly below the scene, a man blows his horn to indicate the end of the successful chase.

As the eye travels down the tapestry to the lower right corner, a processional of hunters march toward the castle in the background with the unicorn, now dead, slung over the back of a horse (FIG. 6.2). A group of hounds—both greyhounds and running hounds—walk alongside the horse, guided by their masters who clutch multiple leashes. They are curious—some sniffing around on the ground, one eyeing a squirrel in the bush—and will likely be rewarded for their instrumental role in the capture of the beast with fresh meat.24

In the lower center of the tapestry, the hunters then present the beast, tied up by a length of thorny oak, to a noble couple. The couple—believed by Rorimer to be Anne of Brittany and Louis XII—are lavishly dressed.25 The couple, whose identities are lost to us, lead their own group of aristocrats who look with marvel and discuss amongst themselves the magical beast. It has been argued by the Met that the noblewoman is the same virgin in the fifth tapestry, The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden, due to the pattern on her sleeve; her dress is a deep golden though it has discolored over time, and the intricate linework patterns covering the dress are

24 Edward (of Norwich), “Chapter I: The Prologue,” in The Master of the Game: The Oldest English Book on Hunting, Kindle (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013), loc. 402. 25 J.J. Rorimer, “The Unicorn Tapestries Were Made for Anne of Brittany,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Summer 1942, 8. 18

visible. The extent of the damage suffered by the fifth scene, however, has left behind only a small portion of the sleeve, making identification inconclusive.26 Around her neck she wears a necklace with a small cross and a dark headdress hides away all but a small tendril of golden hair. She clutches her rosary and gestures to the unicorn as she looks to her companion. He wears a deep burgundy tunic with red and white striped leggings. Atop his head sits a white cap and around his neck he wears a thick golden chain; he holds the woman’s arm as they look at one another affectionately.

To the right of the seigneur is a young boy who gently pets the hound that has reared up for his attention (FIG. 6.3); the pose looks natural and conveys to the viewer not only the success of the hound’s role in the hunt, but the relationship between hound and master during this period. What looks to be a small greyhound head—the tapestry’s damage makes identification difficult—pokes out from the foliage in the bottom right corner to observe the scene. The castle in the background also shows two people who seem to be looking out from the tower through metal bars; their identities and the reason why they are separate from the lively group in the foreground is also unknown. A moat surrounding the castle features swans, animals well-beloved for their beauty and grace.27

THE UNICORN RESTS IN A GARDEN

After the hunters’ return to the castle bearing the spoils of their hunt, we come to the last of the set, The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (FIG. 7; acc. 37.80.6; 368 x 251.5 cm). The final tapestry—and most certainly the most famous of the set—differs greatly in style and dimensions from the others, prompting some scholars, such as myself, to believe that this tapestry was separately created and may not have been part of the other series of six. At the very least, the stylistic changes could indicate that the tapestry should be read outside of the set’s original narrative, even if it had been woven at the same time or for the same patron.28 Additionally, the unicorn, albeit chained, is lively—far from the harrowing death scene of the previous tapestry, further indicating that the tapestries are either displayed out of their original order, or that the

26 Freeman, “The Unicorn Tapestries,” 209. 27 White, The Book of Beasts, 118-19. 28 Cavallo, Medieval Tapestries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 315. 19

tapestries originate from two separate narratives which have been merged over the course of the artworks’ lifetimes to form the contemporary series viewers see today.

We again find this tapestry covered in the millefleur style with the unicorn in the middle of a fenced-off section of land, tied to what has been identified as a pomegranate tree.29 The fence is short, far too short to pose any actual challenge to the unicorn if he so wished to leave his captivity. Additionally, he is tied to the pomegranate tree—the tree depicted is unlike a natural pomegranate tree, though the fruits it bears are obviously pomegranates—with a delicate gold chain, so delicate in fact, that this too should pose no real threat to his freedom should he so wish it. However, the unicorn seems pleased, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, his tail aloft and dynamic. Across his body are bright red drops; they are interpreted by some scholars to be drops of pomegranate juice from the pomegranates above, while others believe they are blood dripping from his wounds suffered in the hunt. There are no canines present within this tapestry, just as there are no human figures; the only figure is the unicorn.

29 Cavallo, The Unicorn Tapestries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,117. 20

CHAPTER III: PROVENANCE AND OBJECT HISTORIES

The full provenance of the Met’s The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries is unknown. Though they were likely woven at the turn of the sixteenth century, their complete provenance is unknown, leading scholars to speculate about the original owners as well as those who may have owned them afterwards prior to known documentation. Perplexing scholars since the beginning of their study is the repeated cipher “A&E”; its importance cannot be denied due to its prominence, showing up several times in every tapestry. Though Dr. James Rorimer—who served as a curator of the Met and was in a leadership position at the creation of The Cloisters— believed the cipher is the initials of Anne of Brittany, this has been disproven (and will be briefly discussed in Chapter IV).30 As the original patrons are unknown, the Met begins the provenance in the late 17th century with the Rochefoucauld family; the museum reports that the tapestries had been owned by several generations of the Rochefoucauld family since at least 168031 before passing to the collection of John D. Rockefeller Jr. who gifted the set to the Met in 1937.

The La Rochefoucauld Family—one of France’s noblest families—is traceable in Angoumois (a previous county and province of eastern France) to the year 1019. The family’s claim to princely privileges in France ceased in the mid-17th century.32 François VI de La Rochefoucauld, a French classical author and one of the most active rebels of “The Fronde” (17th century civil wars in France) is the first recorded owner of The Hunt of the Unicorn. An unpublished inventory of his possessions from 1680 includes the entry “tapestries representing a hunt of the unicorn in seven pieces;” they adorned the bedroom of his Paris townhouse.33 Roughly five decades later, a 1728 inventory places the tapestries at the La Rochefoucauld château at Verteuil—nearly 250 miles south of Paris—where they remained until they were

30 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 156-63. 31 Margaret Freeman cites an unpublished inventory made in 1680 at the death of Duke Francois VI de La Rochefoucauld listing the Duke’s possessions marking the first recorded owner in Margaret B. Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries (New York: E.P. Dutton, INC., 1976), 220. 32 “La Rochefoucauld Family | French Noble Family,” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/La-Rochefoucauld-family. 33 Freeman, “The Unicorn Tapestries,” 224. 21

absconded with by French revolutionaries in 1793 and used to protect their potatoes and espalier trees from freezing.34

Descendants of the Rochefoucauld family began searching for their family’s lost possessions and buying them back in the 1850s. One day near Verteuil, a peasant’s wife informed Countess Elizabeth de La Rochefoucauld that her husband had some “old curtains” that were covering vegetables in his barn; these turned out to be the Unicorn Tapestries.35 The tapestries were restored and reinstalled in the château’s salon at Verteuil in 1856 (FIG. 8), though no reports regarding the extent of damage the tapestries suffered or the nature of the restoration exist. The 1728 inventory of the château presents the seven tapestries as “almost half-worn” or “having holes in various places,” though not much more is mentioned regarding any specific damage.36 The tapestries stayed within the Rochefoucauld family until 1923 when, with the help of Paris dealer Edouard Larcade, the Count Aimery de La Rochefoucauld sent six of the tapestries to the Anderson Galleries in New York.37 The Count kept the fragmentary fifth tapestry (FIG. 5; acc. 38.51.1 & 38.51.2) as a memento, unbeknownst to his art dealer.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was given the privilege of a private showing at the Anderson Galleries and found himself dazzled at the magnificent tapestries. According to Freeman, Rockefeller stated in a letter to her that, “The effect . . . was so sumptuous that, having known in advance all about them, I merely lingered five minutes to satisfy my eyes with the beauty and richness of their color and design and bought them forthwith.”38 After negotiating the sale in February 1923, Rockefeller created a special room for the cycle in his residence on Fifty-fourth

Street in New York (FIG. 9). The setting focused solely on the tapestries—the only other objects were a French mantlepiece and a set of Italian chairs—so that they could command the full attention of any visitor. With the walls decorated floor to ceiling with the cycle, Rockefeller’s biographer Raymond Fosdick stated that the room was Rockefeller’s most “cherished retreat”

34 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 223. 35 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 223. 36 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 223. 37 “EARLY WEST RECORDS ATTRACT PURCHASERS; Yesterday’s Sales at the Anderson Galleries Totaled More Than $25,000.,” New York Times, November 19, 1922, sec. VII. 38 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 225. 22

and that he would often usher his guests into the room so that he could witness their initial shock at the beauty of the tapestries that he felt when he first saw them.39 In 1928, the tapestries were lent to the Met for the exhibition, French Gothic Tapestries; the exhibition ran May 25th to September 16th with the credit line merely saying “Lent by Friends.”40

After nearly a decade of reveling in their beauty in his home, Rockefeller wrote to the Trustees of the Met in 1934 as they were developing plans for the new complex dedicated to medieval art—The Cloisters. Rockefeller offered to give, among other artwork, the six Gothic tapestries, which he hoped would ultimately and permanently be housed in the proposed Cloisters Museum. He also added the stipulation that he retain life interest in them with actual possession so long as he may live or until he decided otherwise; within a few months, however, Rockefeller changed his mind and chose to relinquish his life interest in the tapestries in March 1935.41 The financier wrote to the then-President of the Met, demanding that as soon as the Cloisters was completed, the set of tapestries should be permanently installed in the room that was designed specifically for them—the Hall of Tapestry.42

When the tapestries arrived at the Met in the spring of 1937, preparation for their display began immediately. The tapestries were washed to remove any dirt, and small repairs were made, such as reweaving small parts of the tapestries where they had been punctured. Overall, the tapestries had been remarkably well-preserved and required few repairs. A major addition to the tapestries, however, was the narrow tapestry-woven border that now surrounds each of the six tapestries.43 The restorations were completed in April of 1938 and the tapestries were subsequently hung in the Tapestry Hall when the new building opened the following month.44

39 Raymond B. Fosdick, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., A Portrait, 1st ed. (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956), 333. 40 Joseph Breck, The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Catalogue of a Loan Exhibition of French Gothic Tapestries: May 26 to September 16 (New York, N.Y.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1928) 19-21. 41 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 227. 42 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 227. 43 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 227. 44 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 227. 23

After their gifting to the museum, staff of the Medieval Department began researching all aspects of the tapestries, trying to decode the symbolism of the vast array of flora and fauna, as well as the cryptic initials woven throughout the cycle. William H. Forsyth, Curator Emeritus of Medieval Art at the Met, contacted Count Gabriel de La Rochefoucauld, the son of Count Aimey, in hopes of accessing family documents that may shed light on the life of the tapestry cycle. Rather than family documents, Count Gabriel nonchalantly mentioned that his father had kept the fragmentary pieces of the fifth tapestry as a kind of “souvenir.” Forsyth was of course overjoyed at this discovery, as the fifth tapestry had not been recorded except in an 1888 disclosure by Barbier de Montault stating that one of the fragments had been made into a portiere (a doorway curtain).45 After much back and forth between the museum and Count Gabriel—who had been reluctant to part with the fragments—the two parties reached an agreement in January 1938. When the fragments arrived at the museum in March of the same year, they were quickly restored to the best of the team’s ability and reunited with the remaining tapestries for the first time in several decades.46

All seven tapestries were exhibited together for the Met’s exhibition Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries, which ran from November 14, 1970 to February 14th of the following year. The exhibition served as the finale of the five major exhibitions organized in celebration of the museum’s centennial.47 Organized by Curator-in-Chief Theodore D. Rousseau, Jr., the exhibition paid homage to the patrons and supporters of the museum; according to Rousseau, the exhibition’s focus was not necessarily of an educational, art historical nature, but rather to “emphasize not only the beauty of each object, but also the different spirits in which man has created art over the millennia.”48

The tapestry set was then exhibited in France at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, located in the Grand Palais in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. From October 27, 1973 to January

45 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 228. 46 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 228. 47 Barbara File, “This Weekend in Met History: November 14,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 12, 2010, https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the- met/features/2010/this-weekend-in-met-history-november-14. 48 File, “This Weekend in Met History”; Theodore Rousseau, “Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 29, no. 3 (November 1970): 129. 24

7, 1974 the set was displayed there as part of the Masterpieces of Tapestry from the 14th to the 16th Century. A month later, they were sent back to the Met, where they held the same exhibition from February 8th to April 21, 1974 at the Cloisters. Interestingly, this exhibition separated the set into two series. Two tapestries—the “first” tapestry, The Hunters Enter the Woods (in this catalogue, titled The Start of the Hunt) along with The Unicorn in Captivity—were deemed to be a part of their own, potentially incomplete, set, while the other five tapestries were assigned to a separate series.49 Due to the stylistic differences between the two tapestries and the remaining five as well as the differences in potential narratives (to be discussed in Chapter IV), it seems just as likely that the artworks did originate from separate tapestry sets, therefore I thoroughly support this decision to exhibition them separately.

The year 1998 was an important one for the tapestry set; the Cloisters faced renovation, prompting the removal and restoration of the tapestries.50 Their linen backing was removed, and the tapestries were bathed in water; in the process, it was discovered that the colors on the back were far richer and more vibrant than the front. It was decided that prior to their return to display in the Cloisters, a series of high-resolution digital photographs were to be taken of the front and back of the set using a customized scanning device suspending a linear array scan camera and lighting over the delicate fabric. Both sides of each tapestry were photographed in segments of nine square feet; these segments were then “stitched” together by merging the massive stores of data by the Russian mathematician brothers, David and Gregory Chudnovsky.51 Newly cleaned and digitally catalogued, the set was exhibited under The Unicorn Tapestries from July 1st to September 6th that same year. The fragments of the tapestry featuring the unicorn and the maiden were analyzed on their own again in 2004. Upon completion of the survey, the fragile areas were reinforced by the Met’s textile conservation team before they remounted the fragments on a

49 Theodore Rousseau, Masterpieces of Tapestry from the Fourteenth to the Sixteenth Century (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974), 69-77. 50 Katherin Colburn, “Three Fragments of the Mystic Capture of the Unicorn Tapestry,” The Metropolitan Museum Journal 45 (2010): 97. 51 Profile: Brothers Chudnovsky, NOVE: Science Now (PBS, 2005), https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/profile-brothers-chudnovsky/. 25

handwoven fabric complementary to the original woven texture and reinstalled them with the six other tapestries.52

The set’s most recent exhibition occurred from May 14th to August 18th, 2013. Including around forty diverse artworks of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, the exhibition—Search for the Unicorn: An Exhibition in Honor of the Cloisters’ 75th Anniversary—focused on the theme of the unicorn in celebration of the Cloisters’ founding anniversary. The Hunt of the Unicorn set served as the central focus of the exhibition, presented “as the finest expression of a subject treated widely in both European art and science, from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance.”53 The Cloisters even went so far as to cultivate a display of planted and potted flowers in the Bonnefont Garden for the exhibition’s opening weeks—all species were taken from recognizable plants seen in the tapestry set.54

In all the years the Met has owned the Unicorn Tapestries, they have only been removed from display once, during World War II, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. They were packed away and sent out of New York City until their return to The Cloisters in time for Easter in 1944.55

This recording of the cycle’s provenance illustrates that the order of the series—and to be sure, whether the cycle is a full series to begin with—is a shaky assumption to be made. We know a great deal about the modern exhibition, publication, and conservation history of the tapestries once they reached the Met, but little is known of their critical early history. We are still unaware of for whom they were made; how the Rochefoucauld family came to own them; what their original purpose was; who the figures within the tapestries are. My focus here is not to answer these questions—pressing and fascinating though they may be—but rather to focus on what is present within the tapestries and what they can tell us now with the information we have.

52 Colburn, “Three Fragments of the Mystic Capture of the Unicorn Tapestry, 97.” 53 “Exhibition on Unicorns in Medieval and Renaissance Art Marks 75th Anniversary of The Cloisters May 15–August 18, 2013 | The Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Met Museum, April 1, 2013, https://www.metmuseum.org/press/exhibitions/2013/search-for-the-unicorn. 54 “Exhibition on Unicorns in Medieval and Renaissance Art Marks 75th Anniversary of The Cloisters May 15–August 18, 2013 | The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” 55 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 228. 26

CHAPTER IV: PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP CONCERNING THE INTERPRETATIONS OF THE HUNT

OF THE UNICORN TAPESTRIES

The subject matter of The Hunt of the Unicorn perplexes scholars to this day, with the predominant interpretive theories being that the tapestries are either a narrative of courtly love or, as the Met asserts, an allegory of Christ’s Passion. There was also a third theory that the tapestries were woven in celebration of a marriage. The marriage narrative derives from research done by Dr. Rorimer as he attributed the “A&E” initials throughout to Anne of Brittany,56 however, this theory—which was already rather questionable—was disproved by Margaret Freeman in her 1976 work on the Unicorn Tapestries.57

COURTLY LOVE

“Courtly love” refers to a literary genre of poetry of the High Middle Ages that usually elevated the position of women in society as well as established motifs of the romance genre recognizable to our contemporary understanding. A matter of critical debate, courtly love poetry often featured a usually inaccessible lady who became the object of some nobleman’s or knight’s devotion, service, and self-sacrifice; this literary genre effectively began the tradition of woman as defined, developed individuals rather than secondary characters.58 Because the woman was deemed inaccessible, the love gestures had to remain discreet and delicate.59 Scholars are still debating whether the act of courtly love ever came to fruition, or if it was merely a literary conceit.

56 J.J. Rorimer, “The Unicorn Tapestries Were Made for Anne of Brittany,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Summer 1942, 7–20. 57 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries. 58 Herbert Moller, “The Meaning of Courtly Love,” The Journal of American Folklore 73, no. 287 (1960): 40. 59 Dominic Head, The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (Cambridge University Press, 2006), 249. 27

The poetry genre is dated to 12th-century southern France through the work of troubadours, the most famous being William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (1071-1127 CE).60 Grandfather to the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1122-1205 CE), William began writing a new kind of poetry that praised women and romantic love; the sensual poetry—the genre did not earn the title of “courtly love” until sometime after its creation—was unlike any other literature previously produced in western Europe.61

Troubadours adopted feudalist terminology, declaring themselves a vassal of the lady and addressing her as midons (my lady); this codified language held two benefits: the poet employed the use of a code name so as to avoid revealing the name of his lady, while simultaneously flattering her by addressing her as a lord.62 The ideal lady would be one of high status who tended to the affairs of her house when her husband was away—perhaps even when he was home. This new genre of love focused on romantic bonds not forged through marriages based on wealth or family history, but rather, on character actions such as devotion, gallantry, and piety.63

By the end of the 12th century, Andreas Capellanus’ work De amore (Concerning Love) had codified the rules of love, listing such restrictions as, “Marriage is no real excuse for not loving”; “He who is not jealous cannot love”; “He who suffers from an excess of passion is not suited to love”; and other rules that would guide the literary agents and—if courtly love was an actual practice—guide the people of the day in their romantic engagements.64

The interpretation, however, relies heavily on merely two of the tapestries in the set. The idea that the set—keeping in mind that the set could be out of order, missing tapestries, or multiple sets compiled together—represents courtly love rests on the potential interpretations of

The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden (FIG. 5; acc. 38.51.1 & 38.51.2; 168.9 x 64.8 cm & 198.1 x

64.8 cm) and The Unicorn Rests in the Garden (FIG. 7; acc. 37.80.6; 368 x 251.5 cm).

60 Moller, “The Meaning of Courtly Love,” 39. 61 Head, The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English, 250. 62 Head, The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English, 250. 63 Head, The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English, 250. 64 “De Amore (1184-86) -- A Treatise on Courtly Love (Excerpts),” Harvard’s Geoffrey Chaucer Website, accessed March 1, 2021, https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/de-amore- 1184-86-treatise-courtly-love-excerpts. 28

According to pagan belief and medieval bestiaries, the unicorn, albeit a fierce beast, can be tamed by a virginal maiden.65 In his article on interpreting unicorns in art, Elmer Suhr cited the work of Odell Shepard and Aeschylus’s play Agamemnon to explain the myth of the virginal taming of the beast, specifically citing a reference to the virginal goddess Artemis as the mistress of the animals.66 As such, the fifth tapestry has been read as the unicorn submitting to a virgin with her female companion signaling to the hunter crouched in the woods. Freeman noted that medieval poets connected the taming of the unicorn to subjugation and subsequent devotion of love, thereby posting that the taming of the unicorn—shown in The Unicorn Rests in the Garden

(FIG. 7)—is symbolic of the secular lover who was enchained by the virgin.67 The golden chain that holds the unicorn in his enclosure was believed by Freeman to represent the unity of marriage, the unicorn symbolizing the lover-bridegroom entrapped by his lady.68

Freeman also points to the inclusion of the pomegranate tree, a fruit known in many cultures as a symbol of fertility and—specifically in the west—associated with Persephone, the Greek goddess of the renewal of spring. The Greek myth of Hades kidnapping Persephone culminates in him tricking her into eating a few pomegranate seeds, forcing her to stay in the Underworld as his bride for part of the year; thus, the pomegranate becomes the symbol for the indissolubility of marriage.69 Red marks cover the unicorn’s body are interpreted in this case as juice from the bursting pomegranates just above him. Upon closer inspection, however, the

marks look almost like bite marks (FIG. 7.1); this seems entirely plausible due to the use of the canines in the hunt.

This interpretation is one that I accept more readily than Christ’s Passion. The pagan imagery—the pomegranates, the use of the golden chain, the enclosed garden—is clear. Additionally, the very fact that The Unicorn Rests in the Garden could have originated from a separate cycle—therefore representing a different narrative—certainly gives me pause in fully denouncing the courtly love narrative. The purpose of this research is not to definitively state the

65 Suhr, “An Interpretation of the Unicorn,” 92-3; White, The Book of Beasts, 21. 66 Suhr, “An Interpretation of the Unicorn,” 92. 67 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 53. 68 Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries, 53. 69 Patricia Langley, “Why a Pomegranate?,” BMJ: British Medical Journal 321, no. 7269 (November 4, 2000): 1153–54. 29

narrative of the tapestry is one or another, but rather to focus on what we know is present in the tapestry.

AS AN ALLEGORY FOR CHRIST’S PASSION

The unicorn acting as a stand-in for Christ has been proposed in other secondary scholarship, stemming from the same sources and earlier arguments. Upon further research, the Physiologus (The Naturalist)—the 2nd-century predecessor and foundation of medieval bestiaries—cites several biblical verses regarding the unicorn as a reference for Christ. However, it seems the original translation references a rhinoceros with some translations as “wild ox.”70 Additionally, some of the verses seem to make bold claims, such as using John 10:30— “I and the Father are one”—to reference the single horn of the unicorn.

The 1346 manual Ars Compendi Sermonés (The Art of Composing Sermons) by Benedictine monk Ranulf Higden briefly references Christ as a unicorn, however, he uses other symbols as stand-ins, such as an elephant, rose, rock, lily, and shepherd. 71 Additionally, the manual would have been a reference work for clergymen, as it includes attributes deemed desirable or necessary in a preacher, methods for gaining and keeping the attention of the audience, and even making suggestions for creating rhythmic patterns of prose;72 it seems unlikely that nobility would have read such manuals and, since it was mentioned so briefly in a list of several other metaphors, it is unlikely clergy would have clung to the specific reference of the unicorn.

There are further reasons I believe the allegory of Christ’s Passion is not the narrative in the tapestries; the idea that Christ is represented by the unicorn in this case makes very little sense when one examines the scenes in relation to story of Christ’s Passion. For instance, the fourth tapestry (FIG. 4; acc. 37.80.4; 368.3 x 401.3 cm) depicting the unicorn defending himself is blatantly antithetical to Christ’s actions as recorded in the gospel of Luke in the Christian

70 Michael J. Curley, trans., Physiologus: A Medieval Book of Nature Lore (University of Chicago Press, 2009), 51, 86-7. 71 Ranulf Higden, Ars Compendi Sermones, trans. Margaret Jennings and Sally A. Wilson (Paris - Leuven - Dudley, MA: Peeters, 2003), 52. 72 Higden, Ars Compendi Sermones. 30

Bible. After he is betrayed by Judas and his disciples realize the horror of what was to come, they began to fight, resulting in one disciple cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Rather than engaging in the fight, Christ did not allow the bloodshed to continue and even heals the servant’s ear.73 As a prophet teaching pacifism and who went to his death without a struggle, it seems unlikely that the unicorn fighting back against its attackers is representative of Christ.

Animals other than the unicorn are present in the set as well, most notably in the tapestries The Unicorn Purifies the Water (FIG. 2; acc. 37.80.2; 368.3 x 378.5cm) and The

Unicorn Crosses the Stream (FIG. 3; acc. 37.80.3; 328.3 x 426.7 cm). In the foreground of the second tapestry (FIG. 2), one can find a lion, panther, hyena, stag, hares, (potentially) a weasel, and a variety of birds, all awaiting the purification eagerly. Unsurprisingly, many animals depicted seem to also serve as symbols of Christ, a persistent motif of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. For instance, stags – one being positioned to the right of the fountain – were considered symbols of Christ, as they both trample and destroy the devil.74 Additionally, stags were believed to cross streams in a single file, with the horns of one stag resting on the rear of the stag in front of him.75 When the lead stag grows tired, it moves to the back to rest. Just as stags crossing the river aid one another, so too should Christians who are crossing from the worldly life to the spiritual aid others who grow weak and tired.

The lion – two of which are located to the left of the fountain – was considered the “prince of all animals” in medieval bestiaries.76 In bestiaries this is not the only link to Christ as the “King of Kings”; it was believed that lions produced litters of three who are born dead and lay lifeless for three days until the father breathes into their faces and they are given new life, symbolic of Christ arising after three days.77 The panther is another symbol for Christ in medieval bestiaries; they were believed to sleep for three days after eating, and their multicolored coat symbolized the omnipotent Christ.78 The bestiaries deemed the pelican as yet

73 Luke 22: 47-51. 74 White, The Book of Beasts, 37. 75 J.L. Schrader, “A Medieval Bestiary,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 44, no. 1 (1986): 20. 76 White, The Book of Beasts, 7. 77 Schrader, “A Medieval Bestiary”, 12. 78 White, The Book of Beasts, 15. 31 another symbol of Christ, writing that pelicans strike and kill their children, only for the mother to pierce her breast three days later, allowing her blood to resurrect their dead bodies.79 While these allegories are taken from medieval bestiaries, exotic animals were collected by the nobility as markers of wealth, including among the French nobility who kept lions in Paris. For example, Philip the Good of Burgundy owned four lions at his court in Ghent in 1420, with records indicating that his son, Charles the Bold, paid for his own lion’s upkeep in 1476.80 This is all to say that the idea that the unicorn would serve as a figure for Christ while no other animal could be speculative, especially considering the discrepancies in the story of Christ’s passion versus what is shown in the scenes of each tapestry.

The analyses of the two most widely accepted interpretations of the tapestry set further illustrate how little is known of the tapestries. The questions answered beget even more questions, forcing scholars into endless cycles of interpretation. Although I am fascinated by what is lost and what the original artistic intent and reception was, this is far too big a topic to wrestle with here; rather, I will attempt to further contextualize the set in Chapter VI through the creation of text panels focusing on the 15th-century aristocratic hunt and the importance of the human-canine relationship, which will be discussed in the next chapter.

79 White, The Book of Beasts, 132. 80 Charles D. Cuttler, “Exotics in Post-Medieval European Art: Giraffes and Centaurs,” Artibus et Historiae 12, no. 23 (1991): 161. 32

CHAPTER V: THE HUMAN-CANINE RELATIONSHIP WITHIN THE HUNT OF THE UNICORN

In this research project my purpose is not to refute the main interpretations proposed in the past for The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries, though I believe they focus too heavily on Christian symbolism and the courtly love narrative. Rather, I intend to redirect the dialogue about the tapestry set, focusing on the human-canine relationship depicted. After consulting many texts regarding anthrozoology and the human-animal relationship throughout history, it seems an oversight to ignore such a rich visual discourse in the tapestries in lieu of the potential aforementioned theories. Humans and canines have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship for thousands of years, arguably more than any other domesticated animal. Interestingly, canine roles in relation to humans in the present day is not so dissimilar to that of their medieval and Renaissance counterparts. During the Middle Ages in Europe, dogs performed many of the same services they offer humans today, such as guard dog, herding dog, hunting dog, and companion, as well as taking on other chores as “working dogs” such as turn-spit, water-drawers, and messengers.81

Although dogs such as those in The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestry set were considered more “working animals” than pets in the Middle Ages, they were still highly valued and vital to the hunt, featuring prominently in the popular medieval literary genre of courtly love romances.82 Certain breeds such as the greyhound served as important status symbols. Dogs aided humans in a multitude of ways, but most importantly during the period, hunters and breeders focused on creating the best hunting dogs that would fetch the best price. Venery – the practice of hunting with dogs – became the favorite sport of aristocracy in the later Middle Ages. The practice allowed nobles a way to prevent the sin of idleness, exercise both the body and the

81 Jeffrey L. Singman, The Middle Ages: Everyday Life in Medieval Europe (NY: Sterling, 2013), 98. 82 It should be noted that not every canine breed served as a working animal. Many breeds were kept merely as companions and spoiled by their owners much like they are today, however, as this research focuses solely on hunting dogs, I am referencing breeds mentioned in Phébus’ work, such as greyhounds, alaunts, etc. as well as mixed-breed animals owned by the lower classes. Kathleen Walker-Meikle, Medieval Dogs (London, UK: British Library, 2013). 33 mind, as well as learn and practice skills for warfare and display knightly virtues during times of peace.83 Many illuminated manuscripts of the 12th to 15th centuries reveal the evolution and partnership between humans and canines. Central to the purpose of this research, the dogs most certainly served as noblemen’s essential allies within venery, prompting the aristocracy to treat their dogs with more care and devotion.

This devotion to hunting dogs was likely partly inspired by the late 14th-century publication of Gaston Phébus’ Livre de chasse (Book of Hunting). In the opening biographical statement of Phébus’ book, he introduces himself, “Je Gaston, par la grace de Dieu, surnommé Febus, comte de Foys, seigneur de Bearn, qui tout mon temps me suis delité par espicial en trois choses, l'une est en armes, l'autre est en amours, and l'autre si est en chasce.”84 (I am Gaston, by the grace of God, surnamed Febus, count of Foix, lord of Bearn, who for my entire life have delighted in particular in three things: one is in arms, another is in love, and the other is in the hunt.) In summarizing his three major passions within his hunting manuscripts—later adapted into English two decades after its original publication by Edward of Norwich, the second Duke of York—Phébus leaves “arms” and “love” to other authors, yet declares himself the master regarding hunting, specifically, venery, the practice of hunting with hounds.

Phébus is also said to have bred hunting dogs and kept a kennel of 1,600 canines.85 I found no hard evidence to back the claim of the multitude of dogs and am reluctant to deem it the irrefutable truth. Regardless, the fact that the rumor exists suggests that Phébus’ loyalty and care towards his canines were unconditional. Forty-six copies of Phébus’ manuscript survive, many with glorious illuminations that detail quarry (FIG. 10), hunting dog breeds (FIG. 11 and

83 Edward (of Norwich), The Master of the Game: The Oldest English Book on Hunting, ed. William Adolph Baillie-Grohman and Florence Nickalls Baillie-Grohman (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007), 50. 84 Gaston III (count of Foix) Phébus, “Phébus, des Déduits de la chasse des bêtes sauvages et des oiseaux de proie (Le Livre de Chasse)” (World Digital Library, 1507), https://www.wdl.org/en/item/14787/. My translation. 85 Dimitrova’s and Willard’s articles are cited for their specific reference to the rumor, however, this rumor is also mentioned in publications about Phébus’ work for the general public. Kate Dimitrova, “Class, Sex, and the Other: The Representation of Peasants in a Set of Late Medieval Tapestries,” Viator 38, no. 2 (2007): 87, https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VIATOR.2.302526; Charity Cannon Willard, “Le Bon Chien Souillard,” Reinardus, Yearbook of the International Reynard Society 2, no. 1 (January 1989): 207, https://doi.org/10.1075/rein.2.18wil. 34

12), as well as how to best care for one’s hunting dog with foot baths and ear exams (FIG. 13). Additionally, he argued for a large kennel where dogs could safely roam during harsh seasons and advocated for positive reinforcement of the animals. He felt that hunters should speak to dogs gently, calling them “friend,” and if a dog failed to follow a verbal comment, blame was placed on the dog’s owner, who needed to further study his dog’s language.86 His passion and love of dogs is evident in his book as he drew heavily upon his personal experiences and observations. Surely his goal was to uphold the dog as a positive companion for man.

Phébus also outlines the five best canine breeds for hunting, beginning with alaunts, a now extinct breed that was large and stocky, similar to its modern descendant the bulldog. As alaunts were large, strong, and aggressive, they are often depicted wearing muzzles.87 Running hounds, with their keen nose, were best suited for tracking quarry and are depicted with long ears and colorful coats; Phébus so admired the running hounds in particular that he claimed them to be more virtuous than any other beast.88 The smaller running hounds were also known to be called kenettes, a diminutive form of the Norman-French kenet, and may have been beagles, or the very least, their ancestor.89 Spaniels were often only used for small game such as rabbits and birds, and are shown with a large head and strong body.90 Mastiffs, with their large size, could be used for large game, however Phébus recommended them as somewhat of a last resort.91 Greyhounds, with their thin physique and speed, were fit for any hunt and any game; they were often depicted with colorful, decorative collars, as they were associated with nobility and refinement.92 It is this breed—as well as hounds—that features so prominently in the Unicorn

Tapestries. As the supposed final tapestry, The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (FIG. 7) has no human or canine figures, it will be left out of this discussion. It should be noted again, however, that the

86 Edward (of Norwich), The Master of the Game, 229-230. 87 Hannele Klemettila, Animals and Hunters in the Late Middle Ages: Evidence from the BnF MS Fr. 616 of the Livre de Chasse by Gaston Febus, vol. 9 (Taylor & Francis Group, 2015), 100-02. 88 Edward (of Norwich), The Master of the Game, 109-10. 89 Edward (of Norwich), The Master of the Game, 223 & 235. 90 Edward (of Norwich), The Master of the Game, 120. 91 Edward (of Norwich), The Master of the Game, 122. 92 Edward (of Norwich), The Master of the Game, 122; Klemettila, Animals and Hunters in the Late Middle Ages, 102-03. 35

lack of figures in the tapestry could indicate that the tapestry was originally woven for a separate set or outside of the hunting narrative.

It should be noted that Phébus was not the only author interested in teaching nobility the benefits and optimal techniques of venery. For example, William Twiti, a huntsman for King Edward II (1284-1327) originally composed L’Art de vénerie in Anglo-Norman French, likely in 1327; it is considered the first work on hunting to be written in England. The text was copied in the mid-15th-century by John Porter, M.P. of Worcester, England; this Middle English translation deviated significantly from Twiti’s original.93 I believe, however, that due to the chronological proximity and the language of the original manuscript, there may be a connection to Phébus’ Livre de chasse. Additionally, Phébus’s work could have also inspired George Turbervile’s 1576 Booke of Hunting. In the late 16th century, Edward of Norwich had already translated Phébus’ Livre de chasse into English, potentially inspiring Turbervile’s work; while I understand the speculation within this statement, the Booke of Hunting utilizes the same chapter layout as Phébus’ work, following the hound breeds, notes on prey, hunting tactics, and such topics as care tasks required of their human owners.94

Beginning in The Hunters Enter the Woods (FIG. 1), the camaraderie between the human and canine figures is evident. The eagerness of the hunting party is evident as they talk amongst themselves while another figure, likely after spotting the quarry, excitedly waves them into the woods. A pair of running hounds, with their keen noses, lead the group, while the greyhounds in the foreground strain against their collar, one reared up as though already eager to chase the unicorn.

While obviously focusing on the unicorn’s purification, The Unicorn Purifies the Water contains an interesting revelation; the dogs are separate from the various other animals present in the scene. The dogs sit patiently next to their masters outside of the bush—save for the one

93 “The Craft of Venery. - YCBA Collections Search,” accessed May 3, 2021, https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/orbis:9469461. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, I am unable to visit the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut, where the original manuscript resides. 94 George Turbervile, Turbervile’s Booke of Hunting, 1576 ([Oxford]: Clarendon Press; New York: [Oxford University Press], 1908), http://archive.org/details/turbervilesbook00turb. 36

hound to the far left that stretches out to sniff the unicorn (FIG. 2.2)—while the other animals are either wholly separated by the stream, or inside the half-circle of foliage. While this is a simple observation, the physical separation of the canines from other animals seems to imply their domestication has separated them from their wild brethren and they now align with their human masters through their mutually beneficial companionship. Furthermore, a dog looks out to the viewer on the right side (FIG. 2.1), creating a link between the canines within tapestry and the human viewer. The Unicorn Crosses a Stream furthers exemplifies the human-canine relationship, as this is the moment where both parties must actively work to fulfill their roles to ensure a successful hunt. The dogs expertly corral the unicorn while their human masters attempt to kill him.

The linking of the two parties is clear once again in The Unicorn Defends Himself; not only is this the second tapestry where human and canine figures fulfill their hunting roles—the humans stab use their spears while the dogs keep the unicorn at bay—but their injuries, and implications of injuries, mirror one another. In defending himself, the unicorn fatally stabs his horn into the belly of a greyhound; simultaneously, his back legs kick out in an attempt to strike the hunter behind him. Clearly much is at stake for both species in this fight. The fragmentary tapestry, The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden, leaves much of the scene to the imagination. Only a handful of figures can be seen in the remaining fabric, but it is clear that the dogs are present, both at the side of the hunter who blows his horn and those that bite at the unicorn as he presumably lies in the maiden’s lap. The hunter sounding his horn in the background is not unlike a hunter in an illumination in the Livre de la Chasse Ms. 27 at the J. Paul Getty Museum

(FIG. 15); both the hunter of the tapestry and the manuscript hide in wooded areas and blow the horn while their hounds attack their prey.

The Hunters Returns to the Castle, as stated in Chapter II, features two separate scenes of the hunter’s killing blow to the unicorn and the animal’s body being carried to the castle in the background. The hounds are again depicted in the killing scene as fiercely accompanying their masters to achieve the successful hunt. Many figures populate this scene, but the role of the canines and their eagerness for the curée—the ceremony of giving the hounds their reward—is

37 clear.95 As they walk beside the body of the unicorn carried by a horse, they are likely eager for their share of the spoils. After a successful hunt, hunters rewarded their dogs with piece of the carcass so as to associate their effort with reward; originally, the hounds were given the hide, or cuir, of the stag, which the unicorn serves as a stand in for (FIG. 14).96 Additionally, the mutually respectful relationship between humans and canines is best illustrated in this tapestry; at the bottom right corner, a dog is reaching up to his owner, who gives him a gentle scratch (FIG. 6.3). This display of affection towards his hunting hound is prescribed by Phébus in his Livre de Chasse; an illumination within MS 616 at the Bibliotéque Nationale de France in Paris shows care tasks for which Phébus deemed owners responsible (FIG. 13). In the center of the scene, a man in a blue garment and red turban gently scratches his dog’s ears affectionately—the same gesture as the young hunter and his hound within The Hunters Return.

As mentioned above, the dogs shown in the Unicorn Tapestries are widely shown wearing broad leather collars inscribed with florals and initials; the collars have been variously interpreted as either representing the owners, the dogs, or as a kind of label for the family for whom the tapestries were originally woven. Some dogs are restrained, but the set makes clear that dogs were integral to the hunt, and the action depicted in the tapestries realistically depicts the role hunting dogs played. The collaboration between the canines and humans to achieve a successful hunt is obvious, as the two work together in multiple tapestries to attack and subdue their quarry. This relationship served as an integral tool to a successful hunt, emphasized by Phébus’ stance that dogs should be treated with respect and positive reinforcement only and the prominent companionship illustrated in the tapestry set.

95 Edward (of Norwich), The Master of the Game, 208. 96 Edward (of Norwich), The Master of the Game, 208. 38

CHAPTER VI: HYPOTHETICAL TEXT PANELS FOR THE HUNT OF THE UNICORN FOCUSED ON

15TH-CENTURY ARISTOCRATIC HUNTING AND THE HUMAN-CANINE RELATIONSHIP

THE MET’S TEXT AND AUDIO GUIDES FOR THE HUNT OF THE UNICORN TAPESTRY SET

As stated, The Hunt of the Unicorn is interpreted by the Met as an allegory of Christ’s Passion. Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been unable to go to the Cloisters myself to see the labels and text panels for the set. Instead, this research uses the information found on the official Met webpages for each tapestry in the set, including readable text and a short clip from the museum’s audio guide.97 While the readable text may not be available to the physical museum goer—or may be different than that displayed in the Cloisters—the Met’s digital text serves as important contextualization for the digital museum visitor, therefore I feel this to be an appropriate critique.

The readable text of The Hunters Enter the Woods (FIG. 1) serves as an introduction to the entire tapestry set, beginning with the myth of the unicorn in Greece, then a brief discussion of the set’s provenance that mentions only the Rochefoucauld family, and ending with a short description of the scene focusing specifically on the flora and the cipher “A&E”. The audio guide focuses mostly on the identifiable flora of the tapestry set pointing out a few species that are grown in the gardens of the Cloisters. Additionally, the listener discovers that a chemical analysis of the threads revealed three vegetable dyes were used from weld, madder, and woad, yielding the primary colors that were blended to create the brightly hued florals and costuming of the human figures.98

For the second tapestry, The Unicorn Purifies Water (FIG. 2), the readable text focuses on the animals in the foreground that wait for the purified water. It also directs the reader's attention

97 See URL links cited for each tapestry. 98 A discussion of the vegetal dyes used and the color preservation process can be further investigated in Colburn, “Three Fragments of the Mystic Capture of the Unicorn Tapestry”; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “The Hunters Enter the Woods (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467637. 39

to plants near the stream such as sage, pot marigolds, and oranges which were prescribed by medieval herbalists as antidotes to poisoning.99 The audio guide gives the listener the same information and clarifies that the unicorn cannot be disturbed while performing a magical act,

before directing the listener to The Unicorn Crosses a Stream (FIG. 3). For this tapestry, the text cannot help but mention the canines. It describes the scene as “one filled with chaos and commotion,” highlighting the ferocity of the battle.100 It mentions the dogs, but only to affirm that their role in scouting, chasing, and attacking the quarry was typical practice. The audio guide discusses the chaotic composition and directs the visitor the cipher “F&R,” prompting a brief object history. It then guides the viewer to the narwhal tusk displayed next to the tapestry, informing the listener that after their introduction to Europe in the 11th century, they were quickly marketed as unicorn tusks and sold for their medicinal properties.101

For The Unicorn Defends Himself (FIG. 4), the readable text points out how the human figures hold the unicorn at bay, ignoring the dogs also baying at the creature, and focuses instead on the unicorn fatally wounding the greyhound with his horn. The label also calls the viewer’s attention to the figure’s clothing, briefly explaining that they are garbed in typical turn-of-the- 16th-century fashion; the detailed and convincing representation of the various clothing textures is hailed as a great accomplishment of the weavers. The horn-blowing hunter at the lower left is pointed out for the text on his scabbard, reading “AVE REGINA C[OELI]” (“Hail, Queen of the Heavens”), implying that the hunter is the archangel, Gabriel. This text repeats in the audio guide for The Hunters Enter the Woods, explaining the dyes used and including a brief description of the loom-weaving process. The audio guide for The Unicorn Defends Himself, however, prepares the viewer for the fragmentary tapestry by explaining the legend that the unicorn could only be

99 Rachel Hajar, “The Air of History (Part II): Medicine in the Middle Ages,” Heart Views 13, no. 4 (October 2012): 160, https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-705X.105744; “The Unicorn Purifies Water (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467638. 100 “The Unicorn Crosses a Stream (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven)”, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467639. 101 “The Unicorn Crosses a Stream (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven).” 40 subdued by a virginal maiden. It further highlights the hunter they believe to be Gabriel, then directs the listener to the fragmentary tapestry.102

There is little to analyze in The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden (FIG. 5) compared to other tapestries in the set. The readable text for this tapestry briefly describes the scene, focusing on the docility of the unicorn before explaining the damage incurred after the tapestries were looted in 1793.103 Unfortunately, there is no audio guide available for this tapestry on the Met’s official webpage.

The readable text for The Hunters Return to the Castle (FIG. 6) explains to the viewer the separate scenes that comprise the image. It serves as a factual description of what is occurring in the scene, but also briefly explains that, in certain contexts, the unicorn is employed as an allegory for Christ; they support this by pointing out the holly tree that they claim is often linked to Christ’s passion—though with no explanation why—and the thorny oak branches that surround the unicorn’s neck, which they argue may allude to the Crown of Thorns.104 The audio guide repeats this information, and points out a third motif—the huntsman blowing his horn in the left side of the tapestry (FIG. 6.1). The guide claims that the blood of the unicorn pours from his wound into the hunting horn, therefore symbolizing the blood of Christ flowing into a chalice. However, the link seems coincidental, as the two scenes do not have a distinct separation and the perspective makes it seem as though the huntsman would be too far away from the unicorn to catch any of the beast’s blood. It ends with questions for the listener, with many regarding the aristocratic couple: who they are; if they are the original patrons; if they are symbolic of Mary and John receiving the body of Christ; if they are the commissioners of the hunt, among others.

102 “The Unicorn Defends Himself (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467640. 103 “The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467653. 104 “The Hunters Return to the Castle (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467641. 41

The final tapestry the visitor is directed to, The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (FIG. 7), boasts nearly 230 words of readable text, far more than any of the other six. Undoubtedly, the prominence of this tapestry ensures that it is likely the first that visitors look at. Therefore, the text includes a brief description of the seven-tapestry set—its narrative, the medium, and the weaving technique. The text recognizes that this tapestry may have been created as a single tapestry rather than within a series, claiming that the unicorn represents the “beloved tamed”—a reference to courtly love.105 This is further emphasized by golden chain, the pomegranate—an iconographic symbol of fertility—and the enclosed, but rather short, fence that the unicorn could easily hop over, if he so desired.

In contradiction to the text for The Hunters Return to the Castle, this text asserts that the red drops on the unicorn do not represent blood, but rather are pomegranate juice; a claim that the drops derive from the stigmata would have made more sense given their narrative. Furthermore, other plants associated with fertility and marriage, such as the wild orchid, thistle, and bistort—a perennial plant which roots produce an astringent used in medieval medicines106—are included in the millefleur background but not mentioned in the text. The audio guide repeats this information, also mentioning the potential stigmata, but focusing heavily on the courtly love theme.107 It is in this tapestry that I agree with the Met’s courtly love contextualization, especially given that this tapestry is likely a stand-alone image, rather than part of a narrative series. The audio guide offers the theory that this could be the conclusion of a successful hunt; however, if this were part of the hunting narrative, the unicorn would have to be resurrected, but this seems unlikely since the Met does not argue this reading related to Christ’s Passion.

105 “The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven),” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467642. 106 Karin Leonhard, “Painted Poison: Venomous Beasts, Herbs, Gems, and Baroque Colour Theory,” Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 61 (2011): 114–47. 107 “The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (from the Unicorn Tapestries) | French (Cartoon)/South Netherlandish (Woven).” 42

AUTHOR’S HYPOTHETICAL TEXT PANELS REGARDING THE ARISTOCRATIC HUNT AND THE

HUMAN-CANINE RELATIONSHIP

After reading through the texts and listening to the audio guides offered by the Met’s website, I was left with questions about the hunt: how accurately is the hunt portrayed in this set? What was important to hunters of this period? What sources did they learn from and how did they put it into practice? This led me to focus on potentially the most important tool of the 15th century hunter—his canine. More specifically, I wanted to focus on the mutually beneficial and respectful relationship between the dog and his master. As the hunt and canines are only briefly mentioned in the readable text and audio guides, I offer two hypothetical text panels that I believe may better contextualize the hunting narrative within the set: one for 15th-century aristocratic hunting, and the other on the human-canine relationship. These text panels are not written in the hopes of replacing the labels and guides already offered by the Met, but rather, to further contextualize the tapestry set by focusing on what we can clearly see is present without question within the imagery—the hunters and their partnership with their dogs.

I also write these panels keeping in mind curator Judy Rand’s advice from her 2010 presentation Adventures in Label Land. Over the past thirty years, Rand has worked on over 100 exhibitions across the country, beginning her career’s work on label efficacy at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where she created and ran the Exhibit Research and Development Department, responsible for exhibit planning, development, label writing, and production. Additionally, she and her team created supplemental materials such as books, curriculum materials, scripts, and programs. Throughout her career, dozens of museums ranging from aquariums to natural history museums to botanical gardens have asked for her help regarding their exhibition planning and label systems. I believe, therefore, she is an appropriate resource regarding labels and text panels.108

Rand presented Adventures in Label Land at the One Size Fits All? workshop for museum professionals held by the USS Constitution Museum in Boston, MA as part of the Family Learning Forum, an ongoing project of the museum to encourage museum professionals to

108 Information regarding her career is taken from Judy Rand’s Curriculum Vitae. 43 explore family learning.109 Her presentation clearly explains what she finds to be the best qualities of labels and exhibition designs that ensures the visitor gets as much out of the museum experience as they can. The rules she offers museum professionals in her presentation will guide how I write text panels for The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries.

At the beginning of her time at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Rand—assigned to write a label for a beloved beluga whale, Belinda—experienced disappointment when she noticed many visitors breezing right past the label on which she had worked so hard. This prompted her to begin a cross-country tour of museums that enabled her to research what made up “good” and “bad” labels. Rand identified three major pitfalls characteristic of “bad” labels: (1) labels that were “foggy” used too much passive voice, hiding the actor in the sentence and creating a blasé voice; (2) labels that were “flabby” used too much academic jargon, little to no action words, and bored and confused readers; (3) lengthy labels exhausted visitors, and if they bothered to read them, would usually stop halfway through and move on through the exhibit.110 Labels should be kept short, about fifty words for small labels, and a hundred-fifty for large text panels; these panels are often skipped over in museums dedicated to natural history or aquariums, but Rand explains the caveat that in art museums, the large panels are always read in full by visitors—a side effect of the “information diet” forced on the visitors by the minimal tombstone labels.111

Rand prompts museum professionals to consider the “ideal companion” when writing labels, panels, and other supplemental materials. This ideal companion would have the perfect voice and tone; they would be friendly and warm; they would have the answers to any question you may have; most importantly, Rand points out, the ideal companion knows when to be quiet and let you immerse yourself in the exhibition.112 Further, Rand asserts that visitors spend an average of twenty minutes per exhibit, reading, looking, discussing amongst themselves so they look for information that is concrete, specific, and digestible.113

109 Judy Rand, “Adventures in Label Land” (Workshop, One Size Fits All? Workshop, Boston, MA, November 15, 2010), https://vimeo.com/21080364; https://vimeo.com/21108024. 110 Rand, “Adventures in Label Land.” 111 Rand, “Adventures in Label Land.” 112 Rand, “Adventures in Label Land.” 113 Rand, “Adventures in Label Land.” 44

Pulling from Minda Borun’s 1997 study Enhancing Family Learning Through Exhibits, Rand highlights the importance of readability and relevance in label writing.114 Rand asserts that one should write for relevancy: (1) focus on what visitors can see and do right there; (2) reveal relevant detail by pointing out an object/scene; (3) connect to the visitor’s experience; (4) appeal to the visitor’s interest; (5) give information the viewer can see; (6) use personal sentences and “people” words; (7) offer context and connections.115 When one edits, they should do so for readability: (1) write short labels; (2) use a simple, clear, and direct voice; (3) be active and vivid in description; (4) focus on a singular idea; (5) clearly link ideas and maintain organization; (6) repeat and reinforce relevant ideas; (7) write consistently in style and tone.116 These will be the guiding principles on which I write my text panels. Due to the number of tapestries in the set, and that these text panels would theoretically serve to contextualize the entire set, I am keeping my text panels at the prescribed hundred-fifty words so as to provide enough context without much museum fatigue.

First, I offer a text panel (FIG. 18) regarding aristocratic hunting in 15th-century France. This panel would ideally include an image from Phébus’ Livre de la Chasse to clearly make the connection between the book and the hunt depicted within the tapestry set. For the background of my hypothetical text panel I have chosen a scene of a stag hunt featuring a hunter blowing his horn from Livre de la Chasse Ms. 27 (87.MR.34) (ca. 1430-40) at the J. Paul Getty Museum

(FIG. 15).

Why Do We Hunt?

Although the hunt in these tapestries features the mythical unicorn, the hunting practices depicted are characteristic of medieval stag hunting in aristocratic circles in France in the Middle Ages. Hunting for sport allowed nobles a way of preventing the sin of idleness, exercising their body and mind, learning and practicing skills

114 Rand, “Adventures in Label Land,”; Minda Borun et al., “Enhancing Family Learning Through Exhibits,” Curator: The Museum Journal 40, no. 4 (1997): 280. 115 Rand, “Adventures in Label Land.” 116 Rand, “Adventures in Label Land.” 45

for warfare, as well as displaying knightly virtues in times of peace. Many treatises on game hunting describe this method.

The best known is the Livre de Chasse (Hunting Book), written in the late 14th century by Gaston Phébus. Phébus wrote for royalty and aristocracy—classes who had the wealth and leisure to hunt for sport. Several stages of the hunt as described by Phébus are present in this tapestry set, including the dogs keeping the unicorn at bay in The Unicorn Defends Himself, allowing the hunter to deliver striking blows. This set highlights the interesting question, “Why do we hunt?”

Second, I present this hypothetical text panel (FIG. 19) on the use of hounds in hunting:

Man’s Best Friend

This method of hunting for sport is called venery (hunting with hounds) because it uses dogs to track and subdue their prey. In his Livre de Chasse (Hunting Book) Gaston Phébus included valuable information regarding the best hunting dogs. Two of the breeds he mentioned—greyhounds and “running hounds”—are present within The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestry set. The collaborative human-canine relationship is evident in the hunting scenes, proving that the hounds served as more important tools than weaponry. In each scene, the dogs aid their human masters in subduing the unicorn, following the prescribed hunting methods outlined by Phébus. Additionally, Phébus stressed the importance of treating one’s dog with respect, using only positive reinforcement and calling them “friend.” This relationship is evident in the lower right corner of The Hunters Return to the Castle where a dog reaches up to his owner, who gives him a gentle scratch in appreciation of the canine’s role in the hunt. Do any of the dogs within the set look familiar to you?

Ideally, the text panels would be placed in an open area, allowing visitors to read the information at their own pace; fortunately, as the information covers the entire set, there is no need to preference one tapestry over the other when placing such panels. Additionally, considering Judy Rand’s assertion that visitors tend to read labels/panels that are near objects, it

may be beneficial to commission such an artwork as a leather dog collar. The Met already displays a narwhal tusk in conjunction with the tapestry set to better contextualize the use of and belief in the medicinal properties of the unicorn horn. Ideally, an authentic dog collar would be exhibited to bring a familiar subject to viewers’ attention. Unfortunately, the Met does not have a dog collar from the exact period or geographical location as the tapestries; the closest artifact is an early 17th-century Germanic hunting hound collar make of silk and leather (fig. 16; acc. 29.150.154). As the artifact is approximately a century later than the tapestries and from the region of Saxony, it is not completely accurate to compare the leatherwork collars of the Flemish regions with those of the Saxon region. I suggest an artist might create a replica of a dog collar or set of collars seen within the tapestry set. This clearly marked recreation would serve as a marker for the panel, enticing viewers to read the information while simultaneously highlighting the human-canine relationship that has stayed consistent throughout history.

It is understandable, however, if the Met would not wish to display a recreation rather than an authentic object. In such a case, I suggest the Met display a small, hunting dog statuette

(FIG. 17; acc. 55.61.21)—likely contemporary to the tapestry set—already within their collection. The statuette, while not officially identified by breed, looks remarkably like a thin greyhound with a wide collar, presumably leather, around its neck. The statuette’s dynamic pose looks as though he is on the chase, head whipping back, tail up and alert, much like the pose of the dog in the lower right corner of The Unicorn Crosses a Stream (FIG. 3.2). Already on view at the Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 307, the wrought iron hunting dog would serve as the perfect historical object to guide the viewer to consider the human-canine relationship within the set. It is hoped that these suggested panels and historical objects might serve as supplemental contextualization for those visitors who are interested to learn more about the set’s familiar themes, but do not wish to wade through the vast amount of information regarding the interpretations of this tapestry set.

CHAPTER VII: CONCLUSION

This research began as an attempt to dissect the narrative within The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestry set. I quickly realized that discovering the lost narrative proved near impossible, even for the most qualified of researchers, though I found myself unsatisfied with the set’s previous and current interpretations. The two most prominent narratives of the set are the theme of courtly love—wherein the unicorn is representative of a content and subdued groom—and the allegory of Christ’s Passion—wherein the set serves as different scenes from Christ’s Passion and eventual crucifixion using the unicorn as a symbol of Christ. The narrative of courtly love seemed to apply only to two out of the seven tapestries; the idea that the set served as an allegory of Christ’s Passion seems insufficient when held up against the story as told by the Christian bible. A familiar narrative exists within, however, that visitors can read quite plainly if guided: the hunt, and especially, the human-canine relationship that serves as the cornerstone of the sport.

After introducing The Hunt of the Unicorn set, chapter two traced the narrative within the tapestries that is made plain to the viewer: the hunt and, specifically, the human-canine relationship. The third chapter traced the object histories and provenance of the tapestries, concentrating on the many holes within the set’s timeline and the lack of knowledge surrounding the set’s original owners and artistic intent. After emphasizing the hunt and the hounds, the fourth chapter reviewed the previous scholarship concerning the set’s most prominent interpretations, pointing out the flaws and snags of these claims. In contrast, the fifth chapter solely addresses the human-canine relationship within the context of hunting as prescribed by Gaston Phébus’ Livre de Chasse (Hunting Book), the foremost book of hunting of the time. In the sixth chapter, I offer my own hypothetical text panels for the tapestries—one regarding 15th century venery and the other, the hounds used within the sport—keeping in mind research presented by curator Judy Rand in her workshop presentation Adventures in Label Land.

In every tapestry within the set—barring The Unicorn in Captivity, which could very well have been woven outside of the narrative of the other six—both human and canine figures are

present. Additionally, they are the only figures that remain active participants in the narrative of the hunt. While there are other animals present within the tapestries such as those found in The Unicorn Purifies the Water—as passive figures awaiting the water’s purification—or in The Unicorn Defends Himself—raucous birds in the foreground add chaos to the scene, merely reacting to the flurry of commotion surrounding them. The canines, however, partner with and are respected by their human masters; at their side, the canines both witness the action and animate the scenes as their bodies twist in space and lunge at their prey.

The human-canine relationship is one that has benefited both parties across the globe throughout recorded history. Specific to the 15th century—the period to which the tapestries are dated—dogs served humans as both working dogs—such as turn-spit, guard dog, and of course, hunting dog—and companions for their human masters. This research, using Gaston Phébus’ Livre de Chasse (Hunting Book), highlights the importance of the sport of hunting to 15th-century aristocrats as well as the human-canine relationship—one with which many museum-goers can identify. Additionally, the inclusion of text panels on 15th-century aristocratic hunting and hunting hounds, as well as potential corresponding objects—such as artistic recreations of greyhound collars—are offered to better contextualize the set for the average museumgoer. It is my hope that panels such as these encourage visitors to look closely, find subjects they identify with, and invite into the art world those who may be intimidated by the mountains of scholarship surrounding this notable set.

FIGURES

FIG. 1 – The Hunters Enter the Woods, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 124in. (368.3 x 315cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.1. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467637)

FIG. 1.1 – Detail, The Hunters Enter the Woods, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 124in. (368.3 x 315cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.1. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467637)

FIG. 1.2 – Detail, The Hunters Enter the Woods, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 124in. (368.3 x 315cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.1. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467637)

FIG. 1.3 – Detail, upper left corner, The Hunters Enter the Woods, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 124in. (368.3 x 315cm). The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.1. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467637)

FIG. 2 – The Unicorn Purifies the Water, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 149in. (368.3 x 378.5cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.2. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467638)

FIG. 2.1 – Detail, The Unicorn Purifies the Water, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 149in. (368.3 x 378.5cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.2. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467638)

FIG. 2.2 – Detail, The Unicorn Purifies the Water, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 149in. (368.3 x 378.5cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.2. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467638)

FIG. 3 – The Unicorn Crosses a Stream, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 168in. (368.3 x 426.7cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.3. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467639)

FIG. 3.1 – Detail, The Unicorn Crosses a Stream, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 168in. (368.3 x 426.7cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.3. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467639)

FIG. 3.2 – Detail, The Unicorn Crosses a Stream, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 168in. (368.3 x 426.7cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.3. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467639)

Fig. 4 – The Unicorn Defends Himself, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 158in. (368.3 x 401.3cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.4. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467640)

Fig. 5 – The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 66 ½ x 25 ½ in. (168.9 x 64.8cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 38.51.1 & 38.51.2. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467654)

FIG. 6 – The Hunters Return to the Castle, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 153in. (368.3 x 388.6cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art acc. no. 37.80.5. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467641)

FIG. 6.1 – Detail, The Hunters Return to the Castle, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 153in. (368.3 x 388.6cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art acc. no. 37.80.5. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467641)

FIG. 6.2 – Detail, The Hunters Return to the Castle, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 153in. (368.3 x 388.6cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art acc. no. 37.80.5. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467641)

FIG. 6.3 – Detail, The Hunters Return to the Castle, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 153in. (368.3 x 388.6cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art acc. no. 37.80.5. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467641)

FIG. 7 – The Unicorn in Captivity or The Unicorn Rests in a Garden, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 144 7/8 x 99in. (368 x 251.5cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.6. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467642)

FIG. 7.1 – Detail, The Unicorn in Captivity or The Unicorn Rests in a Garden, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 144 7/8 x 99in. (368 x 251.5cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.6. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467642)

FIG. 8 – The tapestries in the salon at the La Rochefoucauld Châteaux in Verteuil, ca. 1890-1900 from Margaret B. Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries (New York: E.P. Dutton, Inc., 1976), 224, figs. 299 and 300.

FIG. 9 – The tapestries at the Fifty-fourth Street New York City residence of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., ca. 1924 from Margaret B. Freeman, The Unicorn Tapestries (New York: E.P. Dutton Inc., 1976), 226, fig. 304.

FIG. 10 – Unknown artist, Livre de la Chasse, ca. 1430–1440, Tempera colors, gold paint, silver paint, and gold leaf on parchment bound between pasteboard covered with red morocco, Leaf: 26.4 × 18.4 cm (10 3/8 × 7 1/4 in.), Ms. 27 (87.MR.34) The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Photo Credit: The J. Paul Getty Museum (https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/1499/unknown-gaston-phebus-livre-de-la-chasse- french-about-1430-1440/)

FIG. 11 – Imagery of greyhounds from Gaston Phébus (Possibly Gace de la Buigne as artist), Livre de Chasse, ca. 1405-10 (Paris, France), Manuscript book on parchment, 87 miniatures with hunting scenes, 37 x 28 cm, 275 pp. MS 616, Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits. Français 616. Photo Credit: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52505055c/f96.item)

FIG. 12 – Imagery of hound dogs from Gaston Phébus (Possibly Gace de la Buigne as artist), Livre de Chasse, ca. 1405-10 (Paris, France), Manuscript book on parchment, 87 miniatures with hunting scenes, 37 x 28 cm, 275 pp. MS 616, Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits. Français 616. Photo Credit: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52505055c/f98.item.zoom)

FIG. 13 – Imagery of care tasks Phébus deemed owners responsible for from Gaston Phébus (Possibly Gace de la Buigne as artist), Livre de Chasse, ca. 1405-10 (Paris, France), Manuscript book on parchment, 87 miniatures with hunting scenes, 37 x 28 cm, 275 pp. MS 616, Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits. Français 616. Photo Credit: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52505055c/f84.item)

FIG. 14 – The “curée” or rewarding of the hounds from Gaston Phébus (Possibly Gace de la Buigne as artist), Livre de Chasse, ca. 1405-10 (Paris, France), Manuscript book on parchment, 87 miniatures with hunting scenes, 37 x 28 cm, 275 pp. MS 616, Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits. Français 616. Photo Credit: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52505055c/f147.item.zoom)

FIG. 15 – Unknown artist, fol. 71v, Livre de la Chasse, ca. 1430–1440, Tempera colors, gold paint, silver paint, and gold leaf on parchment bound between pasteboard covered with red morocco, Leaf: 26.4 × 18.4 cm (10 3/8 × 7 1/4 in.), Ms. 27 (87.MR.34)The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Photo Credit: The J. Paul Getty Museum (https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/1499/unknown-gaston-phebus-livre-de-la-chasse- french-about-1430-1440/)

FIG. 16 – Collar for a hunting hound featuring the coat of arms of the duchy of Saxony surmounted by an Electoral bonnet and flanked by the monogram CHGHZSC, meaning “Christian [and] Hans Georg, Dukes of Saxony, Electors,” 1607-11, silk, leather, silver, bronze, gold, pigments, Overall: 27 ¼ x 5 in. (69.2 x 12.7cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 29.150.154. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/23194)

FIG. 17 – Hunting Dog, 15th-16th century or later, wrought iron, Overall: 6 7/8 x 1 9/16 x 1 in. (17.5 x 4 x 2.5 cm), with mount: 8 1/16 x 10 1/16 x 2 7/16 in. (20.5 x 25.6 x 6.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 55.61.21. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/468493)

FIG. 18 – Ariel Hogan, Why Do We Hunt?, author’s hypothetical text panel regarding 15th- century aristocratic hunting. Background from Unknown artist, fol. 71v, Livre de la Chasse, ca. 1430–1440, Tempera colors, gold paint, silver paint, and gold leaf on parchment bound between pasteboard covered with red morocco, Leaf: 26.4 × 18.4 cm (10 3/8 × 7 1/4 in.), Ms. 27 (87.MR.34)The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Photo Credit: The J. Paul Getty Museum (https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/1499/unknown-gaston-phebus-livre-de-la-chasse- french-about-1430-1440/)

FIG. 19 – Ariel Hogan, Man’s Best Friend, author’s hypothetical text panel regarding the human- canine relationship necessary for venery. Background from detail, The Unicorn Crosses a Stream, 1495-1505, wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts, Overall: 145 x 168in. (368.3 x 426.7cm). The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY acc. no. 37.80.3. Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467639)

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