Bányai József: A vadászat tárgyi eszközei - A Magyar Mezőgazdasági Múzeum tárgykatalógusai 2. (Budapest, 2010)
regularly used at aristocratic hunts until the 18th century, and were still used sporadically until the 19th.15 The most ancient long-range mechanically engineered weapon is the crossbow. It was probably construed to increase the accuracy of the hand bow. Most recent research points to the Far East as its origins. Crossbows were used in China in the 12th century BC. It appeared in Europe in the 10th century but was unknown in Hungary until the 14th. In the beginning the prod of the crossbow was made by pasting together reticulated horn sheets, for such a prod released more energy. Slots were cut in the two ends of the bow, and the string was hooked on these. The tiller was made of wood. The late 15th century brought significant changes. The bow was made no longer of horn sheets but steel, which made manufacture faster. In the second half of the 17th century the end of the tiller was widened, and was often decorated with inlaid ivory, mother-of-pearl sheets or wood carvings. From the first half of the 16th century the crossbow, as a result of the quick spread of firearms, was increasingly obsolete, but as a silent hunting tool it was used — albeit very sporadically - until the 18th century. 16 Hunting swords and knives The sword had been a part of hunting equipment since the 15th century, and cutlery was often stored in its scabbard. Its strong blade was used for stabbing.17 Hunting swords are extremely rare and as such are highly valuable. The Hunting Collection of our museum does not own such swords. By the 17th century hunting swords had stunted into hunting knives, of which the collection keeps over twenty items. Some of the knives were only worn as decorative accessories of the hunting dress. The blade of the knives had become much shorter, and more care was taken to enhance their luxurious appearance.18 Their ornamentation was the richest in the Baroque period, when their decoration featured inscriptions, proverbs, sun, moon and star motifs, and the gold-enamel crossguard was embellished with hunting and love scenes. Their hilts were carved from bone, ivory, Asian wood or tortoiseshell. Their scabbards were made of leather, with embossed straps. These highly decorative weapons with blades between 40 and 60 cms were known as deer-knives (Hirschfänger). In the 17th and 18th centuries such knives could only be worn by those who were professional gamekeepers and had been awarded diplomas, signed by the chief gamekeeper of the demesne and the ‘jury’ present at the hunting exam. The knife was used against the attacks of dangerous game or poachers and was also worn on ceremonial occasions.19 It was originally worn on the left, strapped to the waist-belt, but later it was hung on a sash, which was thrown across the right shoulder. Depending on the 15 Kalmár, János, Régi magyar fegyverek, Budapest, 1971, p. 122. 16 ibid., pp. 142-143. 17 ibid., p. 123. 18 ibid., p. 123. 19 Pák, Dienes, Vadászattudomány, Buda, 1829, pp. 155-156. 20 Csőre, Pál, A solymászat története, Budapest, 1996, p. 8. Hunters and pack at the meeting point on the estate of Count Andrássy, 1920s higher or lower rank of the gamekeeper, the handle of the knife was decorated with gold or silver tassels. A characteristic accessory of hunting knives was a spare sheath on their scabbard, for the storage of a smaller, double-edged knife (the so-called scruff-knife). Our collection keeps hunting knives mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries, except for three or four 18th-century specimens. From the second half of the 19th century there appeared a service knife worn specifically by manorial gamekeepers. Their blades had become much shorter (15-20 cms), but wider (3-5 cms). Their handles were typically plated with antlers and their sheaths were made of stitched leather. The blades had one edge, the other side was often serrated. They were used for protection, cutting bones or carving. Falconry According to some research, falconry has a history of 3,000 years. One of our outstanding hunting historians claims in his book The History of Falconry: ‘ Falconry was traditionally a form of princely sports. This is as true in the case of the Turks and Mongols as in mediaeval Europe. This is hardly surprising as falconry is highly expensive, since the trapping, breeding and training of birds required a lot of labour and falconry itself needs the employment of a large number of staff, horses and hounds, not to mention hawking equipment and the treatment of sick birds.’20 Among Hungarian aristocrats of the day it was especially the Batthyány, Nádasdy, Pálffy, Zay and Forgách families that were particularly devoted to this pastime, often spending colossal sums. Falconry needed special equipment, such as gauntlets, hawkbells attached to the bird’s leg, and hoods for the bird. So-called hawking bags were also needed, where the reward meat was kept. The noble sport of hawking began to decline in the 18th century, mainly as a result of the fast development of firearms. Our museum has 15
