The gate of the year

Capital from the Romanesque Church of Saint-Hilaire, Melle, Poitou, France, built in the XII century. The scene shows a hunt to the boar, a recurring theme in ancient art, which became the model of the fight of man against the opposing forces of wilderness.
The hunt to the boar in Antiquity represented an exploit against a noble prey, a feared animal, which was deemed as a dangerous adversary, and whose strength and courage were admired. In the Celtic and German society the hunt to this animal was undertaken by those who desired to become respected warriors into the community. This exaltation of the hunt to the boar is maintained in the Early Middle Ages, primarily in the German countries, but begins to regress during the Feudal Age, leaving room to the deer hunt, which was regarded as the most noble prey and a booty worthy of the king (Pastoureau 2012, p.73).

[Image: http://www.amolenuvolette.it/root/image/abrupt_clio_team.folder/merveilles% 20des%20%C3%A9gllises% 20romanes.folder/]




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Capital from the Romanesque Church of Saint-Hilaire, Melle, Poitou, France, built in the XII century. The scene shows a hunt to the boar, a recurring theme in ancient art, which became the model of the fight of man against the opposing forces of wilderness. The hunt to the boar in Antiquity represented an exploit against a noble prey, a feared animal, which was deemed as a dangerous adversary, and whose strength and courage were admired. In the Celtic and German society the hunt to this animal was undertaken by those who desired to become respected warriors into the community. This exaltation of the hunt to the boar is maintained in the Early Middle Ages, primarily in the German countries, but begins to regress during the Feudal Age, leaving room to the deer hunt, which was regarded as the most noble prey and a booty worthy of the king (Pastoureau 2012, p.73). [Image: http://www.amolenuvolette.it/root/image/abrupt_clio_team.folder/merveilles% 20des%20%C3%A9gllises% 20romanes.folder/]