From the Didascalicon, Hugh of St Victor’s twelfth-century guide to the arts and to study, in the chapter on “hunting”, the fifth of his seven mechanical arts. Hugh divides the art into the chase, “fowling” and “fishing”, and gives it as the name for the whole discipline that “pertains” to food and drink.
Read in contextHunting is divided into the chase of wild beasts, fowling and fishing. The chase of wild beasts is practiced in many ways.
With nets, snares, traps, pitfalls, bow, javelins, spear, enclosing, the scent of feathers, dogs, hawks. Fowling is done with snares, traps, nets, bow, bird-lime, hook. Fishing is done with seines, nets, weirs, hooks, spears. To this discipline pertains the preparation of all foods, flavors and drinks. Yet it took its name from one part of itself, because in ancient times men ate more of the products of hunting, as even now in certain regions where bread is very rare, they have flesh for food and mead or water for drink.