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About Us
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About Us
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St. Hubert's Rangers is an international, online brotherhood of individuals who are interested in the anachronism of medieval hunters. Rangers research all aspects of the daily lives of medieval hunters, and recreate their clothing, accoutrements and hunting equipment. A ranger's persona could be that of anyone who may have hunted for sport or necessity in Western Europe in the second half of the Middle Ages, such as: a nobleman, forester, huntsman, poacher, or outlaw. For our purposes, a hunter is defined as anyone who participates in the chase of a small game or large game animal, with the means of personally dispatching the hunted animal. Trapping and angling are beyond the scope of St. Hubert's Rangers. Many Rangers also participate in medieval-style, live hunts, wearing period clothing and accoutrements, and using common, period, hunting techniques and weapons (within the limits of modern law), in an attempt to experience hunting the way it was done hundreds of years ago. Rangers can earn hunt rankings, which begin with Apprentice Huntsman / Huntress and culminate with Royal Huntsman / Huntress, based on their success in taking game during these hunts.
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Coat-of-Arms
St. Hubert's
Rangers' coat-of-arms includes elements that represent the brotherhood.
The embattled chief symbolizes the Middle Ages, as it represents an
architectural element associated with the castles of that time period. The
crucifix between the antlers represents St. Hubert, and the stag's skull (a
deviation from the typical stag's head that represents St. Hubert) represents a
successful hunt.
In the late Middle Ages, badges made of different materials, and livery colors, were common ways to distinguish individuals as members of particular households. Small, pewter pilgrim badges, and secular badges, were also commonly displayed on a person's clothing and/or accoutrements.
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St. Hubert Although we are NOT a religious organization, St. Hubert was chosen as our theme because he has strong associations with hunting and culture in the Middle Ages. St. Hubert was an avid hunter, and his conversion took place while hunting a stag. Religion was a very important part of medieval western-Euorpean culture, and St. Hubert was highly venerated. Many medieval military orders were named after him. St. Hubert born around 656 in Holland and died May 30, 727 in Belgium.
His
feast day is November 3rd. His representations include a Bishop with a hound and hunting horn, and a stag with a crucifix between its antlers, among others. For more information click here: Hubert of Liege
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Why Rangers? One might wonder why the 'brotherhood of the medieval hunt' isn't called 'St. Hubert's Huntsmen' or something along those lines. Well, although all of our Ranger portrayals are of people who would have hunted in the Middle Ages, many do not specifically portray a 'huntsman', which was a common medieval occupation. For some, like nobles, hunting was a pastime and training for war. For others, like outlaws and poor serfs, hunting (poaching) was often necessary for survival. So, in an attempt to avoid confusion, the more ambiguous term, ranger, was selected in the context of someone who ranges or roves over large amounts of territory, which would be likely for most people engaged in hunting, regardless of their social status, occupation or motives. Plus, the word ranger just sounds cool : ) Since its introduction into the English language in the late 14th century, the word ranger has taken on many meanings, mostly related to military units and park officials. The earliest medieval references seem to associate rangers with gamekeepers and foresters; armed individuals who would go on patrol to protect the vert and venison of their employers. But the word ranger in that context is not related to the definition of our namesake as stated above.
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History of St. Hubert's Rangers
The idea really
took off when Paul met Lance Paulson (Ranger #2) on
TradGang, a traditional
archery forum. Lance had similar interests as Paul, and they quickly
learned that within their
traditional archery and medieval reenactment circles, there were On March 17, 2007, Donna Mitchell had the honor of becoming our first Ranger to have a successful medieval-style hunt. She took a grey squirrel with her red-tailed hawk, Clarice, making medieval-style hunting a reality. Since then, many of our Rangers have had successful medieval-style hunts, and we eagerly look forward to future hunts.
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As the Forester of St. Hubert's Rangers, Paul is the custodian of the brotherhood, and he cordially invites you to explore our site. For more information, please click on the links below or contact us at:
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Copyright
2005-Present, Paul Wilburn |
The
founder, Paul Wilburn, has been fascinated with medieval hunters since he was a
child, and Robin Hood has always been one of his favorite characters. As a
young adult he was recruited into the Order of St. Sebastian, a reenactment
group which portrayed 14th Century English longbowmen, and he was introduced to
traditional archery. Shooting longbows became a passion for him, which
eventually led him to traditional bowhunting. Years later he had the
notion to combine his two favorite hobbies, and hunt while wearing authentic
medieval-style garb and using period equipment. He felt that hunting in
this way was about as close as one could get to traveling back in time to
experience what it may have been like to be a medieval hunter.
others who were also interested in experiencing medieval-style hunting, but they
were few in number and scattered across the land. That's when the idea for
the brotherhood was born. Paul wanted to host a site where those who
portray medieval hunters, whether or not they were interested in participating
in live hunts, could share their experiences. He also wanted to create a
site that would serve as an excellent source of information for anyone who
wanted to learn about medieval hunters and/or join our ranks. St. Hubert's
Rangers is the ever evolving result of that vision.