[Humans and animals in the Middle Ages].

Some aspects of mediaeval human-animal relationships are presented. In addition to the role of the horse in Germanic cult sacrifices and the significance of domestic animals for the agricultural society of the Middle Ages, the attitude of Christianity to animals is also described. The integration of animals as religious symbolic figures in christian iconography and literature, trials against animals, the importance of tournament sports and hunting for the aristocracy are considered as well as the hippiatry of the court equerries, the equestrian medical practices of the blacksmiths, the possibilities of mediaeval veterinary medicine in the treatment of sick cattle and the use of animal products in medicine. Further sections are dedicated to the nutrition of the mediaeval population and related problems of hygiene, to the introduction of meat inspections and to parasitic disease from food.