[MR] medieval hunting dogs links (Fwd: Aoife-Links Digest, Vol 6, Issue 1)

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Greetings Faithful Readers!

This week's Links list is in tribute  to my oldest dog, Samwise. If Sam, or 
Ham-bone as we sometimes call him,  were a person he'd be in his 70's. He 
can't hear and he can barely see,  but his nose will take him wherever he 
wants to go and back again. Usually  that involves tracking a family member 
who had the temerity to go outside  without him. Sam is part beagle and part 
something else that's a  long-legged hound. As we call him, a very rare mixed 
breed :) It so  happens that he's a dead ringer for some of the dogs in 
Gaston Phoebus.  And while many SCA folk have their esoteric and fancy 
medieval-breed dogs,  the fact of the matter is that Hounds are one of the 
oldest types of dog  around, though they may not be sufficiently romantic for 
some.

So  why'd I choose Hounds? Well, consider what everyone who watches cartoons  
knows about them: They Bay when required, and otherwise mind their own  
business. They point at quarry (or sometimes just the person they want to  
come and scratch behind their ears). They have a keen sense of smell. They  
run (and run and run). They like to be up high just like Snoopy on the dog  
house. They love to chase things (squirrels, deer, fox, their tails, and  the 
occasional pedestrian). That all sounds like the perfect recipe for a  
hunting dog. And yet hounds like to stay close to their designated person,  
like the out doors, are careful of children and have a strong sense of  
order. They are intelligent and if the right person comes along, they can  
communicate in their own language--and you'll know what I mean if you've  
ever been trained by a hound. But they learn fast, too, and apply that  
knowledge to other areas--but they flat-out refuse to do any sissy stuff.  
Hounds have a strong pack sense, even if most of their pack is two-legged.  
They recognize a strong sense of order within that pack. In short, as  Elvis 
told us, Hounds totally rock. Read on to find out  more.

Cheers

Aoife

Greyhound History in the Middle Ages  and the  Renaissance
http://www.gulfcoastgreyhounds.org/hist-mid-ren.html
(Site  Excerpt) Greyhounds nearly became extinct during times of famine in 
the  Middle Ages. They were saved by clergymen who protected them and bred 
them  for the nobility. From this point on, they came to be considered the 
dogs  of the aristocracy. In the tenth century, King Howel of Wales made 
killing  a greyhound punishable by death. King Canute of England established 
the  Forest Laws in 1014, reserving large areas of the country for hunting by 
 
the nobility. Only such persons could own greyhounds; any "meane person"  
(commoner) caught owning a greyhound would be severely punished and the  
dog's toes "lawed" (mutilated) to prevent it from hunting.

British  Library: Images of King John with  Hounds
http://www.bl.uk/services/learning/curriculum/medrealms/t3othersbkgd.html

On  Period Hunting Dogs
By Duchess Elina  Einarsdottir
http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/aethelmearc_coursing/elinasperioddogs.html
More  on Coursing With Sighthounds
By Duchess Elina  Einarsdottir
http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/aethelmearc_coursing/elinasmore.html
Sight  Hound Breeds, Continued
By Duchess Elina  Einarsdottir
http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/aethelmearc_coursing/elinasbreeds2.html

Bloodhounds:  Noble Medieval  Trackers
http://www.rencentral.com/feb_mar_vol2/bloodhounds.shtml
(Site  Excerpt) The era of wild boar and stag in British history marked the  
height of the Bloodhounds' popularity. Long before Bloodhounds were used  to 
track men, they were noblemen's hunting partners. Their job was to find  the 
boar or deer wherever they hid. Scent hounds, like the bloodhound,  have long 
flews (loose hanging parts of the upper lip) and long flapping  ears 
specifically designed to funnel and push air and scents toward the  dogs' 
olfactory system.

Stefan's Florilegium:  Dogs
http://www.florilegium.org/files/ANIMALS/dogs-msg.html
go also to:  www.florilegium.org and click "animals", then see: "dogs", 
"coursing-SCA"  and "dog-links"

History of the Irish  Wolfhound
http://www.irishwolfhounds.org/history.htm
(Site Excerpt) The  name Irish wolfhound is quite a recent one but the hound 
itself goes back  far into the mists of time. It is mentioned, as cú 
(variously translated  as hound, Irish hound, war dog, wolf dog, etc.) in 
Irish laws, which  predate Christianity, and in Irish literature which dates 
from the 5th  century or, in the case of the Sagas, from the old Irish 
period -  AD600-900. Only kings and the nobility were allowed to own the 
great Irish  hound, the numbers permitted depending on position.

PHARAOH  HOUND,
THE COMPANION OF  KINGS
http://www.rtis.com/nat/user/kaydurr/
(Site Excerpt) The Pharaoh  Hound is the oldest domesticated dog in recorded 
history. Two hounds  aredepicted hunting Gazelle on a circular disc which is 
thought to have  been part of a game. The date, around 4000 B.C.

Scottish  Deerhounds
http://members.lycos.nl/Deerhound/past-2.htm
(Site Excerpt)  There are prehistorical drawings showing its ancestors while 
chasing a  deer. Although the Scottish Deerhound has an undeniable beauty, 
good-looks  were not the main issue for breeders to to produce a breed 
looking exactly  the same as the modern Deerhound.

Gaston Phoebus, Book of the Hunt,  15th Century.
http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/manuscrits/aman10.htm
Click  on thumbnails to see images of great Medieval hounds at work.

Image of  the Tomb of St. Denis, hound dog (with dead rabbit) at his  feet.
http://www.mit.edu/~lxs/photos/parents/march/st-denis-tombs-dog.html

"You  can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look 
that  says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" --Dave 
 
Barry

If you wish to correspond with Aoife directly, please send  mail to: mtnlion 
at ptd dot net as she is unable to respond in this  account