Olde Englishe Dogges

chiendog · Olde Englishe Dogges

Greeting fellow Pilgrims...

For the last week or so, I've been researching various historical classifications of dogs. Today's adventure was to decipher a list of dog types from The Boke of St. Albans, written in 1486

The list is as follows:
Grehoun, Bastard, Mengrell, Mastiff, Lemor, Spanyel, Raches, Kenettyes, Teroures, Butchers’ Houndes, Myddyng dogges, Tryndel taylles, Prikherid currys, and smalle ladyes’ poppees

I've done my best to offer a modern English equivalent or at least a description to what each type would have been. Please feel free to add any more information you may have on these types or any comments you feel may flesh out the terms.

Grehoun = Greyhound

Bastard = Bastard

Mengrell = Mongrel

Mastif = Mastif

Lemor = Lemor, Lymer in Middle English, from the French Limier, a type a tracking dog (Leithund in German) that is one of the ancestral breeds used to create most modern German HPR's.

Spanyel = Spaniel

Raches = Apperently a Harrier-type dog, that must have been used in packs. Mentioned the book Squire of Low Degree,1475 "sevenscore raches at his rechase"

Kenettys = A small hunting dog. The word is derived from the French "Chienet" or small dog, may just be smaller Raches. (And take Kenettes and Ratches with you, and seche oute all the forestes with boundes and homes, as kynge Edwarde with the longe shankes dide. from Hardyng's Chronicle 1400's)

Teroures = Terriers

Butchers Houndes = Butcher's Dogs a type of dog used to herd livestock and act as a guard dog. The Rottweiler is said to be a modern version of a Butcher's Dog.

Myddyng dogges or Dunghyll dogges = Modern day garbage dump scavenger dogs. ( myddyng = midden, refuse/dung heap)

Tryndeltaylles = Dogs with curly tails (Trundle means to twirl or spin or twist).

Pryckeryd currys = Prick-eared Curs, Dogs with pointed ears.

smalle ladyes poppees that bere awaye the flees = Companion lap dogs used to keep the fleas off of ladies.

Ic þancie þe !

josie

Well it's a bit different to the Kennel Club's list Laughing

chiendog

josie

Uh, isn't that a Gremlin? Laughing

josie

PS, Personally I would like a couple of bastards and some Pryckeryd currys.

chiendog

windem bang

Chiendog - is it possible that Tryndeltaylles ( trundle means to twirl or spin or twist) could also mean to walk in a certain way while pushing or pulling something with wheels ?

A cart can be said to "trundle" down the road.

Could these dogs have been cart pullers ? Or perhaps "spit dogs" dogs used in eating places to walk inside a wheel that turned a spit holding meat over a fire ?
Could Tryndeltaylles be translated into a later period "Turnspit" ?

Just a thought.

Bill T.

tashap

We have a Trundle at Chichester on the top of the downs it used to be called St Roches Hill named after St Roche who had a chapel dedicated to him on the top of the hill. St Roche is usually depicted with a hunting dog bearing a loaf of bread.

http://www2.prestel.co.uk/aspen/sussex/trundle.html

Some pictures of St Roche with his bread giving hound can be seen on various websites on languedoc region in France like this one
http://www.languedoc-france.info/030399_roque.htm

(not sure the link won't work so go to www.languedoc-france.info bottom of the page click on 'things to see in languedoc' in the text is 'cathedral & churches' bottom of that text is 'Saint Roch (Saint Roque)' if you click on that it takes you to the link.)

The spelling of Trundle has changed over the years but it has been spelt 'Tryndel' basically spelt how you would say it. Its an iron age fort but has links to people from Prehistoric times.

We had to do a project on it at school along with a few school hikes up the hill which is tiring but also a very good place for dog walkers and if your into the horses it also has the gallops that we used to use for race horses.

Wikiwhatsit has a reference to the book you've been researching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_type#endnote_3none

The pomerian website quotes your dung and pricked ear curs http://www.pomeranianproject.com/historyofpom.htm

Most of the dogs are quoted in the poem 'The Squire of Low Degree' http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/eksldfrm.htm if you go to 770 in the footnotes it lists Raches as hounds that were sent with Beagles...rechase is noted as the call given for the hounds to return so a bit like our current Master of the Hounds in fox hunting. This info is on the Rochester University website. Its quite a nice poem if you like that sort of thing... these are the dog/hunting references. The preceeding few lines refers to 'Bastarde' in the poem the uni have it listed as a type of sweet spanish wine which makes sense as the rest of that part of the poem is talking about drink...so I wonder if someone cocked up by listing a bastarde as a dog breed??

Mountrose and wyne of Greke,
Both algrade and respice eke,
Antioche and bastarde,
Pyment also and Garnarde,
Wyne of Greke and muscadell,
Both clare, pyment, and Rochell.
The reed your stomake to defye,
And pottes of osey set you by.
You shall have venison ybake,
The best wylde foule that may be take
A lese of grehound with you to streke,
And hert and hynde and other lyke.
Ye shal be set at such a tryst
That herte and hynde shall come to your fyst,
Your dysease to dryve you fro,
To here the bugles there yblow,
With theyr begles in that place,
And sevenscore raches at his rechase.
Homward thus shall ye ryde,
On haukyng by the ryvers syde,
With goshauke and with gentyll fawcon,
With egle horne and merlyon.

Basically they are planning a party, have got the booze and are going off hunting to get the meat using dogs and birds.... any excuse for a lads night out on the town Rolling Eyes

Mark Jervis

Off the subject a bit, but I believe that St Roche is the patron saint of ratcatchers, and was said to have cured the plague.