1.
Medieval hunting
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Throughout Western Europe in the Middle Ages, humans hunted wild animals. While game was at times an important source of food, it was rarely the source of nutrition. Hunting was engaged by all classes, but by the High Middle Ages, more than a pastime, it was an important arena for social interaction, essential training for war, and a privilege and measurement of nobility. Hieratic formalized recreational hunting has been taking place since Assyrian kings hunted lions from chariots in a demonstration of their royal nature, the biography of the Merovingian noble Saint Hubert recounts how hunting could become an obsession. Carolingian Charlemagne loved to hunt and did so up until his death at age seventy-two, with the breakup of the Carolingian Empire, local lords strove to maintain and monopolize the reserves and the taking of big game in forest reserves, and small game in warrens. They were most successful in England after the Norman Conquest, and these large sanctuaries of woodland—the royal forest—where populations of game animals were kept and watched over by gamekeepers. Here the peasantry could not hunt, poaching being subject to severe punishment, the lower classes mostly had to content themselves with snaring birds and smaller game outside of forest reserves and warrens. One of the things about Medieval Hunting is its devotion to terminology. Knowledge and extension of this became a courtly fashion in the 14th century in France. Medieval books of hunting lay huge stress on the importance of correct terminology, a tradition which was further extended to great lengths in the Renaissance period. And as the book says he devised good fanfares to blow for beasts of venery, and beasts of the chase and all kinds of vermin, and therefore the book of venery, of hawking and hunting, is called Sir Tristrams. The weapons used for hunting would mostly be the same as used for war, bow, crossbow, lance or spear, knife. Bows were the most commonly used weapon, although the crossbow was introduced around the time of the First Crusade, it was not generally used for hunting until the second half of the 15th century. Cudgels were used for clubbing small game in particular by women who joined the hunt, with the introduction of handheld firearms to hunting in the 16th century, traditional medieval hunting was transformed. The hunter would also need a horn for communication with the other hunters, in addition to this the hunter depended on the assistance of certain domesticated animals. Three animals in particular were essential tools for the hunter, the horse, the hound. The horse was the most important animal of the medieval household. The stables, also called the marshalsea, would be separate from the rest of the household, the marshal would have pages and grooms serving under him to care for the horses
2.
Bloodhound
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The Bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar, and since the Middle Ages for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium and this breed is famed for its ability to discern human scent over great distances, even days later. Bloodhounds weigh from 36 to 72 kg. They are 58 to 69 cm tall at the withers, according to the AKC standard for the breed, larger dogs are preferred by conformation judges. Acceptable colors for bloodhounds are black, liver, tan, Bloodhounds possess an unusually large skeletal structure with most of their weight concentrated in their bones, which are very thick for their length. The coat typical for a scenthound is hard and composed of fur alone and this breed is gentle, and is tireless when following a scent. Because of its strong tracking instinct, it can be willful and somewhat difficult to obedience train, Bloodhounds have an affectionate and even-tempered nature with humans, making excellent family pets. However, like any pet, they require supervision when around small children, up to at least the seventeenth century bloodhounds were of all colours, but in modern times the colour range has become more restricted. The colours are listed as black and tan, liver and tan. White is not uncommon on the chest, and sometimes appears on the feet, genetically, the main types are determined by the action of two genes, found in many species. One produces an alternation between black and brown, if a hound inherits the black allele from either parent, it has a black nose, eye rims and paw-pads, and if it has a saddle, it is black. The other allele suppresses black pigment and is recessive, so it must be inherited from both parents and it produces liver noses, eye rims, paw-pads, and saddles. The second gene determines coat pattern and it can produce animals with no saddle, ones with saddle-marking, or ones largely covered with darker pigment, except for tan lips, eyebrows, forechest and lower legs. These last are sometimes referred to as ‘blanket’ or ‘full-coat’ types, however, more modern study attributes the variation to 3 different alleles of the Agouti gene. Ay produces the non saddle-marked red hound, As produces saddle-marking, of these Ay is dominant, and at is recessive to the others. The interaction of these variants of the two produces the six basic types shown below. It is likely that a third gene determines whether or not there is a melanistic mask, em, the allele for a mask, is dominant over E, the allele for no mask. Compared to other purebred dogs, Bloodhounds suffer a high rate of gastrointestinal ailments. The breed also suffers a high incidence of eye, skin
3.
Wild boar
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The wild boar, also known as the wild swine or Eurasian wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia, North Africa, and the Greater Sunda Islands. Human intervention has spread its range further, making the one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world. Its wide range, high numbers, and adaptability mean that it is classed as least concern by the IUCN, the animal probably originated in Southeast Asia during the Early Pleistocene, and outcompeted other suid species as it spread throughout the Old World. As of 1990, up to 16 subspecies are recognised, which are divided into four regional groupings based on skull height, the species lives in matriarchal societies consisting of interrelated females and their young. Fully grown males are solitary outside the breeding season. The grey wolf is the boars main predator throughout most of its range except in the Far East and the Lesser Sunda Islands. It has a history of association with humans, having been the ancestor of most domestic pig breeds. As true wild boars became extinct in Britain before the development of modern English, the English boar stems from the Old English bar, which is thought to be derived from the West Germanic *bairaz, of unknown origin. Boar is sometimes used specifically to refer to males, and may also be used to refer to male domesticated pigs, the young may be called piglets. The animals specific name scrofa is Latin for sow, the earliest fossil finds of the species come from both Europe and Asia, and date back to the Early Pleistocene. Its closest wild relative is the pig of Malacca and surrounding islands. These subspecies are typically high-skulled, with thick underwool and poorly developed manes, Indian, Includes S. s. davidi and S. s. cristatus. These subspecies have sparse or absent underwool, with long manes and prominent bands on the snout, while S. s. cristatus is high-skulled, S. s. davidi is low-skulled. Eastern, Includes S. s. sibiricus, S. s. ussuricus, S. s. leucomystax, S. s. riukiuanus, S. s. taivanus, and S. s. moupinensis. These subspecies are characterised by a streak extending from the corners of the mouth to the lower jaw. With the exception of S. s. ussuricus, most are high-skulled, the underwool is thick, except in S. s. moupinensis, and the mane is largely absent. It is the most basal of the four groups, having the smallest relative brain size, more primitive dentition, with the exception of domestic pigs in Timor and Papua New Guinea, the wild boar is the ancestor of most pig breeds. Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 BC in Cyprus and those animals must have been introduced from the mainland, which suggests domestication in the adjacent mainland by then
4.
Fallow deer
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The fallow deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. Some taxonomers include the rarer Persian fallow deer as a subspecies, the male fallow deer is known as a buck, the female is a doe, and the young a fawn. Adult bucks are 140–160 cm long, 85–95 cm in height, and typically 60–100 kg in weight, does are 130–150 cm long, 75–85 cm in shoulder height. The largest bucks may measure 190 cm long and weigh 150 kg, Fawns are born in spring around 30 cm and weigh around 4.5 kg. Their lifespan is around 12–16 years, much variation occurs in the coat colour of the species, with four main variants, common, menil, melanistic, and leucistic – a genuine colour variety, not albinistic. The white is the lightest coloured, almost white, common and menil are darker, common, Chestnut coat with white mottles, it is most pronounced in summer with a much darker, unspotted coat in the winter. The light-coloured area around the tail is edged with black, the tail is light with a black stripe. Menil, Spots are more distinct than common in summer and no black is seen around the patch or on the tail. In winter, spots are still clear on a brown coat. Melanistic, All-year the coat is black shading to greyish brown, no light-coloured tail patch or spots are seen. Leucistic, Fawns are cream-coloured, adults become pure white, especially in winter, dark eyes and nose are seen, with no spots. Most herds consist of the common coat variation, yet animals of the menil coat variation are not rare, the melanistic variation is generally rarer, and white is very much rarer still, although wild New Zealand herds often have a high melanistic percentage. Only bucks have antlers, which are broad and shovel-shaped from three years, in the first two years, the antler is a single spike. They are grazing animals, their habitat is mixed woodland. Agile and fast in case of danger, fallow deer can run at a speed of 30 mph over short distances. Fallow deer can also make jumps up to 1.75 m high, the fallow deer is a Eurasian deer that was a native to most of Europe during the last interglacial. The fallow deer was introduced to the Victoria Island in the Province of Neuquén by billionaire Aaron Anchorena and he freed wildlife of European and Asian origin, making them common inhabitants of the island and competing for land and food with the native huemul and pudu deer. The fallow deer was spread across central Europe by the Romans, until recently, the Normans were thought to have introduced them to Great Britain for hunting in the royal forests
5.
Deer hunting
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Deer hunting is survival hunting or sport hunting for deer, which dates back tens of thousands of years. There are many types of deer around the world that are hunted, New Zealand has had 10 species of deer introduced. From the 1850s, red deer were liberated, followed by fallow, sambar, wapiti, sika, rusa, the introduced herds of axis and moose failed to grow, and have become extinct. In the absence of predators to control populations, deer were thought to be a pest due to their effect on native vegetation, from the 1950s the government employed professional hunters to cull the deer population. Deer hunting is now an activity, organised and advocated for at the national level by the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association. The deer most sought after in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains, is the white-tailed deer, west of the Rockies, the mule deer is the dominant deer species. Blacktail deer are dominant along the west coast from Northern California to Southeast Alaska, with introduced populations in Prince William Sound, the most notable differences between these deer, other than distribution, are the differences in ears, tail, antler shape, and body size. The mule deers ears are longer than the ears of a white-tailed deer, they also have different color skin and brighter faces. Mule deer have a tail which is proportionally smaller than that of the white-tailed deer. White-tailed bucks are slightly smaller than mule deer bucks, both of the species lose their antlers in January, and regrow the antlers during the following summer beginning in June. Velvet from the antlers are shed in August and September, each buck normally gets larger each year as long as good food sources are present. Antler growth depends on food sources, if food is not good one year, antlers will be smaller. Many deer do not reach their potential due to getting hit by automobiles. In Hawaii, axis deer were introduced into the environment in the 1950s, having no predators their numbers quickly grew and they are considered an invasive species especially on the islands of Lanai and Maui. Recently there have been sightings of deer on the big island of Hawaii. Most of the hunting on Maui is on privately held lands. Moose and elk are also popular game animals that are species of deer. However, hunting them is not usually referred to as deer hunting and they are considerably larger than mule deer or white-tailed deer, and hunting techniques are rather different
6.
Duke of York
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The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually given to the second son of English monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Duke of Albany, initially granted in the 14th century in the Peerage of England, the title Duke of York has been created eight times. Additionally, the title Duke of York and Albany has been created three times and these occurred during the 18th century, following the 1707 unification of the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into a single, united realm. The double naming was done so that a territorial designation from each of the separate realms could be included. The current Duke of York is Prince Andrew, the son of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Andrew currently has no heirs and has been unmarried since his 1996 divorce. In medieval times, York was the city of the North of England. Yorkshire was Englands largest shire in area, York under its Viking name Jorvik was a petty kingdom in the Early Medieval period. In the interval between the fall of independent Jorvik under Eirik Bloodaxe, last King of Jorvik, and the first creation of the Dukedom of York, there were a few Earls of York. The title Duke of York was first created in the Peerage of England in 1385 for Edmund of Langley, the surviving son of Edward III. His son Edward, who inherited the title, was killed at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the title passed to Edwards nephew Richard, the son of Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge. The younger Richard managed to obtain a restoration of the title, but when his eldest son, who inherited the title, became king in 1461 as Edward IV, the title was next created for Richard of Shrewsbury, second son of King Edward IV. Richard was one of the Princes in the Tower, and, as he died without heirs, the third creation was for Henry Tudor, second son of King Henry VII. When his elder brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, died in 1502, when Henry ultimately became King Henry VIII, his titles merged into the crown. The title was created for the time for Charles Stuart. When his elder brother, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, died in 1612 and he was created Prince of Wales in 1616 and eventually became Charles I in 1625 when the title again merged into the Crown. The fifth creation was in favour of James Stuart, the son of Charles I
7.
Hound
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A Hound is a type of dog, used by hunters to track or chase prey. Hounds can be contrasted with gundogs, which assist hunters by identifying the location of prey and/or recovering shot quarry, the hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. They have either a sense of smell or great speed. There are three types of hound, with several breeds within each type, Sighthounds, which follow prey predominantly by speed and these dogs are fast and assist hunters in catching game—fox, hare, deer and elk. Scenthounds, which follow prey or others by tracking its scent and these dogs have endurance but are not fast runners. The remaining breeds of hound follow their prey using both sight and scent, difficult to classify as they are neither sighthound nor scent hound and this may not include all hound-type dogs. Breed Groups Dog type Hound Group Hunting dog Scent hound Sighthound Sighthound & Pariah Group
8.
Basset Hound
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The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family, as well as one of six recognized Basset breeds in France. The Basset is a scent hound that was bred for the purpose of hunting hare. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound, the name Basset is derived from the French word bas, meaning low, with the attenuating suffix -et meaning small, together meaning rather low. Basset Hounds are usually bicolours or tricolours of standard hound colouration, in this article, Basset is used to distinguish the modern breed from other basset-type dogs. Bassets are large, short, solid and long, with curved sabre tails held high over their long backs, an adult dog weighs between 20 and 35 kilograms. This breed, relative to size, is heavier-boned than any other and this breed, like its ancestor the Bloodhound, has a hanging skin structure, which causes the face to occasionally look sad, this, for many people, adds to the breeds charm. The dewlap, seen as the loose, elastic skin around the neck, and its neck is wider than its head. This, combined with the skin around its face and neck means that flat collars can easily be pulled off. The looseness of the results in the Bassets characteristic facial wrinkles. The Bassets skull is characterised by its large dolichocephalic nose, which is only to the Bloodhound in scenting ability. The coat of a Basset is medium-short, smooth and hard, any true hound colour is acceptable in Basset Hounds, and no one colour is preferred over any other. The source of colour is the E Locus, which has four alleles, EM, EG, E, the EM, E and e alleles are present in the Basset Hounds. The E allele allows for the production of red and black pigments, so is present with the majority of colour patterns in Basset Hounds. Red and Lemon colours are caused by the e allele of MC1R, the e allele is recessive, so red and lemon dogs are homozygous e/e. Lemon dogs are lighter in colour than Reds, but the mechanism that dilutes phaeomelanin in this instance is unknown. No black hairs will be present on either Red or Lemon dogs, if there are any black hairs, the dog is officially a tricolour. The EM allele produces a black mask on the face that may extend up around the eyes and this pattern is most easily seen on Mahogany dogs, although any Basset colour pattern may express the EM allele, except for red and white or lemon and white due to e/e. Many Bassets have a clearly defined white blaze and a tip to their tail
9.
Beagle
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The Beagle is a breed of small-sized hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The Beagle is a scent hound, developed primarily for hunting hare, with a great sense of smell and their tracking instinct, the Beagle is employed as detection dog for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. The Beagle is intelligent but single-minded and it is a popular pet due to its size, good temper, and lack of inherited health problems. Beagles have been depicted in culture since Elizabethan times in literature and paintings, and more recently in film, television. Snoopy of the comic strip Peanuts has been promoted as the worlds most famous beagle, Dogs of similar size and purpose to the modern Beagle can be traced in Ancient Greece back to around the 5th century BC. Xenophon, born around 430 BC, in his Treatise on Hunting or Cynegeticus refers to a hound that hunted hares by scent and was followed on foot. Small hounds are mentioned in the Forest Laws of Canute which exempted them from the ordinance which commanded that all dogs capable of running down a stag should have one foot mutilated, in the 11th century, William the Conqueror brought the Talbot hound to Britain. The Talbot was a white, slow, deep-throated, scent hound derived from the St. Hubert Hound which had been developed in the 8th century. At some point the English Talbots were crossed with Greyhounds to give them an extra turn of speed, long extinct, the Talbot strain probably gave rise to the Southern Hound which, in turn, is thought to be an ancestor of the modern-day Beagle. From medieval times, beagle was used as a description for the smaller hounds. Small enough to fit in a pocket or saddlebag, they rode along on the hunt, the larger hounds would run the prey to ground, then the hunters would release the small dogs to continue the chase through underbrush. Elizabeth I referred to the dogs as her singing beagles and often entertained guests at her royal table by letting her Pocket Beagles cavort amid their plates, 19th-century sources refer to these breeds interchangeably and it is possible that the two names refer to the same small variety. Standards for the Pocket Beagle were drawn up as late as 1901, by the 18th century two breeds had been developed for hunting hare and rabbit, the Southern Hound and the North Country Beagle. The Southern Hound, a tall, heavy dog with a square head, though slow, it had stamina and an excellent scenting ability. The North Country Beagle, possibly a cross between an offshoot of the Talbot stock and a Greyhound, was bred chiefly in Yorkshire and was common in the northern counties and it was smaller than the Southern Hound, less heavy-set and with a more pointed muzzle. It was faster than its southern counterpart but its abilities were less well developed. As fox hunting became increasingly popular, numbers of types of hound diminished. The beagle-type dogs were crossed with larger breeds such as Stag Hounds to produce the modern Foxhound, the beagle-size varieties came close to extinction but some farmers in the South ensured the survival of the prototype breeds by maintaining small rabbit-hunting packs
10.
Dachshund
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The dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The standard size dachshund was developed to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, in the United States, they have also been used to track wounded deer and hunt prairie dogs. Dachshunds also participate in shows, field trials and many other events organized through pure-bred dog organizations such as the American Kennel Club. According to the AKC, the dachshund remains one of the top 10 dog breeds in the United States, the name dachshund is of German origin and literally means badger dog, from Dachs and Hund. The pronunciation varies widely in English, variations of the first and second syllables include /ˈdɑːks-/, /ˈdæks-/ and /-hʊnt/, although dachshund is a German word, in modern German they are more commonly known by the name Dackel or, among hunters, Teckel. Because of their long, narrow build, they are often nicknamed wiener dog or sausage dog, Dachshund may be erroneously pronounced and/or spelled dash hound, dash-hound, or dashound by some English speakers. Many dachshunds, especially the wire-haired subtype, may exhibit behavior, a typical dachshund is long-bodied and muscular with short, stubby legs. Its front paws are large and paddle-shaped for extreme digging. It has skin that is loose enough not to tear while tunneling in tight burrows to chase prey, the dachshund has a deep chest that provides increased lung capacity for stamina when hunting prey underground. Its snout is long with an increased nose area that absorbs odors, there are three dachshund coat varieties, smooth coat, longhaired, and wirehaired. Longhaired dachshunds have a coat and short featherings on legs. Wirehaired dachshunds are the least common coat variety in the US, Dachshunds have a wide variety of colors and patterns. Their base coloration can be single-colored, tan pointed, and in wirehaired dogs, patterns such as dapple, sable, brindle and piebald also can occur on any of the base colors. Dachshunds in the litter may be born in different coat colors depending on the genetic makeup of the parents. The dominant color in the breed is red, followed by black, tan pointed dogs have tan markings over the eyes, ears, paws, and tail. Sabling should not be confused with an unusual coat color referred to as sable. At a distance, a sable dachshund looks somewhat like a black, an additional striking coat marking is the brindle pattern. Brindle refers to dark stripes over a solid background—usually red, if a dachshund is brindled on a dark coat and has tan points, it will have brindling on the tan points only
11.
German Hound
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The German Hound is a breed of dog originating in Westphalia, a region of Germany. The German Hound is of the type, used for hunting both large and small game. The breed is referred to as the Deutsche Bracke in English, rather than by the translation of the name. The German Hound is a hound,40 –53 cm at the withers, with long, drooped ears. It is distinguished by a long, somewhat narrow head, and a rectangular body, described as elegant. The coat has hard, almost bristly, short fur, usually tricolor, with white markings called Bracken marks - a white muzzle, chest, legs, collar, and tip of the tail, the Bracke are an ancient type of hound. Their distinctive narrow heads and long ears set them apart from other types of hounds, the St. Huberts Hound may have contributed to the Brackes voice, the distinctive call made by the dogs while chasing game. Over a very long period of time, Bracke developed into a variety of regional forms, in 1896, the Deutschen Bracken Club, encompassing all of the local types of Bracke in northwest Germany, was formed in Olpe. The breeds were merged in 1900 as one breed and were officially designated Deutsche Bracke and this breed was formerly called by a variety of old regional names such as Olpe Bracke, Sauerländer Bracke and Westphalian Bracke, and other local types now blended into one breed. The only breeds of Bracke in the area today are the German Hound, the Westphalian Dachsbracke is a short-legged dog, possibly a cross of a Bracke with the Dachshund, the Westphalian Dachsbracke. Hunting with the Bracke in early times was done with hunters on horses following the hounds, as done by the ancient Celts chasing deer, and modern-day fox hunters. Another sport, developed in the 16th century, did not require the expense of horses and big kennels, hounds hunting this way tenaciously follow the game while voicing cries that communicate to the hunter as to where the dog is and what type of game the dog is following. Today, the Deutsche Bracke is usually used to hunt deer, often, it is hunted singly as a leash hound, to hunt on smaller areas. The space needed to hunt a pack of hounds is described by the club as a minimum area of 1,000 ha. Related to the hunting with Bracke is the use of horns to communicate with the dogs, a custom that is continued today. The German Hound was the first Bracke to be registered as a breed, in 1900. and by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as breed number 299 in Group 6. Of the major clubs in the English-speaking world, only the United Kennel Club in the US recognises the German Hound. The German Hound is strictly a dog, and seldom seen outside its native country
