THE RAMHUNT
Ram-hundt
Possibly literally ram-dog or sheepdog. This small to medium-sized medieval stock dog was tolerated unlawed in those areas governed by the Forest Laws so we can infer from this that it was neither fast enough nor large enough to threaten the king's deer. Quite possibly this may have been the first breed to be hybridised with the Greyhounds of the day to produce Lurchers for use in illicit hunting forays.
Canon 32 of Canute's forest laws (translated by Manwood), allows "those little dogs called Velteres, and such as are
called Ram-hundt (all which dogs are to fit in one's lap),
may be kept in the forest, because in them there is no danger,
and therefore they may not be hoxed or have their knees cut."
King Canute therefore knew of the Ramhunt, and 'fox-dog translates into modern Danish as ræv-hund.
Few breeds of dog were tolerated in those vast tracts of hunting land claimed by the king known as Forests (whether wooded or not). The areas were so large that it was recognised that those subjects living in those expanses embounded by the King's hunting grounds would require dogs. "The Lawes of the Forest doe so greatly regard the necessarie use and service of Dogges, for the safety of mens houses and goods that doe dwell within Forests". Small dogs were allowed, as were expeditated mastiffs but Spaniels and Greyhound were generally forbidden unless permission from the King had been granted. Officials used a special dog gauge measuring 7 inch wide by 5 inch to check if a dog was small enough to be kept in a forest. Dogs were only approved if they could pass through the iron ring.
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| Dog Gauge measuring 7 inch by 5 inch. |
The act of cutting a dogs hamstring was known as hambling. Originally, under King John, dogs too big for the dog gauge had to be destroyed or suffer hambling but this caused deep unrest in the countryside as it robbed the peasants of guard dogs for their protection in a country that abounded with bandits. As a result of this disquiet Henry II had the method of mutilation altered to defacement of the ball of the foot (or hoaxing), where a deep incision was made across it. In times of conflict mastiffs were war dogs, mastiffs (in numbers) would be expected to disrupt an enemies armoured cavalry, mastiffs had to take the fight to the enemy, it was therefore extremely dangerous attempting to mutilate a mastiff in this fashion and untold numbers of the operators were quite severely injured by dogs they were attempting to maim. The next idea to be tried was lawing (from de-clawing or clawing) and the best way to do this was set down in writing and performed in an established fashion thus: and accordingly, the same is now used, for, the mastive being brought to set one of his forefeet upon a piece of wood of eight inches thicke, and a foot square, the one with a mallet, setting a chissell of two inches broad upon the three clawes of his forefoot, at one blow doth smite them clean off... John Manwood from: A Treatise of the Lawes of the Forest, 1717
Old Farm Dogs, Col David Hancock
Shire Publications
A Kennel of Dogs, edited by Clifford L. B. Hubbard. 1997
Unwin Brothers Limited, The Gresham Press, Old Woking, Surrey.
British Dogs, A Croxton Smith, 1945.
Collins 14 St James Place, London.
Gleanings from the natural history of the ancients.
Archive.org
Manwood's Treatise of the forest laws.
Archive.org
The Domestic Dog, an introduction to its History
Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1957
An History of the Original Parish of Whalley, and Honor of Clitheroe, In the Counties of Lancaster and York
Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1957
An History of the Original Parish of Whalley, and Honor of Clitheroe, In the Counties of Lancaster and York
The Mastiff
The Bibarhunt
