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Greyhounds in History

(A report of a research study to prepare for historical reenactment)

This is an overview of the place of the greyhound breed in the recorded history of the world. It will cover several important periods in history/notable groups of people in history.

The first recorded images of dogs with bodies of the same shape as our modern day greyhounds are found on the walls of the tombs of the Ancient Egyptians. Indeed, there is, at times, a heated debate among sighthound enthusiasts about the true breed of these dogs, including the "Jackal-Headed" god Anubis. (Anubis probably looks the most like the modern day Pharaoh Hound, since their ears are upright naturally.) Favored hounds were mummified along with their owners and buried in the tombs. Greyhounds quite obviously had their build in warmer climates, as evidenced by their build, thin coat, and webbed toes quite well suited for fast movement through sand and desert.

Greyhounds continued to be revered and owned as a sort of symbol of aristocracy and wealth. They were also used in mythology and literature as symbols of loyalty and the ties of friendship. In "The Odyssey" by Homer, the great hero Odysseus returns home after many years and adventures to a household where no one recognizes him except for his hound, Argus. Argus sees his master, thumps his tail, and then dies. This is said to speak of the extreme loyalty of a hound to his human, in that only Argus remained loyal to Odysseus until the end.

Another possible contribution of the Greeks to the greyhound breed may be the name, "Greyhound." One popular idea about the origin of the word comes from the fact that adventuring Greeks took their hounds with them, and they were known as "Greek Hounds." It is also thought that the name Greyhound comes from a reference to the hounds being owned by the nobility, thus the name "Great Hounds."

Little is known about whether the Romans or the Celts had greyhound-type dogs first. What is known is the incredible influence that the breed has had over both types of mythology and lore. Many of the Roman (and Greek) Gods and Goddesses are pictured often with a greyhound-type dog. The Celtic people had stories of hounds throughout their religious and secular literature; these include Bran and Sceolan, hounds whelped to a bitch that had been a human, but was turned into a hound by a rival, and of Cú Chulainn, a legendary warrior whose name in Gaelic means "Hound of the Smith."

By the time of the middle ages, the greyhound had almost become extinct in the British Isles. Times were hard for those not of noble blood, and keeping a dog for hunting wasn't practical. The clergy took in some of the greyhounds and began to breed them to sell to the aristocracy, and thus kept the breed thriving. Greyhounds were often seen as symbols of the virtues of the knights, such as their loyalty and undying faith, just as they were represented centuries earlier in the Greek epics. Thanks to the Forest Laws of 1014 and King Canute of England, commoners were not allowed to own greyhounds, and the penalties for being caught ranged from hands being cut off to death. Dogs confiscated were mutilated so that they could no longer hunt.

It was due to this ban that we now see the most common greyhound colors as the reds, red brindles, and other variations of the brindle coloring. Dogs of these colors were easier to camouflage than white, black or blue (grey). In turn, the nobility tended to prefer the white dogs and the yellow fawns because they were easy to see as they coursed game in the forests. Blue dogs were also favored, and were probably called "Blue" instead of their true coloring, which is a charcoal grey, because they belonged to the "Blue Bloods" of the aristocracy. Since there were obviously more commoners than nobles, it only stands to reason that this division is the reason for the proliferation of brindles in the breed today and the relative rarity of solid white and solid blue hounds.

The Renaissance or Elizabethan period of English history was a grand time for greyhounds. Queen Elizabeth I abolished the Forest Laws, so more people were able to own greyhounds and the breed flourished. Coursing as a sport became quite popular during this time and due to Elizabeth's own interest was dubbed "The Sport of Queens." [To this day, greyhound is still referred to as "The Sport of Queens."] Coursing continued to gain popularity throughout the next two centuries in England, and when English settlers came to the New World they brought their hounds with them. Many of the hounds in the United States today can trace their lineage back to some of these seafaring ancestors!

Sources:

http://www.greyhounds-galore.co.uk/antiquity.htm

http://www.gulfcoastgreyhounds.org/hist-0-indx.html#Orgin

http://cyberpict.net/hounds/clthnd.htm

http://www.gpac.ca/background/greyhounds.html