Chaucer's Alaunts 135 



agayn to J^e toun. pei byn of litel cost, for J^ei etyn ]>Q foule Jjinges 

 in ]>e boochiers rowe, and also j^ei kepen her maisters hous. pei byn 

 good for ]>e batyug of ]>e bole and huntyng of ]>e wild boore, whedir 

 it be with greihoundis at trustrc"" or with rennyng houndis at abbay 

 wij? inne ]>e coverte ; for whan a wilde boor is wij^inne a strong 

 hatte of wood, peraventure of [om.] alle ]>e day he wil not voide 

 J'ennys for ]>e rennyng houndes. And whan men lat soche mestifis 

 renne at j^e boor, >ei taken hym in Ipe thik spoyes^ and make some 

 men slee hym, or j^ei make hym come out of ]>q strenght, ]}at he ne 

 shal abide long at abaies.'^ 



The following account of the alaunt is given by Baillie-Groh- 

 man (pp. 115-6) : 



A strong ferocious dog,^ supposed to have been brought to Western 

 Europe by a Caucasian tribe called Alains or Alani.^" This tribe 

 invaded Gaul in the fourth century, settling there awhile, and then 

 continued their wanderings and overran Spain. It is from this country 

 that the best alans were obtained during the Middle Ages, and dogs 

 that are used for bull- or bear-baiting there are still called Alanos.^^ 

 Gaston de Foix, living on the borders of this country, was in the best 

 position to obtain such dogs, and to know all about them. His 

 description, which we have here, tallies exactly with that written in 

 a Spanish book on hunting of the fourteenth century. This book, 

 Libro de la Monteria, was written by Alphonso XI. Both Gaston and 

 this Spanish king say that the body of the Alaunt was like that of a 

 heavy greyhound, their eyes were small, they were square in the jaw, 

 and that their ears were trimmed and pointed to make them look 

 alert. The tail was rather large than small. They were of three 

 colours, white, grey, and blackish, but that white with black markings 

 near the head and above the tail were the best liked. Alauntes were 

 used as war dogs,^" and it was said that when once they seized their 



■' Tryst. 



"^ Coppice, thicket. 



^ De Noirmont (2. 538) divides hunting-dogs into three classes: (i) 

 Powerful dogs {chiens de force), including the wolfhound, mastiff, and 

 bulldog, as well as the alaunt; (2) Greyhounds; (3) Running hounds; 

 (4) Bird-dogs. 



^"Diez (Etym. Wbch. 1. 12) thinks that alaunt means Albanian dog. 



" Similarly m the Spanish dictionary of Barcia, under the word Alano 

 (I translate) : 'The alaunt was so named because he was very fierce and 

 bloodthirsty, like the barbarians who invaded Spain at the beginning 

 of the fifth century. Hence this species of dog was emploj'ed in the 

 hunting of wild boars.' Cf. Leighton, p. 511. 



^' I insert a picture taken from the Magasin Pittoresque 2.2, (1855). 

 221, which reproduced it from the Tractatus de Re Militari et de Machinis 

 BelUcis (1330-40) of Paul Savetinus Ducensis, a manuscript of the 



