246 APPENDIX 



stag nearing its end rused and foiled, and sought by 

 every means to shake off his persecutors (sec Appendix : 

 Relays). G. de F. gives the names of the three relays 

 simply as La première bataille^ la seconde^ and la tierce 



(P 175). 



POMELED ; spotted, from O. F. pomeiè^ spotted like 

 an apple. The young of the roedeer are born with a 

 reddish brown coat with white spots, which the " Master 

 of Game " calls pomeled. This term was also frequently 

 used in Ang.-N., O. F., and in the dog-Latin of our ancient 

 records to describe a flea-bitten or dappled horse. " His 

 hakenei that was all pomeli gris^' (Strat.). '^ Pommeli 

 liardus,gris po?n?nelc, Uno equo liardo poyneW'' (Obs. Ward. 

 Ace. 28, Ed. I.). G. de F. does not use this word in 

 describing the young of the roedeer, but says they are 

 born " eschaquettes " (p. 40). 



RACHES ; ratches or racches^ a dog that hunts by 

 scent. A.-S. raecc^ a hound, and O. F. and Ang.-N. 

 brache^ bracket^ bracon^ braquet ; Ger. bracken, Ang.-Lat., 

 brachetus^ bracketus. 



Raches were scenting hounds hunting in a pack, later 

 called " running hounds," and then simply hounds. Al- 

 though raches or brachets are frequently mentioned in 

 the O. F. and Ang.-N. metrical romances, and in various 

 early documents, we have never found any description of 

 them, but can only gather what they were from the uses 

 they were put to. We find that the bracco was used by 

 the early German tribes to track criminals, therefore 

 they were scenting hounds. There is plenty of evidence 

 that they were used for stag, wild boar, and buck hunting 

 during the Middle Ages. They were coupled together 

 and led by a berner or bracennier or braconnier. Braconnier 

 now means poacher, but this is only the later meaning ; 

 originally braconnier was the leader of the bracos, or 

 huntsman (Daurel, p. 337; Banj^ert, p. 173; Dol. 

 9188). 



