THE BANDOG OR MASTIFF. 69 



by St. Wilfrid in 680 A.D., it is probable these Saxon works 

 of art are over 1000 years old, and form a striking contrast 

 when compared to the faultless works of Gibson, R.A., and 

 that of other modern sculptors scattered about the same 

 Cathedral. 



In the Natural History, or rather " Bestinria " as it was 

 termed, of the middle ages, although we find numerous figures 

 of animals in carving, such as the lion, bear, bull, and ram, 

 we find few figures of the dog ; this unfortunate circumstance 

 for the dog lover is easily accounted for, as the animals 

 depicted are in semi-sacred subjects, being all symbolical, and 

 although the early artist depicting Taurus or Aries intended 

 to represent the ancient fabulous animals, they could only 

 obtain their models from the living animals around them. 

 Thus a Durham carver depicting Taurus, would unintention- 

 ally leave behind a reliable portrait of the type of the 

 Teeswater cattle of his day ; while the Herefordshire sculptor 

 would delineate the Hereford bull of his period, whose type 

 is thus handed down to posterity, having been preserved 

 among the crumbling calcelarius remains and dust}' particles 

 ot their breeders who rest around the carvings. 



From the miserere sculptures of Worcester and other 

 Cathedrals, we can obtain the fashion of the dress and 

 appearance of our ancestors, and the forms of our early 

 English cattle and sheep, but the mastiff not being symbolical 

 of any sacred or profane subject is not found. 



One of the great drawbacks to discovery and information 

 from such sources, is the fact that few antiquarians have any 

 real knowledge of the characteristic features of the various 

 breeds of dogs, in fact, they are not dog fanciers or judges as 



