HOUNDS AND HUNTING 53 



two of the royal yeomen, wages of i2d. a day, two berners 

 and two ventrers zd. a day, together with \d. a day for each 

 of twenty-four running dogs, and i\d. a day for each of nine 

 greyhounds, whilst they hunted for the king in Dartmoor 

 Forest. He was also to provide salt and barrels, and carriage 

 for the venison. At the same time, the keeper of Dartmoor 

 Forest was ordered to permit Robert and David to take twenty 

 harts. 



In July, 1315, Edward II. (after giving like instruction to 

 the sheriff of Somerset with regard to the forests of Neroche, 

 Petherton, Mendip, and Selwood) ordered the sheriff of 

 Devon to pay to the king's yeomen, Robert Squier and David 

 de Franketon, whom the king was sending with two berners, 

 twenty-four running dogs, two ventrers, and nine greyhounds, 

 to take venison in the forest of Exmoor, \2d. a day each whilst 

 thus engaged, together with 2d. a day for each of the berners, 

 and \d. a day for each of the running dogs, and zd. a day for 

 each of the ventrers, with i\d. a day for each greyhound. He 

 has also to provide the yeoman with salt and barrels for the 

 venison, and to provide for the carriage of the same. At the 

 same time the keeper of Exmoor received orders to permit the 

 king's huntsmen to take twenty harts out of the forest. Ex- 

 moor was evidently at that time the exclusive haunt of the red 

 deer ; the keepers of Neroche, Selwood, and Petherton were 

 ordered to supply so many bucks (i.e. fallow deer), whilst the 

 keeper of Mendip was to supply twelve bucks and twelve harts. 



The berner (bernarius] was the title of the man in charge of 

 running hounds ; the ventrer or fewterer [veltrarius] had 

 charge of the greyhounds ; and the berceletter was responsible 

 for the bercelets or hounds that hunted by scent. The reason 

 for salting down the venison was because of the difficulty of 

 obtaining fresh meat in the winter season, when root crops 

 were unknown, and the expenses of fodder for all kinds of 

 cattle were so serious. In a few of the forests large larders 

 were maintained, for the express purpose of salting the venison 

 when the summer season of hunting was over. In such cases 

 there was, of course, no necessity to order the sheriff to see to 

 the salting or pay for the carriage of the meat to the royal 

 household. There were such larders in Duffield Frith and in 

 Needwood forest. An example of a year's accounts, con- 



