Roman Brythens!

[bunn]

"Grattius, too, writes that "great glory exalts the far-distant Celtic dogs" and refers to the Vertragus, an ancestor of the modern greyhound. "Swifter than thought or a winged bird it runs, pressing hard on the beasts it has found" (204ff).

Arrian has much to say about the dog in the Cynegeticus, written in Greek about AD 150 as a supplement to the manual of Xenophon. Arrian suggests that Xenophon must not have known of the Vetragus, which was named for its swiftness; otherwise, he never would have written that a hound cannot catch a hare except by luck. If the Vertragus does not run down the hare, it must be because of broken ground or a concealing thicket or ditch. A hare startled too close will not even have a chance to run at all.

"Splendid animals, the best bred of them, with fine eyes, fine bodies all over, fine coats, and fine appearance" (III.7), they should be long from head to tail, with a sturdy build, a muzzle that comes to a point, and large soft ears. The eyes should be prominent, large and bright and "should astonish the man who sees them" (IV.5). Again, he corrects Xenophon: "The color makes no difference, whatever it may be, not even if hounds are black or tan or white all over" (VI.1)."
(from http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/canes/canes.html )

Now here was I thinking that the Large Soft Ears were just him! Not that he would catch a hare, but mostly because he agrees with Arrian : " "For one does not take hounds out in order to catch the beast, but for a race and competition, at least if one is a true sportsman."

Comments

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I've always loved that sculpture.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I was already imagining the country teeming with bewildered people wandering around with maps in their hand, going, "Now, where did I leave that hoard?" Now they've all got dog leads trailing in their other hand, as they whistle and shout for their temporarily mislaid Roman Brythens, who have gone boinging off madly in all directions. What's Latin for "So you're the owner?" :-D

[huinare.livejournal.com]

- oops, meant to reply to Bunn's post, sorry! -

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Apt praise, all of it. I think sighthounds are far and away the most beautiful and stately-looking (though not always stately-acting, judging from your posts) of dogs. And I love the sculpture!

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I can't remember whether you know the Lydney dog?
http://curses.csad.ox.ac.uk/sites/lydney-deity.shtml

[bunn.livejournal.com]

If you combine the hoards and the Brythens, you end up with the strongest possible evidence that in Roman Britain, valuables were routinely stored in temptingly-fluffy bags, or possibly even inside teddy bears, which were regularly carried off and buried around the countryside by cavorting Brythens.

Over time, the teddy bears decay away, leaving only the hoard to mark where a Brythen had a mad digging session assisted by Teddy. :-D

[bunn.livejournal.com]

...it's good news that the teddies do eventually decay, because at the moment my garden looks like some kind of macabre accident has happened at the Teddy Bear's Picnic.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Az can do stately. I have to agree that 'stately' is not usually the word that comes to mind for Brythen (that would probably be 'Nooooooooo!') But I am still hoping that he will mature with time!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I've never met him in person, but I have seen his photo!

He's clearly a shaggy dog though, with relatively neat little ears, whereas the ears of the Vetragus are enormously Brythenish and so is the coat type.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I think you're onto something here. Romans definitely had teddy bears. The proof of this is the ancient Roman primary source Winnie Ille Pu, which is sitting on our bookshelves as I speak.

I'm also reminded of the "buried in wool" entries that you get in old parish registers (something that I'd entirely forgotten until I saw "burial in Champagne" as a heading in the British Museum.) I'd always assumed that this was in response to a law that was designed to support the English wool industry, but obviously this is a red herring. In fact, it's the last gasp of the ancient racial memory of long-ago traditions of burying things in teddy bears.

Can we get a publisher for our joint paper, do you think? :-D

[ningloreth.livejournal.com]

Are there many Roman sculptures of dogs? It never struck me before, because there are so many animals in Egyptian art, which is where my centre of gravity is, but that sculpture really has the look of something commissioned by a proud pet owner.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I may be the only one who doesn't see the Lydney dog as shaggy.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I don't really know! I think I've seen a fair few in mosaics - apart from the famous Cave Canem one, of course - but this one does seem unusually affectionate as a portrait. They look like dogs with personalities.

[thecatsamuel.livejournal.com]

awww! ecce canes romani :)