Jason Kingsley, the Modern Knight, discusses the types of pets that medieval people had. Dogs of course, but what else, and what types of pets did monks keep? Join this channel to get access to perks: / @modernknight
Thanks for watching. Don't forget that I have a new novel that's about to go on Kickstarter. If you are interested in taking a look, here's the link to register interest. It's a Medieval Fantasy novel called Lord of Blackthorne. www.kickstarter.com/projects/modernknight/lord-of-blackthorne
Wonderful! Going there right now. Would hope that your donkey ... or was it mule ... with no name has had a name given to him. Would be lovely if he made an appearance in your novel. I don't know why, but every time I watch your channel, he comes to mind. Thanks for this one. It was a fun and fascinating one. I do remember a few years back you recommended a medieval book, I think a friend of yours wrote. To support you and him, I bought them and thoroughly enjoyed the series.
I like that old roman book some guy wrote about how to take care of dogs. He lists a bunch of examples of names to give dogs, it's a proper hunting manual. But then he just randomly starts talking about how awesome his dog is, how it won't even walk too far up the road away from him, how it's always so happy to see him return home even if he was only gone for a few moments. Some things never change
The book is “Cynegeticus” by Xenophon. A RU-vidr called Historia Civilis spoke about it a bit in the video “Bird Mania, Strongboys, and Tunnel Bears”, highly recommend watching it.
There is something about humans that is so attracted to animals that even the homeless and starving have pets. I knew a man once who always fed his little dog, even if he didn’t have food for himself. Most of us just love animals. Sometimes, when I’m looking for a reason not to give up on humankind, I hold onto to that.🤗❤️🐝
Frankly, I feel like any homeless person that can adequately care for a dog- and the dog genuinely enjoys the company of the transient individual, should have a dog. It helps keep them safe and provides the most marginalized, vulnerable people in our society with companionship and the unconditional love every human truly needs. Whenever I see a homeless person w/a dog and I can manage it- i will swing back by w/some food, toys, and other useful doggy supplies that they can easily carry w/them.
I mean, the alternative to a spaced out release schedule is something like PBS Spacetime, where, unless a new paper was released that week, they just cover the same topic as a previous video.
...I mean his day job is the CEO for a moderately sized game company, so I think we can forgive him for not focusing on his side project/hobby youtube channel
St. Hugh of Lincoln (the bishop who protected Jews), aka St. Hugh of Avalon (the Burgundy one, sigh), was famous for having a swan that he had befriended, and that followed him around. This was the famous Swan of Stow. He was a fierce, unusually large cob that was gentle only to St. Hugh, and to a bailiff who fed him whenever St. Hugh was away. Everybody else he attacked, which was kind of embarrassing, but definitely kept St. Hugh from being overworked. The swan lived with St. Hugh for 15 years, whenever St. Hugh wasn't traveling; and the swan outlived him by several years. He is one of St. Hugh's attributes.
There is a famous poem by a medieval Irish monk about his cat, Pangur Ban: 1. I and Pangur Bán, my cat, 'Tis a like task we are at; Hunting mice is his delight, Hunting words I sit all night. 2. Better far than praise of men 'Tis to sit with book and pen; Pangur bears me no ill-will, He, too, plies his simple skill. 3. 'Tis a merry thing to see At our tasks how glad are we, When at home we sit and find Entertainment to our mind. 4. Oftentimes a mouse will stray In the hero Pangur's way; Oftentimes my keen thought set Takes a meaning in its net. 5. 'Gainst the wall he sets his eye Full and fierce and sharp and sly; 'Gainst the wall of knowledge I All my little wisdom try. 6. When a mouse darts from its den, O! how glad is Pangur then; O! what gladness do I prove When I solve the doubts I love. 7. So in peace our task we ply, Pangur Bán, my cat, and I; In our arts we find our bliss, I have mine, and he has his. 8. Practice every day has made Pangur perfect in his trade; I get wisdom day and night, Turning darkness into light.
A Medieval Irish monk scribbled a note praising his cat Pangur into the margin of a manuscript he was copying. The note was later translated by W.H. Auden into a poem, which then became a delightful song by Samuel Barber, "The Monk and His Cat".
Ha! One of the priests in our parish brings his dog to Mass. An older dog, large mixed breed. The dog lies quietly at the back of the chapel during the service.
Haha, google translates that as "Friar Whiskers", which is awesome. Reminds me of Tommen's cat in Game of Thrones, Ser Pounce. I always appreciate when a pet has a title.
for early medieval monastic pets, Pangur Ban: Pangur Bán and I at work, Adepts, equals, cat and clerk: His whole instinct is to hunt, Mine to free the meaning pent. More than loud acclaim, I love Books, silence, thought, my alcove. Happy for me, Pangur Bán Child-plays round some mouse’s den. Truth to tell, just being here, Housed alone, housed together, Adds up to its own reward: Concentration, stealthy art. Next thing an unwary mouse Bares his flank: Pangur pounces. Next thing lines that held and held Meaning back begin to yield. All the while, his round bright eye Fixes on the wall, while I Focus my less piercing gaze On the challenge of the page. With his unsheathed, perfect nails Pangur springs, exults and kills. When the longed-for, difficult Answers come, I too exult. So it goes. To each his own. No vying. No vexation. Taking pleasure, taking pains, Kindred spirits, veterans. Day and night, soft purr, soft pad, Pangur Bán has learned his trade. Day and night, my own hard work Solves the cruxes, makes a mark.
Pangur Ban means White Bleacher, so he was a white cat. Very very white. The book in which the poem was found has been digitized, too! I will also note that in both the Greek LXX and Vulgate Bible versions of the Book of Baruch, cats were noted as one of the animals that would walk fearlessly on top of idols and sit on their heads. Thus proving that nature's creatures didn't worship false gods. :)
Greetings Sir Knight! I have a mongrel dog. I like rescue dogs the best because their gratitude is never ending. I also have 2 cats, but neither of them is a witch (as far as I can tell).
In America we call it a barn cat. Very common on farms. Not particularly friendly, you don’t usually pet them. I do believe it’s said that the Norse would give cats as a wedding present at one period? Essentially saying, you’re getting your own house, you’ll need one of these.
So interesting, seems that ‘pets’ had a purpose and earned their keep as it were. Watching my elderly cat snoozing on her heated pad thinking she’s lucky to be a modern day house cat!
We got a heating pad for our cat about a year ago and I've been kicking myself since, wondering how I never thought of looking for one sooner! Of course cats would love heating pads! 😂
@@lmonk9517 They were bred to be short so that when they nipped at cows heels to move them along it was under the height that a cow would kick. They are study little buggers too and low center of gravity to boot. And my personal favourite fact is that the white tip on their tail (and on border collie's) is called a shepherd's lantern. After the work for the day was done and the sun had set the used to tell them to go home and follow the white tip of the tail home.
The Corgi (we have one too!) is said to be related to the swedish "Västgötaspets", very similar in physical shape but shorter hair and almost wolf-like in appearance. Also bred for herding cattle! :)
I started watching you since you only had a couple thousand subs, and I am so happy to see how much you have grown as a channel and content creator. I am excited to see where this journey will continue to go!
Exeter Cathedral in Devon, UK is said to have had the earliest known cat flap built in 1598. Bishop William Cotton is said to have ordered the hole to be cut in the door to allow local cats used by the cathedral to catch vermin. The door is allegedly 400 years old!
Gotta go tell Kitteny Houston that she's a valued member of my household and family. She doesn't speak English or do pest control, but she's cute and fluffy which is good for morale.
Sir Jason Kingsley, I love how you always blend in perfectly with your surroundings. It's like a beautiful old painting, a perfect whole. Oh, and I want an English Pigdog now, difficult to get one these days I guess.
I keep ferrets as companions and have visited them as working ferrets (rabbit hunting) in Scotland. I have read that ferrets weren't written about much in medieval periods because they were so common everyone already knew. There was a ferret guild and a "business of ferrets" would go to a barn or wharf or wherever there was grain and rats, and chase out the rats. Ferrets can kill rats but often farmers with spades and torches and terrier type dogs would finish the job. They would coral the rats to a killing area. If not for ferrets, rats would have eaten all the grain in Europe. Yes cats are important too for that reason. I like meeting the rabbit hunting ferrets. Rabbits are also a problem for farmers of course, they'll eat everything if not checked.
I still work my ferrets at rat and rabbit down here in Somerset, they've been domesticated since at least the iron age, first to deal with rats amongst food store for winter then as rabbiters after their introduction. I believe from my research Fitch to be the oldest English term for a ferret, fitchet is still used today to describe a polecat coloured ferret. They are truly man's best friend, but then again I'm biased.
Thing about cats is, they are much better at taking down mice and birds than rats. They may hunt young rats, but many cats will not tangle with an adult rat. Ferrets, however, will... but ferrets are mustelids, and most of the weasel family and their kin--badgers and wolverines included--are super fierce for their size. So I'd place more importance on ferrets than cats in terms of rat control, though cats definitely would've played a role since keeping the young rat population in check prevents those rats from growing up and reproducing.
@@brassbucklesI’m sure that there is a very good reason that ferrets are at the top of the list of most popular pets among apartment dwellers. That snippet of information is from the US, where the urban rat is a serious problem. I don’t know if it applies to the UK.
Ferreting always sounds like fun, when I hear about it! There's a fella using American Mink off of fur farms even now for pest control. Little SAVAGES that can take down Muskrats at least as big as they are!
Re: menageries, you might be surprised. A lot of these acquired animals came with instructions, and some of them even came with keepers (or people intended to train a new keeper, and then go back). If you had a leopard or a cheetah, he would come with a huntsman/keeper who had probably trained the cheetah himself, and was bonded with him. Charlemagne's elephant came with an elephant keeper. And so on. A lot of Magi pictures are also pictures of some local magnate's menagerie and keeper staff, standing behind the Magi with all their various critters as well as the standard hunting dogs. Many of them have cheetahs sitting on special cheetah saddlepads, or down on the ground ready to hunt.
I agree, I think they were pretty well kept. I believe they even used to let the polar bear at the Tower go swimming and fishing in the Thames now and again.
The description of the Alaunt breed sounds similar to a modern lurcher or borzoi. Also the anecdote about people bringing their badly trained pets into public spaces just proves Annoying Dog Owners have always been an issue 😂
I once met someone at a lurcher and terrier show that had some very odd looking dogs; I asked him about them, and he was rather cagey, but they turned out to be greyhound/pitbull crosses. Very sadly, I believe they're bred for badger baiting, but I bet the aluant was something similar, if you were after bears, something like a wolfhound or deerhound crossed with a mastiff would be a formidable hunter.
Apparently, there are breeding programmes for the recreation of the Alaunt. There are two breeds so far, the Alaunt Gentil, which has a less aggressive nature, and the American Alaunt, which, surprise, surprise, retains the more aggressive characteristics.
Oooh, interesting! The only other time I have seen reference to alaunts was in a book by Ann Swinfen, The Novice's Tale, set around Oxford in the 1350s. These alaunts were quite scary creatures used by the villain to attack a young woman. Another type of dog called a lymer was also used, for scent-following rather than attacking, and I understand that these are extinct as well. Thank you for the video!
I love this channel so much, I wish I could see more of you. Sir, I am Bulgarian and I lived in Scotland for 4 years during my time in Glasgow University. Even though you're older than me, spending time listening to your stories takes me back some 10 years... I hope you are well
In most cases up until now shepherd dogs herd whatever they are told to herd, so it didn't need to be a special dog that herded pigs, e.g. Croatian sheep dogs herded sheep, pigs and cows. Their herding instinct is so powerful that they even try to herd their owner's family😂, they try to round you up and don't want you to leave the herd
Mayhap one of the reasons why some priests were more fond of exotic pets was because they couldn't marry and have children, so some lavished their parental love on animals. At least when it comes to Catholics and monks. Here in the East, regular priests could and usually should marry, and most lived like regular commoners. Especially a country priest would have dogs, cats, and farm animals, and they pretty much lived like regular peasants, outside of their priestly duties.
Here in some towns the law was that every household needed to have at least 2 cats to help with pest control. Having a dog would be taxed for its use in helping the owner earn money (like by pulling a cart).
I watched a YT video some time ago explaining how much money good (=mouser) cats cost in the Medieval times. Our family cat would not fetch much, I am afraid.
@@satu4387Haha. I don't think I've ever had a cat that could actually work as a mouser. They always looked at any vermin in the house as an extraterrestrial species.
There’s a type of dog I also imagine would be very useful in medieval times. Until not long ago small dogs (think a toy poodle) were kept in fishing ships. They would keep pests like rats from entering the vessel and act as an alarm when the sailors were away. They’d feed on fish scraps (or I guess whale in whaling vessels). They could also be entertainment for the sailors while at sea if they were not needed in any particular task. My guess is they could be a very useful animal in medieval vessels, especially those that went for days or months to sea and would dock in many different ports.
I think you're describing ratter dogs. There were dozens of terrier, pinscher and schnauzer breeds selected for hunting rats. Cats are nice when there's a managed population, but when there are many large rats nothing like a terrier. You also have water dog retrievers like the Portuguese and Spanish water dogs. Fishermen used them until very recently to retrieve lost items that fell overboard.
The netherlands' keeshond was used on their barges, he was small, black and is nowadays often confused with the smaller variant of the German Spitz, although similar but not the same variety
I think there was a now extict breed of dog called a spit-turn. It's sole job was to operate a treadmill like a sort of medieval rotisary. And Yorkshire Terriers were often used as 'ratters'.
@@jennythescouser I’ll have to look into that, I was recently looking at ploughing, carting, dragging sleds, some weird power generators from raised stones or springs compressed by a Jenny mill. Looked for this stuff when I was working on that, saw nothing but basic accounts without much detail.
Saint Julian of Norwich apparently always had a cat in her little cell next to the church. I believe she also had access to a small courtyard garden.I love her famous quote of ...'All is well. All shall be well. All manner of thing shall be well.' Maybe she should be known as Saint Pollyanna. Hers is a fascinating story. All the best from Australia.
St Julian was an Anchorite, for whom the rules were clear. They were only allowed to keep a cat. Firstly, it was recognised that having a pet would have a positive effect of their mental health (though they would have described it differently). Secondly, as they were sealed into their cell, they needed an animal that would come and go to do what was necessary. They could be let out of the cell via the hatch through which food was delivered, there was no door, and only small windows.
I remember one of my lore complaints with the sci-fi game 'Starfield' was that humans in that setting, when they fled the Earth, abandoned dogs, which were extinct by the time the game was set. I can't imagine a scenario where the human species, as a whole, just leaves dogs behind entirely, not even bringing genetic samples to clone later or something. Dogs are not only mind-bogglingly useful for a great many things, but they are just utterly devoted buddies too. While specific breeds may look different today, and there was a stronger emphasis on their working roles in the past, the continuity of the bond between dogs and humans throughout history is an oddly-comforting constant when piecing together the lives of our ancestors.
There was this poem, written in the 9th century by a monk in a monastery in Ireland about his friend, white cate named Pangur Ban. Oh, what a lovely story it is, and only very short: Pangur Bán and I at work, Adepts, equals, cat and clerk: His whole instinct is to hunt, Mine to free the meaning pent. More than loud acclaim, I love Books, silence, thought, my alcove. Happy for me, Pangur Bán Child-plays round some mouse’s den. Truth to tell, just being here, Housed alone, housed together, Adds up to its own reward: Concentration, stealthy art. Next thing an unwary mouse Bares his flank: Pangur pounces. Next thing lines that held and held Meaning back begin to yield. All the while, his round bright eye Fixes on the wall, while I Focus my less piercing gaze On the challenge of the page. With his unsheathed, perfect nails Pangur springs, exults and kills. When the longed-for, difficult Answers come, I too exult. So it goes. To each his own. No vying. No vexation. Taking pleasure, taking pains, Kindred spirits, veterans. Day and night, soft purr, soft pad, Pangur Bán has learned his trade. Day and night, my own hard work Solves the cruxes, makes a mark.
I would think it would be hypocritical for Franciscan monks to be criticized for having a pet, considering the relationship that Saint Francis was said to have had with animals.⛪️
Great video Jason! I know you have many projects that you're working on, so i was very excited to get a new video! I definitely think if you have a horse or working animal that you are with all the time, that they could easily become your best friend! The part where you talk about the church chaos reminds me of people bringing thier rowdy pets into stores now (and kids) lol!
Alaunts are hybrids of bull terriers, mastiffs, and greyhounds. They had disappeared over a century ago but have been recently rebred in Scotland, unfortunately for use by gangs as fearsome status symbols.
To be clear (because I was fascinated and did some googling), the modern Alaunt isn't really the same breed, but just an attempt to mimic it based on the illustrations/descriptions and what we suspect about its lineage. Very interested looking breed, though!
There are several breeding programmes. One has produce the Alaunt Gentil, which has a less aggressive nature. The American Alaunt, surprise, surprise, retains its aggressive characteristics.
Thanks for this video. I found it super interesting, as it hadn’t been something that I took special notice of as the artwork (admittedly of nobles/wealthy) individuals often had a little dog, or hunting dog or hunting bird. I figured the non- affluent would have animals that worked for them, and so less of a “pet”. I looked up the Alaunt, which is currently extinct, but interesting, with two types being the molosser type - so large, short hair, big head, heavy and strong - and one a large sight hound - which made me think of the Irish wolfhound. Definitely I would think more of the working type dog than the little dogs of the wealthy. The pets of monks and nuns made me giggle, especially as pets were apparently contraband.
Thank you for this. As you began, one of my cats climbed out of my lap, in front of the screen. She was lifted to the other side of the sleeping spaniel whereupon she walked along his back to return to my lap - he barely stirred. Makes me wonder where the squirrel and the songbird got to . . .
I recently read "Medieval Pets" by Kathleen Walker-Meikle. That mostly focused on the non-working pets like lapdogs, so it was interesting to hear about the hunting dogs.
On exotic pets, there was a beastiary from the 13th century depicting a pet Sulfur crested Cockatoo. I think it belonged to the King of Sicily. In any case it is the first case of an Australaisian animal depicted in European artwork!
If I am not mistaken, many monks kept cats for pets (not pest control), even though they weren't supposed to. You see a lot of illuminations of cats doing standard cat-things in marginalia (not just allegorical situations), likely at least in part because the monks were including their favorite kitties in the art.
Some years ago, I read a book called "How the Irish Saved Civilization", that was mostly about Irish monks preserving Christianity and literacy in the British Isles during and immediately after the Anglo-Saxon invasion and conquest. The one thing I really remember about it was that in some book that was meticulously copied by some monk, presumably Irish or of Irish extraction, there was a little poem written in the margins about how the monk hunts words while his cat, Pangor Ban, hunts mice
You & your videos are an intriguing breath of fresh air! I used to live in the wilderness with a pack of wolfdogs and now I live in a suburban area (but in the process of moving )--- You re-Mind me in such a good way, thank you!
Saint Cuthbert the Wonderworker (reposed 687) of Lindisfarne is venerated in the Holy Orthodox Church on March 20th. He is well known for his incredible and often extreme nightly vigils. One night a brother monk followed St Cuthbert and observed his nightly vigil; the Saint stood waist-deep in the North Sea, arms outstretched in silent prayer all night. In the morning when he emerged from the sea, the monk secretly observing him saw two otters come up and rest at St Cuthbert's feet, warming them. St Cuthbert knew the monk was watching, and asked him not to mention what he saw to anyone while he was still alive, for the sake of his humility. Monastics and ascetics can achieve such peace that they relate to animals on a level much more akin to how humans were meant to, like Adam living in peace with them. So imagining monks keeping bears as "pets" is not a stretch, though the connotations of the word pet probably didn't apply to their relationship with the animals. Saint Seraphim of Sarov made friends with a bear, and "treated him like a lamb".
Monk: "We are Franciscans, right? Shouldn't we follow the example of St.Francis, get a few animals here and..." Abbot: "Brother, stop trying to weasel out of your weeding duty."
Given the importance of agriculture, I'm surprised we don't hear more about rat catching dogs. A trained terrier can be way better at rat control than a cat.
For a noble medieval household to have a Fewterer (the keeper of dogs) would imply they kept dogs. The Alaunt was probably rife in Britain, the Alans came over with the Romans and more than likely brought their dogs with them. What we now call Lurchers are Greyhounds crossed with various other breeds to determine size and ability, a Greyhound x Saluki is much more slender and a lot faster than a heavy set Greyhound x Masiff.
I imagine medieval monasteries would have had animals around both for utility (beekeeping is a well known monastic practice) as well as for scientific purposes, as monasteries were one of the few places in the middle ages where books on natural history were housed and copied. The holy man with two monkeys you mentioned might have fallen into the latter category. There were likely many curious monks who wished to add to their repository of zoological knowledge by direct study of living specimens. There were of course monks who kept common every day pets for pleasure, such as the author of the Old Irish poem Pangur Bán, which he composed out of love for his cat.
Alaunts I believe survive in their descendants, the Spanish Bulldog, which is still extant, and had previously lived on in the Old English Bulldog, now extinct. That said, they appear, based on the name, to have originated with the Alans, a steppe people from the area just north of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and it's believed the Alaunt came to Europe through the Vandals, who raided Europe with Western Alans under them.
When they refer to dogs looking after "bags and bottles" I think they were referring to guard dogs. Rottweilers were used in Rome to carry the merchant's money bag tied around their neck. (A very safe place for sure) To me it sounds like similar dogs had a job like that in Midieval England.
So I’m all about sighthounds and hadn’t heard of an Alaunt!!! I googled and they look like bull lurchers. Greyhound crossed with a large bull breed which gives a more aggressive and all around larger dog with the skill of speed and agility. Fascinating!!!
I have a Giant Schnauzer ( used to herd guard etc) a Cocker Spaniel ( for woodcocks?) and a Lowchen ( often seen in paintings and lying at the feet of knights who died not in battle 🙂)
My great great grandmother who came from England to the United States in the 1880s had a red parrot. Doubt if she brought her from England on a sailing ship, or on the immigrant train across the US to Oregon. Great great grandma loved her animals. She wouldn't even eat her chickens. Just the eggs. Her parrot Loretta, got to sit at the table with her at breakfast and grandma would share her breakfast with her. Grandma insisted on being called Mother, not grandma. So, Loretta called her Mother. I don't know what else she said. Just some things I read about in memories written by her grandchildren. Enjoyed this video about animals.
As concerning raptors: only an emperor could have a golden eagle. But, there were only two emperors: the Holy Roman and Byzantine. Obviously, this “rule” was promptly ignored. A dog type, in function rather than breed, was the Talbot. It as a guard dog. Cheers!
@@thekaxmax I have read a lot of history and have yet to see anything remotely suggesting or hinting at how common these types of one-sided marriages were. You're making a very vague statement without actually answering my question. So you don't know?
There were many medieval arranged marriages, but often marriages were taking place among families that already knew each other well. There was a desire to create happy and successful matches as well as ones that were useful for property or political reasons. And very few families would make a woman marry if she were absolutely set against it, especially since the Church did make mutual consent, in a public place with witnesses, a requirement for marriage. The real problem would be if you were, say, a royal ward with a big dowry. Then the king really might marry you off to somebody from who knows where, and you wouldn't have much say except at the very altar. This was why it was important for both young women and young men to have relatives and friends looking out for their interests, and for their personal lives. And there was a certain amount of inside politicking done by the young women and young men, also.
Cats were an important aspect of the early Medieval Scandinavians. White cat skin gloves were part of the expected costume of the female seers. (The ones who spoke with the dead and spirits.) Cats were rare and valuable in the early 'Viking' age but became more common later, as cats do. Given they were so involved in Pagan rites, the Christians vilified cats.
I'm surprised you didn't mention ferrets, there are many period images of ladies hunting with their ferrets, (and falcons) but also simply posing with them, as though they were also treated like lapdogs.
Mercedes Lackey used the dog boy as a main character or at least the Mc did that a job for the villian for the book the hills have spies pretty interesting it was a historical thing makes sense also the boy in the book has the ability to speak to animals so that was pretty cool
So I have this dog training book, and one quote really stands out to me, it is in referrence to the poor training amd temperment of many toy breeds, which the author says will snap and growl from the safety of their Mistress's arms. There is a Roman book on dog rltraining which complains abozut the same thing, so I bet if you looked you could find the same complaints about medieval toy breeds!
Hello, I was wondering if squirrels could also be counted as unusual pets the upper class might have had? I recall seeing a Holbein portrait of a lady with what looked like a pet squirrel. Thanks for sharing another informative video! 🤓
