Medieval Europe dog breeds: what dogs looked like before standard

Part 1

How dogs were sorted before modern breeds existed

You might expect medieval Europe to have had breeds much like today's, with clear lines and paperwork, but that is not how it worked. Modern dog breeds adhere to long-established breed standards, built from documented foundation stock with shared inherited traits, developed by kennel clubs. Medieval dogs were instead grouped as types, categories based on form, function, or lineage rather than a strict standard. Names such as alaunt and mastiff described a type of dog suited to a task, and dogs within that type could vary quite a bit in size and look. Mastiffs, for example, were large and shaggy but were not purebred in the modern sense.

The Boke of St Albans, printed in 1486 and traditionally linked to Dame Juliana Berners, named types of dogs mainly by function. It named types mainly by function: greyhound, bastard, mongrel, mastiff, limer, spaniel, raches, kennets, terriers, butcher's hounds, dung-heap dogs, trundle-tails, prick-eared curs, and small ladies' puppies kept to bear away fleas. Almost a century later, John Caius attempted a more systematic approach in his book on English dogs, sorting them into groups such as gentle hunting dogs, homely and currish kinds, toys, fowling dogs, and pastoral types like the shepherd's dog and mastiff. Earlier hunting treatises, such as Twiti's Art of Venery and Edward of York's Master of Game, had already described similar dog types used by wealthy hunters.

Part 2

Hunting dogs and their ranks at court

If your dog loves to run, you will recognize a bit of the greyhound's old job in that instinct. Greyhounds were large and thin, hunted by sight, and could catch and bring down a deer with their jaws. They were prized for gentle dispositions outside the hunt and were among the few dogs allowed into a lord's hall. Good greyhounds were bred in Scotland, and greyhound owners even had a rhyme describing what a fine one should look like. Alaunts looked similar to greyhounds but were stronger, with larger heads and jaws, and were the only dog type considered suitable for hunting wild boar. The best alaunts reportedly came from Spain, and because of their fiercer temperament they were kept leashed and muzzled.

Lymers, also called limers, were specialized tracking dogs kept leashed, trained to follow a scent trail over long distances without barking. Very few were needed on a hunt, since one lymer worked alone while packs of running hounds, known as brachets, raches, or harriers, did the chasing. These running hounds may have resembled modern beagles, with large noses, droopy ears, and big eyes, built to run fast and far rather than bring down large prey themselves.

Forest laws from the sixth century onward forbade hunting in the king's forest while letting noble hunting parties cross land freely. King Canute made it illegal for anyone but nobility to own a greyhound, and mandated that other dogs near the king's forest have their tendons cut, a practice continued by William the Conqueror. Separately, the laws of King Hywel Dda of Wales made killing a greyhound a capital crime.

Part 3

Guard, farm, and working dogs among common people

Away from the nobility's hunts, your dog's medieval counterparts had plainer jobs to do. Mastiffs and similar large, coarse dogs guarded flocks against wolves and often wore spiked collars for protection. They were shaggy, large, and not purebreds. Smaller dogs handled a different kind of pest control: terriers caught rats. Dogs also worked as shepherd's dogs, turnspits that turned meat on a wheel by the fire, and water-drawers that turned well-wheels to raise buckets.

Part 4

Lapdogs and companion dogs in medieval households

Not every medieval dog worked for a living. The Boke of St Albans mentioned small ladies' puppies kept to bear away fleas.

Part 5

How medieval types connect to modern breeds

You may wonder if your own dog's breed can be traced straight back to one of these medieval types. Some old types that were no longer needed for work, such as the wolfhound, were later remade and kept from extinction as show dogs, and other old types were refined into many new breeds. In a very few cases, monasteries, emperors, or wealthy hunters kept lines of special dogs, and from those lines we get today's Pekingese, St. Bernards, and foxhounds. But dog fanciers themselves have cautioned against claiming great age for a specific breed, even though it is fair to claim considerable antiquity for a type of dog. Closed stud books, written rules, and organized dog showing only began in the 19th century, after dog fighting was outlawed in England in 1835.

Part 6

What art and records reveal about medieval dogs' lives

The Bayeux Tapestry, from the 1070s, shows dogs wearing slim leather collars while hunting alongside their owner. The Unicorn Tapestries, created around 1495 to 1505, show mostly greyhounds in broad leather collars. Actual collars have survived too, including a bronze example from twelfth-century Waterford, Ireland, and leather bands with metal fittings found in boat graves in Sweden. Legal records also mention dogs directly, such as sixth-century rules requiring dogs to be restrained by collar and leash, with owners responsible for any damage an untethered dog caused.