by Kym ní Dhoireann (copyright 1998-1999, 2001 © Kym ní Dhoireann, all rights reserved do not republish anywhere)
The Greyhound's territory ranges from its origins in Egypt, throughout the
Middle East and Europe ----their bloodlines flow through most breeds of
Sighthounds through the Old World. They are thought to be the only
breed mentioned by name in the Bible
(Proverbs
30:29-31) however, this was only in the King James version and some, KJ
influenced later ones......the actual word I'm told refers to "sleek" or
"slender" and in other versions, such as the New International, "strutting
rooster" is used instead. This does speak to the regard they were given in
James' England, however, that "Greyhound" would be used for this word. Their
popularity in Egypt, Greece, and Rome can be seen in the depiction of thin
hounds in the art work. And they were loved by the Celts, for their
speed, skill, and grace in the hunt. Roman chronicler, Flavius
Arrianus, in 124 c.e. wrote about the Gauls coursing for hare with Greyhounds.
In fact, the Romans themselves may have gotten their Greyhounds from
Gaulish sources and some references to them are as "Celtic
Hounds." (History
of Greyhounds: Antiquity).
That hounds were important to the Celts for hunting and as companions
is seen in their regard in the iconography of Gaul as well. The Goddess
Nehalenia, as well as other Goddesses, is often shown with varying sizes
of dogs, from small lap dogs to ones that bear a striking resemblance to
other depictions around the same time of Greyhounds. Dogs might symbolize
hunting, healing, and the Otherworld in Celtic spiritual thought. Davidson
notes that the dual nature of dogs, to be both faithful, loving companion
and fierce, destructive guardians mirrors the dual nature of many of the
Goddesses (pg 50, Davidson
Roles
of the Northern Goddesses see also Green,
Symbol
and Image in Celtic Religious Art ) In the British Isles we find
Greyhound-like hounds depicted in hunt scenes on Class III Pictish stones
of Scotland ....of a Christian period, but likely not a new animal.
Animals in Class I
and Class II stones may be questioned to be hounds......or wolves,
or for some, lions.......it is very open to interpretation as are many of
the images. ( Lloyd and Jenny Laing
The
Picts and the Scots and Anne Ritchie
Picts
show such stones although comment not at all on the hounds)
Many of the stories of Irish heroes include mentions of hounds........Fionn MacCumhal and his Bran and Sceolan whose mother, Tuiren, was Fionn's own aunt transformed in the Otherworld to a hound bitch by a Sidhe rival. These two are the most famous of Fionn's hounds, but there were many others who accompanied the Rigfennidh. Cú Chulainn himself became "The Hound of the Smith" as his adult name indicates when he killed Culainn's (the Smith's) hound as a child. He followed Conchobar's party but his patron, having forgotten the boy was coming, told the smith the hound could be released to guard, when young Setanta arrived the animal attacked him and he ended up killing it. (Gantz, trans. "Boyhood Deeds of Cú Chulainn" Early Irish Myths and Sagas). This tale shows the importance of such an animal to it's owner, as it would take time for a pup to be raised to take over the dead hound's duties the boy had to do so in the meantime. He held a lifelong connection with hounds, his death coming, in part, due to the breaking of a geas that he never eat dog meat; as he was also prohibited from refusing hospitality offered by a woman, it was an unavoidable breaking of one or the other, as such geasa often are.
The Story of Mac Da
Tho's Pig, tells of a rivalry started for a spectacular hound, Ailbe,
belonging to Mac Da Tho. Both Medhbh and Ailill of Connacht and Conchobar
of Ulster want this hound and Mac Da Tho, at the prompting of his wife, promises
it to both. As both parties arrive at the same time, a champion's boasting
match develops between those of both sides in regards to the Champion's Portion
of the giant pig, hence the title. The
Hound
is allowed to choose, and choosing Ulster begins killing the warriors of
Connacht. The battle that ensues does not fair well for the reason for it,
and it is said that Mag nAilbe (Ailbe's Plain) is named for this hound.
Perhaps the best known later legend is that of Llewellyn 's Greyhound Gellert. The hound, his favorite, stays behind one day when Llewellyn goes hunting, and upon his return Llewellyn finds his son's crib overturned and the dog bloody. Horrified that the beloved animal killed his son, Llewellyn kills the hound then and there…..the dying cries of the faithful Greyhound are echoed by the cries of the baby, hidden beneath the upturned crib. A bit away the body of a wolf is found……..Gellert had saved the child from a wolf attack, only to be repaid by death, it is said that "Beth Gêlert" means "Gellert's Grave" and is named for him. The literal truth of this tale can be brought into question by the number of similar tales, including an Aesop's' Fable and an Indian tale of a heroic mongoose, as well as almost identical Greyhound tales. The latest telling of such a story is found in Le Moine et la Sorcière (or The Sorceress in the English language releases), where the Greyhound which saves his master's son from a snake becomes the local Saint of a small French village that so scandalizes the visiting Monk of the title.
What breed many of the hounds above is seldom brought up, as such distinctions
regarding breeds is very modern........what was important was the work they
did. Hounds in one area might be bred with certain traits while another
area might concentrate on another.....for instance with consideration to
the size game to be hunted or if the animal was also needed as a war dog.
The Irish Wolfhound and the Scottish Deerhound relationship to
the English Greyhound is clear, both in physical features and in general
temperament, with variances geared towards different prey. These Gaelic
hounds were often called the Irish Greyhound and the Scottish or Rough Greyhound
respectively ---along with other names that both note such heritage and that
do not. The physical variations were likely developed quite
purposefully.
Each of the three hounds became most suited for what it hunted. The
Wolfhound used not only to hunt wolves and deer (but not Irish Elk as some
sources have claimed*) but also as war dogs to bring down
men from chariot or horseback. The Deerhound also was bred for large
prey. And both dogs developed their rough, long coats to deal with
colder weather. The Greyhound became more and more specialized for the hunting
of hares and rabbits, staying smaller and lighter....and being bred later
for sprints in racing, although many can be easily conditioned for distance.
Their coats did not develop as to be as rough and long, although the
uniform smoothness of today's Grey was aided in the 1700 by Lord Orford's
crossing of Greyhounds with Bulldogs (Branigan
Adopting
the Racing Greyhound). Perhaps another, rarer Sighthound thought
to descend from the "Celtic hounds," the Galgo Español, gives us a
good indication of what this early Sighthound was like......both rough and
smooth coat variations, less exaggerated conformation in all directions,
although it may be on the smaller side (then again, the comments on the huge
size of the Irish hounds may be in comparison to generally smaller dogs more
common at the time..along with smaller horses, smaller cattle, smaller humans).
(websites on all these breeds can be found on the
links page)
The image of Celtic warriors feasting in a hall with their hunting hounds beneath the tables getting the scraps of what they helped bring down is one of the more romantic images of human and dog...next to the hunt itself. Being without such companions made us feel a bit empty, a bit less of what we were trying to become. The connection of hound and human has been an essential bond of our spiritual ancestors to their Gods and we feel that too.
Unfortunately, there may be a sad plight for the Greyhound that is so
much a part of Celtic culture in Ireland
today... The Irish
Greyhound and Grim Fate Awaits
Slow Greyhounds give account of the concern for the fate of Greyhounds
in Ireland today. Ireland has a huge number of Greyhounds born every
year. They are also the source of Greyhounds for racing in Spain, a
situation that is reputed to be perhaps the
most horrific
of any concerning Greyhound racing (see
Greyhounds in Need).
Efforts are being made to stop this export of Irish hounds, and to
decrease the numbers of Irish hounds have made great strides. There
are now greater efforts being made to adopt out ex-racing Greyhounds as pets
in ireland now as well.....
Irish Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (ISPC) Greyhound pages. I'd hate
to think that the land that gave us the most famous Greyhound, Master McGrath
,has become a such a dismal place for them and am glad to see hope it is
turning around.
Main pages of sites use for references:
Fast Friends Web Page
---History of Greyhounds:
Antiquity
The Encyclopaedia
of the Celts
---Bran and
Sceolan
The Story of Mac Da
Tho's Pig
Folklore and Mythology
Electronic Texts
---Llewellyn and His Dog
Gellert
Irish Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (ISPC) Greyhound pages
A Breed Apart: Greyhound eZine
--- The Irish
Greyhound and Grim Fate
Awaits Slow Greyhounds
Greyhounds in Need
Links for sites about other Celtic Sighthound breeds can be found on our Links Page
Cynthia Branigan
Adopting
the Racing Greyhound Howell Book House 1998
Hilda Ellis Davidson
Roles
of the Northern Goddesses Routledge; 1998
Jeffrey Gantz, trans.
Early
Irish Myths and Sagas Penguin; 1982
Miranda J. Green.
Symbol
and Image in Celtic Religious Art Routledge; 1997
Maire and Conor Cruise O' Brien.
Ireland:
A Concise History Thames & Hudson
Lloyd and Jenny Laing
The
Picts and the Scots Alan Sutton Pub. Ltd.;1993
Anne Ritchie
Picts
HMSO; 1989
(Greyhound books from Brindle Beasts Bookstore and benefit a Greyhound adoption shelter. Celtic books from the TnS Bookstore and helps keep this domain running if purchased through these links)
**The Irish Elk died out during during the Mesolithic Age along with other Giant animals such as the Mammoths. Many Irish Wolfhound enthusiasts still insist, sadly, that the Irish Elk lived into historical times. I believe that this stems from the confusion of what an Elk really is especially among Americans. American Elks are not Elks, but a type of deer closely related to the Red Deer that are found in the British Isles. The true American elk is the Moose, for which we use a corruption of a Native name for..... and the Irish Elk would to us appear to be a giant moose and was a relative as are other European Elk which are "moose." The Red Deer of the British Isles is a close relative of the American Elk or Waputi. There were rather unlikely to have been Irish Wolfhounds being used to hunt these animals....the period in which they thrived in Ireland before becoming extinct is one with no sign of human settlement in Ireland...Early Stone Age. (O' Brien, Ireland: A Concise History)
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All text and material, unless otherwise noted below, is copyright © 1998-1999, 2001 Kym ní Dhoireann, all right reserved, and may not be copied or reprinted without expressed permission. Links are permitted, notification is requested.
Background and 2 hounds modified from graphics from the
World of Celtic Art
Top bar Clipart
Castle
Celtic Greyhound modified from one from
EponaWorks
Detail from Hilton of Cadboll Stone, two hounds downing deer, sketch copyright
© 2001Kym ní Dhoireann
3 hounds modified from Chris' Celtic Clip Art--dead link
1 hound from Alaistair Luke's
Celtic Corner
