Talbot
The Talbot
Like
the Sleuth-hound, the Talbot has been regarded as an ancestor of the
Bloodhound. It appears as the name of some English pubs, and is
depicted on the signs as a large white hound with long ears, sometimes
with spots. It has been
suggested that this was the white St Hubert, and that it has given rise
to the white markings to be found on some Bloodhounds. The
sources suggest there is far too much assumption here. Du
Fouilloux only 'presumes' that St Huberts could be white; there were
other white French hounds, even supposing the origin of the Talbot was
in France. In fact the
origin of the name, and the animal, is quite uncertain. The Earls
of Shrewsbury, whose family name is Talbot, have as their family crest a
white, short-legged hound. References to this heraldic Talbot seem
to be earlier than any references to a real dog. And all
references to the dog are later than those to Bloodhounds. 'Talbot'
was, in Medieval times a common name for a hound, a sort of 'Fido' of
its day. In a quotation from about 1449, the king referred to John
Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury as 'Talbott, oure good dogge', perhaps as a
play on his name, or in allusion to the family badge. It
is quite a plausible idea that from this starting point the name
'Talbot' was extended to any large heavy white scent hound, and from
there helped to establish a breed or type. The
Talbot remained a distinct type until the beginning of the 19th Century,
when it disappeared.
There is however some evidence of variation in in the way people thought
of these breeds or types. Perhaps for some a hound used as a
Bloodhound could be called a Bloodhound, and this could have included
the Talbot. Likewise, a large heavy hound which was 'Talbot-like'
in general type, though not in colour, including the Bloodhound, could
be called a Talbot, though the white hound remained the 'true Talbot'.
For instance, Gervaise Markham, in Country
Contentments (1615) says the larger, heavier 'Talbot-like' hounds
of whatever colour (probably including Bloodhounds) make the best leash
hounds, because they 'delight in bood' and are best for following the
foot scent (hunting 'dry-foot'). Sydenham Edwards, in Cynographia
Britannica (1800), has this to say, comparing the Talbot and the
Bloodhound:TheBritish Blood-hound, though not so swift as the Fox-hound,
is superior in fleetness to the Talbot-hound, and does not dwell so long
on the scent, nor throw himself on his haunches to give mouth; but
having discovered his object goes gaily on, giving tongue as he
runs.
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