English Boar Hunting Dog Packas Described by T.H White

Lymer

… lymers were a sort of

mixture between

bloodhound and red

setters of today.

Alaunt

… half a dozen black and

white alaunts, which looked

like greyhounds with the

heads of bull-terriers or

worse

Brach(et)

The braches were like

beagles, and trotted along with

the master in the way that

beagles always have trotted,

and a charming way it is.

Gaze-hounds

The gaze-hounds, of

which there were two

taken just in case…

Preparation

The hounds were

alaunts, gaze-hounds,

lymers and braches,

They were called

Clumsy, Trowneer,

Phoebe, Colle,

Gerland, Talbot, Luath,

Luffra, Apollon,

Orthros, Bran, Gelert,

Bounce, Boy Lion

Bungey, Toby, and

Diamond. The Wart’s

own special one was

called Cavall

Setting Out

The [gazehounds]

had collars on, and

were led with straps…

Rearing

He watched the

lymerer who held the

two bloodhound dogs

on their leashes, and

saw the dogs straining

more and more as the

boar’s lair was

approached

… and saw Master Twyti

wave silently to the

lymerer to uncouple his

hounds

Giving Chase

The alaunts were uncoupled

as the exciting notes of the

menee began to ring

through the forest

The lymers which had reared the

boar – the proper word for

dislodging – were allowed to

pursue him to make them keen on

their work

He remembered the rank mane of bristles standing upright

on its razor back, one flash of a sour tush, the staring ribs,

the head held low, and the red flame from a piggy eye

… at Bay

The lymer was taken

up by the tenor bells

of the braches. The

noises grew to a

crescendo of

excitement as the

blood-thirsty thunder

of the aluant pealed

through the lesser

notes

Sto arere! So howe, so howe! Ho moy, ho moy, hole, hole, hole,

hole

Undoing

We all know that the hounds

are rewarded with a fouail, or

mixture of bowels and bread

cooked over a fire

English Boar Hunting

Dog Pack

Six

Alaunts

Two Gaze

Hounds

Two

Lymers

Six Brachs

The Boar

Chasse au

Sanglier