It’s been described as a nose with a dog attached, the only breed whose work is admissible in most courts of law, and it’s no secret that we’re big fans of the Bloodhound. A Bloodhound was an integral part of the Kickstarter campaign video we launched to get this website built, but our fondness for the breed predates that video. We were privileged, but saddened, to witness a working Bloodhound in the search for a missing child years ago. 

A breed so rich in history! It made its appearance in Europe long before the Crusades with an ancestry traceable to the 7th century French monastery, St. Hubert. A monk named (wait for it), St. Hubert,  is believed to have crossed a strain of the St. Hubert hound with other varieties of white hounds, particularly one called the Talbot, or Southern Hound. The monks continued to breed these hounds (originally black but evolving into a black and tan breed) well into the 8th century. By the 11th century, Bloodhounds were used by William the Conqueror and members of royalty, while Scottish and English records from the 14th century indicate that the rebel, William Wallace was tracked by “Sleuth Hounds” believed to be Bloodhounds. We came across one source that suggested that it was in this period that the first recorded use of the word, “Bloodhound” occurs in English, most likely in a poem called William of Palerne, though we were never able to find the word in that poem. 

There are a few schools of thought regarding the origin of the breed name.  Some believe that “blood” in the breed’s name dates back to the Middle Ages, and was given to mean “blooded,” or a hound of pure breeding, not the frequently mistaken definition of a “blood-seeking” hound.” Others believe that original bloodhounds were called “limers.” These dogs were used to follow the blood trails of deer and boars wounded by a hunter’s arrows. The dogs didn’t trail these wounded animals  “loose.” They were kept on a leash called a “lyam” in Middle English, and that is how the dogs got the name “limer.” These ancestral hounds followed blood scent from wounded animals while on lead. And finally, the word first recorded in 1300-50 is said to be from the Middle English word, “blod-hound.” 

Image: “The Bloodhound” by Daryl Macintyre is available as a print and greeting card here.