Parfors hunting: history, process and type of hunting with hounds

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

Parforous hunting is an ancient type of hunting practiced by the Gauls. It reached its heyday and splendor in the French kingdom during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715). Deer were mainly used as game. Then they kept a fairly large staff of special servants, rangers (on foot and horseback), hunting music was used. About parfors hunting with hounds and terriers is described in the article.

From the Gauls to the present day

As evidenced by Roman authors, already the first French kings (around the 3rd century AD) had very large packs of hounds. They hunted such large and strong animals as bears, wild boars, elk, tours, bison. They were driven to exhaustion, which in French sounds like par force, that is, “strength”. After the beasts fell, they were finished off with arrows, spears or darts.

The realization of such a grandioseaction entailed the need to keep a large number of hounds, vicious and strong. When hunting for foxes, wolves and hares took place, hunters on horseback were also needed. At first, the game was driven out by hounds from the forest to the edge, in the field, where horse hunters were waiting for it along with hounds in packs.

According to medieval chronicles, only in France in the XIV century there were more than 20 thousand hunters with hounds. Gradually, French breeds of hounds began to “loom” (under Louis IX), among which there are four main ones. This is:

• royal whites,
• Saint Hubert - black,
• Saint Louis - grey,
• Breton redheads.

Flourishing under the Sun King

As mentioned above, parforest hunting in France reached its magnificence under King Louis XIV. She looked like this. Picker with the help of vyzhlyatnikov controlled a pack of hounds, consisting of 30 heads. These dogs drove three or four deer a day, and one year-old wolf by ten o'clock in the morning. As a rule, one deer was chased by the hounds at the same time, along one track, without changing it to a fresh track. While there were hundreds of fresh footprints in the royal parks. Deer hunting continued even at night with torches.

A period of decline

Parforous hunting began to decline from 1722, when Louis XV hunted with a pack of famous English dogs. In 1730, English hounds were constantly issued to them from England. These dogs were paraty (frisky) andvoiceless, they drove a deer in just one hour. When the animal was driven, they no longer cut its hamstrings, as before, but shot at it from a carbine. At the same time, the French hound breeds degenerated and lost their “greed for the beast.”

The existence of large-scale hunts of kings and nobility ceased for a long time after the French Revolution. Out of class hatred for their masters, hounds were subjected to extermination, which was merciless and universal.

Resurrection of tradition

Hunting was resurrected by Napoleon I Bonaparte. He began to encourage national dog breeding, forbidding dogs from England for imperial hunting. He himself used Norman breeds of hounds. Already in the second half of the 19th century, the French "wondered" and began to revive local dog breeds.

The ancient hunting of the French kings has been preserved in this country to this day. There is a federation of trumpeters-buglers, which includes more than 2 thousand people. Parfores hunting is carried out by specialized clubs called crews. Some of them rut roe deer, others rut wild boar, wild boar with deer or deer with roe deer.

Hunting in clubs

Such clubs are well-organized hunting farms, some of them have up to 100 working dogs. Sometimes they also contain horses, sometimes the horses are kept by members of the club. On the day when the hunt is scheduled, the kennel in the morning, from 5 o'clock, begin to examine the dogs, selecting them for hunting. By 7 o'clock the huntsmen at the hunting place checkis there an animal? Dogs are delivered to the place using vehicles.

On hunting day, dogs and horses run 40 to 50 km for 6-8 hours. As a rule, 35 dogs take part in the hunt. Fans of parforous hunting call it "very efficient", as there are no wounded animals in it and there is a tradition of sparing the best individuals. During one hunting season, about 30 trips take place, which are usually made on Saturdays in compliance with the rituals of the time of the French kings. About 700 thousand hectares are given for hunting, of which 400 thousand are private property.

How was the process?

Parforous hunting was led by its manager, who, as a rule, was the owner of a pack of hounds, a picker, who was assisted by two or three surfers. At the beginning of the hunt, hounds were let loose in the bushes located near the gathering place, or in the forest. Due to the fact that the game was prepared in advance, the dogs quickly took the trail. While the beast was circling without leaving the forest, the hunters drove around on the edge.

As soon as the dogs drove the game out of the forest, after it and after the dogs a frantic race began, recognizing no obstacles. Stone walls were also overcome, which surrounded the fields, and fences, and wide ditches. When the dogs lost the track, the race was interrupted for a while and then started again when the track was found. After a fox or a hare was driven, the dogs in an instant tore them into small pieces. If it was possible to beat off the game from the dogs, they were given the head, entrails, grooves (parts of the legs between the paw andknee).

In England

Parforest hunting in England is divided into classes, depending on various parameters, such as the degree of roughness of the terrain, the type of game, the dignity of horses and dogs. First-class, as a rule, was considered hunting for goats and deer, a fox. Hare hunting was inferior.

First-class hunting with hounds was carried out with the departure of hunters on special horses called "hunters". The pack, numbering up to 40 heads, consisted of steghounds (dogs that chased deer) and foxhounds (chasing foxes). The hunters were very trained people, prepared for the jump. Each of them had 5 or 6 horses, since after the hunt the horse had to rest for at least three days. The hunting season itself began in November and lasted for 5 months without interruption.

The outer entourage of a first-class hunt had a great effect. The staff was dressed in red tailcoats, black velvet jockey caps, tight white pantaloons, high over the knee boots with spurs. They had arapniki in their hands, and in the saddlebags there were copper pipes, which they blew during the gathering, and also signaled to those who fell behind during the hunt. Horses were put on special covers - leggings made of leather, so that they would not peel off their legs on thorns and bushes.

Parfors hunting with terriers

As a rule, such hunting was applied to foxes. In the struggle for life, the fox, leading a cavalcade of hunters, often burrowed -slipped away, hiding in a hole. Then the hunters, instead of "giving up" and going home, released the terrier, which until that moment had been sitting in a basket tied to the saddle of one of the riders.

Being full of energy, the dog burrowed after the fox. The “exit” of the terrier could have two endings: either he drove the fox out of the hole right into the teeth of the hounds, or he “strangled” it and pulled it out of the hole. True, occasionally the beast managed to sneak away, and then the rut continued. Thus, the end of the parforest hunting largely depended on the terriers.

The Old English Black and Tan Terrier has been used for many years. However, during the heyday of hunting, it was necessary to create a specialized fox terrier. And so the fox terrier was born. To transport these dogs, special containers were needed - either special bags or wicker baskets. The basket was attached to the saddle, and the bag was put on obliquely by the hunter over his shoulder. The main thing is that the container in which the dog was located should not be an obstacle to the rider during the race, which could pass during the rut of the fox on a segment of 10–30 km.

Parfora hunting in Russia

Besides France and England, this type of hunting was also fashionable in Italy, Germany, Austria. As for Russia, here it was carried out mainly by emperors in Gatchina, and did not receive distribution from other hunters. In Russia, there were very few organized blood packs specially designed for her. Among the kings, parforous hunting was introduced during the time of Empress Anna Ioannovna, who was her great lover. She ispreferred the English-style deer rut with staghounds, which were specially purchased for this.

Other dogs that were used for these hunts in the 18th-early 19th century were quite paired and had other necessary qualities. The first of the Russian hunters who began to mix English dogs and Russian hounds was Count S altykov. Then this initiative was picked up by other noble hunters.

However, the pikerska parfors hunting, fashionable in the West, found a rather cold reception in Russia, without arousing much enthusiasm. It was believed that it lacked the excitement and color that is inherent in canine hunting. And also there was not always a place where it could be carried out.