guinefort

I remembered that there was a dog saint, not just a dog-headed saint as Christopher sometimes is, but a dog who was martyred and sainted. Somewhere in France in the Middle Ages. I could not remember his name.

This disturbed me. I don't like forgetting the names of things, even less so the names of dogs, especially good ones. I went looking.

His name was Guinefort; he was a greyhound, blessaður. His story is told by Étienne de Bourbon, a Dominican, in De Supersticione. His day is the twenty-second of August. There is book about him as Le saint lévrier, the greyhound saint, or really: saint chaser-of-hares. The breed is an ancient one, called in Latin Leporarius because of its usefulness at coursing for small, fleet, long-eared game. I prefer to imagine him coursing after hares than being martyred after his battle with the serpent.

I am pleased to see that he has other admirers.