CAPTION NEEDED....
photo of Peter "VOUGES" Gustafssonand Jonathan "GENTLELINES" McLennantaken by Carina Ankelvat a recent show in Sweden.
Anyone care to have a guess at what tickled theirfancy? email ncraigowl@btinternet.com
A CAVALIER IN TUDOR TIMES?
'Pourquoi' was AnneBoleyn'slapdog. The name is most commonly rendered in English as "Purkoy," a phonetic spelling which was also used in Old French. 'Pourquoi'was given to Anne by Honor, Lady Lisle. Honor was a very ambitious woman who strove to advance her family by cultivating a close relationship with the queen. She was born Honor Grenville and her second husband was Arthur Plantagenet, the bastard son of King Edward IV. Honor traveled with Anne to Calais in 1532, and remained behind in the city when her husband was appointed governor. Honor kept up with the comings and goings of the court through letters to her family and friends, 3,000 of which are preserved in the National Archives as the LisleLetters. They form an incredible archive of information about the royal court.
'Pourquoi'is mentioned in the letters by John Husee in the winter of 1533. He requests Lady Lisle send her dog "Purquoy" to him. Francis Bryan took 'Pourquoi'to court, and AnneBoleyn seems to have fallen in instant love with the dog. Bryan reported the dog hadn't been in his hands for more than an hour when the queen took it from him, and she sent the Lisles her "hearty thanks" for the dog.
But if Honor thought this gift would lead to the long hoped-for appointments for her daughters at court, she was sadly disappointed. She sent the Queen gifts of live quail, a cage with a songbird from her own chamber. Her agent wrote to tell Honor the bird did not cease to give Anne "rejoicing" from its pleasant songs, which should be a comfort to LadyLisle. But the "comfort" Honor sought was not on offer: Anne had no places open for the Plantagenet girls in her retinue. It wasn't until the reign of Jane Seymour that LadyLisle got her wish.
Pourquoiwould have had a diet of bread, which people of the Tudor age thought would keep a dog gentle and discourage his hunting instincts. Daily, he would have been perfumed and brushed, or had his fur rubbed with a "hair cloth" to remove any stray fur that could adhere to his mistress's fine gowns.
Sadly, Pourquoidied in December, 1534. Margery Horseman, one of Anne's ladies, wrote to the Lisles that the dog had "fallen from a window" and her ladies were so afraid of Anne's reaction, they asked the king to break the news to her.
Henry V111 had passed an ordinance in 1526 that the only dogs allowed at court were lapdogs. So many dogs were at court that their waste was becoming a real nuisance. Part of the problem was pets sometimes weren't housebroken - a servant cleaned up after them. With hundreds of dogs in the palace, "accidents" could quickly become a real problem. Smaller dogs were easier to deal with.
Only nobles were allowed to have large dogs, so owning a greyhound, mastiff, or a wolfhound was a symbol of status. A commoner with a large dog was assumed to be poaching large game. There was a hoop in each district, and a dog belonging to a commoner had to be small enough to fit through the hoop. Some courtiers could obtain special permission to keep their large dogs at court, but they had to be housed in the kennels to keep the palace "sweet, wholesome, clean and well furnished, as to a prince's house and state doth appertain."
Henry himself kept spaniels, beagles and hunting greyhounds. His Court fool, "Patch", is recorded as sleeping among the spaniels in the king's chamber. His greyhounds wore iron collars, some with toretts (spikes) on them. Sixty-five dog leashes were inventoried as being among the king's possessions when he died. Henry's two favorite dogs, Cut and Ball, kept getting lost. Fortunately, Henry's lapdogs wore collars of velvet and kid leather with gold and silver Tudor rose and portcullis emblems on them, so the dogs could be instantly identified as belonging to the king. The king's accounts show payments of rewards to people who found them and returned them to the palace. They were given the large sum of fifteen shillings, which was the equivalent of a couple of hundred pounds today.
50 NOT OUT!
MODEL CITIZENS
The English Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Schemeis the largest dog training programme in the UK and has been in operation since 1992. The Scheme is open to all dogs, young or old, pedigree or Crossbreed, whether Kennel Club registered or not. It provides a quality standard of training for dogs and owners, and incorporates many domestic obedience exercises, with over 481,000 certificates of achievement having being awarded to owners and their dogs who have successfully passed the scheme's tests. There are currently around 1,800 dog training clubs and other organisations around the country actively administering the scheme. Dog owners of any fitness level or disability can take part too. The Scheme is non-competitive and emphasis is placed on the standard of achievement. There are 4 levels of courses from Puppy Foundation, to Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.
There are may ways of enjoying competition with Cavaliers...conformation, obedience, agility, rally, dancing with dogs and much more....The Good Citizen Scheme is aother and there have been many Cavaliers and their owners who have excelled.Here are a few.
"My girl, 'Ellie' got her Silveraward in April. She has been the best thing to come into our lives as I have been battling breast cancer for the second time but I managed to qualify her for Crufts. The family adore her. Doing the Good Citizen and showing her has been such a welcome distraction from the weekly grind of appointments and treatment. She may not be a Champion in showing terms but in terms of being a wonderful, loving companion she is a champion to us". Karen Chelsey in Brough. East Yorkshire
Christine Bell from Brampton in Cumbria is very proud of her Black/Tan,'Jazz'who has achieved Gold.
Another clever clogs who has started with her Bronze certificate is 'Jasmine' belonging to Kelly and Richard Leefrom Ashton In Makerfield . Greater Manchester.
Another GOLDEN boy is Bruce, belonging to Sheila Wilkinsonfrom Wolverhampton. West Midlands.
So sorry to hear of the passing of Brenda Gardner from Cambridgeshirewho was well known for her Tethersend Cavaliers, the most noted being Ch Kilbreen Dominic of Tethersend. Brenda's funeral is organised for Monday, 13th July at 2pm at Little Thetford Church where she will be buried in the village cemetery. Afterwards for afternoon tea at The Almonry in Ely. The family is requesting that people not wear black, as Brenda did not like mournful occasions and they would like the day to reflect her personality. So something Summery. In place of flowers a collection is being taken for the Eastern Counties Cavalier Rescue.RIP, Brenda.
MALLEY IS THE MAN!
There is a new Swedish Champion.....GLITTERTIND O'MALLEYgained his crown to the delight of his owners Kari and Dan Sundqvist.
19TH CENTURY
CAVALIERS.....information
wanted
This charming photograph (courtesy of the State Library of NSW )was taken in Australia in 1882 and kindly sent to Chatterbox by Jenny Elsey. The man is Sir William Macarthur and the woman at the rear is his niece Elizabeth Macarthur-Onslow. The house is Camden Park House in New South Wales and the photo was taken at the back of the house. The date of the photo, 1882 is established as Sir William died in December 1882 and his niece is mourning for her husband Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow who died in January 1882.
Sir William Macarthur's father, John and his wife Elizabeth were early pioneers of the merino sheep in Australia and John is credited with being the ‘father of the wool industry’ (although Elizabeth herself did much of the work whilst he was absent). The family was very influentialover several generations.
Jenny has tried but failed to find any clues about the dogs or their origins and states "There are English and French connections via Sir William. Elizabeth Macarthur-Onslow visited her husband’s relatives on and off at Send Grove near Guidford in Surrey, and eventuallydied and was buried there. I think her uncle was more likely the one to bring the dogs back with him. His descendant says she knows nothing of them breeding these dogs, although the family was interested in herding/herd protection breeds (for their sheep flocks) and hunting dogs, so it’s quite possible they did breed the Toy Spaniel in a small way as family pets, which may have gone unremarked." Any budding Sherlocks or Miss Marples out there who can investigate and throw any light on the dogs?
The house appeared in the 'Smiley" films of the 50s which starred Chips Rafferty.
"THINGS YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW BUT DIDNT' DARE ASK! from CKCS Club Magazine 1994
GYPSY CLEANS UP
Carol Godwin from Norfolk sends us this picture of her SIMPATICO PURE GENIUS. 'Gypsy' turned 13 years old on 4th July 2002 Carol says..."she is still going strong and keeps the others in order and washes them. Her other name is Dyson as she can beat any of them to dropped food."
VERA RULES
....almost forgot to mention our own CRAIGOWL VERA CRUZ who was 13 in April this year. A bit wobbly on her pins but never misses a meal, all her senses are razor sharp and she rules the house with a grumpy grumble when she is displeased. She asks for respect and gets it.
"Cavaliers can enter any
building in the land"Judy Wright (YOCKLEY)informs us "This is not correct. When I used to write the Pet Pages on the Cavalier Club website I wrote an entire article on this subject. My information came from a former Black Rod from the Houses of Parliament and also from the Master of the Rolls. The former used to own Cavaliers and he had them in his residence within Whitehall, but otherwise they received no special priviledge whatsoever. King Charles' word was absolute; he and his dogs went anywhere and everywhere...no one would stand up to him; his pack of dogs were loathed as they made such a mess wherever they went!
No Law has ever been on the Statute Books to allow Cavaliers entry to any building. It is widely, and wrongly thought that they were able to enter the Houses of Parliament by right.....this was never the case."
So Judy is right and it would appear the Royal Decree is an Urban myth....but I did some digging and found this
“Contrary to popular rumour, there is no Act of Parliament referring to King Charles Spaniels being allowed anywhere in the Palace of Westminster. We are often asked this question and have thoroughly researched it. The House of Commons Information Office Factsheet G7 states that ‘Dogs, except guide dogs, are not generally allowed in the Palace of Westminster.’ There is no evidence whatsoever, that spaniels have ever been officially exempt from this rule, and any dogs which have been resident in the palace with their owners were confined to private apartments, such as the Speaker’s or Lord Chancellor’s residences, and not permitted free run through the palace. Having said that, there is one recorded example of a dog, other than a guide dog being in the House of Commons chamber. On page 309 of the House of Commons Journal, in the entry for 14 May 1606. It states that ‘A strange spanyell of mouse-colour came into the House." so I am happy at least one little Spaniel Gentle got in!
7th JULY 2015