"If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons."
-James Thurber
-James Thurber
Dogs were very common in medieval times, and were treated much like they are today (excluding the fact that one could be cruel to their animal with no legal repercussions). They performed a variety of tasks, including serving as companions, hunters, and guards.
The Unicorn is Attacked (From the Unicorn Tapestries), France, 1495-1505, Metropolitan Museum of Art
"According to tradition, the unicorn cannot be disturbed while performing a magical act. The attack by the hunters thus presumably begins soon after the action depicted in The Unicorn is Found, and the scene is one filled with chaos and commotion... The use of hounds to scout, chase, and eventually attack the quarry was typical practice in medieval stag hunts..." [metmuseum.org]
"According to tradition, the unicorn cannot be disturbed while performing a magical act. The attack by the hunters thus presumably begins soon after the action depicted in The Unicorn is Found, and the scene is one filled with chaos and commotion... The use of hounds to scout, chase, and eventually attack the quarry was typical practice in medieval stag hunts..." [metmuseum.org]
St. Roch Prayer Card, date and artist unknown (14th century)
A prayer card depicting the Saint Roch, whose specialty was curing plague. One of his attributes, or symbols, is a dog offering bread. St. Roch was the patron saint of dogs.
A prayer card depicting the Saint Roch, whose specialty was curing plague. One of his attributes, or symbols, is a dog offering bread. St. Roch was the patron saint of dogs.
Coat of Arms Held by a Woman and a Greyhound, Jean Fouquet, French, Tours, 1455, tempera colors on gold paint and parchment, J Paul Getty Museum [http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=2840]
A domestic dog is seen on a family's coat of arms.
A domestic dog is seen on a family's coat of arms.
Vanity Sounds the Horn of Ignorance and Unleashes the Hounds of Overconfidence, Rashness, and Desire (From The Hunt of the Frall Stag), 1500-1525, South Netherlandish, Wool and Silk, Metropolitan Museum of Art
"This tapestry is part of a series that symbolically represents man's life on earth as a stag hunt. Man is depicted here as "the fragile stag" bounding through the woods. The stag is being hunted by desire, Rashness, and Overconfidence, the hunting dogs set loose by Ignorance, portrayed as an elegantly dressed woman at the bottom center of the tapestry. Dominating the scene at the right is another courtly lady, Vanity, who sounds the hunting horn.
This allegory cautions against the vices that threaten man's progress in life and serves as a reminder of human frailty." [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/50.145.4]
"This tapestry is part of a series that symbolically represents man's life on earth as a stag hunt. Man is depicted here as "the fragile stag" bounding through the woods. The stag is being hunted by desire, Rashness, and Overconfidence, the hunting dogs set loose by Ignorance, portrayed as an elegantly dressed woman at the bottom center of the tapestry. Dominating the scene at the right is another courtly lady, Vanity, who sounds the hunting horn.
This allegory cautions against the vices that threaten man's progress in life and serves as a reminder of human frailty." [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/50.145.4]