The Kennel - from Norman to present day.

Not directly deerhound in content but linked through the tie with hunting hounds comes the origin of the word Kennel.

Where does Kennel originate?

The source is believed to be from the Norman conquerors of England and the Anglo-Saxon’s. These ‘Viking’ Normans took over and constructed their own castles where in, they housed themselves and also allocated an area for their hunting hounds. This area was to be close by the kitchens in many castles. Of course the Lordly Normans would allocate the job of looking after these hounds to the Anglo-Saxon serfs who did not fully understand the language of their new overmasters. And when these new Lords refered to their hounds as ‘La canaile’ (from the Latin diminutive plural caniouli, Little Dogs) the peasant Anglo-Saxons thought it to refer to the doghouse where they and the dogs lived, eventually creating the word Kennel.

Of course the Normans were to eventually penetrate Scotland and its aristocracy as well as be formative in the later clan system (although not by invasion). Many vikings had already invaded and failed to conquer the Picts and Scots of the area.

I’m sure the Normans had an effect on the Scottish Deerhound as they adopted and adapted them for their hunt, particularly in the area we now know as the Borders.