Watching Cadfeal today I saw that the breed of dog they used as watchdogs was Rottweillers. Is this correct would they have been in England then? Cadfael is set in the 12th century. Looked strange to me to see 2 Rottweillers running about in a 12th century setting. Must admit that when I read the book this film was based on I imagined the watchdog to be an English mastiff. I thought this may be an anachronism?
Difficult to get hold of English Mastiffs, even more difficult to get those that are film trained. So I expect they used poetic licence.......
Oh right-I was just being pendantic! They had a Mastiff in Sherlock Holmes once-perhaps that one had retired from acting?
I think they came over with the romans who used them as fighting dogs?----I don't know if Stan Frost still does trials SB but he is a mine of information on their history. They wore a sort of harness with sticking out bits on it. rune----off to look it up now!
Stan Frost is not a current triallists AFAIK I used to work at a stables where the owner bred English Mastiffs and Schipperkes (odd mixture) the dogs were huge, slobbery and had MASSIVE barks!
I looked them up and it is roughly right and they could have been there with Caedfell! Stan Frost was based in Lincolnshire 25 tears ago----I tend to loose track of time! I taught his son Joe who had Downs syndrome and who worked one of Stans rotties. Great family. rune
I thought they came over with the Romans and were used to carry/pull stuff/help etc probably guard as well
I thought the dog in Hound of the Baskervilles was a Great Dane? I went to Baskerville Hall once and the hound head statue over the entrance looks like a GD