"We see that the Molossi gave their name to the dog of their country, and I would suggest that it is only probable that the Alani gave their name to the mastiffs of their land. Hence Canes Alani, dogs of the Alan's, and as Molossus means the dog of Epirus, and in a secondary sense watch dog or kind of mastiff. By the same custom Alani gives an Alan, or in a secondary sense a cattle dog or mastiff, employed as a guard against the wolf." The History of the Mastiff by: M. B. Wynn 1886
In western Europe during the middle ages the alaunt was divided into three groups...butchers, gentil and veantre. They were done so according to their function and type. This was done 1400 years after the alaunt was first brought into Britain by the Romans and some 900 years after the Alans brought them into France and Spain. So what was the dog of the Alans? Certainly it was not the butchers alaunt of France, Spain or England...it was the prototype for the mastiff, the mastiff proper, it was the Canes Alani, dogs of the Alan's - the Alaunt.
There are countless bull and mastiff breeds of the world that owe their existence to the Canis Alani, aka Alaunt, and classifying them under their many different breed names and type descriptions is confusing to say the least. To simplify this difficult and confusing process, there are really only core two types to place them under, the Mastiff type and Beisser type.
The Mastiff type is simply defined as the original Alaunt type, Canis Alani, used with large herds and to kill wolves and bears and being the same as the mastiff. "By the same custom Alani gives an Alan, or in a secondary sense a cattle dog or mastiff, employed as a guard against the wolf." The History of the Mastiff by: M. B. Wynn 1886.
The Beisser type is defined as the true holding and pinning dogs first developed in Germany for the use of noblemen on the hunt and later in Western Europe for the blood sport of bull-baiting. It is a long held belief that the Beisser type developed in Germany from crosses with the Canis Alani after the fall of Rome. This is certainly a more than plausible conclusion considering that the only geographical division between the Germanic Celts and the Alani was the Danube River. The Beisser type was first recorded in history in Germany in the 5th Century AD. "In Germanic law from the fifth and seventh centuries AD, these Hunting Dogs were recorded in writing for the first time." Dr. Dieter Fleig.
© Ray Lane & Heather Wilkins
In western Europe during the middle ages the alaunt was divided into three groups...butchers, gentil and veantre. They were done so according to their function and type. This was done 1400 years after the alaunt was first brought into Britain by the Romans and some 900 years after the Alans brought them into France and Spain. So what was the dog of the Alans? Certainly it was not the butchers alaunt of France, Spain or England...it was the prototype for the mastiff, the mastiff proper, it was the Canes Alani, dogs of the Alan's - the Alaunt.
There are countless bull and mastiff breeds of the world that owe their existence to the Canis Alani, aka Alaunt, and classifying them under their many different breed names and type descriptions is confusing to say the least. To simplify this difficult and confusing process, there are really only core two types to place them under, the Mastiff type and Beisser type.
The Mastiff type is simply defined as the original Alaunt type, Canis Alani, used with large herds and to kill wolves and bears and being the same as the mastiff. "By the same custom Alani gives an Alan, or in a secondary sense a cattle dog or mastiff, employed as a guard against the wolf." The History of the Mastiff by: M. B. Wynn 1886.
The Beisser type is defined as the true holding and pinning dogs first developed in Germany for the use of noblemen on the hunt and later in Western Europe for the blood sport of bull-baiting. It is a long held belief that the Beisser type developed in Germany from crosses with the Canis Alani after the fall of Rome. This is certainly a more than plausible conclusion considering that the only geographical division between the Germanic Celts and the Alani was the Danube River. The Beisser type was first recorded in history in Germany in the 5th Century AD. "In Germanic law from the fifth and seventh centuries AD, these Hunting Dogs were recorded in writing for the first time." Dr. Dieter Fleig.
© Ray Lane & Heather Wilkins