The Grand Veneur de France or Grand Huntsman of France was a position in the King's Household in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. The word French "veneur" ( huntsman), derives from the

Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from t ...

word "vener" (to hunt), (itself from the Latin ''venor'', verb meaning ''to hunt''), from which also was derived the archaic English words "venerer" (hunter) and "venery" (the hunt). The position is sometimes grouped with the

Great Officers of the Crown of France The Great Officers of the Crown of France (french: Grands officiers de la couronne de France) were the most important officers of state in the French royal court during the ''Ancien Régime'' and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the ...

. The position was one of the " Great Offices of the Maison du Roi". The position was equivalent to that of the "Grand Master of the Hunt" in certain European royal households. The ''Grand Veneur'' was responsible for the royal hunt. The title was created in 1413 by Charles VI at roughly the same time as those of

Grand Falconer of France The Grand Falconer of France (french: Grand Fauconnier de France) was a position in the King's Household in France from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. History The position first appeared in 1250 as "Master Falconer of the King" (''Ma ...

and the "Capitaine du vautrait". The ''Grand Veneur'' took care of the king's

hunting dog A hunting dog is a canine that hunts with or for hunters. There are several different types of hunting dog developed for various tasks and purposes. The major categories of hunting dog include hounds, terriers, dachshunds, cur type dogs, and g ...

s (roughly 100 hounds) for the

stag Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

hunt. Under Charles VIII, he oversaw nine squires (''écuyers''), nine huntsmen (''veneurs''), two aides, six valets for the hounds (''valets de limiers'') and one dog handler for the foxhounds. The service gained even greater prestige under

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

and Henry II, and the position reached a high point under Henry IV; in 1596, 182 persons were employed by the royal hunt, which included lieutenants, sous-lieutenants, gentlemen, valets for the hounds, mounted and unmounted valets for the dogs, and finally a surgeon and an apothecary. The ''Grand Veneur'' was the most important of all the royal offices dealing with the hunt. In the 16th century, the house of

Guise Guise (; nl, Wieze) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The city was the birthplace of the noble family of Guise, Dukes of Guise, who later became Princes of Joinville. Population Sights The remains ...

held the position five times. In the 17th century, the family Rohan-Montbazon held it three times. At the beginning of the 18th century, the position was given by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

to Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Comte de Toulouse, one of his legitimized children, who, in turn, passed it on to his son Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre. From the 16th century, the holder of the position received an annual salary of 1200

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

, which was a relatively small sum within the royal household. The ''Grand Veneur'' also received additional revenues (up to 10,000 livres). According to Saint-Simon, in 1714, the new Duke de La Rochefoucauld sold, for a sum of 500,000 livres. his office of ''Grand Veneur'', which he had just inherited upon the death of his father. Up to a point, the ''Grand Veneur de France'' position is comparable to the one of

Master of the Buckhounds The Master of the Buckhounds (or Master of the Hounds) was an officer in the Master of the Horse's department of the British Royal Household. The holder was also His/Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot. The role was to oversee a hunting pack; a ...

in the English monarchy.

References

:''This article is based on the article

Grand veneur de France The Grand Veneur de France or Grand Huntsman of France was a position in the King's Household in France during the Ancien Régime. The word French "veneur" ( huntsman), derives from the Middle French word "vener" (to hunt), (itself from the Lati ...

from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has article ...

, retrieved on September 7, 2006.'' Court titles in the Ancien Régime Hunting in France History of hunting

See also

References