Buckhound
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a kind of hound similar to, but smaller than, a staghound, once commonly used in Great Britain for hunting bucks. The Master of the Buck Hounds is still the title of an officer of the royal household in England. GEORGE BUCKINGHAM, LIERS, DUKE OF, favorite of James I. and Charles I., of England, born in 1592, his father being George Villiers, Knight. At 18 he was sent to France, where he resided three years, and on his return. made so great an impression on James I. that in two years he was made a knight, baron, viscount, Marquis of Buckingham, lord high admiral, etc., and at last dispenser of all the honors and offices of the three kingdoms. In 1623, when the Earl of Bristol was negotiating a marriage for Prince Charles with the Infanta of Spain, Buckingham went with the Prince incognito to Madrid to carry on the suit in person. The result, howbreaking off of the marever, was the br declaration of war with riage, and the declar Spain. During his absence Buckingham was created duke. After the death James was sent to France as proxy for Charles I. to marry the Princess Henrietta Maria. In 1626, after the failure of the Cadiz expedition, he was impeached, but saved by the favor of the King. Despite the difficulty in obtaining supplies Buckingham took upon himself the conduct of a war with France, but his expedition in aid of the Fran Rochellese proved an entire failure. He was stabbed on Aug. 24, 1628, at Portsmouth, by John Felton, an ex-lieutenant who had been disappointed of promotion.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote in 1921 that "the Master of the Buck Hounds is still the title of an officer of the royal household," the statement was already two decades stale: the Royal Buckhounds were disbanded and the mastership abolished in 1901, at the start of Edward VII's reign. The buckhound has since vanished as a recognised type, its blood absorbed into the surviving staghound and foxhound packs; no kennel club lists it today. Deer hunting with hounds, the animal's whole purpose, became illegal in England and Wales under the Hunting Act 2004, so the few remaining staghound packs now work within the law's exemptions or follow artificial trails. Note also that this page's text runs straight into a garbled entry on the Duke of Buckingham, an artefact of scanning rather than of the original book.
Written for this edition, 2026.