Definition
A historical legal office or role referring to a person who managed and kept dogs used in the sport of hawking (falconry). The term also extended to mean a falconer more broadly. The alanerarius was a recognized functionary in medieval English noble households and royal establishments, responsible for the care of hunting dogs employed alongside birds of prey in the chase.
Why It Matters in Research
This term belongs to a cluster of archaic occupational and household-office terms found almost exclusively in medieval English legal and administrative sources — manorial records, royal household rolls, and documents touching on the rights and privileges of the chase. Researchers encountering alanerarius in historical texts should understand that it signals the context of forest law, hunting rights, and the elaborate hierarchy of officers attending noble or royal sport. The term is unlikely to appear in case law or statutory material and is more characteristic of Latin administrative records, plea rolls, or treatises on feudal tenure and manorial custom. Cross-reference with related hunting-office terms (see RELATED TERMS) when surveying the privileges attached to forests, chases, and parks under medieval English law. Black's Law Dictionary attributes the definition to Blount — meaning Thomas Blount's Nomo-Lexicon (1670) — which is the probable original source and should be consulted directly for any primary research into the term's usage context.
Historical Dictionary Support
Both the first and second editions of Black's Law Dictionary carry identical entries, indicating the definition was carried forward without revision or expansion. Both trace the term to alanus, a breed or type of dog known in antiquity, and both cite Blount as authority. Neither edition adds jurisdictional context, elaborates on the office's legal significance, or distinguishes between the dog-keeper and falconer meanings. The brevity of the entry across both editions reflects the term's status as antiquarian legal vocabulary — preserved for completeness rather than practical application. Researchers should treat the Black's entry as a pointer to Blount rather than a self-contained authority.