Aide de la venerie

Lit. 'helper of the hunt'. AnNor. title for an assistant huntsman, used of young men with some years experience of hunting, with horses of their own. This was a route into the knighthood for ambitious young men not nobly born. As an aide the young man, perhaps 20 years old, would have a *varlet of his own. The horses used on these occasions were not esp. bred; the *courser and *palfrey were ridden to hounds. Such riding skills acquired as an aide were considered vital to one who might become a knight.

Cf. Lymer; Varlet des chiens