The poodle’s not French?

QUESTION Where did the poodle dog breed originate?

The FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale), the organisation that sponsors pan-european dog shows, regards France as the official ‘country of origin’ of the poodle and uses the French breed standard to judge show poodles. Yet most authorities agree their origins are probably German, or may lie even farther afield.

extremely popular for their stylish look, poodles come in three varieties; standard (pictured), toy and miniature.

Despite its modern image of being rather an effete breed, the poodle was bred to carry out a number of practical tasks — namely to hunt, retrieve game and herd livestock.

It was also renowned for its remarkable nose and swimming prowess. The standard poodle was used for centuries to retrieve game from water.

The Romans carved poodle-like dogs on their tombs. They were known as lion dogs, for their lionlike trim. A 1st-century Roman coin featured a hunting dog in lion trim (very like the poodle’s continental clip).

From around AD30, images of lion dogs were carved on monuments and tombs, showing a reverence for the breed.

Whether or not these depicted the genuine ancestors of today’s poodles, it seems clear the modern breed originated in Germany.

German writings from the 1500s describe the pudel as a large, black water retriever. Pudel or pudelin means ‘to splash in the water’.

These dogs feature in drawings by the German painter Albrecht Durer in the 15th and 16th centuries, and in a selfportrait by the Dutch master Rembrandt that was created in 1631.

In France, the breed was originally known as caniche, from canard chien, or duck dog. They became indelibly associated with the French during the reign of emperor Louis XVI, who was deposed and beheaded in 1793. In his court, toy poodles became the essential fashion item. Susie Glenn, Brighton.

QUESTION Did one of Oliver Cromwell’s generals invent the guillotine?

The short answer is no. Civil War executions were by fusillade (firing squad) or hanging. That said, Dr Guillotin’s infamous invention wasn’t new but an improved version of two British devices, the halifax Gibbet and Scottish Maiden. halifax in Yorkshire straddled the ancient packhorse ways used by travellers and traders through the hills and moors. It was a market for woollen cloth, woven in a vast cottage industry and transported by horse or backpack. To protect the trade, the town introduced its fearsome Gibbet Law, which allowed local magistrates and judges to issue the death penalty for rustling and cloth theft. Since the 13th century, the gibbet had been sited in the town’s market place and was put to use on Saturdays. It consisted of a 15ft-high wooden frame designed to drop an axe weighing 7lb 12oz (3.5kg) on the victim’s neck. The axe was raised by a rope attached to a horse. When it reached the top, the rope was cut and the axe fell. As the poet John Taylor put it in 1622: At Halifax the law so sharp doth deal, That whoso more than 13 pence doth steal, They have a jyn that wondrous quick and well, Sends thieves all headless unto Heav’n or Hell.’ The halifax Gibbet was last used on April 19, 1650. The Scottish guillotine, or Morton’s Maiden as it came to be known, was inspired by the halifax gibbet. Legend says it was brought in by the regent, James Douglas, 4th earl of Morton (15161581), though evidence suggests it was ordered in 1564 by the Provost and magistrates of edinburgh after the executioner’s sword wore out. holinshed’s Chronicles recorded that the blade ‘doth fall down with such violence, that if the neck of the transgressor were as big as that of a bull it should be cut in sunder at a stroke.’

The first recorded execution was of Thomas Scott, of Cambusmichael, on April 3, 1565. Between then and 1710, when it was permanently retired from service, 150 people went to their deaths with its help in the Castlehill, Grassmarket and high Cross areas of edinburgh. The device is now on display in the National Museum of Scotland.

The French guillotine was an improvement on its British counterparts by virtue of its blade, which was more efficient by being angled at 45 degrees to the horizontal. Contrary to legend, its inventor was not executed by his own device; Dr Guillotin lived until 1814, when he died of natural causes. But Douglas himself fell victim to Morton’s Maiden in 1581 for his part in the murder of henry Stewart, Lord Darnley.

A. L. Moore, Bury, Lancs.

QUESTION Does the camera that took the photo of the Beatles’ Abbey Road cover still exist?

The camera in question was a hasselblad 500C, with a Zeiss Distagon 50mm f/4 lens. It was used by photographer Iain Macmillan to take the iconic photograph on the Abbey Road zebra crossing.

It was sold as part of the Iain Macmillan archive at Bonhams in 2021, realising £28,000 from an anonymous U.S. bidder. The estimate was just £2,000-£2,500.

Macmillan had met John Lennon, with Yoko Ono, at the Indica Gallery in 1966 and was invited by him to photograph the band for the Abbey Road LP cover. Paul McCartney later came up with the idea to take a photograph outside eMI Studios. he drew the original pencil sketch of the idea.

The hasselblad 500C is a beautiful camera and a brilliant piece of engineering. Launched in 1957, it utilised a leaf shutter design that allowed for flash synchronisation at various shutter speeds with the use of electronic flash.

The build of the 500C was uncomplicated, and with the shutter in the lens instead of the camera body, this allowed for interchangeable lenses, film magazines and viewfinders.

Debbie Smith, London E11.

IS THERE a question to which you want to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question here? Write to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Scottish Daily Mail, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6DB; or email charles.legge@dailymail.co.uk. A selection is published, but we’re unable to enter into individual correspondence.