British people in the 16th century loved roasts. The problem was meat roasted on a spit needed to be turned constantly, and without the technology, this had to be done by hand. This was the chore of the lowliest kitchen boy until the turnspit came along.
Also known as the ‘vernepator cur’, Latin for “the dog that turns the wheel”, the Turnspit appeared in one of the first books on dogs ever written in 1576. Even Shakespeare mentioned them in his play, The Comedy of Errors: “a curtailed dog fit only to run in a wheel.”
Charles Darwin also used them as an illustration of genetic engineering, commenting, “Look at the spit dog. That’s an example of how people can breed animals to suit particular needs.”
Forget the tradition of the modern Sunday roast – that was the day the Turnspit was usually given off to accompany the family to church. This wasn’t due to kindness or concern for their doggy souls, but their other practical use as foot warmers.
Unfortunately, Turnspits were quite ugly and known for having a glum temperament, so no one wanted to have them for pets like other working breeds such as the Border Collie when dog jobs became scarce.
But the turnspit is to be remembered as a hard-working canine who helped to feed our ancestors for centuries and played a largely unseen, but valuable part, in human history.