back to around the 5th century bc. in the "treatise on hunting" or "cynegeticus", written by xenophon, who said there was a hound that hunted hares by scent and was followed by foot. small hounds were mentioned in the forest laws. if these laws were true, it would be enough proof that beagle-type dogs lived in england before 1016, but it is likely that the laws were written in the middle ages for tradition.