In England as well as on the Continent the huntsman went out in the early morning to track the game to be hunted to its lair, or den, before the pack and huntsmen came into the field. Deer, wild boar, bear and wolves were thus harboured by means of a limer. Twici makes the apprentice huntsman ask: "Now I wish to know how many of the beasts are moved by the lymer, and how many of the beasts are found by braches?—Sir, all those which are chased are moved by a lymer, and all those which are hunted up (enquillez) are found by the braches" (Twici, p. 12; see Appendix: Acquillez).
Limers were not only employed when a warrantable stag was to be hunted by hounds, but a huntsman going out with his bow or cross-bow would have his brachet on a liam and let him hunt up the quarry he wished to shoot (see Appendix: Bercelet). Also, the day before one of the large battues for big game, the limers would be taken out to ascertain what game there was in the district to be driven.
A liam, lyome, or lyame, was a rope made of silk or leather by which hounds were led, from O. F. liamen, a strap or line, Latin ligamen. This strap was fastened to the collar by a swivel, and both collar and liams were often very gorgeous. We read of "A lyame of white silk with collar of white vellat embrawdered with perles, the swivell of silver." "Dog collors of crymson vellat with VI lyhams of white leather." "A lieme of grene and white silke." "Three lyames and colors with tirrett of silver and quilt" (Madden, "Expenses of Princess Mary").
A hound was said to carry his liam well when he just kept it at proper tension, not straining it, for that would show that he was of too eager temperament, and likely to overshoot the line; if he trailed his liam on the ground, it showed that he was slack or unwilling (D'Yauville).
As soon as the stag was "moved" the limer's work was over, but only for the time being; his master led him away, the other hounds were uncoupled, and the harbourer, mounting his horse and keeping his limer with him, rode as close to the chase as he could, skirting below the wind and being careful not to cross the line, but managing to be at hand in case the stag should run in company or give the hounds the change. In this case the huntsman had to check the hounds, and wait for the harbourer and limer to come up and unravel the change, and put the pack on the right scent once more.
The method of starting the stag with a limer was not done away with in France until the eighteenth century, although in Normandy a change had been made previously, and probably in England also. For our author says that some sportsmen even in his time, when impatient, would uncouple a few of the hounds in the covert, before the stag had been properly started by the limer, which practice he, however, was not in favour of except under the conditions he mentions.
This uncoupling of a few older hounds in covert to start the deer, coupling them again as soon as the deer was on foot, was later called tufting, and is still customary in Devon and Somerset.
The limer was not rewarded with the other hounds; he received his reward from the hands of his master before or after the other hounds, and after he had bayed the head of the stag.
When not quoting or translating the old text the more modern spelling of limer has been used.
Old Eng. and Mid. Eng. Woodness, wodnesse, and wodnyss; mad, wode. The seven different sorts of madnesses spoken of by the "Master of Game" are also mentioned in nearly all subsequent works on old hunting dealing with "sicknesses of hounds." They are the hot burning madness, running madness, dumb madness, lank madness, rheumatic madness or slavering madness, falling madness, sleeping madness.