Grand Huntsman of France

The title was created in 1413 by Charles VI at roughly the same time as those of Grand Falconer of France and the "Capitaine du vautrait".

The service gained even greater prestige under Francis I and Henry II, and the position reached a high point under Henry IV; in 1596, 182 persons were employed by the royal hunt, which included lieutenants, sous-lieutenants, gentlemen, valets for the hounds, mounted and unmounted valets for the dogs, and finally a surgeon and an apothecary.

From the 16th century, the holder of the position received an annual salary of 1200 livres, which was a relatively small sum within the royal household.

According to Saint-Simon, in 1714, the new Duke de La Rochefoucauld sold, for a sum of 500,000 livres.

[2] Up to a point, the Grand Veneur de France position is comparable to the one of Master of the Buckhounds in the English monarchy.