Grand Huntsman of France

The Grand Veneur de France or Grand Huntsman of France was a position in the King's Household in France during the Ancien Régime. The word French "veneur" (huntsman), derives from the Middle French word "vener" (to hunt), from which also was derived the archaic English words "venerer" (hunter) and "venery" (the hunt). The position is sometimes grouped with the Great Officers of the Crown of France. The position was one of the "Great Offices of the Maison du Roi". The position was equivalent to the position of "Grand Master of the Hunt" in certain European royal households.

The Grand Veneur was responsible for the royal hunt. The title was created in 1413 by Charles VI at roughly the same time as the those of Grand Falconer of France and the "Capitaine du vautrait". The Grand Veneur took care of the king's hunting dogs (roughly 100 hounds) for the stag hunt. Under Charles VIII, he oversaw nine squires ("écuyer"), nine huntsmen ("veneur"), two aides, six valets for the hounds ("valet de limiers") and one dog handler for the foxhounds. 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 people were employed by the royal hunt, including lieutenants, sous-lieutenants, gentlemen, valets for the hounds, mounted and unmounted valets for the dogs, and finally a surgeon and an apothecary.