Coursing is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs —chiefly Greyhounds and other sight hounds— running by sight, not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique practiced by nobility with Greyhounds and by commoners with Lurchers. In its oldest recorded form in the Western world, as described by Arrian the sport was practiced by all levels of society, as remained the case until Carolingian hunting law (Forest Law) appropriated hunting grounds, or commons, for the king, the nobility and other land owners.