Some of this from a Feb 9th article by Isabel George of The Guardian is
perhaps questionable though possible, and some is truly nifty:
 
http://shopping.guardian.co.uk/household/story/0,1587,646601,00.html
 
>The early partnership of man and ferret is chronicled by Aristotle
>in 350BC, and then in AD23-79 by Pliny, >who tells of ferrets being
>used to hunt rabbits. Apparently, Genghis Khan used them in
>Afghanistan in >1221, and in England these rodent killers earned
>their first mention in 1223, when a ferreter is listed as >part of
>the royal court.
 
Genghis Khan used them?  (Anyone have a reference on that?)
 
Royal Court?
 
>Medieval ferrets were quick to impress royalty and the church. In
>fact, to stop peasants using them, >it was decreed that to own a
>ferret you needed a minimum income of 40 shillings a year.
 
etc.
 
Okay, this one is about as a real as Paul Bunyon and Blue Belle:
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~bkeyes/Ferrets/Ferret-legging.htm
 
Of course, Joyce's site is ALWAYS a treat:
>http://www.doctorbeer.com/joyce/ferrets/frhistpg.htm
 
Hadn't seen this one before:
http://hometown.aol.com/fscottg/page2.html
but it does mention such things as:
 
>- 450 B.C. -  The famous Greek play-writer Aristophanes mentioned
>ferrets in his satire 'The >Acheans', around the year 450 B.C.. He
>compared these people with ferrets, who had already >established a
>reputation for themselves as thieves.
>- 350 BC - Aristotle wrote about 'iktis', which means domesticated ferrets.
>- 6 B.C. - Caesar Augustus sent ferrets (named by Plinius
>'viverrae') to the Balearic Islands to control >the rabbit plagues.
...
>- 1221 A.D. - The great Mongol leader Genghis Kahn uses ferrets in a
>hunting circle at Termed.
 
and much more.  Interesting page; glad I found it.  Be sure to see it.  I
have often heard the Victoria thing but have not seen any refs on that.
Still curious about refs on the Khan aspect.
 
Then there's:
http://home.attbi.com/~rthamper/html/body_roman_trivia.htm#AnimalAnchor
 
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/3-19-2002-14972.asp
is supposed to have some ferrets in mythology stuff but I didn't find
it, and has links to more such sites.
 
------
http://home-1.tiscali.nl/~wfu/ferret.html
more historical ferret artwork, contacts, etc
 
Okay found this by Bob Church so it gives the basis for the Khan
speculation (about which I'd like to hear more details:
 
>While the ferret's progenitor species is most likely the European
>polecat, it is probable at least some >hybridization with the steppe
>polecat and/or European-steppe polecat hybrids took place along
>the >way (this is indirectly supported by the reported use of
>ferrets by Genghis Khan-ca. 1221-who >came from an area were the
>predominant polecat was M. eversmannii, the steppe polecat)
>[Davison >et al. 1999; Zeuner 1963].
[Posted in FML issue 3843]