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diff --git a/43452-8.txt b/43452-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3ea32ec..0000000 --- a/43452-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11583 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Master of Game, by Second Duke of York, Edward - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Master of Game - The Oldest English Book on Hunting - -Author: Second Duke of York, Edward - -Contributor: Theodore Roosevelt - -Editor: William A. Baillie-Grohman - F. Baillie-Grohman - -Release Date: August 12, 2013 [EBook #43452] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MASTER OF GAME *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Martin Mayer and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - -[Transcribers' notes: - -Spelling, hyphenation, punctuation, capitalization, and accentuation -vary throughout the text. They are retained as published; we have not -standardized them. - -The oe ligature is rendered: [oe]. - -Letters with a macron are preceded by an equals sign, both inside of -square brackets, e.g. [=a]. - -Italics are rendered between underscores, e.g. _italics_. - -Underlined text is rendered between equal signs, e.g. =underlined -text=. - -Smallcap text is rendered in all caps, e.g. SMALLCAP TEXT. - -Superscripts are preceded by the carat character, e.g. ov^r. - -Horn notes are rendered: - [**white] denoting a long note, [**black] a short note, - [**white][**white] a note of two long syllables, etc.] - - - - -THE MASTER OF GAME - -[Illustration: Fox hunting "above ground" with raches or running -hounds. (From MS. f. fr. 616 in the Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris.)] - - THE MASTER OF GAME - BY EDWARD, SECOND DUKE OF - YORK: THE OLDEST ENGLISH - BOOK ON HUNTING: EDITED BY - WM. A. AND F. BAILLIE-GROHMAN - WITH A FOREWORD BY THEODORE - ROOSEVELT - -[Illustration] - -LONDON -CHATTO & WINDUS -MCMIX - - -_All rights reserved_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - - - CHAP. PAGE - - INTRODUCTION xi - - FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION xix - - I. THE PROLOGUE 1 - - II. OF THE HARE AND OF HER NATURE 14 - - III. OF THE HART AND HIS NATURE 23 - - IV. OF THE BUCK AND OF HIS NATURE 38 - - V. OF THE ROE AND OF HIS NATURE 41 - - VI. OF THE WILD BOAR AND OF HIS NATURE 46 - - VII. OF THE WOLF AND OF HIS NATURE 54 - - VIII. OF THE FOX AND OF HIS NATURE 64 - - IX. OF THE GREY (BADGER) AND OF HIS NATURE 68 - - X. OF THE (WILD) CAT AND ITS NATURE 70 - - XI. THE OTTER AND HIS NATURE 72 - - XII. OF THE MANNER AND HABITS AND CONDITIONS OF HOUNDS 75 - - XIII. OF SICKNESSES OF HOUNDS AND OF THEIR CORRUPTIONS 85 - - XIV. OF RUNNING HOUNDS AND OF THEIR NATURE 105 - - XV. OF GREYHOUNDS AND OF THEIR NATURE 113 - - XVI. OF ALAUNTES AND OF THEIR NATURE 116 - - XVII. OF SPANIELS AND OF THEIR NATURE 119 - - XVIII. OF THE MASTIFF AND OF HIS NATURE 122 - - XIX. WHAT MANNER AND CONDITION A GOOD HUNTER SHOULD HAVE 123 - - XX. HOW THE KENNEL FOR THE HOUNDS AND THE COUPLES FOR THE RACHES AND - THE ROPES FOR THE LYMER SHOULD BE MADE 125 - - XXI. HOW THE HOUNDS SHOULD BE LED OUT TO SCOMBRE 127 - - XXII. HOW A HUNTER'S HORN SHOULD BE DRIVEN 128 - - XXIII. HOW A MAN SHOULD LEAD HIS GROOM IN QUEST FOR TO KNOW A HART BY - HIS TRACE 130 - - XXIV. HOW A MAN SHOULD KNOW A GREAT HART BY THE FUMES 133 - - XXV. HOW A MAN SHOULD KNOW A GREAT HART BY THE PLACE WHERE HE HATH - FRAYED HIS HEAD 135 - - XXVI. HOW THE ORDINANCE SHOULD BE MADE FOR THE HART HUNTING BY - STRENGTH AND HOW THE HART SHOULD BE HARBOURED 148 - - XXVII. HOW A HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST BY THE SIGHT 152 - - XXVIII. HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST BETWEEN THE PLAINS AND THE - WOOD 154 - - XXIX. HOW A HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST IN THE COPPICE AND THE YOUNG - WOOD 155 - - XXX. HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST IN GREAT COVERTS AND STRENGTHS - 156 - - XXXI. HOW A HUNTER SHOULD QUEST IN CLEAR SPIRES AND HIGH WOOD 157 - - XXXII. HOW A GOOD HUNTER SHALL GO IN QUEST TO HEAR THE HARTS BELLOW - 161 - - XXXIII. HOW THE ASSEMBLY THAT MEN CALL GATHERING SHOULD BE MADE BOTH - WINTER AND SUMMER AFTER THE GUISE OF BEYOND THE SEA 163 - - XXXIV. HOW THE HART SHOULD BE MOVED WITH THE LYMER AND RUN TO AND - SLAIN WITH STRENGTH 165 - - XXXV. HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD SEEK AND FIND THE HARE WITH RUNNING HOUNDS - AND SLAY HER WITH STRENGTH 181 - - XXXVI. OF THE ORDINANCE AND THE MANNER OF HUNTING WHEN THE KING WILL - HUNT IN FORESTS OR IN PARKS FOR THE HART WITH BOWS AND GREYHOUNDS AND - STABLE 188 - - APPENDIX 201 - - LIST OF SOME BOOKS CONSULTED AND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN TEXT 268 - - GLOSSARY 282 - - INDEX 299 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - FOX HUNTING "ABOVE GROUND" _Frontispiece_ - - GASTON PH[OE]BUS SURROUNDED BY HUNTSMEN AND HOUNDS _To face page_ 1 - - THE HARE AND HER LEVERETS " 14 - - HOW TO QUEST FOR THE HART IN WOODS " 22 - - BUCK-HUNTING WITH RUNNING HOUNDS " 38 - - ROEBUCK-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RUNNING HOUNDS " 44 - - BADGER-DRAWING " 68 - - OTTER-HUNTING " 72 - - HOW THE HOUNDS WERE LED OUT " 86 - - RACHES OR RUNNING HOUNDS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY " 106 - - THE SMOOTH AND THE ROUGH-COATED GREYHOUNDS " 114 - - THE FIVE BREEDS OF HOUNDS DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT " 122 - - THE KENNEL AND KENNELMEN " 126 - - THE MASTER TEACHING HIS HUNTSMAN HOW TO QUEST FOR - THE HART WITH THE LIMER OR TRACKHOUND _To face page_ 130 - - HOW A GREAT HART IS TO BE KNOWN BY HIS "FUMES" - (EXCREMENTS) " 134 - - HOW THE HUNTER SHOULD VIEW THE HART " 152 - - HOW TO QUEST FOR THE HART IN COVERTS " 164 - - HARE-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RUNNING HOUNDS " 182 - - HARE-DRIVING WITH LOW BELLS " 184 - - NETTING HARES IN THEIR "MUSES" " 186 - - THE "UNDOING" OR GRALLOCHING OF THE HART: THE - MASTER INSTRUCTING HIS HUNTERS HOW IT IS DONE " 192 - - HART-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RACHES " 196 - - THE "CURÉE" OR REWARDING OF THE HOUNDS" " 198 - - SHOOTING HARES WITH BLUNT BOLTS " 220 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -The "Master of Game" is the oldest as well as the most important work -on the chase in the English language that has come down to us from the -Middle Ages. - -Written between the years 1406 and 1413 by Edward III.'s grandson -Edward, second Duke of York, our author will be known to every reader -of Shakespeare's "Richard II.," for he is no other than the arch -traitor Duke of Aumarle, previously Earl of Rutland, who, according to -some historians, after having been an accomplice in the murder of his -uncle Gloucester, carried in his own hand on a pole the head of his -brother-in-law. The student of history, on the other hand, cannot -forget that this turbulent Plantagenet was the gallant leader of -England's vanguard at Agincourt, where he was one of the great nobles -who purchased with their lives what was probably the most glorious -victory ever vouchsafed to English arms. - -He tells us in his Prologue, in which he dedicates his "litel symple -book" to Henry, eldest son of his cousin Henry IV., "Kyng of Jngelond -and of Fraunce," that he is the Master of Game at the latter's court. - -Let it at once be said that the greater part of the book before us is -not the original work of Edward of York, but a careful and almost -literal translation from what is indisputably the most famous hunting -book of all times, _i.e._ Count Gaston de Foix's _Livre de Chasse_, -or, as author and book are often called, _Gaston Ph[oe]bus_, so named -because the author, who was a kinsman of the Plantagenets, and who -reigned over two principalities in southern France and northern Spain, -was renowned for his manly beauty and golden hair. It is he of whom -Froissart has to tell us so much that is quaint and interesting in his -inimitable chronicle. _La Chasse_, as Gaston de Foix tells us in his -preface, was commenced on May 1, 1387, and as he came to his end on a -bear hunt not much more than four years later, it is very likely that -his youthful Plantagenet kinsman, our author, often met him during his -prolonged residence in Aquitaine, of which, later on, he became the -Governor. - -Fortunately for us, the enforced leisure which the Duke of York -enjoyed while imprisoned in Pevensey Castle for his traitorous -connection with the plots of his sister to assassinate the King and to -carry off their two young kinsmen, the Mortimers, the elder of whom -was the heir presumptive to the throne, was of sufficient length to -permit him not only to translate _La Chasse_ but to add five original -chapters dealing with English hunting. - -These chapters, as well as the numerous interpolations made by the -translator, are all of the first importance to the student of venery, -for they emphasise the changes--as yet but very trifling ones--that -had been introduced into Britain in the three hundred and two score -years that had intervened since the Conquest, when the French language -and French hunting customs became established on English soil. To -enable the reader to see at a glance which parts of the "Master of -Game" are original, these are printed in italics. - -The text, of which a modern rendering is here given, is taken from the -best of the existing nineteen MSS. of the "Master of Game," viz. the -Cottonian MS. Vespasian B. XII., in the British Museum, dating from -about 1420. The quaint English of Chaucer's day, with its archaic -contractions, puzzling orthography, and long, obsolete technical terms -in this MS. are not always as easy to read as those who only wish to -get a general insight into the contents of the "Master of Game" might -wish. It was a difficult question to decide to what extent this text -should be modernised. If translated completely into twentieth century -English a great part of the charm and interest of the original would -be lost. For this reason many of the old terms of venery and the -construction of sentences have been retained where possible, so that -the general reader will be able to appreciate the "feeling" of the old -work without being unduly puzzled. In a few cases where, through the -omission of words, the sense was left undetermined, it has been made -clear after carefully consulting other English MSS. and the French -parent work. - -It seemed very desirable to elucidate the textual description of -hunting by the reproduction of good contemporary illuminations, but -unfortunately English art had not at that period reached the high -state of perfection which French art had attained. As a matter of -fact, only two of the nineteen English MSS. contain these pictorial -aids, and they are of very inferior artistic merit. The French MSS. of -_La Chasse_, on the other hand, are in several cases exquisitely -illuminated, and MS. f. fr. 616, which is the copy from which our -reproductions--much reduced in size, alas!--are made, is not only the -best of them, but is one of the most precious treasures of the -_Bibliothèque Nationale_ in Paris. These superb miniatures are -unquestionably some of the finest handiwork of French miniaturists at -a period when they occupied the first rank in the world of art. - -The editors have added a short Appendix, elucidating ancient hunting -customs and terms of the chase. Ancient terms of venery often baffle -every attempt of the student who is not intimately acquainted with the -French and German literature of hunting. On one occasion I appealed in -vain to Professor Max Müller and to the learned Editor of the Oxford -Dictionary. "I regret to say that I know nothing about these words," -wrote Dr. Murray; "terms of the chase are among the most difficult of -words, and their investigation demands a great deal of philological -and antiquarian research." There is little doubt that but for this -difficulty the "Master of Game" would long ago have emerged from its -seclusion of almost five hundred years. It is hoped that our notes -will assist the reader to enjoy this hitherto neglected classic of -English sport. Singularly enough, as one is almost ashamed to have to -acknowledge, foreign students, particularly Germans, have paid far -more attention to the "Master of Game" than English students have, and -there are few manuscripts of any importance about which English -writers have made so many mistakes. This is all the more curious -considering the precise information to the contrary so easily -accessible on the shelves of the British Museum. All English writers -with a single exception (Thomas Wright) who have dealt with our book -have attributed it persistently to a wrong man and a wrong period. -This has been going on for more than a century; for it was the -learned, but by no means always accurate, Joseph Strutt who first -thrust upon the world, in his often quoted "Sports and Pastimes of the -English People," certain misleading blunders concerning our work and -its author. Blaine, coming next, adding thereto, was followed little -more than a decade later by "Cecil," author of an equally much quoted -book, "Records of the Chase." In it, when speaking of the "Master of -Game," he says that he has "no doubt that it is the production of -Edmund de Langley," thus ascribing it to the father instead of to the -son. Following "Cecil's" untrustworthy lead, Jesse, Lord Wilton, Vero -Shaw, Dalziel, Wynn, the author of the chapter on old hunting in the -Badminton Library volume on Hunting, and many other writers copied -blindly these mistakes. - -Five years ago the present editors published in a large folio volume -the first edition of the "Master of Game" in a limited and expensive -form. It contained side by side with the ancient text a modernised -version, extended biographical accounts of Edward of York and of -Gaston de Foix (both personalities of singular historical and human -interest), a detailed bibliography of the existing mediæval hunting -literature up to the end of the sixteenth century, a glossary, and a -very much longer appendix than it was possible to insert in the -present volume, which, in order to make it conform to the series of -which it forms part, had to be cut down to about one-sixth of the -first edition. A similar fate had to befall the illustrations, which -had to be reduced materially both in number and size. We would -therefore invite the reader whose interest in the subject may possibly -be aroused by the present pages, to glance at the perhaps -formidable-looking pages of the first edition, with its facsimile -photogravure reproductions of the best French and English -illuminations to be found in fifteenth century hunting literature. - -In conclusion, I desire to repeat also in this place the expression of -my thanks to the authorities of the British Museum--to Dr. G. F. -Warner and Mr. I. H. Jeayes in particular--to the heads of the -Bodleian Library, the _Bibliothèque Nationale_, the Mazarin and the -Arsenal Libraries in Paris, the Duc d'Aumale's Library at Chantilly, -the _Bibliothèque Royale_ at Brussels, the _Königliche Bibliotheken_ -in Munich and Dresden, the _Kaiserliche und Königliche Haus, Hof and -Staats Archiv_, and the _K. and K. Hof Bibliothek_ in Vienna, to Dr. -F. J. Furnivall, Mr. J. E. Harting, Mr. T. Fitzroy Fenwick of -Cheltenham, and to express my indebtedness to the late Sir Henry -Dryden, Bt., of Canons Ashby, for his kind assistance in my research -work. - -To one person more than to any other my grateful acknowledgment is -due, namely to Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, -who, notwithstanding the press of official duties, has found time to -write the interesting _Foreword_. A conscientious historian of his own -great country, as well as one of its keenest sportsmen, President -Roosevelt's qualifications for this kindly office may be described as -those of a modern Master of Game. No more competent writer could have -been selected to introduce to his countrymen a work that illustrates -the spirit which animated our common forbears five centuries ago, -their characteristic devotion to the chase, no less than their -intimate acquaintance with the habits and "nature" of the wild game -they pursued: all attributes worthy of some study by the reading -sportsmen of the twentieth century, who, as I show, have hitherto -neglected the study of English Venery. It was at first intended to -print this _Foreword_ only in the American Edition, but it soon became -evident that this would give to it an advantage which readers in this -country would have some reason to complain of, so it was inserted also -in the English Edition, and from it taken over into the present one. - -[Illustration: Signature William A. Baillie-Grohman] - -LONDON, _March 3, 1909_. - - - - -FOREWORD - -TO THE FIRST EDITION - - -During the century that has just closed Englishmen have stood foremost -in all branches of sport, at least so far as the chase has been -carried on by those who have not followed it as a profession. Here and -there in the world whole populations have remained hunters, to whom -the chase was part of their regular work--delightful and adventurous, -but still work. Such were the American backwoodsmen and their -successors of the great plains and the Rocky Mountains; such were the -South African Boers; and the mountaineers of Tyrol, if not coming -exactly within this class, yet treated the chase both as a sport and a -profession. But disregarding these wild and virile populations, and -considering only the hunter who hunts for the sake of the hunting, it -must be said of the Englishman that he stood pre-eminent throughout -the nineteenth century as a sportsman for sport's sake. Not only was -fox-hunting a national pastime, but in every quarter of the globe -Englishmen predominated among the adventurous spirits who combined the -chase of big game with bold exploration of the unknown. The icy polar -seas, the steaming equatorial forests, the waterless tropical deserts, -the vast plains of wind-rippled grass, the wooded northern wilderness, -the stupendous mountain masses of the Andes and the Himalayas--in -short, all regions, however frowning and desolate, were penetrated by -the restless English in their eager quest for big game. Not content -with the sport afforded by the rifle, whether ahorse or afoot, the -English in India developed the use of the spear and in Ceylon the use -of the knife as the legitimate weapons with which to assail the -dangerous quarry of the jungle and the plain. There were hunters of -other nationalities, of course--Americans, Germans, Frenchmen; but the -English were the most numerous of those whose exploits were best worth -recounting, and there was among them a larger proportion of men gifted -with the power of narration. Naturally under such circumstances a -library of nineteenth century hunting must be mainly one of English -authors. - -All this was widely different in the preceding centuries. From the -Middle Ages to the period of the French Revolution hunting was carried -on with keener zest in continental Europe than in England; and the -literature of the chase was far richer in the French, and even in the -German, tongues than in the English. - -The Romans, unlike the Greeks, and still more unlike those mighty -hunters of old, the Assyrians, cared little for the chase; but the -white-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed barbarians, who, out of the -wreck of the Roman Empire, carved the States from which sprang modern -Europe, were passionately devoted to hunting. Game of many kinds then -swarmed in the cold, wet forests which covered so large a portion of -Europe. The kings and nobles, and the freemen generally, of the -regions which now make France and Germany, followed not only the wolf, -boar, and stag--the last named the favourite quarry of the hunter of -the Middle Ages--but the bear, the bison--which still lingers in the -Caucasus and in one Lithuanian preserve of the Czar--and the aurochs, -the huge wild ox--the _Urus_ of Cæsar--which has now vanished from the -world. In the Nibelungen Lied, when Siegfried's feats of hunting are -described, it is specified that he slew both the bear and the elk, the -bison and the aurochs. One of the early Burgundian kings was killed -while hunting the bison; and Charlemagne was not only passionately -devoted to the chase of these huge wild cattle, but it is said prized -the prowess shown therein by one of his stalwart daughters. - -By the fourteenth century, when the Count of Foix wrote, the aurochs -was practically or entirely extinct, and the bison had retreated -eastwards, where for more than three centuries it held its own in the -gloomy morasses of the plain south-east of the Baltic. In western -Europe the game was then the same in kind that it is now, although all -the larger species were very much more plentiful, the roebuck being -perhaps the only one of the wild animals that has since increased in -numbers. With a few exceptions, such as the Emperor Maximilian, the -kings and great lords of the Middle Ages were not particularly fond of -chamois and ibex hunting; it was reserved for Victor Emmanuel to be -the first sovereign with whom shooting the now almost vanished ibex -was a favourite pastime. - -Eager though the early Norman and Plantagenet kings and nobles of -England were in the chase, especially of the red deer, in France and -Germany the passion for the sport was still greater. In the end, on -the Continent the chase became for the upper classes less a pleasure -than an obsession, and it was carried to a fantastic degree. Many of -them followed it with brutal indifference to the rights of the -peasantry and to the utter neglect of all the serious affairs of life. -During the disastrous period of the Thirty Years War, the Elector of -Saxony spent most of his time in slaughtering unheard-of numbers of -red deer; if he had devoted his days and his treasure to the urgent -contemporary problems of statecraft and warcraft he would have ranked -more nearly with Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein, and would have -stood better at the bar of history. Louis XVI. was also devoted to the -chase in its tamer forms, and was shooting at driven game when the -Paris mob swarmed out to take possession of his person. The great -lords, with whom love of hunting had become a disease, not merely made -of game-preserving a grievous burden for the people, but also followed -the chase in ways which made scant demands upon the hardier qualities -either of mind or of body. Such debased sport was contemptible then; -and it is contemptible now. Luxurious and effeminate artificiality, -and the absence of all demands for the hardy virtues, rob any pastime -of all title to regard. Shooting at driven game on occasions when the -day's sport includes elaborate feasts in tents on a store of good -things brought in waggons or on the backs of sumpter mules, while the -sport itself makes no demand upon the prowess of the so-called -sportsman, is but a dismal parody upon the stern hunting life in which -the man trusts to his own keen eye, stout thews, and heart of steel -for success and safety in the wild warfare waged against wild nature. - -Neither of the two authors now under consideration comes in this -undesirable class. Both were mighty men with their hands, terrible in -battle, of imposing presence and turbulent spirit. Both were the -patrons of art and letters, and both were cultivated in the learning -of the day. For each of them the chase stood as a hardy and vigorous -pastime of the kind which makes a people great. The one was Count -Gaston de Foix, author of the most famous of mediæval hunting-books, a -mighty lord and mighty hunter, as well as statesman and warrior. The -other was Edward, second Duke of York, who at Agincourt "died -victorious." He translated into English a large portion of Gaston de -Foix's _La Chasse_, adding to it five original chapters. He called his -book "The Master of Game." - -Gaston's book is better known as _Gaston Ph[oe]bus_, the nickname of -the author which Froissart has handed down. He treats not only of the -animals of France, but of the ibex, the chamois, and the reindeer, -which he hunted in foreign lands. "The Master of Game" is the oldest -book on hunting in the English language. The original chapters are -particularly interesting because of the light they throw upon English -hunting customs in the time of the Plantagenets. The book has never -hitherto been published. Nineteen ancient manuscript copies are known; -of the three best extant two are on the shelves of the Bloomsbury -treasure house, the other in the Bodleian Library. Like others of the -famous old authors on venery, both the Count of Foix and the Duke of -York show an astonishing familiarity with the habits, nature, and -chase of their quarry. Both men, like others of their kind among their -contemporaries, made of the chase not only an absorbing sport but -almost the sole occupation of their leisure hours. They passed their -days in the forest and were masters of woodcraft. Game abounded, and -not only the chase but the killing of the quarry was a matter of -intense excitement and an exacting test of personal prowess, for the -boar, or the bear, or hart at bay was slain at close quarters with the -spear or long knife. - -"The Master of Game" is not only of interest to the sportsman, but -also to the naturalist, because of its quaint accounts of the "nature" -of the various animals; to the philologist because of the old English -hunting terms and the excellent translations of the chapters taken -from the French; and to the lover of art because of the beautiful -illustrations, with all their detail of costume, of hunting -accoutrements, and of ceremonies of "la grande venerie"--which are -here reproduced in facsimile from one of the best extant French -manuscripts of the early fifteenth century. The translator has left -out the chapters on trapping and snaring of wild beasts which were -contained in the original, the hunting with running hounds being the -typical and most esteemed form of the sport. Gaston Ph[oe]bus's _La -Chasse_ was written just over a century before the discovery of -America; "The Master of Game" some fifteen or twenty years later. The -former has been reprinted many times. Mr. Baillie-Grohman in -reproducing (for the first time) the latter in such beautiful form has -rendered a real service to all lovers of sport, of nature, and of -books--and no one can get the highest enjoyment out of sport unless he -can live over again in the library the keen pleasure he experienced in -the wilderness. - - * * * * * - -In modern life big-game hunting has assumed many widely varied forms. -There are still remote regions of the earth in which the traveller -must depend upon his prowess as a hunter for his subsistence, and here -and there the foremost settlers of new country still war against the -game as it has been warred against by their like since time primeval. -But over most of the earth such conditions have passed away for ever. -Even in Africa game preserving on a gigantic scale has begun. Such -game preserving may be of two kinds. In one the individual landed -proprietor, or a group of such individuals, erect and maintain a -private game preserve, the game being their property just as much as -domestic animals. Such preserves often fill a useful purpose, and if -managed intelligently and with a sense of public spirit and due -regard for the interests and feelings of others, may do much good, -even in the most democratic community. But wherever the population is -sufficiently advanced in intelligence and character, a far preferable -and more democratic way of preserving the game is by a system of -public preserves, of protected nurseries and breeding-grounds, while -the laws define the conditions under which all alike may shoot the -game and the restrictions under which all alike must enjoy the -privilege. It is in this way that the wild creatures of the forest and -the mountain can best and most permanently be preserved. Even in the -United States the enactment and observance of such laws has brought -about a marked increase in the game of certain localities, as, for -instance, New England, during the past thirty years; while in the -Yellowstone Park the elk, deer, antelope, and mountain sheep, and, -strangest of all, the bear, are not merely preserved in all their wild -freedom, but, by living unmolested, have grown to show a confidence in -man and a tameness in his presence such as elsewhere can be found only -in regions where he has been hitherto unknown. - -The chase is the best of all national pastimes, and this none the less -because, like every other pastime, it is a mere source of weakness if -carried on in an unhealthy manner, or to an excessive degree, or under -over-artificial conditions. Every vigorous game, from football to -polo, if allowed to become more than a game, and if serious work is -sacrificed to its enjoyment, is of course noxious. From the days when -Trajan in his letters to Pliny spoke with such hearty contempt of the -Greek over-devotion to athletics, every keen thinker has realised that -vigorous sports are only good in their proper place. But in their -proper place they are very good indeed. The conditions of modern life -are highly artificial, and too often tend to a softening of fibre, -physical and moral. It is a good thing for a man to be forced to show -self-reliance, resourcefulness in emergency, willingness to endure -fatigue and hunger, and at need to face risk. Hunting is praiseworthy -very much in proportion as it tends to develop these qualities. Mr. -Baillie-Grohman, to whom most English-speaking lovers of sport owe -their chief knowledge of the feats in bygone time of the great hunters -of continental Europe, has himself followed in its most manly forms -this, the manliest of sports. He has hunted the bear, the wapiti, and -the mountain ram in the wildest regions of the Rockies, and, also by -fair stalking, the chamois and the red deer in the Alps. Whoever -habitually follows mountain game in such fashion must necessarily -develop qualities which it is a good thing for any nation to see -brought out in its sons. Such sport is as far removed as possible from -that in which the main object is to make huge bags at small cost of -effort, and with the maximum of ease, no good quality save -marksmanship being required. Laying stress upon the mere quantity of -game killed, and the publication of the record of slaughter, are sure -signs of unhealthy decadence in sportsmanship. As far as possible the -true hunter, the true lover of big game and of life in the wilderness, -must be ever ready to show his own power to shift for himself. The -greater his dependence upon others for his sport the less he deserves -to take high rank in the brotherhood of rifle, horse, and hound. There -was a very attractive side to the hunting of the great mediæval lords, -carried on with an elaborate equipment and stately ceremonial, -especially as there was an element of danger in coming to close -quarters with the quarry at bay; but after all, no form of hunting has -ever surpassed in attractiveness the life of the wilderness wanderer -of our own time--the man who with simple equipment, and trusting to -his own qualities of head, heart, and hand, has penetrated to the -uttermost regions of the earth, and single-handed slain alike the -wariest and the grimmest of the creatures of the waste. - - THEODORE ROOSEVELT. - - THE WHITE HOUSE, - _February 15, 1904_. - -[Illustration: _GASTON PH[OE]BUS_ SURROUNDED BY HUNTSMEN AND HOUNDS -(From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - - - - -THE MASTER OF GAME - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE PROLOGUE - - -_To the honour and reverence of you my right worshipful and dread Lord -Henry by the grace of God eldest son and heir unto the high excellent -and Christian Prince Henry IV. by the aforesaid grace King of England -and of France, Prince of Wales, Duke of Guienne of Lancaster and of -Cornwall, and Earl of Chester._ - -_I your own in every humble wise have me ventured to make this little -simple book which I recommend and submit to your noble and wise -correction, which book if it pleaseth your aforesaid Lordship shall be -named and called MASTER OF GAME. And for this cause: for the matter -that this book treateth of what in every season of the year is most -durable, and to my thinking to every gentle heart most disportful of -all games, that is to say hunting. For though it be that hawking with -gentle hounds and hawks for the heron and the river be noble and -commendable, it lasteth seldom at the most more than half a year. For -though men find from May unto Lammas_ (August 1st) _game enough to -hawk at, no one will find hawks to hawk with.[1] But as of hunting -there is no season of all the year, that game may not be found in -every good country, also hounds ready to chase it. And since this book -shall be all of hunting, which is so noble a game, and lasting through -all the year of divers beasts that grow according to the season for -the gladdening of man, I think I may well call it MASTER OF GAME._ - -_And though it be so my dear Lord, that many could better have meddled -with this matter and also more ably than I, yet there be two things -that have principally emboldened and caused me to take this work in -hand. The first is trust of your noble correction, to which as before -is said, I submit this little and simple book. The second is that -though I be unworthy, I am Master of this Game with that noble prince -your Father our all dear sovereign and liege Lord aforesaid. And as I -would not that his hunters nor yours that now be or that should come -hereafter did not know the perfection of this art, I shall leave for -these this simple memorial, for as Chaucer saith in his prologue of -"The 25[2] Good Women": "By writing have men mind of things passed, -for writing is the key of all good remembrance."_ - -[1] As the hawks would be mewing and unfit to fly. - -[2] The Shirley MS. in the British Museum has "XV." - -And first I will begin by describing the nature of the hare,[3] -secondly of the nature of the hart, thirdly of the buck and of his -nature, fourthly of the roe and of his nature, fifthly of the wild -boar and of his nature, sixthly of the wolf and of his nature, -seventhly of the fox and of his nature, eighthly of the badger and of -his nature, ninthly of the cat and of his nature, tenthly of the -marten and his nature, eleventhly of the otter and of his nature. Now -have I rehearsed how I will in this little book describe the nature of -these aforesaid beasts of venery and of chace, and therefore will I -name the hounds the which I will describe hereafter, both of their -nature and conditions. And first I will begin with raches (running -hounds)[4] and their nature, and then greyhounds and their nature, and -then alaunts and their nature, and then spaniels and their nature, and -then mastiffs that men call curs and their nature, and then of small -curs that come to be terriers and their nature, and then I shall -devise and tell the sicknesses of hounds and their diseases. And -furthermore I will describe what qualities and manners a good hunter -should have, and of what parts he should be, and after that I will -describe the manner and shape of the kennel, and how it should be -environed and arrayed. Also I will describe of what fashion a hunter's -horn should be driven, and how the couplings should be made for the -raches and of what length. Furthermore I will prove by sundry reasons -in this little prologue, that the life of no man that useth gentle -game and disport be less displeasable unto God than the life of a -perfect and skilful hunter, or from which more good cometh. The first -reason is that hunting causeth a man to eschew the seven deadly sins. -Secondly men are better when riding, more just and more understanding, -and more alert and more at ease and more undertaking, and better -knowing of all countries and all passages; in short and long all good -customs and manners cometh thereof, and the health of man and of his -soul. For he that fleeth the seven deadly sins as we believe, he shall -be saved, therefore a good hunter shall be saved, and in this world -have joy enough and of gladness and of solace, so that he keep himself -from two things. One is that he leave not the knowledge nor the -service of God, from whom all good cometh, for his hunting. The second -that he lose not the service of his master for his hunting, nor his -own duties which might profit him most. Now shall I prove how a hunter -may not fall into any of the seven deadly sins. When a man is idle and -reckless without work, and be not occupied in doing some thing, he -abides in his bed or in his chamber, a thing which draweth men to -imaginations of fleshly lust and pleasure. For such men have no wish -but always to abide in one place, and think in pride, or in avarice, -or in wrath, or in sloth, or in gluttony, or in lechery, or in envy. -For the imagination of men rather turns to evil than to good, for the -three enemies which mankind hath, are the devil, the world and the -flesh, and this is proved enough. - -[3] Gaston de Foix has a different sequence, putting the hart first -and the hare sixth, and having four animals more, namely, the -reindeer, the chamois (including ibex), the bear and the rabbit, while -the "Master of Game" has one animal, the Marten, of which Gaston de -Foix does not speak. - -[4] Gaston de Foix follows a different sequence, commencing with -alaunts, then greyhounds, raches, spaniels, and says "fifthly I will -speak of all kinds of mongrel dogs, such as come from mastiffs and -alaunts, from greyhounds and running hounds, and other such." - -Nevertheless there be many other reasons which are too long to tell, -and also every man that hath good reason knoweth well that idleness is -the foundation of all evil imaginations. Now shall I prove how -imagination is lord and master of all works, good or evil, that man's -body or his limbs do. You know well, good or evil works small or great -never were done but that beforehand they were imagined or thought of. -Now shall you prove how imagination is the mistress of all deeds, for -imagination biddeth a man do good or evil works, whichever it be, as -before is said. And if a man notwithstanding that he were wise should -imagine always that he were a fool, or that he hath other sickness, it -would be so, for since he would think steadfastly that he were a fool, -he would do foolish deeds as his imagination would command, and he -would believe it steadfastly. Wherefore methinks I have proved enough -of imagination, notwithstanding that there be many other reasons the -which I leave to avoid long writing. Every man that hath good sense -knoweth well that this is the truth. - -Now I will prove how a good hunter may not be idle, and in dreaming -may not have any evil imaginations nor afterwards any evil works. For -the day before he goes out to his office, the night before he shall -lay him down in his bed, and shall not think but for to sleep, and do -his office well and busily, as a good hunter should. And he shall have -nothing to do, but think about all that which he has been ordered to -do. And he is not idle, for he has enough to do to think about rising -early and to do his office without thinking of sins or of evil deeds. -And early in the dawning of the day he must be up for to go unto his -quest, _that in English is called searching_, well and busily, for as -I shall say more explicitly hereafter, when I shall speak of how men -shall quest and search to harbour the hart. And in so doing he shall -not be idle, for he is always busy. And when he shall come again to -the assembly or meet, then he hath most to do, for he must order his -finders and relays for to move the hart, and uncouple his hounds. With -that he cannot be idle, for he need think of nothing but to do his -office, and when he hath uncoupled, yet is he less idle, and he should -think less of any sins, for he hath enough to do to ride _or to foot -it well_ with his hounds and to be always near them and to hue or rout -well, and blow well, and to look whereafter he hunteth, and which -hounds are _vanchasers and parfiters_,[5] and redress and bring his -hounds on the right line again when they are at fault[6] or hunting -rascal.[7] And when the hart is dead or what other chase he was -hunting, then is he less idle, for he hath enough to do to think how -to undo the hart in his manner and to raise that which appertaineth[8] -to him, and well to do his curée.[9] And he should look how many of -his hounds are missing of those that he brought to the wood in the -morning, and he should search for them, and couple them up. And when -he has come home, should he less think to do evil, for he hath enough -to do to think of his supper, and to ease himself and his horse, and -to sleep, and to take his rest, for he is weary, and to dry himself of -the dew or peradventure of the rain. And therefore I say that all the -time of the hunter is without idleness and without evil thoughts, and -without evil works of sin, for as I have said idleness is the -foundation of all vices and sins. And the hunter may not be idle if he -would fill his office aright, and also he can have no other thoughts, -for he has enough to do to think and imagine of his office, the which -is no little charge, for whoso will do it well and busily, especially -if they love hounds and their office. - -[5] The hounds that came in the first relay (van) and those in the -subsequent relays. See Appendix: Relays. - -[6] Diverted or off the line. - -[7] Chasing small or lean deer. See Appendix: Hart. - -[8] To take those parts of the deer which fell to him by custom. - -[9] Curée: The ceremony of giving the hounds their reward on the skin -of the animal they have chased. See Appendix: Curée. - -Wherefore I say that such an hunter is not idle, he can have no evil -thoughts, nor can he do evil works, wherefore he must go into -paradise.[10] For by many other reasons which are too long to write -can I prove these things, but it sufficeth that every man that hath -good sense knoweth well that I speak the real truth. - -[10] Gaston de Foix in the French parent work puts it even more -forcefully; he says: "tout droit en paradis." See Lavallée's ed. 1854. - -Now shall I prove how hunters live in this world more joyfully than -any other men. For when the hunter riseth in the morning, and he sees -a sweet and fair morn and clear weather and bright, and he heareth -the song of the small birds, the which sing so sweetly with great -melody and full of love, each in it's own language in the best wise -that it can according that it learneth of it's own kind. And when the -sun is arisen, he shall see fresh dew upon the small twigs and -grasses, and the sun by his virtue shall make them shine. And that is -great joy and liking to the hunter's heart. After when he shall go to -his quest or searching, he shall see or meet anon with the hart -without great seeking, and shall harbour[11] him well and readily -within a little compass. It is great joy and liking to the hunter. And -after when he shall come to the assembly or gathering, and he shall -report before the Lord and his company that which he hath seen with -his eyes, or by scantilon (measure) of the trace (slot) which he ought -always of right to take, or by the fumes[12] (excrements) that he -shall put in his horn or in his lap. And every man shall say: Lo, here -is a great hart and a deer of high meating or pasturing; go we and -move him; the which things I shall declare hereafter, then can one say -that the hunter has great joy. When he beginneth to hunt and he hath -hunted but a little and he shall hear or see the hart start before him -and shall well know that it is the right one, and his hounds that -shall this day be finders, shall come to the lair (bed), or to the -fues (track), and shall there be uncoupled without any be left -coupled, and they shall all run well and hunt, then hath the hunter -great joy and great pleasure. Afterwards he leapeth on horseback, _if -he be of that estate, and else on foot_ with great haste to follow his -hounds. And in case peradventure the hounds shall have gone far from -where he uncoupled, he seeketh some advantage to get in front of his -hounds. And then shall he see the hart pass before him, and shall -holloa and rout mightily, and he shall see which hound come in the -van-chase, and in the middle, and which are parfitours,[13] according -to the order in which they shall come. And when all the hounds have -passed before him then shall he ride after them and shall rout and -blow as loud as he may with great joy and great pleasure, and I assure -you he thinketh of no other sin or of no other evil. And when the hart -be overcome and shall be at bay he shall have pleasure. And after, -when the hart is spayed[14] and dead, he undoeth him and maketh his -curée and enquireth or rewardeth his hounds, and so he shall have -great pleasure, and when he cometh home he cometh joyfully, for his -lord hath given him to drink of his good wine at the curée, and when -he has come home he shall doff his clothes and his shoes and his hose, -and he shall wash his thighs and his legs, and peradventure all his -body. And in the meanwhile he shall order well his supper, with -_wortes_ (roots) _and of the neck_ of the hart and of other good -meats, and good wine _or ale_. And when he hath well eaten and drunk -he shall be glad and well, and well at his ease. And then shall he -take the air in the evening of the night, for the great heat that he -hath had. And then he shall go and drink and lie in his bed in fair -fresh clothes, and shall sleep well and steadfastly all the night -without any evil thoughts of any sins, wherefore I say that hunters go -into Paradise when they die, and live in this world more joyfully than -any other men. Yet I will prove to you how hunters live longer than -any other men, for as Hippocras the doctor telleth: "full repletion of -meat slayeth more men than any sword or knife." They eat and drink -less than any other men of this world, for in the morning at the -assembly they eat a little, and if they eat well at supper, they will -by the morning have corrected their nature, for then they have eaten -but little, and their nature will not be prevented from doing her -digestion, whereby no wicked humours or superfluities may be -engendered. And always, when a man is sick, men diet him and give him -to drink water made of sugar and tysane and of such things for two or -three days to put down evil humours and his superfluities, and also -make him void (purge). But for a hunter one need not do so, for he may -have no repletion on account of the little meat, and by the travail -that he hath. And, supposing that which can not be, and that he were -full of wicked humours, yet men know well that the best way to -terminate sickness that can be is to sweat. And when the hunters do -their office on horseback or on foot they sweat often, then if they -have any evil in them, it must (come) away in the sweating; so that he -keep from cold after the heat. Therefore it seemeth to me I have -proved enough. Leeches ordain for a sick man little meat and sweating -for the terminating and healing of all things. And since hunters eat -little and sweat always, they should live long and in health. Men -desire in this world to live long in health and in joy, and after -death the health of the soul. And hunters have all these things. -Therefore be ye all hunters and ye shall do as wise men. Wherefore I -counsel to all manner of folk of what estate or condition that they -be, that they love hounds and hunting and the pleasure of hunting -beasts of one kind or another, or hawking. For to be idle and to have -no pleasure in either hounds or hawks is no good token. _For as saith -in his book Ph[oe]bus the Earl of Foix that noble hunter_, he saw -never a good man that had not pleasure in some of these things, were -he ever so great and rich. For if he had need to go to war he would -not know what war is, for he would not be accustomed to travail, and -so another man would have to do that which he should. For men say in -old saws: "The lord is worth what his lands are worth."[15] _And also -he saith in the aforesaid book_, that he never saw a man that loved -the work and pleasure of hounds and hawks, that had not many good -qualities in him; for that comes to him of great nobleness and -gentleness of heart of whatever estate the man may be, whether he be a -great lord, or a little one, or a poor man or a rich one. - -[11] Trace the deer to its lair. - -[12] See Appendix: Excrements. - -[13] See Appendix: Relays. - -[14] Despatched with a sword or knife. See Appendix: Spay. - -[15] Gaston de Foix says: "Tant vaut seigneur tant vaut sa gent et sa -terre," p. 9. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -OF THE HARE AND OF HER NATURE - - -The hare is a common beast enough, and therefore I need not tell of -her making, for there be few men that have not seen some of them. They -live on corn, and on weeds growing on waste land, on leaves, on herbs, -on the bark of trees, on grapes and on many other fruits. The hare is -a good little beast, and much good sport and liking is the hunting of -her, more than that of any other beast that _any man knoweth_, if -he[16] were not so little. And that for five reasons: the one is, for -her hunting lasteth all the year as with running hounds without any -sparing, and this is not with all the other beasts. And also men may -hunt at her both in the morning and in the evening. In the eventide, -when they be relieved,[17] and in the morning, when they sit in form. -And of all other beasts it is not so, for if it rain in the morning -your journey is lost, and of the hare it is not so. That other -[reason] is to seek the hare; it is a well fair thing, especially who -so hunteth her rightfully, for hounds must need find her by mastery -and quest point by point, and undo all that she hath done all the -night of her walking, and of her pasture unto the time that they start -her. And it is a fair thing when the hounds are good and can well find -her. And the hare shall go sometimes from her sitting to her pasture -half a mile or more, specially in open country. And when she is -started it is a fair thing. And then it is a fair thing to slay her -with strength of hounds, for she runneth long and gynnously -(cunningly). A hare shall last well four miles or more or less, if she -be an old male hare. And therefore the hunting of the hare is good, -for it lasteth all the year, as I have said. And the seeking is a well -fair thing, and the chasing of the hare is a well fair thing, and the -slaying of him with strength (of hounds) is a fair thing, for it -requireth great mastery on account of her cunning. When a hare ariseth -out of her form to go to her pasture or return again to her seat, she -commonly goes by one way, and as she goes she will not suffer any twig -or grass to touch her, for she will sooner break it with her teeth and -make her way. Sometime she sitteth a mile or more from her pasturing, -and sometimes near her pasture. But when she sitteth near it, yet she -may have been the amount of half a mile or more from there where she -hath pastured, and then she ruseth again from her pasture. And whether -she go to sit near or far from her pasture she goes so gynnously -(cunningly) and wilily that there is no man in this world that would -say that any hound could unravel that which she has done, or that -could find her. For she will go a bow shot or more by one way, and -ruse again by another, and then she shall take her way by another -side, and the same she shall do ten, twelve, or twenty times, from -thence she will come into some hedge or strength (thicket), and shall -make semblance to abide there, and then will make cross roads ten or -twelve times, and will make her ruses, and thence she will take some -false path, and shall go thence a great way, and such semblance she -will make many times before she goeth to her seat. - -[16] The hare was frequently spoken of in two genders in the same -sentence, for it was an old belief that the hare was at one time male, -and at another female. See Appendix: Hare. - -[17] Means here: when the hare has arisen from her form to go to her -feeding. Fr. _relever_. G. de F. explains, p. 42: _un lievre se -reliève pour aler à son vianders_. Relief, which denoted the act of -arising and going to feed, became afterwards the term for the feeding -itself. "A hare hath greater scent and is more eagerly hunted when she -relieves on green corn" (_Comp. Sportsman_, p. 86). It possibly was -used later to denote the excrements of a hare; thus Blome (1686) p. -92, says: "A huntsman may judge by the relief and feed of the hare -what she is." - -[Illustration: THE HARE AND HER LEVERETS (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. -Nat._, Paris)] - -The hare cannot be judged, either by the foot or by her fumes -(excrements), for she always crotieth[18] in one manner, except when -she goeth in her love that hunters call ryding time, for then she -crotieth her fumes more burnt (drier) and smaller, especially the -male. The hare liveth no long time, for with great pain may she pass -the second[19] year, though she be not hunted or slain. She hath bad -sight[20] and great fear to run[21] on account of the great dryness of -her sinews. She windeth far men when they seek her. When hounds grede -of her (seek) and quest her she flieth away for the fear that she hath -of the hounds. Sometimes men find her sitting in her form, and -sometimes she is bitten (taken) by hounds in her form before she -starts. They that abide in the form till they be found are commonly -stout hares, and well running. The hare that runneth with right -standing ears is but little afraid, and is strong, and yet when she -holdeth one ear upright and the other laid low on her ryge (back), she -feareth but little the hounds. An hare that crumps her tail upon her -rump when she starteth out of her form as a coney (does) it is a token -that she is strong and well running. The hare runneth in many diverse -manners, for some run all they are able a whole two miles or three, -and after run and ruse again and then stop still when they can no -more, and let themselves be bitten (by the hounds), although she may -not have been seen all the day. And sometimes she letteth herself be -bitten the first time that she starteth, for she has no more might -(strength). And some run a little while and then abide and squat, and -that they do oft. And then they take their flight as long as they can -run ere they are dead. And some be that abide till they are bitten in -their form, especially when they be young that have not passed half a -year. Men know by the outer side of the hare's leg if she has not -passed a year.[22] And so men should know of a hound, of a fox, and of -a wolf, by a little bone that they have in a bone which is next the -sinews, where there is a little pit (cavity). - -[18] Casting her excrements. - -[19] A mistake of the old scribes which occurs also in other MSS.; it -should, of course, read "seventh" year. G. de F. has the correct -version. - -[20] G. de F. says: "She hears well but has bad sight," p. 43. - -[21] "Fear to run" is a mistake occasioned by the similarity of the -two old French words "pouair," power, and "paour" or fear. In those of -the original French MS. of G. de F. examined by us it is certainly -"power" and not "fear." Lavallée in his introduction says the same -thing. See Appendix: Hare. - -[22] See Appendix: Hare. - -Sometimes when they are hunted with hounds they run into a hole as a -coney, or into hollow trees, or else they pass a great river. Hounds -do not follow some hares as well as others, for four reasons. Those -hares who be begotten of the kind of a coney, as some be in warrens, -the hounds lust not, nor scenteth them not so well. The other (is) -that the fues (footing) of some hares carry hotter scent than some, -and therefore the hounds scenteth of one more than of the other, as of -roses, some smell better than others, and yet they be all roses. The -other reason is that they steal away ere they be found, and the hounds -follow always forth right. The others run going about and then -abide,[23] wherefore the hounds be often on stynt (at fault). The -other (reason) is according to the country they run in, for if they -run in covert, hounds will scent them better than if they run in plain -(open) country, or in the ways (paths), for in the covert their bodies -touch against the twigs and leaves, because it is a strong (thick) -country. And when they run in plain country or in the fields they -touch nothing, but with the foot, and therefore the hound can not so -well scent the fues of them. And also I say that some country is more -sweet and more loving (to scent) than another. The hare abideth -commonly in one country, and if she hath the fellowship of another or -of her kyndels or leverettes, they be five or six, for no strange hare -will they suffer to dwell in their marches (district), though they be -of their nature (kind),[24] and therefore men say in old saws: "Who so -hunteth the most hares shall find the most." _For Phebus the Earl of -Foix, that good hunter, saith that_ when there be few hares in a -country they should be hunted and slain, so that the hares of other -countries about should come into that march. - -[23] G. de F. has: "vonts riotans tournions et demourant," _i.e._ run -rioting, turning and stopping, p. 44. - -[24] Both the Vespasian and the Shirley MS. in the British Museum have -the same, but G. de F., p. 45, has, "except those of their nature" -(_fors que celle de leur nature_). - -Of hares, some go faster and be stronger than others, as it is of men -and other beasts. Also the pasture and the country where they abide -helpeth much thereto. For when the hare abideth and formeth in a plain -country where there are no bushes, such hares are commonly strongest -and well running. Also when they pasture on two herbs--that one is -called Soepol (wild thyme) and that other be Pulegium (pennyroyal) -they are strong and fast running. - -The hares have no season of their love for, as I said, it is called -ryding time, for in every month of the year that it shall not be that -some be not with kindles (young). Nevertheless, commonly their love is -most in the month of January, and in that month they run most fast of -any time of the year, both male and female. And from May unto -September they be most slow, for then they be full of herbs and of -fruits, or they be great and full of kindles, and commonly in that -time they have their kindles. Hares remain in sundry (parts of the) -country, according to the season of the year; sometimes they sit in -the fern, sometimes in the heath, sometimes in the corn, and in -growing weeds, and sometimes in the woods. In April and in May when -the corn is so long that they can hide themselves therein, gladly will -they sit therein. And when men begin to reap the corn they will sit in -the vines and in other strong (thick) heaths, in bushes and in hedges, -and commonly in cover under the wind and in cover from the rain, and -if there be any sun shining they will gladly sit against the beams of -the sun. For a hare of its own kind knoweth the night before what -weather it will be on the next morrow, and therefore she keepeth -herself the best way she may from the evil weather. The hare beareth -her kindles two months,[25] and when they are kindled she licketh her -kindles as a bitch doeth her whelps. Then she runneth a great way -thence, and goeth to seek the male, for if she should abide with her -kindles she would gladly eat them. And if she findeth not the male, -she cometh again to her kindles a great while after and giveth them to -suck, and nourisheth them for the maintainance of 20 days or -thereabouts. A hare beareth commonly 2 kindles, but I have seen some -which have kindled at once sometime 6, sometime 5 or 4 or 2;[26] and -but she find the male within three days from the time she hath -kindled, she will eat her kindles. And when they be in their love they -go together as hounds, save they hold not together as hounds. They -kindle often in small bushes or in little hedges, or they hide in -heath or in briars or in corn or in vines. If you find a hare which -has kindled the same day, and the hounds hunt after her, and if you -come thither the next morrow ye shall find how she has removed her -kindles, and has borne them elsewhere with her teeth, as a bitch doth -her whelps. Men slay hares with greyhounds, and with running hounds by -strength, _as in England, but elsewhere they slay them also_ with -small pockets, and with purse nets, and with small nets, _with hare -pipes_, and with long nets, and with small cords that men cast where -they make their breaking of the small twigs when they go to their -pastures, as I have before said.[27] But, _truly, I trow no good -hunter would slay them so for any good_. When they be in their heat of -love and pass any place where conies be, the most part of them will -follow after her as the hounds follow after a bitch or a brache. - -[25] This is incorrect: the hare carries her young thirty days (Brehm, -vol. ii. p. 626; Harting, _Ency. of Sport_, vol. i. p. 504). - -[26] Should read "three" (G. de F., p. 47). - -[27] See Appendix: Snares. - -[Illustration: HOW TO QUEST FOR THE HART IN WOODS (From MS. f. fr. -616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER III - -OF THE HART AND HIS NATURE - - -The hart is a common beast enough and therefore me needeth not to tell -of his making, for there be few folk that have not seen some. The -harts be the lightest (swiftest) beasts and strongest, and of -marvellous great cunning. They are in their love, which men call rut, -about the time of the Holy Rood[28] in September and remain in their -hot love a whole month and ere they be fully out thereof they abide -(in rut) nigh two months. And then they are bold, and run upon men as -a wild boar would do if he were hunted. And they be wonderfully -perilous beasts, for with great pain shall a man recover that is hurt -by a hart, and therefore men say in old saws: "after the boar the -leech and after the hart the bier." For he smiteth as the stroke of -the springole,[29] for he has great strength in the head and the body. -They slay, fight and hurt each other, when they be in rut, that is to -say in their love, and they sing in their language _that in England -hunters call bellowing_ as man that loveth paramour.[30] They slay -hounds and horses and men at that time and turn to the abbay (be at -bay) as a boar does especially when they be weary. And yet have men -seen at the parting of their ligging (as they start from the lair)[31] -that he hath hurt him that followeth after, and also the -greyhounds[32] and furthermore a courser. And yet when they are in -rut, which is to say their love, in a forest where there be few hinds -and many harts or male deer, they slay, hurt and fight with each -other, for each would be master of the hinds. And commonly the -greatest hart and the most strong holdeth the rut and is master -thereof. And when he is well pured and hath been long at rut all the -other harts that he hath chased and flemed away (put to flight) from -the rut then run upon him and slay him, and that is sooth. And in -parks this may be proved, for there is never a season but the greatest -hart will be slain by the others not while he is at the rut, but when -he has withdrawn and is poor of love. In the woods they do not so -often slay each other as they do in the plain country. And also there -are divers ruts in the forest, but in the parks there are none but -that are within the park.[33] After that they be withdrawn from the -hinds they go in herds and in soppes (troops) with the rascal (young -lean deer) and abide in (waste) lands and in heathes more than they do -in woods, for to enjoy the heat of the sun, they be poor and lean for -the travail they have had with the hinds, and for the winter, and the -little meat that they find. After that they leave the rascal and -gather together with two or three or four harts in soppes till the -month of March when they mew (shed) their horns, and commonly some -sooner than others, if they be old deer, and some later if they be -young deer, or that they have had a hard winter, or that they have -been hunted, or that they have been sick, for then they mew their -heads and later come to good points. And when they have mewed their -heads they take to the strong (thick) bushes as privily as they may, -till their heads be grown again, and they come into grease; after that -they seek good country for meating (feeding) of corn, of apples, of -vines, of tender growing trees, of peas, of beans, and other fruits -and grasses whereby they live. And sometimes a great hart hath another -fellow that is called his squire, for he is with him and doth as he -will. And so they will abide all that season if they be not hindered -until the last end of August. And then they begin to look, and to -think and to bolne and to bellow and to stir from the haunt in which -they have (been) all the season, for to go seek the hinds. They -recover their horns and are summed of their tines as many as they -shall have all the year between March when they mewed them to the -middle of June; and then be they recovered of their new hair that _men -call polished_ and their horns be recovered with a soft hair _that -hunters call velvet_ at the beginning, and under that skin and that -hair the horn waxes hard and sharp, and about Mary Magdalene day (July -22) they fray their horns against the trees, and have (rubbed) away -that skin from their horns and then wax they hard and strong, and then -they go to burnish and make them sharp in the colliers places -(charcoal pits) that men make sometimes in the great groves. And if -they can find none they go against the corners of rocks _or to crabbe -tree or to hawthorn or other trees_.[34] - -[28] September 14. See Appendix: Hart, Seasons. - -[29] An engine of war used for throwing stones. - -[30] G. de F., p. 12. "Ainsi que fet un homme bien amoureus" ("As does -a man much in love)." - -[31] This word ligging is still in use in Yorkshire, meaning lair, or -bed, or resting-place. In Devonshire it is spelt "layer." Fortescue, -p. 132. - -[32] G. de F., p. 12, has "limer" instead of "greyhound." - -[33] This passage is confused. In G. de F., p. 12, we find that the -passage runs: "Et aussi il y a ruyt en divers lieux de la forest et on -paix ne peut estre en nul lieu, fors que dedans le part." Lavallée -translates these last five words, "C'est à dire qu'il n'y a de paix -que lorsque les biches sont pleines." In the exceedingly faulty first -edition by Verard, the word "part" is printed "_parc_," as it is in -our MS. - -[34] G. de F., p. 14, says the harts go to gravel-pits and bogs to -fray. - -They be half in grease or thereabouts by the middle of June when their -head is summed, and they be highest in grease during all August. -Commonly they be calved in May, and the hind beareth her calf nine -months or thereabout as a sow,[35] and sometimes she has three[36] -calves at a calving time. And I say not that they do not calve -sometime sooner and sometime later, much according to causes and -reasons. The calves are calved with hair red and white, which lasteth -them that colour into the end of August, and then they turn red of -hair, as the hart and the hind. And at that time they run so fast that -a hare[37] should have enough to do to overtake him within the shot of -an haronblast (cross-bow). Many men judge the deer of many colours of -hair and especially of three colours. Some be called brown, some dun -and some yellow haired. And also their heads be of divers manners, the -one is called a head well-grown, and the other is called well -affeted,[38] and well affeted is when the head has waxed by ordinance -according to the neck and shape, when the tines be well grown in the -beam by good measure, one near the other, then it is called well -affeted. Well grown is when the head is of great beam and is well -affeted and thick tined, well high and well opened (spread). That -other head is called counterfeit (abnormal) when it is different and -is otherwise turned behind or wayward in other manner than other -common deer be accustomed to bear. That other high head is open, evil -affeted with long tines and few. That other is low and great and well -affeted with small tines. And the first tine that is next the head is -called antler, and the second Royal and the third above, the -Sur-royal, and the tines[39] which be called fourth if they be two, -and if they be three or four or more be called troching. And when -their heads be burnished at the colliers' pits commonly they be always -black, and also commonly when they be burnished at the colliers' pits -they be black on account of the earth which is black of its kind. And -when they are burnished against _rock_ they abide all white, but some -have their heads naturally white and some black. And when they be -about to burnish they smite the ground with their feet and welter like -a horse. And then they burnish their heads, and when they be burnished -which they do all the month of July they abide in that manner till the -feast of the Holy (Cross) in September 14th and then they go to rut as -I have said. - -[35] The MS. transcriber's mistake. It should be "cow." - -[36] G. de F. has "2 calves" as it should be. - -[37] G. de F. has "greyhound," as it should be (p. 15): "Et dès lors -vont ils jà si tost que un levrier a assés à fere de l'ateindre, ainsi -comme un trait d'arcbaleste" ("And from that time they go so quickly -that a greyhound has as much to do to catch him as he would the bolt -from a crossbow)." - -[38] Well proportioned. See Appendix: Antler. - -[39] Shirley MS. has the addition here: "Which be on top." - -_And the first year that they be calved they be called a Calf, the -second year a bullock; and that year they go forth to rut; the third -year a brocket; the fourth year a staggard; the fifth a stag; the -sixth year a hart of ten[40] and then first is he chaseable, for -always before shall he be called but rascal or folly._ Then it is fair -to hunt the hart, for it is a fair thing to seek well a hart, and a -fair thing well to harbour him, and a fair thing to move him, and a -fair thing to hunt him, and a fair thing to retrieve him, and a fair -thing to be at the abbay, whether it be on water or on land. A fair -thing is the curée,[41] and a fair thing to undo him well, and for to -raise the rights. And a well fair thing and good is the devision[42] -and it be a good deer. In so much that considering all things I hold -that it is the fairest hunting, that any man may hunt after. They -crotey their fumes (cast their excrements) in divers manners according -to the time and season and according to the pasture that they find, -now black or dry either in flat forms or engleymed (glutinous) or -pressed, and in many other divers manners the which I shall more -plainly devise when I shall declare how the hunter shall judge, for -sometimes they misjudge by the fumes and so they do by the foot. When -they crotey their fumes flat and not thick, it is in April or in May, -into the middle of June, when they have fed on tender corn, for yet -their fumes be not formed, and also they have not recovered their -grease. But yet have men seen sometimes a great deer and an old and -high in grease, which about mid-season crotey their fumes black and -dry. And therefore by this and many other things many men may be -beguiled by deer, for some goeth better and are better running and fly -better than some, as other beasts do, and some be more cunning and -more wily than others, as it is with men, for some be wiser than -others. And it cometh to them of the good kind of their father and -mother, and of good getting (breeding) and of good nurture and from -being born in good constellations, and in good signs of heaven, and -that (is the case) with men and all other beasts. Men take them with -hounds, with greyhounds and with nets and with cords, and with other -harness,[43] with pits and with shot[44] and with other gins (traps) -and with strength, as I shall say hereafter. _But in England they are -not slain except with hounds or with shot or with strength of running -hounds._ - -[40] In modern sporting terms, a warrantable deer. - -[41] See Appendix: Curée. - -[42] Should be: venison. - -[43] Harness, appurtenances. See Appendix: Harness. - -[44] Means from a cross-bow or long-bow. - -An old deer is wonder wise and felle (cunning) for to save his life, -and to keep his advantage when he is hunted and is uncoupled to, as -the lymer moveth him or other hounds findeth him without lymers, and -if he have a deer (with him) that be his fellow he leaveth him to the -hounds, so that he may warrant (save) himself, and let the hounds -enchase after that other deer. And he will abide still, and if he be -alone and the hounds find him, he shall go about his haunt wilily and -wisely and seek the change of other deer, for to make the hounds -envoise,[45] and to look where he may abide. And if he cannot abide he -taketh leave of his haunt and beginneth to fly there where he wots of -other change and then when he has come thither he herdeth among them -and sometimes he goeth away with them. And then he maketh a ruse on -some side, and there he stalleth or squatteth until the hounds be -forth after the other (deer) the which be fresh, and thus he changeth -so that he may abide. And if there be any wise hounds, the which can -bodily enchase him from the change, and he seeth that all can not -avail, then he beginneth to show his wiles and ruseth to and fro. And -all this he doth so that the hounds should not find his fues (tracks) -in intent that he may be freed from them and that he may save himself. - -[45] Go off the scent. - -Sometimes he fleeth forth with the wind and that for three causes, -for when he fleeth against the wind it runneth into his mouth and -dryeth him and doth him great harm. Therefore he fleeth oft forth with -the wind so that he may always hear the hounds come after him. And -also that the hounds should not scent nor find him, for his tail is in -the wind and not his nose.[46] Also, that when the hounds be nigh him -he may wind them and hye him well from them. _But nevertheless his -nature is for the most part to flee ever on the wind till he be nigh -overcome, or at the last sideways to the wind so that it be aye_ -(ever) _in his nostrils._ And when he shall hear that they be far from -him, he hieth him not too fast. And when he is weary, and hot, then he -goeth to yield, and soileth to some great river. And some time he -foils down in the water half a mile or more ere he comes to land on -any side. And that he doeth for two reasons, the one is to make -himself cold, and for to refresh himself of the great heat that he -hath, the other is that the hounds and the hunter may not come after -him nor see his fues in the water, as they do on the land. And if in -the country (there) is no great river he goeth then to the little -(one) and shall beat up the water or foil down the water as he liketh -best for the maintenance (extent) of a mile or more ere he come to -land, and he shall keep himself from touching any of the brinks or -branches but always (keep) in the middle of the water, so that the -hounds should not scent of him. And all that doth he for two reasons -before said. - -[46] This should read as G. de F. has it (p. 20): "Et aussi affin que -les chiens ne puissent bien assentir de luy, quar ilz auront la Cueue -au vent et non pas le nez" ("And also that the hounds shall not be -able to wind him, as they will have their tails in the wind and not -their noses"). - -And when he can find no rivers then he draweth to great stanks[47] and -meres or to great marshes. And he fleeth then mightily and far from -the hounds, that is to say that he hath gone a great way from -them,[48] then he will go into the stank, and will soil therein once -or twice in all the stank and then he will come out again by the same -way that he went in, and then he shall ruse again the same way that he -came (the length of) a bow shot or more, and then he shall ruse out of -the way, for to stall or squatt to rest him, and that he doeth for he -knoweth well that the hounds shall come by the fues into the stank -where he was. And when they should find that he has gone no further -they will seek him no further, for they will well know that they have -been there at other times. - -[47] Ponds, pools. See Appendix: Stankes. - -[48] G. de F., p. 21: "Et s'il fuit de fort longe aux chiens, c'est à -dire que il les ait bien esloinhés." See Appendix: "Forlonge." - -An hart liveth longest of any beast for he may well live an hundred -years[49] and the older he is the fairer he is of body and of head, -and more lecherous, but he is not so swift, nor so light, nor so -mighty. And many men say, but I make no affirmation upon that, when he -is right old he beateth a serpent with his foot till she be wrath, and -then he eateth her and then goeth to drink, and then runneth hither -and thither to the water till the venom be mingled together and make -him cast all his evil humours that he had in his body, and maketh his -flesh come all new.[50] The head of the hart beareth medicine against -the hardness of the sinews and is good to take away all aches, -especially when these come from cold: and so is the marrow. They have -a bone within the heart which hath great medicine, for it comforteth -the heart, _and helpeth for the cardiac_, and many other things which -were too long to write, the which bear medicine and be profitable in -many diverse manners. The hart is more wise in two things than is any -man or other beast, the one is in tasting of herbs, for he hath better -taste and better savour and smelleth the good herbs and leaves and -other pastures and meating the which be profitable to him, better than -any man or beast. The other is that he hath more wit and malice -(cunning) to save himself than any other beast or man, for there is -not such a good hunter in the world that can think of the great malice -and gynnes (tricks or ruses) that a hart can do, and there is no such -good hunter nor such good hounds, but that many times fail to slay the -hart, and that is by his wit and his malice and by his gins. - -[49] Most old writers on the natural history of deer repeat this -fable. See Appendix: Hart. - -[50] See Appendix: Hart. - -As of the hinds some be barren and some bear calves, of those that be -barren their season beginneth when the season of the hart faileth and -lasteth till Lent. And they which bear calves, in the morning when she -shall go to her lair she will not remain with her calf, but she will -hold (keep) him and leave him a great way from her, and smiteth him -with the foot and maketh him to lie down, and there the calf shall -remain always while the hind goeth to feed. And then she shall call -her calf in her language and he shall come to her. And that she doeth -so that if she were hunted her calf might be saved and that he should -not be found near her. The harts have more power to run well from the -entry of May into St. John's tide[51] than any other time, for then -they have put on new flesh and new hair and new heads, for the new -herbs and the new coming out (shoots) of trees and of fruits and be -not too heavy, for as yet they have not recovered their grease,[52] -neither within nor without, nor their heads, wherefore they be much -lighter and swifter. But from St. John's into the month of August they -wax always more heavy. Their skin is right good for to do many things -with when it is well tawed and taken in good season. Harts that be in -great hills, when it cometh to rut, sometimes they come down into the -great forests and heaths and to the launds (uncultivated country) and -there they abide all the winter until the entering of April, and then -they take to their haunts for to let their heads wax, near the towns -and villages in the plains there where they find good feeding in the -new growing lands. And when the grass is high and well waxen they -withdraw into the greatest hills that they can find for the fair -pastures and feeding and fair herbs that be thereupon. And also -because there be no flies nor any other vermin, as there be in the -plain country. And also so doth the cattle which come down from the -hills in winter time, and in the summer time draw to the hills. And -all the time from rutting time into Whitsunday great deer and old will -be found in the plains, but from Whitsunday[53] to rutting time men -shall find but few great deer save upon the hills, if there are any -(hills) near or within four or five miles, and this is truth unless it -be some young deer calved in the plains, but of those that come from -the hills there will be none. _And every day in the heat of the day, -and he be not hindered, from May to September, he goes to soil though -he be not hunted._ - -[51] Nativity of St. John the Baptist, June 24. - -[52] See Appendix: Grease. - -[53] This sentence reads somewhat confusedly in our MS., so I have -taken this rendering straight from G. de F., p. 23. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -OF THE BUCK AND OF HIS NATURE - - -A buck is a diverse beast, he hath not his hair as a hart, for he is -more white, and also he hath not such a head. He is less than a hart -and is larger than a roe. A buck's head is palmed with a long palming, -and he beareth more tines than doth a hart. His head cannot be well -described without painting. They have a longer tail than the hart, and -more grease on their haunches than a hart. They are fawned in the -month of June and shortly to say they have the nature of the hart, -save only that the hart goeth sooner to rut and is sooner in his -season again, also in all things of their kind the hart goeth before -the buck. For when the hart hath been fifteen days at rut the buck -scarcely beginneth to be in heat and bellow. - -And also men go not to sue him with a lymer, nor do men go to harbour -him as men do to the hart. Nor are his fumes put in judgment as those -of the hart, but men judge him by the foot other head as I shall say -more plainly hereafter. - -[Illustration: BUCK-HUNTING WITH RUNNING HOUNDS (From MS. f. fr. 616, -_Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - -They crotey their fumes in diverse manners according to the time and -pasture, as doth the hart, but oftener black and dry than otherwise. -When they are hunted they bound again into their coverts and fly not -so long as doth the hart, for sometimes they run upon the hounds.[54] -And they run long and fly ever if they can by the high ways and always -with the change. They let themselves be taken at the water and beat -the brooks as a hart, but not with such great malice as the hart, nor -so gynnously (cunningly) and also they go not to such great rivers as -the hart. They run faster at the beginning than doth the hart. They -bolk (bellow) about when they go to rut, not as a hart doth, but much -lower than the hart, and rattling in the throat. Their nature and that -of the hart do not love (to be) together, for gladly would they not -dwell there where many harts be, nor the harts there where the bucks -be namely together in herds. The buck's flesh is more savoury[55] than -is that of the hart or of the roebuck. The venison of them is right -good if kept and salted as that of the hart. They abide oft in a dry -country and always commonly in herd with other bucks. Their season -lasteth from the month of May into the middle of September. And -commonly they dwell in a high country where there be valleys and small -hills. He is undone as the hart. - -[54] They do not make such a long flight as the red deer but by -ringing return to the hounds. - -[55] G. de F., p. 29, completes the sense of this sentence by saying -that "the flesh of the buck is more savoury to all hounds than that of -the stag or of the roe, and for this reason it is a bad change to hunt -the stag with hounds which at some other time have eaten buck." - - - - -CHAPTER V - -OF THE ROE AND OF HIS NATURE - - -The roebuck is a common beast enough, and therefore I need not to tell -of his making, for there be few men that have not seen some of them. -It is a good little beast and goodly for to hunt to whoso can do it as -I shall devise hereafter, for there be few hunters that can well -devise his nature. They go in their love that is called bokeyng in -October[56], and the bucking of them lasteth but fifteen days or there -about. At the bucking of the roebuck he hath to do but with one female -for all the season, and a male and a female abide together as the -hinds[57] till the time that the female shall have her kids; and then -the female parteth from the male and goeth to kid her kids far from -thence, for the male would slay the young if he could find them. And -when they be big that they can eat by themselves of the herbs and of -the leaves and can run away, then the female cometh again to the male, -and they shall ever be together unless they be slain, and if one hunt -them and part them asunder one from another, they will come together -again as soon as they can and will seek each other until the time that -one of them have found the other. And the cause why the male and the -female be evermore together as no other beast in this world, is that -commonly the female hath two kids at once, one male and the other -female, and because they are kidded together they hold evermore -together. And yet if they were not kidded together of one female, yet -is the nature of them such that they will always hold together as I -have said before. When they withdraw from the bucking, they mew their -heads, for men will find but few roebucks that have passed two years -that have not mewed their heads by All Hallowtide. And after the heads -come again rough as a hart's head, and commonly they burnish their -horns in March. The roebuck hath no season to be hunted, for they bear -no venison[58] but men should leave them the females for their kids -that would be lost unto the time that they have kidded, and that the -kids can feed themselves and live by themselves without their dame. It -is good hunting for it lasteth all the year and they run well, and -longer than does a great hart in high season time. Roebucks cannot be -judged by their fumes, and but little by their track as one can of -harts, for a man cannot know the male from the female by her feet or -by her fumes. - -[56] This is wrong; they rut in the beginning of August. See Appendix: -Roe. - -[57] A clerical error. G. de F. (p. 36) says, "as do birds," which -makes good sense. - -[58] See Appendix: Grease. - -They have not a great tail and do not gather venison as I have said, -the greatest grease that they may have within is when the kidneys be -covered all white. When the hounds hunt after the roebuck they turn -again into their haunts and sometimes turn again to the hounds[59]. -When they see that they cannot dure[60] (last) they leave the country -and run right long ere they be dead. And they run in and out a long -time and beat the brooks in the same way a hart doth. And if the -roebuck were as fair a beast as the hart, I hold that it were a fairer -hunting than that of the hart, for it lasteth all the year and is good -hunting and requires great mastery, for they run right long and -gynnously (cunningly). Although they mew their heads they do not -reburnish them, nor repair their hair till new grass time. It is a -diverse (peculiar) beast, for it doth nothing after the nature of any -other beast, and he followeth men into their houses, for when he is -hunted and overcome he knoweth never where he goeth. The flesh of the -roebuck is the most wholesome to eat of any other wild beast's flesh, -they live on good herbs and other woods and vines and on briars and -hawthorns[61] with leaves and on all growth of young trees. When the -female has her kids she does all in the manner as I have said of a -hind. When they be in bucking they sing a right foul song, for it -seemeth as if they were bitten by hounds. When they run at their ease -they run ever with leaps, but when they be weary or followed by hounds -they run naturally and sometimes they trot or go apace, and sometimes -they hasten and do not leap, and then men say that the roebuck hath -lost his leaps, and they say amiss, for he ever leaves off leaping -when he is well hasted and also when he is weary. - -[59] "They ring about in their own country, and often bound back to -the hounds" would be a better translation. - -[60] From the French _durer_, to last. - -[61] G. de F. says "acorns." - -When he runneth at the beginning, as I have said, he runneth with -leaps and with rugged standing hair and the eres[62] (target) and the -tail cropping up all white. - -[62] Middle English _ars_, hinder parts called target of roebuck. - -And when he hath run long his hair lyeth sleek down, not standing nor -rugged and his eres (target) does not show so white. - -And when he can run no longer he cometh and yieldeth himself to some -small brook, and when he hath long beaten the brook upward or downward -he remaineth in the water under some roots so that there is nothing -out of water save his head. - -[Illustration: ROEBUCK-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RUNNING HOUNDS -(From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - -And sometimes the hounds and the hunters shall pass above him and -beside him and he will not stir. For although he be a foolish beast he -has many ruses and treasons to help himself. He runneth wondrous fast, -for when he starts from his lair he will go faster than a brace of -good greyhounds. They haunt thick coverts of wood, or thick heathes, -and sometimes in carres (marshes) and commonly in high countries or in -hills and valleys and sometimes in the plains. - -The kids are kidded with pomeled[63] (spotted) hair as are the hind -calves. And as a hind's calf of the first year beginneth to put out -his head, in the same wise does he put out his small brokes[64] -(spikes) ere he be a twelvemonth old. He is hardeled[65] but not -undone as a hart, for he has no venison that men should lay in salt. -And sometimes he is given all to the hounds, and sometimes only a -part. They go to their feeding as other beasts do, in the morning and -in the evening, and then they go to their lair. The roebuck remains -commonly in the same country both winter and summer if he be not -grieved or hunted out thereof. - -[63] From the old French _pomelé_. - -[64] See Appendix: Roe. - -[65] See Appendix: Hardel. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -OF THE WILD BOAR AND OF HIS NATURE - - -A wild boar is a common beast enough and therefore it needeth not to -tell of his making, for there be few gentlemen that have not seen some -of them. It is the beast of this world that is strongest armed, and -can sooner slay a man than any other. Neither is there any beast that -he could not slay if they were alone sooner than that other beast -could slay him,[66] be they lion or leopard, unless they should leap -upon his back, so that he could not turn on them with his teeth. And -there is neither lion nor leopard that slayeth a man at one stroke as -a boar doth, for they mostly kill with the raising of their claws and -through biting, but the wild boar slayeth a man with one stroke as -with a knife, and therefore he can slay any other beast sooner than -they could slay him. It is a proud[67] beast and fierce and perilous, -for many times have men seen much harm that he hath done. For some men -have seen him slit a man from knee up to the breast and slay him all -stark dead at one stroke so that he never spake thereafter. - -[66] In spite of the boar being such a dangerous animal a wound from -his tusk was not considered so fatal as one from the antlers of a -stag. An old fourteenth-century saying was: "Pour le sanglier faut le -mire, mais pour le cerf convient la bière." - -[67] Proud. G. de F., p. 56, _orguilleuse_. G. de F., p. 57, says -after this that he has often himself been thrown to the ground, he -with his courser, by a wild boar and the courser killed ("et moy -meismes a il porté moult de fois à terre moy et mon coursier, et mort -le coursier"). - -They go in their love to the brimming[68] as sows do about the feast -of St. Andrew[69], and are in their brimming love three weeks, and -when the sows are cool the boar does not leave them[70]. - -[68] Brimming. From Middle English _brime_, burning heat. It was also -used in the sense of valiant-spirited (Stratmann). - -[69] November 30. - -[70] G. de F., p. 57, adds: "comme fait l'ours." - -He stays with them till the twelfth day after Christmas, and then the -boar leaves the sows and goeth to take his covert, and to seek his -livelihood alone, and thus he stays until the next year when he goeth -again to the sows. They abide not in one place one night as they do in -another, but they find their pasture for (till) all pastures fail them -as hawthorns[71] and other things. Sometimes a great boar has another -with him but this happens but seldom. They farrow[72] in March, and -once in the year they go in their love. And there are few wild sows -that farrow more than once in the year, nevertheless men have seen -them farrow twice in the year. - -[71] A badly worded phrase, the meaning of which is not quite clear. -G. de F. has "acorns and beachmast" instead of hawthorns. - -[72] Farrow. See Appendix: Wild Boar. - -Sometimes they go far to their feeding between night and day, and -return to their covert and den ere it be day. But if the day overtakes -them on the way ere they can get to their covert they will abide in -some little thicket all that day until it be night. They wind a -man[73] as far as any other beast or farther. They live on herbs and -flowers especially in May, which maketh them renew[74] their hair and -their flesh. And some good hunters _of beyond the sea_ say that in -that time they bear medicine on account of the good herbs and the good -flowers that they eat, but thereupon I make no affirmation. They eat -all manner of fruits and all manner of corn, and when these fail them -they root[75] in the ground with the rowel of their snouts which is -right hard; they root deep in the ground till they find the roots of -the ferns and of the spurge and other roots of which they have the -savour (scent) in the earth. And therefore have I said they wind -wonderfully far and marvellously well. And also they eat all the -vermin and carrion and other foul things. They have a hard skin and -strong flesh, especially upon their shoulders which is called the -shield. Their season begins from the Holy Cross day in September[76] -to the feast of St. Andrew[77] for then they go to the brimming of the -sows. For they are in grease when they be withdrawn from the sows. The -sows are in season from the brimming time _which is to say the twelfth -day after Christmas_ till the time when they have farrowed. The boars -turn commonly to bay on leaving their dens for the pride that is in -them, and they run upon some hounds and at men also. But when the boar -is heated, or wrathful, or hurt, then he runneth upon all things that -he sees before him. He dwelleth in the strong wood and the thickest -that he can find and generally runneth in the most covered and -thickest way so that he may not be seen as he trusteth not much in his -running, but only in his defence and in his desperate deeds.[78] He -often stops and turns to bay, and _especially when he is at the -brimming_ and hath a little advantage before the hounds of the first -running, and these will never overtake him unless other new hounds be -uncoupled to him. - -[73] G. de F., p. 58, says they wind acorns as well or better than a -bear, but nothing about winding a man. See Appendix: Wild Boar. - -[74] From F. _renouveler_. - -[75] See Appendix: Wild Boar. - -[76] September 14. - -[77] November 30. - -[78] Despiteful or furious deeds. G. de F., p. 60, says that he only -trusts in his defences and his weapons ("en sa défense et en ses -armes"). - -He will well run and fly from the sun rising to the going down of the -sun, if he be a young boar of three years old. In the third March -counting that in which he was farrowed, he parteth from his mother and -may well engender at the year's end.[79] - -[79] As this is somewhat confused we have followed G. de F.'s text in -the modern rendering. - -They have four tusks, two in the jaw above and two in the nether jaw; -of small teeth speak not I, the which are like other boar's teeth. The -two tusks above serve for nothing except to sharpen his two nether -tusks and make them cut well _and men beyond the sea call_ the nether -tusks of the boar his arms or his files, with these they do great -harm, and also they call the tusks above gres[80] (grinders) for they -only serve to make the others sharp as I have said, and when they are -at bay they keep smiting their tusks together to make them sharp and -cut better. When men hunt the boar they commonly go to soil and soil -in the dirt and if they be hurt the soil is their medicine. The boar -that is in his third year or a little more is more perilous and more -swift and doth more harm than an old boar, as a young man more than an -old man. An old boar will be sooner dead than a young one for he is -proud and heavier and deigneth not to fly, and sooner he will run upon -a man than fly, and smiteth great strokes but not so perilously as a -young boar. - -[80] From the French _grès_, grinding-stone or grinders. - -A boar heareth wonderfully well and clearly, and when he is hunted and -cometh out of the forest or bush or when he is so hunted that he is -compelled to leave the country, he sorely dreads to take to the open -country and to leave the forest,[81] and therefore he puts his head -out of the wood before he puts out his body, then he abideth there and -harkeneth and looketh about and taketh the wind on every side. And if -that time he seeth anything that he thinks might hinder him in the way -he would go, then he turneth again into the wood. Then will he never -more come out though all the horns and all the holloaing of the world -were there. But when he has undertaken the way to go out he will spare -for nothing but will hold his way throughout. When he fleeth he maketh -but few turnings, but when he turneth to bay, and then he runneth upon -the hounds and upon the man. And for no stroke or wound that men do -him will he complain or cry, but when he runneth upon the men he -menaceth, strongly groaning. But while he can defend himself he -defendeth himself without complaint, and when he can no longer defend -himself there be few boars that will not complain or cry out when they -are overcome to the death.[82] - -[81] G. de F., p. 60, has "fortress" instead of "forest." - -[82] After the word "death" a full stop should occur, for in this MS. -and, singularly enough, also in the Shirley MS. the following words -have been omitted: "They drop their lesses," continuing "as other -swine do." - -They drop their lesses (excrements) as other swine do, according to -their pasture being hard or soft. - -But men do not take them to the curée nor are they judged as of the -hart or other beasts of venery. - -A boar can with great pain live twenty years; he never casts his teeth -nor his tusks nor loses them unless by a stroke.[83] The boar's grease -is good as that of other tame swine, and their flesh also. Some men -say that by the foreleg of a boar one can know how old he is, for he -will have as many small pits in the forelegs as he has years, but of -this I make no affirmation. The sows lead about their pigs with them -till they have farrowed twice and no longer, and then they chase their -first pigs away from them for by that time they be two years old and -three Marches counting the March in which they were farrowed.[84] In -short they are like tame sows, excepting that they farrow but once in -a year and the tame sows farrow twice. When they be wroth they run at -both men and hounds and other beasts as (does) the wild boar and if -they cast down a man they abide longer upon him than doeth a boar, but -she cannot slay a man as soon as a boar for she has not such tusks as -the boar, but sometimes they do much harm by biting. Boars and sows go -to soil gladly when they go to their pasture, all day and when they -return they sharpen their tusks and cut against trees when they rub -themselves on coming from the soil. _What men call a trip of tame -swine is called of wild swine a sounder, that is to say if there be -passed a five or six together._ - -[83] At this point G. de F., p. 61, adds: "One says of all biting -beasts the trace, and of red beasts foot or view, and one can call -both one or the other the paths or the fues." - -[84] See Appendix: Wild Boar. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -OF THE WOLF AND OF HIS NATURE - - -A wolf is a common beast enough and therefore I need not tell of his -make, for there are few men _beyond the sea_, that have not seen some -of them. They are in their love in February with the females and then -be jolly and do in the manner as hounds do, and be in their great heat -of love ten or twelve days, and when the bitch is in greatest heat -then if there are any wolves in the country they all go after her as -hounds do after a bitch when she is jolly. But she will not be lined -by any of the wolves save by one. She doth in such a wise that she -will lead the wolves for about six or eight days without meat or drink -and without sleep for they have so great courage towards her, that -they have no wish to eat nor to drink, and when they be full weary she -lets them rest until the time that they sleep, and then she claweth -him with her foot and waketh him that seemeth to have loved her most, -and who hath most laboured for her love, and then they go a great way -thence and there he lines her. And therefore men say _beyond the seas -in some countries_ when any woman doth amiss, that she is like to the -wolf bitch for she taketh to her the worst and the foulest and the -most wretched and it is truth that the bitch of the wolf taketh to her -the foulest and most wretched, for he hath most laboured and -fasted[85] for her and is most poor, most lean and most wretched. And -this is the cause why men say that the wolf saw never his father and -it is truth sometimes but not always, for it happeneth that when she -has brought the wolf that she loveth most as I have said, and when the -other wolves awaken they follow anon in her track, and if they can -find the wolf and the bitch holding together then will all the other -wolves run upon him and slay him, and all this is truth in this case. -But when in all the country there is but one wolf and one bitch of his -kind then this rule cannot be truth. - -[85] G. de F., p. 63, has: "Pource qu'il a plus travaillé et plus -jeuné que n'ont les autres." - -And sometimes peradventure the other wolves may be awake so late that -if the wolf is not fast with the bitch or peradventure he hath left -her then he fleeth away from the other wolves, so they slay him not so -in this case the first opinion is not true. - -They may get young whelps at the year's end, and then they leave their -father and their mother. And sometimes before they are twelve months -old if so be that their teeth are fully grown after their other small -teeth which they had first, for they teethe twice in the year when -they are whelps. The first teeth they cast when they are half a year -old _and also their hooks_. Then other teeth come to them which they -bear all their life-time and never cast. When these are full grown -again then they leave their father and mother and go on their -adventures, but notwithstanding that they go far they do not bide long -away from each other and if it happens that they meet with their -father and with their mother the which hath nourished them they will -make them joy and great reverence alway. And also I would have you -know that when a bitch and a wolf of her kind hath fellowship together -they generally stay evermore together, and though they sometimes go to -seek their feeding the one far from the other they will be together at -night if they can or at the farthest at the end of three days. And -such wolves in fellowship together get meat for their whelps the -father as well as the mother, save only that the wolf eateth first his -fill and then bears the remnant to his whelps. The bitch does not do -so for she beareth all her meat to her whelps and eateth with them. -And if the wolf is with the whelps when the mother cometh and she -bringeth anything and the wolf has not enough he taketh the feeding -from her and her whelps, and eateth his fill first, and then he -leaveth them the remnant, if there be any, and if there be not any -left they die of hunger, if they will, for he recketh but little so -that his belly be full. And when the mother seeth that, and has been -far to seek her meat she leaveth her meat a great way thence for her -whelps, and then she cometh to see if the wolf is with them, and if he -be there she stayeth till he be gone and then she bringeth them her -meat. But also the wolf is so malicious that when he seeth her come -without food he goeth and windeth her muzzle and if he windeth she -hath brought anything he taketh her by the teeth and biteth her so -that she must show him where she hath left her food. And when the -bitch perceiveth that the wolf doth this when she returneth to her -whelps she keepeth in the covert and doth not show herself if she -perceiveth that the wolf is with them, and if he be there she hideth -herself until the time he hath gone to his prey on account of his -great hunger, and when he is gone she brings her whelps her food for -to eat. And this is truth. - -Some men say that she bathes her body and her head so that the wolf -should wind nothing of her feeding when she cometh to them, but of -this I make no affirmation. - -There be other heavy wolves of this nature, the which be not so in -fellowship, they do not help the bitch to nourish the whelps but when -a wolf and a bitch are in fellowship and there are no wolves in that -country by very natural smelling he knoweth well that the whelps are -his and therefore he helpeth to nourish them but not well. At the time -that she hath whelps the wolf is fattest in all the year, for he -eateth and taketh all that the bitch and whelps should eat. The bitch -beareth her whelps nine weeks and sometimes three or four days more. -Once in the year they are in their love and are jolly. Some men say -that the bitches bear no whelps while their mother liveth, but thereof -I make no affirmation. The bitches of them have their whelps as other -tame bitches, sometimes more, sometimes less. They have great strength -especially before (fore-quarters), and evil[86] they be and strong, -for sometimes a wolf will slay a cow or a mare and he hath great -strength in his mouth. Sometime he will bear in his mouth a goat or a -sheep or a young hog and not touch the ground (with it), and shall run -so fast with it that unless mastiffs or men on horseback happen to run -before him neither the shepherds nor no other man on foot will ever -overtake him. They live on all manner of flesh and on all carrion and -all kinds of vermin. And they live not long for they live not more -than thirteen or fourteen years. Their biting is evil and venomous on -account of the toads and other vermin that they eat. They go so fast -when they be void (are empty) that men have let run four leashes of -greyhounds, one after the other and they could not overtake him, for -he runs as fast as any beast in the world, and he lasts long running, -for he has a long breath. When he is long hunted with running hounds -he fleeth but little from them, but if the greyhounds or other hounds -press him, he fleeth all the covert[87] as a boar does and commonly he -runs by the high ways. And commonly he goeth to get his livelihood by -night, but sometimes by day, when he is sore ahungered. And there be -some (wolves) that hunt at the hart, at the wild boar and at the -roebuck, and windeth as far as a mastiff, and taketh hounds when they -can. There are some that eat children and men and eat no other flesh -from the time that they be acherned[88] (blooded) by men's flesh, for -they would rather be dead. They are called wer-wolves, for men should -beware of them, and they be so cautious that when they assail a man -they have a holding upon him before the man can see them, and yet if -men see them they will come upon them so gynnously (cunningly) that -with great difficulty a man will escape being taken and slain, for -they can wonder well keep from any harness (arms) that a man beareth. -There are two principal causes why they attack men; one is when they -are old and lose their teeth and their strength, and cannot carry -their prey as they were wont to do, then they mostly go for children, -which are not difficult to take for they need not carry them about but -only eat them. And the child's flesh is more tender than is the skin -or flesh of a beast. The other reason is that when they have been -acharned (blooded) in a country of war, where battles have been, they -eat dead men. Or if men have been hanged or have been hanged so low -that they may reach thereto, or when they fall from the gallows. And -man's flesh is so savoury and so pleasant that when they have taken to -man's flesh they will never eat the flesh of other beasts, though they -should die of hunger. For many men have seen them leave the sheep they -have taken and eat the shepherd. It is a wonderfully wily and gynnous -(cunning) beast, and more false than any other beast to take all -advantage, for he will never fly but a little save when he has need, -for he will always abide in his strength (stronghold), and he hath -good breath, for every day it is needful to him, for every man that -seeth him chaseth him away and crieth after him. When he is hunted he -will fly all day unless he is overset by greyhounds. He will gladly go -to some village or in a brook, he will be little at bay except when he -can go no further. Sometimes wolves go mad and when they bite a man he -will scarcely get well, for their biting is wonderfully venomous on -account of the toads they have eaten as I have said before, and also -on account of their madness. And when they are full or sick they feed -on grasses as a hound does in order to purge themselves. They stay -long without meat for a wolf can well remain without meat six days or -more. And when the wolf's bitch has her whelps commonly she will do no -harm near where she has them, for fear she hath to lose them. And if a -wolf come to a fold of sheep if he may abide any while he will slay -them all before he begins to eat any of them. Men take them _beyond -the sea_ with hounds and greyhounds with nets and with cords, but when -he is taken in nets or cords he cutteth them wonderfully fast with his -teeth unless men get quickly to him to slay him. Also men take them -within pits and with needles[89] and with haussepieds[90] or with -venomous powders that men give them in flesh, and in many other -manners. When the cattle come down from the hills the wolves come down -also to get their livelihood. They follow commonly after men of arms -for the carrion of the beasts or dead horses or other things. They -howl like hounds and if there be but two they will make such a noise -as if there were a route of seven or eight if it is by night, when the -weather is clear and bright, or when there are young wolves that have -not yet passed their first year. When men lay trains to acharne (with -flesh) so as to take them, they will rarely come again to the place -where men have put the flesh, especially old wolves, leastways not the -first time that they should eat. But if they have eaten two or three -times, and they are assured that no one will do them harm, then -sometimes they will abide. But some wolves be so malicious that they -will eat in the night and in the day they will go a great way thence, -two miles or more, especially if they have been aggrieved in that -place, or if they feel that men have made any train with flesh for to -hunt at them. They do not complain (cry out) when men slay them as -hounds do, otherwise they be most like them. When men let run -greyhounds at a wolf he turns to look at them, and when he seeth them -he knoweth which will take him, and then he hasteneth to go while he -can, and if they be greyhounds which dare not take him, the wolf knows -at once, and then he will not hasten at his first going. And if men -let run at him from the side, or before more greyhounds which will -seize him, when the wolf seeth them, and he be full, he voideth both -before and behind all in his running so as to be more light and more -swift. Men cannot nurture a wolf, though he be taken ever so young and -chastised and beaten and held under discipline, for he will always do -harm, if he hath time and place for to do it, he will never be so -tame, but that when men leave him out he will look hither and thither -to see if he may do any harm, or he looks to see if any man will do -him any harm. For he knoweth well and woteth well that he doth evil, -and therefore men ascrieth (cry at) and hunteth and slayeth him. And -yet for all that he may not leave his evil nature. - -[86] G. de F., p. 66, has "evil biting." - -[87] He keeps to the coverts. - -[88] Acherned, from O. Fr. _acharné_, to blood, from _chair_, flesh. - -[89] Needles. See Appendix: Snares. - -[90] _Aucepis_ (Shirley MS.). G. de F., p. 69: _haussepiez_, a snare -by which they were jerked from the ground by a noose. - -Men say that the right fore foot of the wolf is good for medicine for -the evil of the breast and for the botches (sores) which come to swine -under the shoulder.[91] And also the liver of the wolf dried is good -for a man's liver, but thereof I make no affirmation, for I would put -in my book nothing but very truth. The wolf's skin is warm to make -cuffs or pilches (pelisses), but the fur thereof is not fair, and also -it stinketh ever unless it be well tawed.[92] - -[91] This should be "jaw." G. de F., p. 70, has _maisselles, i.e._ -Mâchoires. - -[92] Prepared. Tawing is a process of making hides into -leather--somewhat different from tanning. There were tawers and -tanners. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -OF THE FOX AND OF HIS NATURE - - -The fox is a common beast and therefore I need not tell of his making -and there be but few gentlemen that have not seen some. He hath many -such conditions as the wolf, for the vixen of the fox bears as long as -the bitch of the wolf bears her whelps, sometimes more sometimes less, -save that the vixen fox whelpeth under the earth deeper than doth the -bitch of the wolf. The vixen of the fox is a saute[93] (in heat) once -in the year. She has a venomous biting like a wolf and their life is -no longer than a wolf's life. With great trouble men can take a fox, -especially the vixen when she is with whelps, for when she is with -whelps and is heavy, she always keeps near her hole, _for sometimes -she whelpeth in a false hole and sometimes in great burrows and -sometimes in hollow trees, and therefore she draweth always near her -burrow_, and if she hears anything anon she goeth therein before the -hounds can get to her. She is a false beast and as malicious as a -wolf. - -[93] The term used by Turbervile (p. 188) is "goeth a clicqueting." - -The hunting for a fox is fair for the _good cry of_ the hounds[94] -that follow him so nigh and with so good a will. Always they scent of -him, for he flies through the thick wood and also he stinketh -evermore. And he will scarcely leave a covert when he is therein, he -taketh not to the plain (open) country for he trusteth not in his -running neither in his defence, for he is too feeble, and if he does, -it is because he is (forced to) by the strength of men and hounds. And -he will always hold to covert, and if he can only find a briar to -cover himself with, he will cover himself with that. When he sees that -he cannot last, then he goeth to earth the nearest he can find which -he knoweth well and then men may dig him out and take him, if it is -easy digging, but not among the rocks.[95] If greyhounds _give him -many touches and overset him_, his last remedy, if he is in an open -country, will be that he vishiteth gladly (the act of voiding -excrements) so that the greyhounds should leave him for the stink of -the dirt, and also for the fear that he hath. - -[94] G. de F., p. 72, says, "because the hounds hunt him closely." - -[95] Our MS. only gives this one chapter on the fox, while Gaston -Ph[oe]bus has another: _Comment on doit chassier et prendre le -renard._ In this he gives directions as to earth-stopping, and taking -him in pursenets, and smoking him out with "orpiment and sulphur and -nitre or saltpetre." He says January, February, and March are the best -months for hunting, as the leaf is off the trees and the coverts are -clearer, so that the hounds have more chance of seeing the fox and -hunt him closer. He says that one-third of the hounds should be put in -to draw the covert, and the others in relays should guard the -boundaries and paths, to be slipped as required. Although this is a -Frenchman's account of fox-hunting, we have no reason to believe that -the fox was treated at that period better by English sportsmen, for -until comparatively recent times the fox was accounted vermin, and any -means by which his death could be encompassed were considered -legitimate, his extermination being the chief object in hunting him, -and not the sport. Even as late as the seventeenth century we find -that such treatment was considered justifiable towards a fox, for, as -Macaulay tells us, Oliver St. John told the Long Parliament that -Strafford was to be regarded, not as a stag or a hare, to whom some -law was to be given, but as a fox, who was to be snared by any means, -and knocked on the head without pity (vol. i. p. 149). - -A little greyhound is very hardy when (if) he takes a fox by himself, -for men have seen great greyhounds which might well take a hart and a -wild boar and a wolf and would let the fox go. And when the vixen is -assaute, and goeth in her love to seek the dog fox she crieth with a -hoarse voice as a mad hound doth, and also when she calleth her whelps -when she misses any of them, she calleth in the same way. The fox does -not complain (cry) when men slay him, but he defendeth himself with -all his power while he is alive. He liveth on all vermin and all -carrion and on foul worms. His best meat that he most loveth are hens, -capons, duck and young geese and other wild fowls when he can get -them, also butterflies and grasshoppers, milk and butter. They do -great harm in warrens of coneys and of hares which they eat, and take -them so gynnously (cunningly) and with great malice and not by -running. There be some that hunt as a wolf[96] and some that go -nowhere but to villages to seek the prey for their feeding. As I have -said they are so cunning and subtle that neither men nor hounds can -find a remedy to keep themselves from their false turns. Also foxes -commonly dwell in great hedges or in great coverts or in burrows near -some towns or villages for to evermore harm hens and other things as I -have said. The foxes' skins be wonderfully warm to make cuffs and -furs, but they stink evermore if they are not well tawed. The grease -of the fox and the marrow are good for the hardening of sinews. Of the -other manners of the fox and of his cunning I will speak more openly -hereafter. Men take them with hounds, with greyhounds, with hayes and -with purse-nets, but he cutteth them with his teeth, as the male of -the wolf doth but not so soon (quickly). - -[96] According to G. de F., p. 74, it should not read that some are -hunted like wolves, but that they themselves hunt like wolves. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -OF THE GREY (BADGER) AND OF HIS NATURE - - -The grey (badger) is a common beast enough and therefore I need not -tell you of his making, for there be few men that have not seen some -of them, and also I shall take no heed to speak much of him, for it is -not a beast that needeth any great mastery to devise of how to hunt -him, or to hunt him with strength, for a grey can fly but a little way -before he is overcome with hounds, or else he goes to bay and then he -is slain anon. His usual dwelling is in the earth in great burrows and -if he comes out he will not walk far thence. He liveth on all vermin -and carrion and all fruits and on all things such as the fox. But he -dare not venture so far by day as the fox, for he cannot flee. He -liveth more by sleeping than by any other thing. Once in the year they -farrow as the fox.[97] When they be hunted they defend themselves long -and mightily and have evil biting and venomous as the fox, and yet -they defend themselves better than the fox. It is the beast of the -world that gathereth most grease within and that is because of the -long sleeping that he sleepeth. And his grease bears medicine as does -that of the fox, _and yet more_, and men say that if a child that hath -never worn shoes is first shod with those made of the skin of the grey -that child will heal a horse of farcy if he should ride upon him, but -thereof I make no affirmation. His flesh is not to eat, neither is -that of the fox nor of the wolf. - -[97] G. de F., p. 76, adds: "And they farrow their pigs in their -burrows as does the fox." - -[Illustration: BADGER-DRAWING (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, -Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER X - -OF THE (WILD) CAT AND ITS NATURE - - -The cat is a common beast enough therefore I need not tell of his -making, for there be few men that have not seen some of them. -Nevertheless there be many and diverse kind of cats, after some -masters' opinions, and namely of wild (cats). Especially there be some -cats as big as leopards and some men call them _Guyenne_ loup -cerviers[98] and other cat-wolves, and this is evil said for they are -neither wolves nor cerviers nor cat-wolves. Men might (better) call -them cat-leopards than otherwise, for they draw more to a leopard kind -than to any other beast. They live on such meat as other cats do, save -that they take hens in hedges[99] and goats and sheep, if they find -them alone, for they be as big as a wolf, and almost formed and made -as a leopard, but their tail is not so long. A greyhound alone could -not take one of them to make him abide, for a greyhound could sooner -take and hold fast and more steadfastly a wolf than he could one of -them. For he claws as a leopard and furthermore bites right (hard). -Men hunt them but seldom, but if the hounds find peradventure such a -cat, he would not be long hunted for soon he putteth him to his -defence or he runneth up a tree. And because he flieth not long -therefore shall I speak but little of his hunting, for in hunting him -there is no need of great mastery. They bear their kittens and are in -their love as other cats, save that they have but two kittens at once. -They dwell in hollow trees and there they make their ligging[100] and -their beds of ferns and of grass. The cat helpeth as badly to nourish -his kittens as the wolf doth his whelps. _Of common wild cats I need -not to speak much, for every hunter in England knoweth them, and their -falseness and malice are well known. But one thing I dare well say -that if any beast hath the devil's spirit in him, without doubt it is -the cat, both the wild and the tame._ - -[98] According to the Shirley MS. this passage runs, "Men calleth him -in Guyene loupeceruyers." See Appendix: Wild Cat. - -[99] Shirley MS. has "and egges," instead of "in hedges," which is the -rendering G. de F. gives. - -[100] Bed or resting-place. See Appendix. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE OTTER AND HIS NATURE - - -An otter is a common beast enough and therefore I need not tell of his -making. She liveth with (on?) fish and dwelleth by rivers and by ponds -and _stanks_ (pools). And sometimes she feedeth on grass of the -meadows and bideth gladly under the roots of trees near the rivers, -and goeth to her feeding as doth other beasts to grass, but only in -the new grass time, and to fish as I have said. They swimmeth in -waters and rivers and sometimes diveth under the water when they will, -and therefore no fish can escape them unless it be too great a one. -They doth great harm specially in ponds and in stanks, for a couple of -otters without more shall well destroy the fish of a great pond or -great stank, and therefore men hunt them. They go in their love at the -time that ferrets do, so they that hold (keep) ferrets in their houses -may well know the time thereof. They bear their whelps as long as the -ferrets and sometimes more and sometimes less. They whelp in holes -under the trees near the rivers. Men hunt at them with hounds by -great mastery, as I say hereafter.[101] And also men take them at -other times in rivers with small cords as men do the fox with nets and -with other gins. She hath an evil biting and venomous and with her -strength defendeth herself mightily from the hounds. And when she is -taken with nets unless men get to her at once she rendeth them with -her teeth and delivereth herself out of them. Longer will I not make -mention of her, nor of her nature, for the hunting at her is the best -that men may see of her, save only that she has the foot of a goose, -for she hath a little skin from one claw to another, and she hath no -heel save that she hath a little lump under the foot, and men speak of -the steps or the marches of the otter as men speak of the trace of the -hart, and his fumes (excrements) tredeles or spraints. The otter -dwelleth but little in one place, for where she goeth the fish be sore -afraid. Sometimes she will swim upwards and downwards seeking the fish -a mile or two unless it be in a stank. - -[101] The author of "Master of Game" does not say anything more about -the otter. - -[Illustration: OTTER-HUNTING (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, -Paris)] - - -_Of the remnant of his nature I refer to Milbourne[102] the king's -otter hunter. As of all other vermin I speak not, that is to say of -martens and pole cats, for no good hunter goeth to the wood with his -hounds intending to hunt for them, nor for the wild cat either. -Nevertheless when men seek in covert for the fox and can find none, -and the hounds happen to find them and then the hunter rejoiceth his -hounds for the exploit of his hounds, and also because it is vermin -that they run to. Of conies I do not speak, for no man hunteth them -unless it be bishhunters_ (fur hunters), _and they hunt them with -ferrets and with long small hayes. Those raches that run to a coney at -any time ought to be rated saying to them loud, "Ware riot, ware," for -no other wild beast in England is called riot save the coney only._ - -[102] In Priv. Seal 674/6456, Feb. 18, 1410, William Melbourne is -valet of our otterhounds. See Appendix: Otter. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -OF THE MANNER AND HABITS AND CONDITIONS OF HOUNDS - - -After that I have spoken of the nature of beasts of venery and of -chase which men should hunt, now I will tell you of the nature of the -hounds which hunt and take them. And first of their noble conditions -that be so great and marvellous in some hounds that there is no man -can believe it, unless he were a good skilful hunter, and well -knowing, and that he haunted them long, for a hound is a most -reasonable beast, and best knowing of any beast that ever God made. -And yet in some case I neither except man nor other thing, for men -find it in so many stories and (see) so much nobleness in hounds, -always from day to day, that as I have said there is no man that -liveth, but must think it. Nevertheless natures of men and all beasts -go ever more descending and decreasing both of life and of goodness -and of strength and of all other things so wonderfully, _as the Earl -of Foix Phebus sayeth in his book_, that when he seeth the hounds that -be now hunting and thinketh of the hounds that he hath seen in the -time that is passed, and also of the goodness and the truth, which was -sometimes in the lords of this world, and other common men, and seeth -what now is in them at this time, truly he saith that there is no -comparison, and this knoweth well every man that hath any good reason. -But now let God ordain thereof whatever His good will is. But to draw -again to my matter, and tell the nobleness of the hounds, the which -have been, some good tales I shall tell you the which I find in true -writings. First of King Claudoneus[103] of France, the which sent once -after his great court whereof were other kings which held of him land, -among the which was the King Appollo of Lyonnys that brought with him -to the court his wife and a greyhound that he had, that was both good -and fair. The King Claudoneus of France had a seemly young man for his -son, of twenty years of age, and as soon as he saw the Queen of -Lyonnys he loved her and prayed her of (for her) love. The Queen was a -good lady and loved well her lord, forsook him and would him not, and -said (to) him that if he spake to her any more thereof that she would -tell it to the King of France, and to her Lord. And after that the -feast was passed, King Appollo of Lyonnys turned again, he and his -wife to their country. And when they were so turned again, he and his -wife, the King Claudoneus son of France was before him with a great -fellowship of men of arms for to ravish his wife from him. The King -Appollo of Lyonnys that was a wonderful good knight of his hounds -(hands?) notwithstanding that he was unarmed, defended himself and his -wife in the best wise that he could unto the time that he was wounded -to the death, then he withdrew himself and his wife into a tower. And -the King Claudoneus son, the which would not leave the lady, went in -and took the lady, and would have defiled her, and then she said to -him "Ye have slain my lord, and (now) ye would dishonour me, certes I -would sooner be dead," then she drew herself to (from) a window and -leapt into the river of Loire that ran under the tower and anon she -was drowned. And after that within a little while, the King Appollo of -Lyonnys died of his wounds that he had received, and on the same day -he was cast into the river. The greyhound that I have spoke of, the -which was always with the king his master, when his lord was cast in -the river leapt after him into the river, insomuch that with his teeth -he drew his lord out of the river, and made a great pit with his claws -in the best wise that he could, and with his muzzle. And so the -greyhound always kept his lord about half a year in the pit, and kept -his lord from all manner of beasts and fowls. And if any man ask -whereof he lived I say that he lived on carrion and of other feeding -such as he might come to. So it befell that the King Claudoneus of -France rode to see the estate of his realm, and (it) befell that the -king passed there where the greyhound was that kept his lord and -master, and the greyhound arose against him, and began to yelp at him. -The King Claudoneus of France the which was a good man and of good -perception, anon when he saw the greyhound, knew that it was the -greyhound that King Appollo of Lyonnys had brought to his court, -whereof he had great wonder, and he went himself there where the -greyhound was and saw the pit, and then he made some of his men alight -from their horses for to look what was therein, and therein they found -the King Appollo's body all whole. And anon as the King Claudoneus of -France saw him, he knew it was the King Appollo of Lyonnys, whereof he -was right sorry and sore aggrieved, and ordained a cry throughout all -his realm, that whoso would tell him the truth of the deed he would -give him whatsoever that he would ask. Then came a damsel that was in -the tower when the King Appollo of Lyonnys was dead, and thus she said -to the King Claudoneus of France, "Sir," quoth she, "if you will grant -me a boon that I shall ask and assure me to have it, before all your -men, I shall show you him that hath done the deed," and the King swore -to her before his men, and it so befell that the King Claudoneus son -of France was beside his father. "Sir," she said, "here is your son -the which hath done this deed. Now require I you as ye have sworn to -me that ye give him to me, I will no other gift of you." The King -Claudoneus of France turned him then towards his son and said thus: -"Thou cursed harlot, thou hast shamed and shent (disgraced) me and -truly I shall shend (disgrace) you. And though I have no more children -yet shall I not spare." Then he commanded to his men to make a great -fire, and cast his son therein, and he turned him toward the damsel -when the fire was great alight, and thus to her he said: "Damsel, now -take ye him for I deliver him to you, as I promised and assured you." -The damsel durst not come nigh, for by that time he was all burnt. -This ensample have I brought forth for the nobleness of hounds and -also of lords that have been in olden times. But I trow that few lords -be now that would do so even and so open justice. A hound is true to -his lord and his master, and of good love and true. - -[103] In G. de F. "Clodoveus," p. 82. - -A hound is of great understanding and of great knowledge, a hound hath -great strength and great goodness, a hound is a wise beast and a kind -(one). A hound has a great memory and great smelling,[104] a hound has -great diligence and great might, a hound is of great worthiness and of -great subtlety, a hound is of great lightness and of great -perseverance (?), a hound is of good obedience, for he will learn as a -man all that a man will teach him. A hound is full of good sport; -hounds are so good that there is scarcely a man that would not have of -them, some for one craft, and some for another. Hounds are hardy, for -a hound dare well keep his master's house, and his beasts, and also he -will keep all his master's goods, and he would sooner die than -anything be lost in his keeping. And yet to affirm the nobleness of -hounds, I shall tell you a tale of a greyhound that was Auberie's of -Moundydier, of which men may see the painting in the realm of France -in many places. Aubery was a squire of the king's house of France, and -upon a day that he was going from the court to his own house, and as -he passed by the woods of Bondis, the which is nigh Paris, and led -with him a well good and a fair greyhound that he had brought up. A -man that hated him for great envy without any other reason, who was -called Makarie, ran upon him within the wood and slew him without -warning, for Auberie was not aware of him. And when the greyhound -sought his master and found him he covered him with earth and with -leaves with his claws and his muzzle in the best way that he could. -And when he had been there three days and could no longer abide for -hunger, he turned again to the king's court. There he found Makarie, -who was a great gentleman, who had slain his master, and as soon as -the greyhound perceived Makarie, he ran upon him, and would have -maimed him, unless men had hindered him. The King of France, who was -wise and a man of perception, asked what it was, and men told him the -truth. The greyhound took from the boards what he could, and brought -to his master and put meat in his mouth, and the same wise the -greyhound did three days or four. And then the King made men follow -the greyhound, for to see where he bare the meat that he took in the -court. And then they found Auberie dead and buried. And then the King, -as I have said, made come many of the men of his court, and made them -stroke the greyhound's side, and cherish him and made his men lead him -by the collar towards the house, but he never stirred. And then the -King commanded Makarie to take a small piece of flesh and give it to -the greyhound. And as soon as the greyhound saw Makarie, he left the -flesh, and would have run upon him. And when the King saw that, he had -great suspicions about Makarie, and said (to) him that he must needs -fight against the greyhound. And Makarie began to laugh, but anon the -King made him do the deed, and one of the kinsmen of Auberie saw the -great marvel of the greyhound and said that he would swear upon the -sacrament as is the custom in such a case for the greyhound, and -Makarie swore on the other side, and then they were led into our -Lady's Isle at Paris and there fought the greyhound and Makarie. For -which Makarie had a great two-handed staff, and they fought so that -Makarie was discomfitted, and then the king commanded that the -greyhound the which had Makarie under him should be taken up, and then -the King made enquiry of the truth of Makarie, the which acknowledged -he had slain Aubrey in treason, and therefore he was hanged and drawn. - -[104] G. de F., p. 84, says "_sentement_," good sense, feeling, or -sympathy. - -The bitches be jolly in their love commonly twice in a year, but they -have no term of their heat, for every time of the year some be jolly. -When they be a twelvemonth old, they become jolly, and be jolly while -they await the hounds without any defence, twelve days or less,[105] -and sometimes fifteen days, according as to whether they be of hot -nature or of cold, the one more than another, or whether some be in -better condition than others. And also men may well help them thereto, -for if they give them much meat they abide longer in their heat than -if they had but little. And also if they were cast in a river twice in -a day they should be sooner out of their jollity. They bear their -whelps nine weeks or more; the whelps be blind when they be whelped -till they be nine days old and then they may well see and lap well -when they be a month old, but they have great need of their dam to the -time that they be two months old, and then they should be well fed -with goat's milk or with cow's milk and crumbs of bread made small and -put therein, especially in the morn and at night. Because that the -night is more cold than the day. And also men should give them crumbs -in flesh-broth, and in this wise men may nourish them till they be -half a year old, and by that time they shall have cast their hooks, -and when they have cast their hooks, they should teach them to eat dry -bread and lap water little by little, for a hound that is nourished -with grease and fat broth when he casts his hooks, and if he hath -always sops or tit-bits, he is a chis[106] (dainty) hound and of evil -ward. And also they be not so well breathed than if they have eaten -always bread and water. When the bitches be lined they lose their -time, and also while they be great with whelps, and also while their -whelps suck. If they are not lined, soon they will lose their time, -for their teats remain great and grow full of wind until the time that -they should have had their whelps. And so that they should not lose -their time men spaye them, save these that men will keep open to bear -whelps. And also a spayed bitch lasteth longer in her goodness than -other two that be not spayed.[107] And if a bitch be with whelps the -which be not of ward let the bitch fast all the whole day, and give -her then with a little grease the juice of a herb men calleth titimal, -the which the apothecaries knoweth well, and she shall cast her -whelps. Nevertheless it is a great peril namely if the whelps be great -and formed within the bitch. The greatest fault of hounds is that they -live not long enough, most commonly they live but twelve years. And -also men should let run no hounds of what condition that they be nor -hunt them until the time that they were a twelve month old and past. -And also they can hunt but nine years at the most. - -[105] G. de F., p. 85, "Au moins," at least. - -[106] "Chis," or "cheese," hound, probably dainty hound, a chooser, -from "cheosan," Mid. Eng. "choose," to distinguish: also written -"ches," "chees." (Stratmann.) - -[107] Lasts longer good, _i.e._ lasts as long as two hounds that have -not been spayed. G. de F. (p. 86) adds: "or at least one and a half." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -OF SICKNESSES OF HOUNDS AND OF THEIR CORRUPTIONS - - -The hounds have many divers sicknesses and their greatest sickness is -the rage whereof there be nine manners, of the which I shall tell you -a part. The first is called furious madness. The hounds that be mad of -that madness cry and howl with a loud voice, and not in the way that -they were wont to when they were in health. When they escape they go -everywhere biting both men and women and all that they find before -them. And they have a wonderful perilous biting, for if they bite -anything, with great pain it shall escape thereof if they draw blood, -that it shall go mad whatever thing it be. A token for to know at the -beginning, is this, that they eat not so well as they were wont to, -and they bite the other hounds, making them cheer with the tail[108] -first, smelleth[109] upon them and licketh[110] them and then he -bloweth a great blast with his nose, and then he looketh fiercely, and -beholdeth his own sides and maketh semblant that he had flies about -him, and then he crieth. And when men know such tokens men should take -him from the others until the fourth day, for then men may see the -sickness all clearly, or else that he is not mad for some time. Many -men be beguiled in that way. And if any hound be mad of any of the -nine madnesses he shall never be whole. And their madness cannot last -but nine days[111] but they shall never be whole but dead. That other -manner of madness is known by these signs: In the beginning he doth as -I said before, save that they neither bite man nor beast save only the -hounds, as perilous is his biting as the first, and ever more they go -up and down without any abiding. And this madness is called running -madness. And these two madnesses beforesaid taketh the other hounds -that they be with, though they bite them not. That other madness is -called ragemuet (dumb madness) for they neither bite nor run not, eke -they will not eat for their mouth is somewhat gaping as if they were -enosed[112] in their throat, and so they die, within the term -beforesaid without doing any harm. Some men say that it cometh to them -from a worm[113] that they have under the tongue, and ye should find -but few hounds that hath not a worm under the tongue. And many men say -that if that worm was taken from them they would never go mad, but -thereof I make no affirmation. Nevertheless it is good to take it from -them, and men should take it away in this manner. Men should take the -hound when he is past half a year old and hold fast his fore-feet, and -put a staff athwart his mouth so that he should not bite. And after -take the tongue and ye should find the worm under the tongue, then ye -should slit the tongue underneath and put a needle with a thread -betwixt the worm and tongue and cut and draw the worm out with the -thread _or else with a small pin of wood_. And notwithstanding that -men call it a worm it is but a great vein that hounds have under their -tongue. This madness diseaseth not other hounds, neither man nor other -beast. That other madness is called falling, for when they want to -walk straight they fall now on one side and now on the other side, and -so die within the aforesaid term. This madness stretcheth to no other -hound nor man or beast. That other madness is called flank -madness[114], for they be so sore and tucked up by the middle of the -flanks as though they never ate meat, and pant in their flanks with -much pain, and will not eat, but stoop low with the head and always -look downwards, and when they go they take up their feet high and go -rolling _as a drunken man_. This madness stretcheth to no other hound -nor to any other things, and they die as it is said before. The other -madness is called sleeping madness, for they lie always and make -semblant as if they were asleep, and so they die without meat. This -sickness stretcheth to no other thing. That other madness is called -madness of head. Nevertheless all madnesses are of foolishness of the -head and of the heat of the heart, for their head becometh great and -swelleth fast. They eat no meat and so they die in that madness. This -madness stretcheth to no other thing. And certainly I never saw a -hound that had any of all these madnesses that ever might be healed. -Nevertheless many men think sometime that a hound be mad when it is -not so, and therefore the best proof that any man may do, is to draw -him from the other hounds and assaye him three whole days each one -after the other following, if he will eat flesh or any other thing. -And if he will not eat within three days slay him as a mad hound. The -remedies for men or for beasts that be bitten by mad hounds must need -be done a short time after the biting, for if it were past a whole day -it were hard to undertake to heal him of the two first madnesses -whereof I spake at the beginning, for all the others can do no harm, -and the remedy may be of divers manners. Some goeth to the sea, and -that is but a little help, and maketh nine waves of the sea pass over -him that is so bitten. Some take an old cock and pull all the feathers -from above his vent and hangeth him by the legs and by the wings, and -setteth the cock's vent upon the hole of the biting, and stroketh -along the cock by the neck and by the shoulders because that the -cock's vent should suck all the venom of the biting. And so men do -long upon each of the wounds, and if the wounds be too little they -must be made wider with a barber's lancet. And many men say, but -thereof I make no affirmation, that if the hound were mad, that the -cock shall swell and die, and he that was bitten by the hound shall be -healed. If the cock does not die it is a token that the hound is not -mad. There is another help, for men may make sauce of salt, vinegar -and strong garlic pulled and stamped, and nettles together and as hot -as it may be suffered to lay upon the bite. And this is a good -medicine and a true, for it hath been proved, and every day should it -be laid upon the biting twice, as hot as it can be suffered, until the -time when it be whole, or else by nine days. And yet there is another -medicine better than all the other. Take leeks and strong garlic and -chives and rue and nettles and hack them small with a knife, and then -mingle them with olive oil and vinegar, and boil them together, and -then take all the herbs, also as hot as they may be suffered, and lay -them on the wound every day twice, till the wound be healed, or at -least for nine days. But at the beginning that the wound be closed or -garsed[115] (cupped) for to draw out the venom out of the wound -because that it goeth not to the heart. And if a hound is bit by -another mad hound it is a good thing for to hollow it all about the -biting with a hot iron. The hounds have also another sickness that is -called the mange, that cometh to them because that they be melancholy. -There are four manners of mange, that one is called the quick mange -the which pulleth[116] the hounds and breaketh their skins in many -places, and the skin waxeth great and thick, and this is wonderfully -evil to heal, for though the hounds may be whole it cometh to them -again. Commonly to this mange, this is the best ointment that men may -make thereto. Nevertheless many men would put many others thereto, -first take ye six pounds of honey and a quart of verdigris, and that -the honey be first melted and stirred in the bottom with a ladle, and -then let it cool, and let it boil often with as much of oil of nuts as -of the honey and of water, wherein an herb has been boiled that men -call in Latin Cleoborum, and in other language Valerian, the which -make men sneeze, and put all these things together and mingle them -upon the fire, stir them well and let it be cold, and anoint the hound -by the fire or in the sun. And look that he lick not himself, for it -should do him harm. And unless he be whole at the first time anoint -him from eight days (to eight days)[117] until the time that he be -whole, for certainly he shall be whole. And if he will make any more -of that ointment, take of the things aforesaid in the same wise or -more or less as seemeth to you that need is. That other manner (of) -mange is called flying mange[118], for it is not in all the body but -it cometh more commonly about the hounds' ears, and in their legs than -in any other place of the body[119], as the farcy, and this is the -worst to heal, and the best ointment that any man can make for this -manner of mange is this: take quicksilver for as much as ye will make -ointment, as ye have need, and put it in a dish with spittle of three -or four fasting men, and stir it altogether against the bottom of the -dish with a pot-stick, until the time that the quicksilver be quenched -with the water, and then take ye as much verdigris as of the -quicksilver and mingle it with spittle, always stirring with a -pot-stick, as I have said before, until the time that they can be all -mingled together. And after take old swine's grease without salt, a -great piece, and take away the skin above, and put it in the dish that -I spake of, with the things before said, and mingle and stamp it -altogether a long while, then keep it to anoint the hound there where -he hath the mange and in no other place, and certainly he shall be -whole. This ointment is marvellous and good and true not only for this -thing, but also against the canker and fistula and farcy and other -quick evils, the which have been hard to heal in other beasts. That -other is a common mange when the hounds claw themselves with their -feet and snap with their teeth, and it is on all the body of the -hound. And all manners of mange come to hounds from great travel and -from long hunting, as when they be hot they drink of foul water and -unclean, which corrupteth their bodys, and also when they hunt in evil -places of pricklings of thorns, of briers, or peradventure it raineth -upon them, and they be not well tended afterwards. Then cometh the -scab, and also the scab cometh upon them when they abide in their -kennel too long[120] and goeth not hunting. Or else their litter and -couch is uncleanly kept, or else the straw is not removed and their -water not freshened, and shortly the hounds unclean, I hold, and evil -kept _or long waterless_, have commonly this mange. For the cure of -which take ye the root of an herb that groweth upon houses and walls, -the which is called in Latin iroos[121] (iris) and chop it small and -boil it well in water, and then put thereto as much of oil made of -nuts as of water, and when it is well boiled cast out the herb, and -then take of black pitch and of rosin as much of the one as of the -other, well stamped, and cast it in the water and the oil before said, -and stir it well about on the fire with a pot-stick: and then let it -well grow cold, and anoint the hound as before is said. Sometime -cometh to the hounds sickness in their eyes, for there cometh a web -upon them, and growing flesh which cometh into that one side of the -eye, and is called a nail[122], and so they grow blind unless a man -take care thereof. Some men put about their necks a collar of an elm -tree both of leaves and of bark, and seeth that when that shall be dry -the nail shall fall away, but that is but a little help. But the true -help that may be thereto is this, take ye the juice of a herb that men -call Selidoyn (Celandine)[123] powder of ginger and of pepper, and put -all together thrice in the day within the eye, and let him not claw -nor rub it a long while, and that customarily by nine days until the -time that the hound's eyes be whole, and also it is good to put -therein of the Sousse[124] of the which men find enough at the -apothecary's for the same sickness, and if the nail were so hard grown -and so strong that he might not be healed therewith, take a needle and -bow it in the middle that it be crooked, and take well and subtly the -flesh that is upon the eye with the needle and draw it up on high, and -then cut it with a razor, but take good care that the needle touch not -the eye. These things the smiths can do well[125], for as the nail is -drawn out of a horse's eye, right so it must be drawn out of the -hound's eye, _and without fault he shall be whole_. And also another -sickness cometh into the hound's ears the which cometh out of the -rewme (cold) of the head of the hound, for they claw themselves so -much with the hinder feet that they make much foul things come out -thereof, and so out of her ears cometh much foul things, and some time -thereof they become deaf. Therefore they should take wine luke-warm -and with a cloth wash it well, and clean three or four times in the -day, and when it is washed ye should cast therein oil and camomile -milk, warm, three drops, and suffer him not to claw it nor rub it a -great while, and do so continually until the time that he be whole. -Also hounds have another sickness that cometh to them of the rewme, -that is to say, they have the malemort (glanders) in their nostrils as -horses have, wherefore they can smell nothing nor wind, and at the -last some die thereof, and they take it most when they hunt in snow. -For this sickness boil mastic and incense in small powder in fair -water, and of a thing that men call Ostoraces calamynt[126], -brygella[127] of rue[128] and mint and of sage, and hold the hound's -nose upon the pot's mouth wherein these things should boil so that he -may retain within his nostrils the smoke that cometh thereof out of -the pot. And in this wise serve him a long while, three or four times -every day, until the time that he be whole, and this is good also for -a horse when he hath the glanders strongly coming out of the nose. -Also there is another sickness of hounds, the which cometh to them in -their throats and sometime cometh so to men in such wise that they may -not keep down their meat, and so they must cast it out again. In some -time the sickness is so strong on them, that they can keep nothing -down in their bodies and so die. The best medicine is to let them go -wherever they will, and let them eat all that ever they will. For -sometime the contrary things turneth them to good. And give them to -eat flesh right small cut, and put in broth or in goat's milk a -little, and a little because that they may swallow it down without -labour, and give him not too much at once, that they may digest -better. And also buttered eggs doeth them much good. And sometimes the -hounds hurt themselves in their feet, and in their legs, and in their -breast. And when it is in the joints of their feet that be run out of -their places, the best help that there is is to bring them again into -joint, by such men as can well do it, and then lay upon that place -flax wetted in white of egg, and let them rest until the time that -they be whole. And if there be any broken bones men should knit it -again in the best wise, the one bone against that other and bind it -with flax above as I have said, and with four splints well bound -thereto that one against that other, because that the bone should not -unjoin, and men should remove the bands from four days to four days -all whole. And give them to drink the juice of herbs that are called -consolida major[129] and minor[130], and mix it in broth or in her -meat, and that shall make the bones join together. Also many hounds be -lost by the feet, and if some time they be heated take vinegar and -soot that is within the chimney, and wash his feet therewith until the -time that they be whole, and if the soles of the feet be bruised -because, peradventure, they have run in hard country or among stones, -take water, and small salt therein, and therewith wash their feet, the -same day that they have hunted, and if they have hunted in evil -country among thorns and briars that they be hurt in their legs or in -their feet, wash their legs in sheep's tallow well boiled in wine when -it is cold, and rub them well upward against the hair. The best that -men may do to hounds that they lose not their claws is that they -sojourn not too long, for in long sojourning they lose their claws, -and their feet, and therefore they should be led three times in the -week a-hunting, and at the least twice. If they have sojourned too -much, cut ye a little off the end of their claws with pincers ere they -go hunting, so that they may not break their claws in running. Also -when they be at sojourn, men should lead them out every day a mile or -two upon gravel or upon a right hard path by a river side, so that -their feet may be hard. Hounds also sometimes be chilled as horses -when they have run too long, and come hot in some water, or else when -they come to rest in some cold place, then they go all forenoon and -cannot eat, nor cannot walk well, then should men let blood on the -four legs. From the forelegs in the joints within the leg, from the -hinder legs men should let blood in the veins that goeth overthwart -above the hocks on the other side, and in the hinder legs men may well -see clearly the veins that I speak of, and also in the forelegs, thus -he shall be whole. And give him one day sops or some other thing -comfortable till the morrow or other day. The hounds also have a -sickness in the yerde that men calleth the canker, and many be lost -thereby. Men should take such a hound and hold him fast and upright -and bind his mouth and his four legs also, and then men should take -his yerde backward by the ballocks and put him upward, and another man -shall draw the skin well in manner that the yerde may all come out, -and then a man may take away the canker with his fingers, for if it -were taken away with a knife men might cut him. And then men should -wash it with wine, milk warm, and then put therein honey and salt, so -that the sickness shall not come again, and then put again the yerde -within the skin as it was before, and look every week that the -sickness come not again, and take it always out if aught come thereto -until the time that it be whole. And in the same wise a man should do -to a bitch, if such a sickness were taken in her nature. In this -sickness many hounds and bitches die for default of these cures, -whereof all hunters have not full knowledge. Sometimes the hounds have -a great sickness that they may not piss, and be lost thereby and also -when they may not scombre (dung). Then take ye the root of a cabbage -and put it in olive oil, and put it in his fundament so that ye leave -some of the end without, so much that it may be drawn out when it is -needful. And if he may not be whole thereby make him a clyster as men -do to a man, of mallows, of beets, and of mercury, a handful of each, -and of rue and of incense, and that all these things be boiled in -water and put bran within, and let pass all that water through a -strainer, and thereto put two drachms of agarite[131] and of honey and -of olive oil, and all this together put into his anus and he shall -scombre. - -[108] Cherish, "wagging their tayles and seeming to cherish them," -Turbervile, p. 223. See Appendix: Madness. - -[109] It should read "smelleth," as it is in Shirley MS. and in G. de -F., p. 87. - -[110] The friendly licking of other dogs has often been noticed as an -early symptom of rabies in a pack of hounds. - -[111] Du Fouilloux in his _La Venerie_ (published 1561) copied much -from Gaston de Foix's book, but either he or his editors made the -ridiculous mistake of saying nine _months_ instead of _days_. -Turbervile, who translated, or rather cribbed, Du Fouilloux's book, -has copied this absurd mistake, and says a hound may continue thus -nine months, but not past (p. 222). - -[112] Means "a bone in their throat." G. de F. (p. 88): "comme si ils -avoient un os en la gueule." In the Shirley MS. "enosed," _i.e._ "_un -os._" See Appendix: Madness. - -[113] See Appendix: Worming. - -[114] "Lank madness" in Turbervile, p. 223. Tucked up. G. de F. (p. -88): "cousus parmi les flans" ("the flanks drawn in"). - -[115] In Shirley MS. "ventoused upon or gersed." G. de F.: "ventouses, -que on appelle coupes," hence "cupped and lanced" would be the proper -meaning. - -[116] Makes them lose their hair. G. de F. (p. 90), "et si _poile_ le -chien." - -[117] "To viii. days" has been omitted. - -[118] Some confusion, which is still common, between eczema from -various causes, and true parasitic mange or scabies. - -[119] G. de F. (p. 91) adds: "et est vermeille et saute d'un lieu en -autre." - -[120] In the Shirley MS. the words are added: "to(o) hye plyte," -_i.e._ too high condition. G. de F. (p. 91) adds "gresse." - -[121] _Ireos_, Eng. Iris. This word is also constantly recurring in -old household books. Aniseed and orris powder were placed among linen -to preserve it from insects. In Edward IV.'s Wardrobe Accounts we read -of bags of fustian stuffed with anneys and ireos. - -[122] _Pterygium_, name for the "sickness" in the eyes of hounds which -our MS. describes as a "web coming upon them." It is called -_pterygium_ from its resemblance to an insect's wing; is an -hypertrophy of the conjunctiva or lining membrane of the eye, due to -irritation; it extends from the inner angle to the cornea, which it -may cover: the treatment is excision. The cure for "the nail" -mentioned in our MS. of hanging a collar of elm leaves round the dog -is taken by G. de F. (p. 92) from Roy Modus xliv., where it is given -without the saving clause "Mès cela est bien petit remède." - -[123] _Celandine_, _Chalidonium Majus_, from [Greek: chelidôn], a -swallow. The name was derived from the tradition that swallows used it -to open the eyes of their young or to restore their sight. Has a -yellow flower and an acrid, bitter, orange juice. Internally an -irritant poison. Infusions in wine used by Galen and Bioscorides for -jaundice, probably from the colour of the juice and flowers. -Externally the juice was much used for wounds, ulcers, ophthalmic -cases, and for the removal of warts. The Old French name for this -plant was _herbe d'arondelles_ (_hirondelles_). - -[124] Shirley MS. has "foussye," G. de F. (p. 92) "de la poudre de la -tutie," oxide of zinc. - -[125] Shirley MS. adds: "that be marshals for horses." - -[126] _Estoracis calamita_, G. de F., p. 93. Lavallée appends the -note: "_Storax et Styrax calamita._" Storax, a resin resembling -benzoin, was in high esteem from the time of Pliny to the eighteenth -century. It was obtained from the stem of _Styrax_ _officinalis_, a -native of Greece and the Levant. In our MS. four other ingredients -mentioned by G. de F. have been left out, but the Shirley MS. gives -them: "and oyle of Kamamyle and of Mallyor of aushes and of calamynt," -_i.e._ oil of camomile, melilot (Meliters), rosemary, thymus calamita, -a species of balm. Possibly this is a mint called _Calaminta nepeta_, -a plant formerly much used in medicine as a gentle stimulant and -tonic. Melilot, a genus of clover-like plants of the natural order of -_Leguminose_. - -[127] Mildew. G. de F. (p. 93), Nigella, Nielle. - -[128] _Rewe_, Mod. Eng. _rue_, Lat. _ruta_. This herb was in great -repute among the ancients, and is still employed in medicine as a -powerful stimulant. - -[129] _Consolida major._ Lavallée in his note (p. 94) translates this -_consoude_, which in English is comfrey, Latin _Symphytum_. - -[130] _Consolida minor_ (Lavallée: note, _petit consoude_), Mod. Fr. -_Brunelle_. G. de F. p. 94. Eng. Selfheal. Lat. _Prunella vulgaris_. -It was at one time in repute as a febrifuge. - -[131] _Agarys_. G. de F. _d'agret_, probably _agrimony_, Lat. -agrimonia. It is bitter and styptic, and was much valued in domestic -medicine; a decoction of it being used as a gargle and the dried -leaves as a kind of tea, and the root as a vermifuge. - -[Illustration: HOW THE HOUNDS WERE LED OUT] (From MS. f. fr. 616, -_Bib. Nat._, Paris) - -And then take five corns of spurge[132] and stamp them and temper them -with goat's milk or with broth, and put it in the hound's throat to -the amount of a glassful. And if he may not piss take the leaves of -leeks and of a herb that is called marrubium album[133] and of -modirwort[134] and of peritorie[135] and morsus galline[136] and of -nettles and parsley leaves as much of the one as of the other, and -stamp them with swine's grease therewith, and make a plaster thereof, -and make it a little hot, and lay it upon the hound's yerde and along -his belly, and that which is hard to understand ye shall find at the -apothecary's, the which know well all these things. Also to the hounds -cometh sores, that cometh to them under the throat or in other parts -of the body. Then take ye of the mallows and of the onions and of -white lilies,[137] and cut them small with a knife, and put them in a -ladle of iron and mingle these herbs whereof I speak, and lay them -upon the sores, and that shall make them rise, and when they be risen, -slit them with a sharp knife. And when they be so broken, lay upon -them some good drawing salve, and he be whole. Sometimes the hounds -fight and bite each other, and then they shall take sheep's wool -unwashed, and a little olive oil, and wet the wool in the oil, and lay -it upon the hound's wound, and bind it thereupon, and do so three -days, and then after twice each day anoint it with olive oil, and lay -nothing upon it. And he shall lick it with his tongue and heal -himself.[138] If peradventure in the wound come worms as I have seen -some time, every day ye shall pick them out with a stick, and ye shall -put in the wound the juice of leaves of a peach tree mingled with -quicklime until the time that they be whole. Also it happeneth to many -hounds that they smite the forelegs against the hinder wherefore their -thighs dry[139] and be lost thereby, and then if ye see that it last -them longer than three days that they set not their foot to the earth, -then slit ye the thigh along and athwart within the thigh, crosswise -upon the bone, that is upon the turn bone of the knee behind, and then -put thereupon wool wet in olive oil as before is said, for three whole -days. And then after anoint the wound with oil without binding as I -have said, and he shall heal himself with his tongue. Sometimes a -hound is evil astyfled,[140] so that he shall sometime abide half a -year or more ere he be well, _and if he be not so tended he will never -recover_. Then it needeth that ye let him long sojourn until the time -that he be whole, until he is no longer halting, that is that one -thigh be no greater than the other. And if he may not be all whole, do -to him as men do to a horse that is spauled in the shoulder in front, -draw throughout a cord of horsehair[141] and he shall be whole. -Sometimes an evil befalls in the ballock purse,[142] sometimes from -too long hunting or from long journeys, or from rupture,[143] or -sometimes when bitches be jolly, and they may not come to them at -their ease as they would, and that the humours runneth into the -ballocks, and sometimes when they be smitten upon in hunting or in -other places. To this sickness and to all others in that manner, the -best help is for to make a purse of cloth three or four times double, -and take linseed and put it within, and put it in a pot, and let it -mingle with wien, and let them well boil together, and mix it always -with a stick, and when it is well boiled put it within the purse that -I spoke of, as hot as the hound may suffer it, and put his ballocks in -that purse, and bind it with a band betwixt the thighs above the back, -make well fast the ballocks upwards, and leave a hole in the cloth for -to put out the tail and his anus, and another hole before for the -yerde so that he may scombre and piss and renew that thing once or -twice until the time that he be whole. Also it is a well good thing -for a man or for a horse that hath this sickness.[144] - -[132] _Euphorbia resinifera_, common spurge, exudes a very acrid milky -juice which dries into a gum resin. Still used for some plasters. - -[133] _Marrubium vulgare._ G. de F. _marrabre blanc_, Eng. white -horehound. It enjoyed a great reputation as a stimulating expectorant -employed in asthma, consumption, and other pulmonary affections. - -[134] _Leonurus cardiaca._ G. de F. _Artemise_, Eng. Motherwort, Mod. -Fr. _armoise_. A plant allied to the horehound as a vascular stimulant -and diuretic and a general tonic, employed in dropsy, gout, -rheumatism, and uterine disorders. - -[135] _Parietaria._ Eng. Wall pellitory. An old domestic remedy. It -was supposed to be astringent and cooling, and used locally for -inflammation, burns, erysipelas, and internally as a diuretic. It -grows on old walls and heaps of rubbish. - -[136] _Morsus gallinus._ - -[137] _Lilies._ The white lilies here mentioned are probably _Lilium -connalium_ (lilies of the valley). In an old book of recipes I find -them mentioned as an antidote to poison. (_Haus und Land Bib._ 1700.) -They have medicinal qualities, purgative and diuretic in effect. Dried -and powdered they become a sternutatory. - -[138] In the Shirley MS. there is added: "the hound tongue beareth -medicine and especially to himself." G. de F. has the same (p. 97). - -[139] Wither or dry up. - -[140] Inflammation of the stifle joint. - -[141] _Seton._ G. de F. (p. 98) says: "une ortie et un sedel de -corde." His word _sedel_ came from the Spanish _sedal_. The English -"seton" comes from _seta_, a hair, because hair was originally -employed as the inserted material. - -[142] Testicles. - -[143] The following words, which are in Shirley MS. and in G. de F., -are left out: "some tyme for they more foundeth as an hors." - -[144] The Shirley MS. has the following ending to this chapter: "And -God forbid that for (a) little labour or cost of this medicine, man -should see his good kind hound perish, that before hath made him so -many comfortable disports at divers times in hunting," which is not -taken from G. de F. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -OF RUNNING HOUNDS AND OF THEIR NATURE - - -A running hound is a kind of hound there be few men that have not seen -some of them. Nevertheless I shall devise how a running hound shall be -held for good and fair, and also shall I devise of their manners. Of -all hues of running hounds, there are some which be good, and some -which be bad or evil as of greyhounds. But the best hue of running -hounds and most common for to be good, is called brown tan. Also the -goodness of running hounds, and of all other kinds of good hounds, -cometh of true courage and of the good nature of their good father and -of their good mother. And also as touching greyhounds, men may well -help to make them good by teaching as by leading them to the wood and -to fields, and to be always near them, in making of many good curées -when they have done well, and of rating at and beating them when they -have done amiss, for they are beasts, and therefore have they need to -learn that which men will they should do. A running hound should be -well born, and well grown of body, and should have great nostrils and -open, and a long snout, but not small, and great lips and well hanging -down, and great eyes red or black, and a great forehead and great -head, and large ears, well long and well hanging down, broad and near -the head, a great neck, and a great breast and great shoulders, and -great legs and strong, and not too long, and great feet, round and -great claws, and the foot a little low, small flanks and long sides, a -little pintel not long, small hanging ballocks and well trussed -together, a good chine bone and great back, good thighs, and great -hind legs and the hocks straight and not bowed, the tail great and -high, and not cromping up on the back, but straight and a little -cromping upward. Nevertheless I have seen some running hounds with -great hairy tails the which were very good. Running hounds hunt in -divers manners, for some followeth the hart fast at the first, for -they go lightly and fast and when they have run so awhile, they have -hied them so fast that they be relaxed and all breathless, and stop -still and leave the hart when they should chase him. This kind of -running hounds men should find usually in the land of Basco and Spain. -They are right good for the wild boar, but are not good for the hart, -for they be not good to enchase at a long flight, but only for to -press him, for they seek not well, and they run not well nor they hunt -not (well) from a distance, for they be accustomed to hunt close. - -[Illustration: RACHES OR RUNNING HOUNDS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY (From -MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat_., Paris)] - -And at the beginning they have shown their best. Other manners of -running hounds there are which hunt a good deal more slowly and -heavily, but as they begin, so they hold on all the day. These hounds -force not so soon a hart as the other, but they bring him best by -mastery and strength to his end, for they retrieve and scent the line -better and farther, because they are somewhat slow. They must hunt the -hart from farther off, and therefore they scent the fues better than -the other that goes so hastily without stopping until the time that -they be weary. A bold hound should never complain or howl, unless if -he were out of the rights. And also he should again seek the rights, -for a hart flieth and ruseth. Commonly a bold hound hunteth with the -wind when he seeth his time. He dreads his master and understands him -and does as he bids him. A bold hound should not leave the hart -neither for rain, nor for heat, nor for cold, nor for any evil -weather, but at this time there be few such, and also should he hunt -the hart well by himself without help of man, as if the man were -always with him. _But alas! I know not now any such hounds._ Hounds -there are which be bold and brave; and be called bold for they are -bold and good for the hart, for when the hart comes in danger[145] -they will chase him, but they will not open[146] nor quest while he is -among the change, for dread to envoyse[147] and do amiss, but when -they have dissevered[148] him, then they will open and hunt him and -should overcome the hart well, and perfectly and masterfully -throughout all the change. These hounds be not so good nor so perfect -as be the bold hounds before said _to most men_ for two reasons[149], -that one reason is for they hunt not at men's best pleasure for they -hunt nought but the hart, and the first bold hound hunts all manner of -beasts that his master will uncouple him to. He opens always through -all the changes, and a bold hound for the hart opens not for the hart, -as I have said when the hart is amid the changes. He dreadeth where he -goeth that men see him lest he do amiss or envoise, but men cannot -always see him[150]. Of this kind of hound have I seen many a one. -There be other kinds of hounds which men _beyond the sea call_ hart -hounds, good and restrained hart hounds.[151] They hunt no other beast -but the hart, and therefore they are called hart hounds and bold -hounds, for they be bold and good and wise for the hart; they be -called restrained, because if the hart fall among the change they -should abide still[152] until the hunter come, and when they see their -master they make him welcome, and wag their tails upon him, and will -by-piss the way and the bushes, _but in England men make them not so_. -These be good hounds _of our land_, but not so good as the bold hounds -aforesaid. They be well wise, for they know well that they should not -hunt the change, and they are not so wise as to dissever the hart from -the change, for they abide still and restive. These hounds I hold full -good, for the hunter that knows them may well help them to slay the -hart. None of all these three kinds of hounds hunt at the hart in -rutting time, unless it be the good bold hound,[153] which is the best -of all other hounds. The best sport that men can have is running with -hounds, for if he hunt at hare or at the roe or at buck or at the -hart, or at any other beast without greyhound[154] it is a fair thing, -and pleasant to him that loveth them; the seeking and the finding is -also a fair thing, and a great liking to slay them with strength, and -for to see the wit and the knowledge that God hath given to good -hounds, and for to see good recovering and retrieving, and the mastery -and the subtleties that be in good hounds. For with greyhounds and -with other kinds of hounds whatever they be, the sport lasteth not, -for anon a good greyhound or a good alaunte taketh or faileth a beast, -and so do all manner of hounds save running hounds, the which must -hunt all the day questeying and making great melody in their language -and saying great villainy and chiding the beasts that they chase. And -therefore I prefer them to all other kinds of hounds, for they have -more virtue it seems to me than any other beast. Other kind of hounds -there be the which open and jangle when they are uncoupled, as well -when they be not in her fues (on their line), and when they be in her -fues they questey[155] too much in seeking their chase whatever it be, -and if they learn the habit when they are young and are not chastised -thereof, they will evermore be noisy and wild, and namely when they -seek their chase, for when the chase is found, the hounds cannot -questey too much so that they be in the fues[156]. And to rente and -make hounds there are many remedies. _There be also many kinds of -running hounds, some small and some big, and the small be called -kenets, and these hounds run well to all manner of game, and they -(that) serve for all game men call them harriers.[157] And every hound -that hath that courage will come to be a harrier by nature with little -making. But they need great nature and making in youth, and great -labour to make a hound run boldly to a chase where there is great -change, or other chases._ Hounds which are not perfectly wise take the -change commonly from May until St. John's tide (June 24th), for then -they find the change of hinds. The hinds will not fly far before the -hounds, but they turn about and the hound sees them very often, and -therefore they run to them with a better will, because they keep near -their calves the which cannot fly, therefore they hunt them gladly; -and commonly when the harts go to rut, hounds hunt the change, for the -harts and the hinds be commonly standing in herds together, and so -they find them and run to them sooner than at any other time of the -year. Also the hounds scent worse from May until St. John's time than -in any other time of all the year, for as I shall say the burnt heath -and the burning of fields taketh away the scent from the hounds of the -beasts that they hunt. Also in that time the herbs be best and flowers -in their smelling, each one in their kind, and when the hounds hope to -scent the beast that they hunt, the sweet-smelling of the herbs takes -the scent of the beast from them. - -[145] Danger of his being lost to the hounds. - -[146] Challenge--_i.e._ the noise the hounds make on finding the scent -of an animal. - -[147] Get off the line. - -[148] Separated him from the other deer. - -[149] From here to the middle of the 13th line on the next page the -text is copied from the Shirley MS., the scribe who wrote the -Vespasian B. XII. MS. having made a mistake in his transcript, copying -on folio 65 the folio 64, which therefore appears twice over, to the -exclusion of the matter here copied from the Shirley MS. - -[150] This sentence is difficult to understand without consulting G. -de F. (p. 110), who says: "as the hound does not challenge when the -stag is with change, one does not know where he is going unless one -sees him, and one cannot always see him." - -[151] G. de F.: "cerfs baus restifz" is the name which he gives these -hounds. - -[152] G. de F. adds: "and remain quite quiet." - -[153] "Le chien baud," G. de F., p. 111. See Appendix: Running -Hounds. - -[154] The text of the MS. differs from G. de F., who says if one hunts -stags "ou autres bestes en traillant sans limier" (drawing from them -without having first harboured them with a lymer), and does not say -"without greyhounds"; p. 111. - -[155] G. de F. has here: "Ils crient trop en quérant leur beste quelle -que soit," p. 111. - -[156] "The hounds cannot challenge too loudly when they are on the -line." G. de F.: "Chien ne peut trop crier," p. 112. - -[157] From Mid. Eng. _harien_, _harren_, to harry or worry game. See -Appendix: Harrier. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -OF GREYHOUNDS AND OF THEIR NATURE - - -The greyhound is a kind of hound there be few which have not seen -some. Nevertheless for to devise how a greyhound should be held for -good and fair, I shall devise their manner. Of all manner of -greyhounds there be both good and bad, nevertheless the best hue is -red fallow with a black muzzle. The goodness of greyhounds comes of -right courage, and of the good nature of their father and their -mother. And also men may well help to make them good in the -encharning[158] of them with other good greyhounds, and feed them well -with the best that he taketh. The good greyhound should be of middle -size, neither too big nor too little, and then he is good for all -beasts. If he were too big he is nought for small beasts, and if he -were too little he were nought for the great beasts. Nevertheless -whoso can maintain both, it is good that he have both of the great and -of the small, and of the middle size. A greyhound should have a long -head and somewhat large made, resembling the making of a bace[159] -(pike). A good large mouth and good seizers the one against the other, -so that the nether jaw pass not the upper, nor that the upper pass not -the nether. Their eyes are red or black as those of a sparrow hawk, -the ears small and high in the manner of a serpent, the neck great and -long bowed like a swan's neck, his chest great and open, the hair -under his chyn hanging down in the manner of a lion.[160] His -shoulders as a roebuck, the forelegs straight and great enough and not -too high in the legs, the feet straight and round as a cat, great -claws, long head as a cow[161] hanging down. - -[158] Encharning, feed with the flesh of game, to blood. - -[159] Should be "luce," and G. de F. has "luz," from Lat. _lucius_, -pike, p. 103. - -[160] G. de F., p. 104, says: "La harpe bien avalée en guise de lion," -_harpe_ meaning in this instance "flanks." - -[161] "Long head as a cow" is evidently a mistake of translator or -scribe. G. de F. has: "le costé lonc comme une biche et bien avalé" -("the sides long as a hind, and hanging down well"). - -The bones and the joints of the chine great and hard like the chine of -a hart. And if his chine be a little high it is better than if it were -flat. A little pintel and little ballocks, and well trussed near the -ars, small womb,[162] the hocks straight and not bent as of an ox, a -cat's tail making a ring at the end and not too high, the two bones of -the chine behind broad of a large palm's breadth or more. Also there -are many good greyhounds with long tails right swift. A good greyhound -should go so fast that if he be well slipped he should overtake any -beast, and there where he overtakes it he should seize it where he can -get at it the soonest, _nevertheless he shall last longer if he bite -in front or by the side_.[163] He should be courteous and not too -fierce, following well his master and doing whatever he command him. -He shall be good and kindly _and clean_, glad and joyful and playful, -well willing and goodly to all manner of folks save to the wild beasts -to whom he should be fierce, spiteful and eager. - -[162] The following words should be added here, a line having been -omitted by the scribe: "and straight near the back as a lamprey, the -thighs great and straight as a hare." They are in Shirley MS. and G. -de F., p. 104. - -[163] In lieu of this original passage G. de F., p. 105, has: "sans -abayer, et sans marchander" ("without baying or bargaining"). - -[Illustration: THE SMOOTH AND THE ROUGH-COATED GREYHOUNDS (From MS. f. -fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -OF ALAUNTES AND OF THEIR NATURE - - -An alaunte is of the manner and nature of hounds. And the good -alauntes be those which men call alauntes gentle. Others there be that -men call alauntes veutreres, others be alauntes of the butcheries. -They that be gentle should be made and shaped as a greyhound, even of -all things save of the head, the which should be great and short. And -though there be alauntes of all hues, the true hue of a good alaunte, -and that which is most common should be white with black spots about -the ears, small eyes and white standing ears and sharp above. Men -should teach alauntes better, and to be of better custom than any -other beasts, for he is better shaped and stronger for to do harm than -any other beast. And also commonly alauntes are stordy[164] (giddy) of -their own nature and have not such good sense as many other hounds -have, for if a man prick[165] a horse the alauntes will run gladly and -bite the horse. Also they run at oxen and sheep, and swine, and at all -other beasts, or at men or at other hounds. For men have seen alauntes -slay their masters. In all manner of ways alauntes are treacherous and -evil understanding, and more foolish and more harebrained than any -other kind of hound. And no one ever saw three well conditioned and -good. For the good alaunte should run as fast as a greyhound, and any -beast that he can catch he should hold with his seizers and not leave -it. For an alaunte of his nature holds faster of his biting than can -three greyhounds the best any man can find. And therefore it is the -best hound to hold and to nyme (seize) all manner of beasts and hold -them fast. And when he is well conditioned and perfect, men hold that -he is good among all other hounds. But men find few that be perfect. A -good alaunte should love his master and follow him, and help him in -all cases, and do what his master commands him. A good alaunte should -go fast and be hardy to take all kinds of beasts without turning, and -hold fast and not leave it, and be well conditioned, and well at his -master's command, and when he is such, men hold, as I have said, that -he is the best hound that can be to take all manner of beasts. That -other kind of alaunte is called veutreres. They are almost shaped as a -greyhound of full shape, they have a great head, great lips and great -ears, and with such men help themselves at _the baiting of the bull_ -and at hunting of a wild boar, for it is their nature to hold fast, -but they be (heavy) and foul (ugly) that if they be slain by the wild -boar or by the bull, it is not very great loss. And when they can -overtake a beast they bite it and hold it still, but by themselves -they could never take a beast unless greyhounds were with them to make -the beast tarry. That other kind of alauntes of the butcheries is such -as you may always see in good towns, _that are called great butchers' -hounds_, the which the butchers keep to help them to bring their -beasts that they buy in the country, for if an ox escape from the -butchers that lead him, his hounds would go and take him and hold him -until his master has come, and should help him to bring him again to -the town. They cost little to keep as they eat the foul things in the -butcher's row. Also they keep their master's house, they be good _for -bull baiting_ and for hunting wild boar, whether it be with greyhounds -at the tryst or with running hounds at bay within the covert. For when -a wild boar is within a strong hatte of wood (thicket), perhaps all -day the running hounds will not make him come out. And when men let -such mastiffs run at the boar they take him in the thick spires (wood) -so that any man can slay him, or they make him come out of his -strength, so that he shall not remain long at bay. - -[164] G. de F. has "estourdiz," which the "Master of Game" translates -as "stordy" or sturdy, but the modern sense would be hairbrained, -giddy, not sturdy. - -[165] Means _chase_ a horse. G. de F. says: "Se on court un cheval, -ils le prennent voulentiers," p. 100. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -OF SPANIELS AND OF THEIR NATURE - - -Another kind of hound there is that be called hounds for the hawk and -spaniels, for their kind cometh from Spain, notwithstanding that there -are many in other countries. And such hounds have many good customs -and evil. Also a fair hound for the hawk should have a great head, a -great body and be of fair hue, white or tawny, for they be the -fairest, and of such hue they be commonly best. A good spaniel should -not be too rough, but his tail should be rough. The good qualities -that such hounds have are these: they love well their masters and -follow them without losing, although they be in a great crowd of men, -and commonly they go before their master, running and wagging their -tail, and raise or start fowl and wild beasts. But their right craft -is of the partridge and of the quail. It is a good thing to a man that -hath a noble goshawk or a tiercel or a sparrow hawk for partridge, to -have such hounds. And also when they be taught to be couchers,[166] -they be good to take partridges and quail with a net. And also they be -good when they are taught to swim and to be good for the river, and -for fowls when they have dived, but on the other hand they have many -bad qualities like the country that they come from. For a country -draweth to two natures of men, of beasts, and of fowls, and as men -call greyhounds _of Scotland_ and of Britain,[167] so the alauntes and -the hounds for the hawk come out of Spain, and they take after the -nature of the generation of which they come. Hounds for the hawk are -fighters and great barkers if you lead them a hunting among running -hounds, whatever beasts they hunt to they will make them lose the -line, for they will go before now hither now thither, as much when -they are at fault as when they go right, and lead the hounds about and -make them overshoot and fail. Also if you lead greyhounds with you, -and there be a hound for the hawk, that is to say a spaniel, if he see -geese or kine, or horses, or hens, or oxen or other beasts, he will -run anon and begin to bark at them, and because of him all the -greyhounds will run to take the beast through his egging on, for he -will make all the riot and all the harm. The hounds for the hawk have -so many other evil habits that unless I had a goshawk or falcon or -hawks for the river, or sparrow hawk, or the net, I would never have -any, _especially there where I would hunt_. - -[166] Setters, from _coucher_, to lie down. G. de F.: "chien couchant" -(p. 113). - -[167] Brittany. In Shirley MS. "England" precedes "Scotland." G. de F. -says nothing about Scotland. He says "Bretainhe," meaning Brittany (p. -113). - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -OF THE MASTIFF AND OF HIS NATURE - - -A mastiff is a manner of hound. The mastiff's nature and his office is -to keep his master's beasts and his master's house, and it is a good -kind of hound, for they keep and defend with all their power all their -master's goods. They be of a churlish nature and ugly shape. -Nevertheless there are some _that come to be berslettis,[168] and also -to bring well and fast and wanlace_ (range) _about_.[169] Sometimes -there be many good, especially for men who hunt for profit of the -household to get flesh. Also of mastiffs and alaunts there be (bred) -many good for the wild boar. Also from mastiffs and hounds for the -hawk (there be bred) hounds that men should not make much mention of, -therefore I will no more speak of them, for there is no great mastery -nor great readiness in the hunting that they do, _for their nature is -not to be tenderly nosed_. - -[168] Bercellettis or bercelettes, hounds, most likely shooting dogs, -from _berser_, to shoot, _bercel_, an archer's butt. - -[169] _Wanlasour_, one who drives game. Appendix: Wanlace. - -[Illustration: THE FIVE BREEDS OF HOUNDS DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT (From -MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat_., Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -WHAT MANNER AND CONDITION A GOOD HUNTER SHOULD HAVE. - - -Thou, Sir, whatever you be, great or little, that would teach a man to -be a good hunter, first he must be a child past seven or eight years -of age or little older, and if any man would say that I take a child -in too tender age for to put him to work, I answer that all nature -shortens and descends. For every man knoweth well that a child of -seven years of age is more capable in these times of such things that -he liketh to learn than was a child of twelve years of age (in times -that I have seen). And therefore I put him so young thereto, for a -craft requires all a man's life ere he be perfect thereof. And also -men say that which a man learns in youth he will hold best in his age. -And furthermore from this child many things are required, first that -he love his master, and that his heart and his business be with the -hounds, and he must take[170] him, and beat him when he will not do -what his master commands him, until the time that the child dreads to -fail. And first I shall take and teach him for to take in writing all -the names of the hounds and of the hues of the hounds, until the time -that the child knoweth them both by the hue and by the name. After I -will teach him to make clean every day in the morning the hounds' -kennel of all foul things. After I will learn him to put before them -twice a day fresh water and clean, from a well, in a vessel there -where the hound drinks, or fair running water, in the morning and the -evening. After I will teach him that once in the day he empty the -kennel and make all clean, and renew their straw, and put again fresh -new straw a great deal and right thick. And there where he layeth it -the hounds should lie, and the place where they should lie should be -made of trees a foot high from the earth, and then straw should be -laid thereupon, because the moisture of the earth should not make them -morfounder nor engender other sicknesses by the which they might be -worse for hunting. Also that he be both _at field and at wood -delivered_ (active) _and well eyed and well advised of his speech and -of his terms, and ever glad to learn and that he be no boaster nor -jangler_. - -[170] "Take" is probably the scribe's mistake for "tache," teach. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -HOW THE KENNEL FOR THE HOUNDS AND THE COUPLES FOR THE RACHES AND THE -ROPES FOR THE LYMER SHOULD BE MADE - - -The hounds' kennel should be ten fathoms in length and five in -breadth, if there be many hounds. And there should be one door in -front and one behind, and a fair green, where the sun shineth all day -from morning till eve, and that green should be closed about with a -paling or with a wall of earth or of stone of the same length and -breadth as the hounds' kennel is. And the hinder door of the kennel -should always be open so that the hounds may go out to play when they -like, for it is a great liking to the hounds when they may go in and -out at their pleasure, for the mange comes to them later.[171] In the -kennel should be pitched small stones wrapped about with straw of the -hounds' litter, unto the number of six stones, that the hounds might -piss against them. Also a kennel should have a gutter or two whereby -all the piss of the hounds and all the other water may run out that -none remains in the kennel. The kennel should also be in a low house, -and not in a solere (an upper chamber), but there should be a loft -above, so that it might be warmer in winter and cooler in summer, and -always by night and by day I would that some child lie or be in the -kennel with the hounds to keep them from fighting. Also in the kennel -should be a chimney to warm the hounds when they are cold or when they -are wet with rain or from passing and swimming over rivers. And also -he should be taught to spin horse hair to make couples for the hounds, -which should be made of a horse tail or a mare's tail, for they are -best and last longer than if they were of hemp or of wool. And the -length of the hounds' couples between the hounds should be a foot, and -the rope of a limer three fathoms and a half, be he ever so wise a -limer it sufficeth. _The which rope should be made of leather of a -horse skin well tawed._ - -[171] They are not likely to get the mange so soon. - -[Illustration: THE KENNEL AND KENNELMEN (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. -Nat_., Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -HOW THE HOUNDS SHOULD BE LED OUT TO SCOMBRE - - -Also I will teach[172] the child to lead out the hounds to scombre -twice in the day in the morning and in the evening, so that the sun be -up, especially in winter. Then should he let them run and play long in -a fair meadow in the sun, and then comb every hound after the other, -and wipe them with a great wisp of straw, and thus he shall do every -morning. And then shall he lead them into some fair place there where -tender grass grows as corn and other things, that therewith they may -feed them (selves) as it is medicine for them, for sometimes hounds -are sick and with the grass that they eat they void and heal -themselves. - -[172] The first four words are omitted in our MS., but they are in the -Shirley MS. and in others, and in G. de F. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -HOW A HUNTER'S HORN SHOULD BE DRIVEN - - -_There are divers kinds of horns, that is to say bugles, great -Abbot's, hunter's horns, Ruets_ (trumpets), _small Forester's horns -and meaner horns of two kinds. That one kind is waxed with green wax -and greater of sound, and they be best for good hunters, therefore -will I devise how and in what fashion they should be driven. First a -good hunter's horn should be driven of two spans in length, and not -much more nor much less, and not too crooked neither too straight, but -that the flue be three or four fingers uppermore than the head, that -unlearned_[173] _hunters call the great end of the horn. And also that -it be as great and hollow driven as it can for the length, and that it -be shorter on the side of the baldric[174] than at the nether end. And -that the head be as wide as it can be, and always driven smaller and -smaller to the flue, and that it be well waxed thicker or thinner -according as the hunter thinks that it will sound best. And that it be -the length of the horn from the flue to the binding, and also that it -be not too small driven from the binding to the flue, for if it be the -horn will be too mean of sound. As for horns for fewterers[175] and -woodmen, I speak not for every small horn and other mean horn unwaxed -be good enough for them._ - -[173] Shirley MS.: "lewed," _i.e._ laewed or unlearned (Stratmann). - -[174] Baldric, the belt on which the horn was carried. -[175] Fewterer, the man who held the greyhounds in slips or couples. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -HOW A MAN SHOULD LEAD HIS GROOM IN QUEST FOR TO KNOW A HART BY HIS -TRACE - - -Then should his groom lead his lymer (tracking hound) in quest after -him in the morning, and teach him to know what difference is between a -hart's trace and a hind's. As _I have said before, this word quest is -a term of hart hunters beyond the sea, and is as much for to say as -when the hunter goeth to find of a hart and to harbour him_. For to -know a great hart's trace from a young, and to know the trace of a -young deer of antler from a hind's, and how many judgments and what -knowledge there be, and for to make more certain thereof, he should -have an old hart's foot and a young hart's and a hind's foot also, and -should put it in hard earth and in soft, and once put it fast in the -earth as though the hart were hunted and another time soft, as if the -hart went a pase (slowly), thereby he may advise him to know the -differences of a hart's feet, and he shall find that there is no deer -so young if he be from a brocket upwards, that his talon (heel) is not -larger and better and hath greater ergots (dew claws) than hath a -hind, and commonly longer traces. Nevertheless there are some hounds -well traced, which have the sole of the foot as a staggard or a small -stag, but the talon and the ergots are not so great nor so large. Also -a great hart and an old one has a better sole to his foot, and a -better talon and better bones and greater and larger than has a young -deer or hind. And so in putting in the earth the hart's foot and the -hind's foot as I have said, he shall know the difference and better -than I can devise. And also the hinds commonly have their traces more -hollow than a staggard or a stag, and more open the cleeves (toes) in -front than a hart of ten, for of the others reck I never. The judgment -is in the talon (when it is great and large; and in the sole of the -foot)[176] when it is great and broad, and the point of the foot -broad. And men have seen a great hart and an old one, the which had -hollow traces, and that cannot matter so that he hath the other signs -before said. For a hollow trace and sharp cleeves betoken no other -thing than that the country the hart hath haunted is a soft country or -hard, and where there be but few stones, or that he has been hunted -but little. And also if a man find such a hart, and men ask him what -hart it is, he may answer that it is a hart chaceable of ten, that -should not be refused. And if he sees an hart's foot that hath these -signs aforesaid the which are great and broad, he may say that it is -an hart that some time had borne ten tines, and if he see that the -aforesaid signs are greater and broader he may say that it is a great -hart and an old (one), and this is all he may say of the hart. Also he -should call the foot of the hart the trace, and of the wild boar also. -_Also the hunters of beyond the sea_ call of an hart and of a boar the -routes and the pace (path) and both is one. Nevertheless pace, they -call their goings where a beast goes in the routes, there where he has -passed, _nevertheless I would not set this in my book, but for as much -as I would English hunters should know some of the terms that hunters -use beyond the sea, but not with intent to call them so in England_. - -[176] The words in brackets have been omitted in our MS. but are in -the Shirley MS. and G. de F. p. 129; they have been thus inserted to -complete the sense. - -[Illustration: THE MASTER TEACHING HIS HUNTSMAN HOW TO QUEST FOR THE -HART WITH THE LIMER OR TRACKHOUND (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat_., -Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -HOW A MAN SHOULD KNOW A GREAT HART BY THE FUMES[177] - - -[177] See Appendix: Excrements. - -After I shall teach you to know a great hart by the fumes of the hart, -for sometimes they crotey in wreaths, and sometimes flat and sometimes -formed, and sometimes sharp at both ends, and sometimes pressed -together, and sometime in many other manners as I have said before. -When they crotey flat and it be in April or in May or in June if the -croteyes be great and thick it is a token that it is a hart chaceable, -and if he find the fumes wreathed, and it be from the middle of June -to the middle of August in great forms and in great wreaths and well -soft, it is a token that it is a hart chaceable, and if he find the -fumes that are formed and not holding together as it is from the -beginning of July into the end of August, if they are great and black -and long and are not sharp at the ends, and are heavy and dry without -slime, it is a token that it is a hart chaceable. And if the fumes are -faint and light and full of slime, or sharp at both ends, or at one -end, these are the tokens that he is no deer chaceable. But if it be -when they burnish that they crotey their fumes more burnt and more -sharp at the one end, but anon when they have burnished, they crotey -their fumes as before, and for that the fumes be good and great; if -they be slimy it is a token that he has suffered some disease. From -the end of August forward, the fumes are of no judgment for they undo -themselves for the rut. - -[Illustration: HOW A GREAT HART IS TO BE KNOWN BY HIS "FUMES" -(EXCREMENTS) (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -HOW A MAN SHOULD KNOW A GREAT HART BY THE PLACE WHERE HE HATH FRAYED -HIS HEAD - - -Furthermore ye should know a great hart by the fraying (for if ye find -where the hart hath frayed),[178] and see that the wood is great where -he hath frayed, and he hath not bent it, and the tree is frayed well -high, and he hath frayed the bark away, and broken the branches and -wreathed them a good height, and if the branches are of a good size, -it is a sign that he is a great hart and that he should bear a high -head and well troched, for by the troching[179] he breaketh such high -the boughs that he cannot fold them under him. For if the fraying were -bare and he had frayed the boughs under him, it is no token that it be -a great hart, and especially if the trees where he had frayed were -small. Nevertheless men have seen some great deer fray sometimes to a -little tree, but not commonly, but a young deer shall ever more[180] -fray to a great tree, and therefore should ye look at several -frayings. And if ye see the aforesaid tokens oftener upon the great -trees than upon the small ye may deem him a great hart. And if the -frayings be continually in small trees and low, he is not chaceable -and should be refused. Also ye may know a great hart by his lairs. -When a great hart shall come in the morning from his pasture, he shall -go to his lair and then a great while after he shall rise and go -elsewhere there where he would abide all the day. Then when ye shall -rise and come to the lair there where the hart hath lain and rested, -if ye see it great and broad and well trodden and the grass well -pressed down, and at the rising when he passeth out of his lair, if ye -see that the foot and the knees have well thrust down the earth and -pressed the grass down it is a token that it is a great deer and a -heavy (one). And if at the rising he make no such tokens, because that -he hath been there but a little while, so that his lair be long and -broad ye may deem him a hart chaceable. Also ye may know a great hart -by the bearing of the wood, for when a great hart hath a high head and -a large (one) and goeth through a thick wood, he findeth the young -wood and tender boughs, his head is harder than the wood, then he -breaketh the wood aside and mingleth the boughs one upon the other, -for he beareth them and putteth them otherwise than they were wont to -be by their own kind. And when the glades of the woods are high and -broad then he may deem him a great hart, for if he had not a high head -and wide he could not make his ways high and large. If it happen so -that ye find such glades and have no lymer with you, if ye will know -at what time this glade was made, ye must set your visage in the -middle of this glade, and keep your breath, in the best wise that ye -may, and if ye find that the spider hath made her web in the middle of -them, it is a token that it is of no good time[181] or at the least it -is of the middle (of the noon) of the day before. Nevertheless ye -should fetch your lymer for so ye should know better. Also ye may know -a great hart by the steps _that in England is called trace_. And that -is called stepping,[182] when he steppeth in a place where the grass -is well thick, so that the man may not see therein the form of the -foot, or when he steppeth in other places, where no grass is but dust -or sand and hard country, where fallen leaves or other things hinder -to see the form of the foot. And when the hart steppeth upon the grass -and ye cannot see the stepping with your eyes, then ye shall put your -hand in the form of the foot that hunters call the trace, and if ye -see that the form of the foot be of four fingers of breadth, ye may -judge that it is a great hart by the trace. And if the sole of the -foot be of three fingers' breadth ye may judge him a hart of ten, and -if ye see that he hath well broken the earth and trodden well the -grass, it is a token that it is a great hart and a heavy deer. And if -ye cannot well see it for the hardness of the earth, or for the dust, -then ye must stoop down for to take away the dust and blow it away -from the form of the foot until the time that ye may clearly see the -form that is called the trace. And if ye cannot see it in one place, -ye should follow the trace until the time that ye can well see it at -your ease. And if ye can see none in any place, ye should put your -hand in the form of the foot, for then ye shall find how the earth is -broke with the cleeves of the foot on either side, and then ye can -judge it for a great hart or a hart chaceable, as I have said before -by the treading of the grass; and if leaves or other things be within -the form that ye may not see at your ease, ye should take away the -leaves all softly or the other things with your hands, so that ye undo -not the form of the foot and blow within and do the other things as I -have before said.[183] (After I will tell you how a man shall speak -among good hunters of the office of venery.) First he shall speak but -a little, and boast little, and well (work[184]) and subtlely, and he -must be wise and do his craft busily, for a hunter should not be a -herald of his craft. And if it happen that he be among good hunters -that speaketh of hunting he should speak in this manner. First if men -ask him of pastures he may answer as of harts and for all other deer, -sweet pastures, and of all biting beasts as of wild boar, wolves, and -other biting beasts he may answer, they feed, as I have said before. -And if men speak of the fumes ye shall call fumes of a hart, -_croteying_ of a buck, and of a roebuck in the same wise of a wild -boar and of black beasts and of wolves ye shall call it lesses, and of -hare and of conies ye shall say they crotey, of the fox _wagging_, of -the grey the _wardrobe_, and of other stinking beasts they shall call -it drit, and that of the otter he shall call sprainting as before is -said. And if men asketh of the beasts' feet, of the harts ye shall say -the trace of a hart _and also of a buck_, and that of the wild boar -and of the wolf also they call traces _beyond the sea_. And that of -the stinking beasts that men call vermin, he shall call them steps as -I have said. And if he hath seen a hart with his eyes, there are three -kinds of hues of them, that one is called brown, the other yellow, and -the third dun, and so he may call them as he thinketh that they -beareth all their hues. And if men ask what head beareth the hart he -hath seen, he shall always answer by even and not by odd, _for if he -be forked on the right side, and lack not of his rights[185] beneath, -and on the right[186] side antler and royal and surroyal and not -forked but only the beam, he shall say it is a hart of ten at -default_,[187] for it is always called even of the greater number. And -every buck's tines should be reckoned as soon as a man can hang a -baldric or a leash[188] thereupon and not otherwise. And when a hart -beareth as many tines on the one side as on the other, _he may say if -he be but forked that he is a hart of ten, and if he be troched of -three he is a hart of twelve, if he be troched of four he is a hart of -sixteen, always if it be seen that he hath his rights beneath as -before is said. And if he lack any of his rights beneath he must_ -_abate so many on the top, for a hart's head should begin to be -described from the mule[189] upwards, and if he hath more by two on -the one side than on the other, you must take from the one and count -up that other withal, as I shall more clearly speak in a chapter -hereafter in describing a hart's head._ And if it be so that the -hart's trace have other tokens than I have said and he thinks him a -hart chaceable, and men ask what hart it is he may say it is a hart of -ten and no more. And if it seem to him a great hart and men ask what -hart it is, he shall say it is a hart that the last year was of ten -and should not be refused. And if he happen to have well seen him with -his eye or the before said tokens, so that he knoweth fully that it is -as great a hart as a hart may be, if men ask him what hart it is, he -may say it is a great hart and an old deer. And that is the greatest -word that he may say as I have said before. And if men ask him whereby -he knoweth it, he may say for, he hath good bones[190] and a good -talon and a good sole of foot, _for these four[191] things makes the -trace great_, or by fair lairs or the grass or the earth well pressed -or by the high head,[192] or by the fumes or else other tokens as I -have said before. And if he see a hart that hath a well affeted -(fashioned) head after the height and the shape and the tines well -ranged by good measure, the one from the other, and men ask him what -he beareth he may answer that he beareth a great head and fair of -beam, and of all his rights, and well opened; and if a man ask him -what head he beareth, he shall answer that he beareth a fair head by -all tokens and well grown. And if he see a hart that hath a low head -or a high, or a great, or a small, and it be thick set, high and low -and men ask him what head he beareth he may answer he bears a thick -set head after his making, or that he hath low or small or other -manner whatever it be. And if he see a hart that hath a diverse head, -or that antlers grow back or that the head hath double beams or other -diversities than other harts commonly be wont to bear, and men ask -what head he bears, he may answer a diverse head or a counterfeit -(abnormal), for it is counterfeited. And if he see a hart that beareth -a high head that is wide and thin tined with long beams, if men ask -what head he beareth, he shall answer a fair head and wide, and long -beams, but it is not thick set neither well affeted. And if he see a -hart that hath a low and a great and a thick set (head) and men ask -what head he beareth, he may say he beareth a fair head and well -affeted. And if men ask him by the head whereby he knoweth that it is -a great hart and an old, he may answer, that the tokens of the great -hart are by the head, and so the first knowledge is when he hath great -beams all about as if they were set as it were with small stones, and -the mules nigh the head and the antlers, the which are the first -tines, be great and long and close to the mule and well apperyng -(pearled) and the royals which are the second tines, be nigh the -antlers, and of such form, save that they should not be so great; and -all the other tines great and long and well set, and well ranged and -the troching as I have said before, high and great, and all the beams -all along both great and stony, as if they were full of gravel, and -that all along the beams there be small vales that men call gutters, -then he may say that he knows it is a great hart by the head. - -[178] The words in brackets are omitted in our MS. but are in the -Shirley MS. and in G. de F. p. 132. - -[179] The tines at top. See Appendix: Antler. - -[180] Ever more is here a mistake; it should be never more. G. de F. -says: "Mes jeune cerf ne froyera jà en gros arbre" (p. 132). Also in -the Shirley MS. - -[181] Not of "good time" means in the old sporting vocabulary an old -track, not a recent one. - -[182] G. de F. calls the track of deer on grass "_foulées_," from -which the modern "foil," "stepping on grass," is derived. - -[183] A whole line is missing here in our MS. The words in brackets -are taken from the Shirley MS. It runs: "Affter I wal telle yowe a man -howe he shal speke amonge good hunters of y offyce of venerye." - -[184] The word "work" has been omitted. "Et bien _ouvrer_ subtilement" -(G. de F. p. 134). - -[185] Brow, bay, and tray tines. See Appendix: Antler. - -[186] In Shirley MS. it is "left." - -[187] Instead of this original passage G. de F. says: "For if he had -on one side ten points and on the other only one, it should be called -summed of twenty" (p. 135). - -[188] G. de F. has "spur" instead. - -[189] Burr, mule, from the Fr. _meule_. - -[190] Dew claws. - -[191] According to Shirley MS. and the sense, the "iiii" should be -omitted. - -[192] G. de F. (p. 136) says: "Ou belles portées"--portées being the -branches, and twigs broken or bent asunder by the head of the deer, -termed "entry" or "rack" in mod. Eng.--Stuart, vol. ii. 551. - -After I will tell you how ye should know a great wild boar, and for to -know how to speak of it among hunters of beyond the sea. And if a man -see a wild boar the which seemeth to him great enough, as men say of -the hart chaceable of ten, he shall say a wild boar of the third year -that is without refusal, and whenever they be not of three years men -call them swine of the sounder, and if he see the great tokens that I -shall rehearse hereafter he may say that he is a great boar. Of the -season and nature of boar and of other beasts, I have spoken here -before. And if men ask him of a boar's feeding, it is properly called -of acorns of oak's bearing, and of beechmast, the other feeding is -called worming and rooting of the roots out of the earth that feed -him. The other kind of feeding is of corn and of other things that -come up out of the land, and of flowers and of other herbs; the other -kind of feeding is when they make great pits, and go to seek the root -of ferns and of spurge within the earth. And if men ask whereby he -knoweth a great boar, he shall answer that he knoweth him by the -traces and by his den, and by the soil (wallowing pool). And if men -ask whereby he knoweth a great boar from a young, and the boar from -the sow, he shall answer that a great boar should have long traces and -the clees round in front, and broad soles of the feet and a good -talon, and long bones, and when he steppeth it goeth into the earth -deep and maketh great holes and large, and long the one from the -other, for commonly a man shall not see the traces of a boar without -seeing also the traces of the bones, and so shall he not of the hart, -for a man shall see many times by the foot, that which he will not see -by the ergots, but so shall he not see of the boar. What I call the -bones of the boar, of the hart I call the ergots, and the cause that a -man shall not know as well by the ergots of the hart as by bones of -the boar is this, for the bones of the boar are nearer the talon than -those of a hart are, and also they are longer, and greater and sharper -in front. And therefore as soon as the form of the traces of his foot -is in the earth, the form of the bones is there also, and commonly a -great boar maketh a longer trace with one of his claws than with the -other in front or behind, and sometimes both. And when a man seeth the -tokens beforesaid greater, he may deem him greater, and the smaller -the trace, the smaller the boar. The sow from the boar ye may know -well, for the sow maketh not so good a talon as a right young boar -doth. And also a sow's claws are longer and sharper in front than a -young boar's. And also her traces are more open in front and -straighter behind, and the sole of the foot is not so large as of a -young boar, and her bones are not so large nor so long, nor so far the -one from the other as those of a young boar, nor go not so deep in the -earth, for they be small, and sharp and short, and nearer the one to -the other, than a young boar's. And these are the tokens by the which -men know a young boar so that he be two year old from all sows, by the -trace, for that say I not of the young boars of sounder. And if men -ask him how he shall know a great boar by his den, he may answer that -if the den of the boar be long and deep and broad, it is a token that -it is a great boar so that the den be newly made and that he hath lain -therein but once. And if the boar's den is deep without litter, and if -the boar lie near the earth it is a token that it is no[193] fat boar. -And if men ask him how he knoweth a great boar by the soil, then may -he answer that commonly when a boar goeth to soil in the coming in or -in the going out, men may know by the trace, and so it may be deemed -as I have said by his wallowing in the soil. Nevertheless some time he -turneth himself from the one side upon the other, and up and down, but -a man shall evermore know the form of his body. Also sometimes when -the boar parteth from the soil, he rubbeth against a tree, and there a -man may know his greatness and his height. And some time he rubs his -snout and his head higher than he is, but a man may well perceive -which is of the chine and which is of the head. For by his lesses, -that is to say what goes from him behind, nor by other judgment a man -cannot know a great boar unless he see him, save that he maketh great -lesses, and that is a token that he hath a great bowel, and that he be -a great boar, and also by the tusks when he is dead, for when the -tusks of a boar be great as of half a cubit or more and be both great -and large of two fingers or more and there be small gutters along both -above and beneath, these be the tokens that he is a great boar and -old, and of a smaller boar the judgment is less. And also when the -tusks be low and worn, by the nether tusks it is a token of a great -boar. - -[193] G. de F. (p. 139) says if "le senglier gise près de la terre, -c'est signe qu'il ait bonne venoison," so our MS. is evidently wrong -when it says "it is a token that it is _no_ fat boar." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -HOW THE ORDINANCE SHOULD BE MADE FOR THE HART HUNTING BY STRENGTH AND -HOW THE HART SHOULD BE HARBOURED - - -_When the king or my lord the Prince or any of their blood will hunt -for the hart by strength, the Master of the Game must forewarn on the -previous evening the sergeant of the office, and the yeomen berners at -horse, and also the lymerer.[194] And then he must ordain which of -them three shall go for to harbour the hart, and with them the lymerer -for the morrow, and charge the foresters, or if it be in a park, the -parkers to attend to him busily. And all the four must accord where -the meeting shall be on the morrow, and he must charge the sergeant -and one of the two yeomen, if the sergeant be not there, to warn all -the yeomen and grooms of the office to be at the meeting at sunrise. -And that the yeomen berners on foot and the grooms that are called -Chacechiens bring with them the hart hounds and this done ask for the -wine, and let them go after. And he that is charged to harbour the -hart must_ _accord with the forester of the bailie in which they seek -him where they should meet in the grey dawning. Nevertheless it were -good readiness to look if they might see any deer at its meating_ -(feeding) _the previous evening to know the more readily where to seek -and harbour him on the morrow. And on the morrow when they meet the -forester that well ought to know of his great deer's haunts, he shall -lead the hunter and the lymerer thither, where he best hopes to see -him or find of him without noise. And if they can see him and they be -in the wind they ought to withdraw from him in the softest manner they -can, for dread of frightening him out of his haunt, and then go -privily till they be under the wind. And as he stereth_ (stalks) _and -paceth forth feeding, they are to draw nigh him as readily and warily -as they can so that the deer find them not. And when he has entered -his covert, and to his ligging, they ought to tarry till they know -that he be entered two skilful bowshots from thence. And then ought -the lymerer by bidding of the hunter to cast round with his lymer the -quarter that the deer is in, if it be in a huge covert, and if it be -in a little covert that the deer is in, set[195] all the covert to -know whether he is gone away or abides there still. And if he abides,_ -_then shall the lymerer go there where the hart went in, and take the -scantilon_ (measure) _of the trace for which he should cut off the end -of his rod, and lay it in the talon of the trace, there where he went -in hardest ground, in the bottom thereof, so that the scantilon will -scarcely touch at either end. And that done he should break a bough of -green leaves and lay it there where the hart went in, and cut another -scantilon thereafter to take to the hunter that he may take it to the -lord or to the Master of the Game at the meeting which some men call -Assembly. But on the other side, if it be so that they cannot see him -as before is said, the forester ought to bring him where most defoil -is_ (tracks) _of great male deer within his bailiewick, and there -where the best haunt is, and most likely for a hart. And when the -harbourer and the lymerer be there, the lymer if he crosses the fues -of a deer he will anon challenge it, and then shall the lymerer take -heed to his feet to know by the trace what deer it is that the lymer -findeth, and if he finds thereby that it is no hart he shall take up -his hound and say to him softly, not loud,_ "WARE RASCAL, WARE!" _And -if it be of a hart that the lymer findeth, and that it be new he ought -to sue_ (hunt up) _with as little noise as he can contreongle_ -(hunting heel) _to undo all his moving[196] till he find his fumes_ -(excrements), _which he ought to put in the great end of his horn, and -stop it with grass to prevent them falling out and reward his hound a -little. And that done come again there where he began to sue and sue -forth the right line till he comes to the entering of the quarter -where he thinks that the hart is in. And always with little noise and -cast round the quarters, if it be in a great covert as I said before. -And also if it be in a little covert, to do of the scantilon and of -all other things right as I have said before. And if he be voided_ -(gone) _to another quarter or wood, and there be any other covert near -always to sue forth and cast round quarter by quarter, and wood by -wood till he be readily harboured. And when he is harboured of the -scantilon and of all other things do as before is said, and then draw -fast to the meeting that men call assembly. And it is to be known that -oftentimes a deer is harboured by sight of man's eye, but who should -do it well it behoves him to be a skilful and wise hunter. -Nevertheless to teach hunters the more readily to seek and harbour a -hart according to the country that he is in, I have devised it in -certain chapters as ye may hereafter hear._ - -[194] The man who leads the hound in leash when harbouring the hart. - -[195] To set the covert was for the huntsman or limerer with his hound -on a leash to go round the covert that he had seen the deer enter, and -to look carefully whether he could find any signs of the stag having -left the place. This in more modern parlance is called making his ring -walks. - -[196] Moving, moves. See Appendix: Move. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -HOW A HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST BY THE SIGHT - - -Afterwards I shall show you how a man should go in quest for the hart -with his lymer or by himself. _This word quest for the hart is a term -of hunters beyond the sea, and means when a man goeth to find a deer -and to harbour him, and it is a fair term and shorter said than our -term of England to my seeming._ And then shall the groom quest in the -country that shall be devised to him the night before, and he shall -rise in the dawning, and then he must go to the meating (pasturing) of -the deer to look if he may see anything to his liking, and leave his -lymer in a certain place where he may not alarm them. And thence he -should go to the newly hewn wood of the forest or other places where -he hopes best to see a hart, and keep always from coming into the wind -of the hart, he should also climb upon a tree so that the hart shall -wind nothing of him, and that he can see him further. And if he sees a -hart standing stably he must look well in what country he shall go to -his lair, and privily repair to some place where he can best see -him and there break a bough for a mark. But he must remain a great -while after, for some time a hart will stall and look about a great -while before he will go to his lair, and specially when a great dew is -falling, or else sometimes he cometh out again to look about, and to -listen and to dry himself, and therefore he should stay long, so as -not to frighten him. Then he should fetch his lymer and cast round _as -it is before said in the chapter of the harbouring of a hart_, and -take care that neither he nor his hounds make but little noise for -dread lest he void. - -[Illustration: HOW THE HUNTER SHOULD VIEW THE HART (From MS. f. fr. -616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST BETWEEN THE PLAINS AND THE WOOD - - -Also a man may go in quest in the fields in corn, in vines, in -gardens, and in other places, where the harts go to their pasture in -the fields out of the wood, and he must go forth right early so that -he may look at the ground and judge well, and if he sees anything that -pleases him he can break boughs and lay his mark and cast round as -before is said. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -HOW A HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST IN THE COPPICE AND THE YOUNG WOOD - - -Also a man may go in quest among young wood, and although he has been -in the morning and (seen) nought, nevertheless he should not neglect -to quest with his lymer when it is high day when all the deer have -gone to their lairs, for peradventure the hart will sometimes have -gone into the wood before the hunter and lymer came to quest for him. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST IN GREAT COVERTS AND STRENGTHS - - -Also a hunter may go in quest and put himself and his lymer in the -great thickets by high time of day, as I have said, for it befalleth -sometimes that harts are so malicious, that they pasture within -themselves, that is to say within their covert, and go not out to the -fields nor to the coppices nor to the young wood, especially when they -have heard the hounds run before in the forest once or twice. He must -have affeeted (trained) his lymer in such a manner that he neither -opens nor quests[197] when he hunts in the morning, for he would make -the hart void, and that must be by high noon, as I have said, when all -beasts are in their lairs. And if his lymer find anything he should -hold him short and lead him behind him, and look what deer it is, and -if it be anything that pleases him, then he shall sue with his lymer -till the time that he has brought it into some thicket, and then he -shall break his boughs _and take the scantilon and cast round as is -before said, and then return home again to the assembly that in -England is called a meeting or gathering_. - -[197] Should not give tongue. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -HOW A HUNTER SHOULD QUEST IN CLEAR SPIRES AND HIGH WOOD[198] - - -[198] In the text of our MS. (the Vespasian) no break occurs here, but -in the table of chapters at the beginning of the MS. the chapter as -here given is enumerated, and this corresponds also with the Shirley -and other MSS. - -Also I will tell you how a hunter should go in quest among clear -spires, and among high trees, and specially when it has rained the -night before and in the morning. Eke in the time when the heads of the -harts be tender, commonly they abide among clear spires and in high -woods, for a thick country peradventure would do harm to their heads -which be tender. If he meets rain as I before have said, or when their -heads (are tender, and he meeteth[199]) anything that pleaseth him, he -should not follow it with his lymer, for they remain in such a country -as I have said in that time, that is to say in rain and when their -heads are tender, for he might make the deer void into some other -place of the quests as it is before said. And whoso meets him in the -wood in sight of his eyes, then he must set his lymer in his fues. And -if it be a deer that enter-changeth,[200] that is to say if a deer -puts his hind feet in the trace of the fore-feet without passing on, -it is no good token, but if he sets his hinder feet far from the fore -feet it is a good token, for when a hart entre-marcheth it is a token -that he is a light deer and well running and of great flight, for if -he had a side belly and great flanks he could not entre-marche, but -the contrary would he do.[201] And sometimes when the hart makes a -long stride with the hind foot, commonly they cannot fly well, and -have been little hunted. And if he has of the fumes, he should put -them in his horn with grass, or in his lap[202] with grass, for a man -should not bear them in his hand, for they would all break. And when -he should meet in the fields anything that pleaseth him, he should -draw towards his covert, for to make him draw the sooner to his -stronghold, and when he findeth where he goeth in, then he should -break a bough towards the place where the hart is gone, and take the -scantilon, and follow him no further in the wood. Then he should make -a long turn and cast round about by some ways or by-paths, and if he -sees that he hath not passed out of his turn, he may return again to -the gathering, and make them his report, and if it be so that he pass -there where he would umbicast (cast round) and make his turn, and his -lymer before him, then he should look if it is the same hart he had -umbicast (cast round), and if he cannot well see at his ease, then he -should reconnoitre the country till he can see easily and plainly, but -have a care that his lymer open not, _and if his lymer be -dislave[203]_ (be wild), _let him investigate it with his eye_. And if -he seeth that it is his first hart he should not follow him, but then -he should take another turn and umbicast. He must look that he go not -along the ways, for it is the worst sueing that is: for the lymer -commonly overshoots. But he should go a little way off the paths on -one side or the other, until he (the hart) be within his turn, for -then he is most securely harboured and the search shall be shorter. -But if he see that it be too late to run him with strength, and if he -see that the hart goes but softly pacing towards his stronghold he -need not do all these things. And I pray him where he hath met with -the hart, or harboured him in his stronghold or in coppices or in -other thickets, that he take all his blenches (tricks) and his ruses -before said, to be more secure, and to make a shorter search, if he -hath time to do as I have said. Thus I have rehearsed the readiness -that belongs to the harbouring of the hart. _And now will I devise -where men will best find them in bellowing time. It is known that they -begin to bellow fifteen days before grease time[204] ends, especially -old deer, and also if the end of August and the beginning of September -be wet and rainy._ - -[199] The scribe who copied the Vespasian MS. omitted the bracketed -words. - -[200] See Appendix: Hart. - -[201] The explanation of this sentence is that a stag which -entre-marched or sur-marched, or in other words placed the hind foot -on the track or beyond the track made by the front foot, was a thin or -light deer, and therefore not a fat stag, which latter was what the -hunter would be looking for. - -[202] Lappet of his coat. - -[203] Shirley MS. _Dislavee_--obsolete word meaning going beyond -bounds, immoderate. - -[204] _After_ grease time. See Appendix: Grease Time. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -HOW A GOOD HUNTER SHALL GO IN QUEST TO HEAR THE HARTS BELLOW - - -Also a good hunter should go before daybreak to hear the harts bellow -which peradventure bellow in the forest in divers parts, and to look -by the bellowing of the harts which seemeth to him the greatest. And -always hearkening nearer and nearer under the wind, in such wise that -when he will begin to sue, that he need nothing but to bring the lymer -to the fues. And anon when he seeth that it is a hart that he findeth, -uncouple the finders, but not too many, and this, for fear of falling -in danger (of losing the right deer), should be done right early as -soon as men can see day-light, for in that time the harts chase the -hinds, and go hither and thither and abide no while in one place as -they do in the right season. And because a man cannot come nigh him -with a lymer, it is good to uncouple the hounds, for the hounds will -get nigh them quicker and the bolder hounds will soon dissever -(separate) the harts from the hinds. The harts bellow in divers -manners, according as they be old or young, and according whether -they be in a country where they have not heard the hounds, or where -they have heard them. Some of them bellow with a full open mouth and -often cast up their heads. And these be those that have heard the -hounds only a little in the season, and that are well heated and -swelled. And sometimes about high noon they bellow as before is said. -The others bellow low and great and stooping with the head, and the -muzzle towards the earth, and that is a token of a great hart, and an -old and a malicious, or that he hath heard the hounds, and therefore -dare not bellow or only a few times in the day, unless if it be in the -dawning. And the other belloweth with his muzzle straight out before -him, bolking and rattling in the throat, and also that is a token of a -great and old hart that is assured and firm in his rut. In short all -the harts that bellow greatest and mightiest by reason should be -greatest and oldest. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - -HOW THE ASSEMBLY THAT MEN CALL GATHERING SHOULD BE MADE BOTH WINTER -AND SUMMER AFTER THE GUISE OF BEYOND THE SEA - - -The assembly _that men call gathering_ should be made in this manner: -the night before that the Lord or the Master of the Game will go to -the wood, he must cause to come before him all the hunters and the -helps, the grooms and the pages, and shall assign to each one of them -their quests in a certain place, and separate the one from the other, -and the one should not come into the quest of the other, nor do him -annoyance or hinder him. And every one should quest in his best wise, -in the manner that I have said; and should assign them the place where -the gathering shall be made, at most ease for them all, and the -nearest to their quests. And the place where the gathering shall be -made should be in a fair mead well green, where fair trees grow all -about, the one far from the other, and a clear well or beside some -running brook. And it is called gathering because all the men and the -hounds for hunting gather thither, for all they that go to the quest -should all come again in a certain place that I have spoken of. And -also they that come from home, and all the officers that come from -home should bring thither all that they need, every one in his office, -well and plenteously, and should lay the towels and board clothes all -about upon the green grass, and set divers meats upon a great -platter[205] after the lord's power. And some should eat sitting, and -some standing, and some leaning upon their elbows, some should drink, -some laugh, some jangle, some joke and some play--in short do all -manner of disports of gladness, and when men be set at tables ere they -eat then should come the lymerers and their grooms with their lymers -the which have been questing, and every one shall say his report to -the lord of what they have done and found and lay the fumes before the -lord he that hath any found, and then the Lord or the Master of the -hunting by the counsel of them all shall choose which they will move -and run to and which shall be the greatest hart and the highest deer. -And when they shall have eaten, the lord shall devise where the relays -shall go and other things which I shall say more plainly, and then -shall every man speed him to his place, and all haste them to go to -the finding. - -[205] G. de F. (p. 151) says "in great plenty," not "upon a great -platter." - -[Illustration: HOW TO QUEST FOR THE HART IN COVERTS (From MS. f. fr. -616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - -HOW THE HART SHOULD BE MOVED WITH THE LYMER AND RUN TO AND SLAIN WITH -STRENGTH - - -_When the hart is harboured as before is said and they before named -come to the meeting that some men call the assembly, and also the -scantilon,[206] and the fumes well liked by the Lord and Master of the -Game, then shall the Master of the Game choose of the sergeants or of -the yeoman at horse, which of them shall be at the finding, or all, or -some. Nevertheless, if the deer be likely to fall among danger it were -good to assign some of the horsemen among the relays to help more -readily the hounds, if they fall upon the stint,[207] and when the -hunters on horseback be assigned then he must assign which of the -yeomen berners on foot shall be finders, and which hounds he shall -have with him to the finding, and the lymerer and the pages to go with -him. And after that to assign the relays by advice of them that know -the country and the flight of the deer._ - -[206] Measure of the deer's footprint. In old English, a measure -(Stratmann). - -[207] Wrong scent, or check. - -_And there where most danger is, there set the readiest hunters and -the best footers with the boldest hounds with them. And at every relay -sufficeth two couple of hounds or three at the most. And see that amid -the relays, somewhat toward the hinder-most relay, especially if it be -in danger, that one of the lymerer's pages be there with one of the -lymers. And the more danger_ (there is) _the older and the readier, -and the most tender nosed hound. And when all is ordained then shall -the Lord and the Master of the Game, if he liketh better to be at the -finding than with a relay, shall go thither where the deer is -harboured, and set ready waits about the quarter of the wood that the -deer is in, to see what cometh out, or to see if the deer that is -harboured would start and steal away ere the lymer moved him. And this -done, then should the Lord and Master of the Game bid the lymerer -bring them there where he marked that the hart went in, and when they -be there the lymerer should take away the boughs he laid over the -trace at the harbouring, and set his lymer in the fues, and then shall -the Lord if he can blow, blow three motes, and after him the Master of -the Game, and after the hunters, as they be greatest in office, that -be at the finding, and then the lymerer. And after that if the lymer -sue boldly and lustily the lymerer shall say to him loud; "Ho moy, ho -moy, hole hole hole." And ever take good heed to his feet, and look -well about him. And as oft as he findeth the fues, or if it be in -thick spires,[208] boughs or branches broken, where the deer hath -walked, he should say aloud--"Cy va--cy va--cy va," and rally with his -horn, and always should the yeoman berner the which is ordained to be -finder, follow the lymer and be as nigh him as he might with the -raches that he leadeth for the finding, and if the lymer as he sueth, -overshoot and be out of the fues, the lymerer should always, till his -hounds be fallen in again, speak to him, calling his name, be it -Loyer, or Beaumont, or Latimer or Bemond according to what the hound -is named, and anon as he falls in again and finds the fues or branches -as before is said he shall say loud, "Cy va" as before and rally and -so forth at every time that he findeth thereof, until that the lymer -move him. Nevertheless I have seen when a lymer sueth long and could -not so soon move him as men would, that they have taken up the lymer -and uncoupled one or two hounds, to have him sooner found, but this -truly no skilful hunter ought to do, unless the lymer cannot put it -forth, nor bring it any further, or that the deer be stirring in the -quarter, and hath not waited for the moving of the lymer. Or else that -it be so far advanced in the day, that the sun hath dried up the fues, -and that they have little day enough to run him and hunt him with -strength. But now to come again to the lymer, it is to wit that when -the lymer_ _hath moved him, if the lymerer can see him he shall blow a -mote,[209] and rechace_ (recheat),[210] _and if the deer be soule_ -(alone) _the Berners shall uncouple all the finders, and if he be not -alone two hounds sufficeth till he be separated, and if the lymerer -saw him _(not) _at the moving he should go to his lair and look -thereby whether it be a hart or not, and if he see by the lair or by -the fues that it is the same deer, that he hath sued_ (hunted) _and -alone he should rechase without a long mote, for the mote should never -be blown before the rechasing,[211] unless a man seeth that which he -hunteth for. And then the Berner should do as I have said before, and -if he be not alone the Berner should do as above is said, for it is to -wit that the mote before rechasing_ (recheating) _shall never be blown -but when a man seeth what he hunteth for, as I have said. Now -furthermore, when the hart is moved and the finders cast off, then -should the lymerer take up his hounds and follow after, and foot it in -the best wise that he can. And the Berner also and every horseman go -that can go, so that they come not into the fues_ (across the line) -_nor in front of the hounds, and shape_ (their course) _as often as -they can to meet him. And as often as any man see him or meet him, he -should go to the fues and blow a mote and rechace and then holloa to -the hounds to come forth withall, and this done, speed him fast in the -manner that I have said to meet with him again. And the relay that he_ -(the hart) _cometh to first should take good heed that he -vauntlay[212] not, if other relays be behind for dread of bending out -from the relay. But he should let the deer pass and go to the fues, -and there blow a mote, and rechace and rally upon the fues. And the -hunter ought to be advised that his hounds catch it _(the scent) _well -in couple, ere he relay, that they run not counter.[213] For that -might make the hounds that come therewith and the hunters to be on a -stynt _(at fault), _and peradventure not recover it all the day after. -And if it so be that the hunter that hath relayed, see that the deer -be likely to fall into danger, that is to say among other deer, and -else it needeth not, he should when he hath relayed stand still in the -fues, and holloa the hounds that come forth therewith and take up the -hindermost, and if it be in a park go stand again with them at his -place, and if it be out of park in a forest or other wood follow after -as well as he is able. And in this wise ought every relay to do till -he come among the back relays. For if they at the back see by the -spreading of the clees_ (claws) _by setting fast and deep his ergots_ -(dew claws) _in the earth, and if they see him also cast his -chaule,[214] then they ought to vauntlay for advantage of the hounds, -for so shall they sooner have him at bay, and from then he is but dead -if the hunters serve aright the hounds. Nevertheless men have seen at -the first finding or soon after, deer turn the head_ (to bay), _and -oftenest in rutting time, but I mean not of deer that turneth so to -bay, but I mean of hunted deer when men have seen of them the tokens -said before that he stand at bay. And if it be so that the hounds have -envoised[215] or have overshot, or that they be on a stynt by any -other ways, those hunters on horseback or on foot to whom belongs the -right, first should blow the stynt as I shall devise in a chapter that -shall be of all blowing.[216] And after that he should fall before the -hounds as soon as he can and take them up, and if so be that they have -envoysed two deer of antler[217] they should not be rated badly, but -get in front off them and take them off in the fairest way that men -can. And if they run ought else they should be got in front of and -rated and well lashed. And what hounds they may get up, bring them to -the next rights_ (right line) _if they know where, or else there where -he_ (the hart) _was last seen. And if it be great danger they ought to -blow a mote for the lymer and let him sue till he hath retrieved him -or else till he hath brought him out of danger. And as oft as he -findeth or seeth that he is in the rights the lymerer should say loud, -"Cy va" twice or thrice--and recheat, and so should the hunters as oft -as they lust to blow. And if the lymer overshoot or cannot put it -forth, every hunter that is there ought to go some deal abroad for to -see if he may find the rights by vesteying_ (searching) _thereof. And -whoso may find it before the lymer be fallen in again, he should -recheat in the rights, and blow after that a mote for the lymer and -sue forth as is said before. And if the lymer gave it up, and cannot -and will not do his devoire_ (duty), _then should they blow two motes -for the raches and cast them off there where they were last in the -rights. And if the hunters hear that the hounds run well and put it -lustily forth they should rout and jopey[218] to them lustily and -often and recheat also. And if there be but one hound that undertaketh -it lustily they shall hue and jopey to him, and also recheat. As oft -as they be on a stynt they should blow the stynt and do as before is -said. And if any of the aforesaid hounds retrieve him so that men may -know and hear it by the doubling of their menee,[219] but if they hear -any hunter above them that hath met_ (the deer) _that bloweth the -rights and holloaeth else_ (where) _they should haste them thither -where they thought the hounds retrieved it; or else to meet with the -hounds for to see the fues whether it be the hunted deer or not. And -if it is not he, they should do as above is said when they be on a -stynt, and if it be he every man shall speed him that speed may, and -every relay do as before is said. And if any of the hunters happen -while they be on a stynt to see a hart that he thinketh to be the -hunted deer he ought to blow a mote and recheat and after that blow -two motes for the hounds and stand still before the fues till the -Berner with the hounds do come. And if they suppose that they may not -hear him he should draw to them till they have heard him. And when any -of the Berners or the lymerer hear a man blow for them, they should -answer blowing in this wise in their horn: "trut trut trut," but he -should know readily by the fues after the tokens that have been said -before, whether it be the hunted deer or not. And in the same wise -shall a hunter do that findeth an hart quat_ (couched), _and he -thinketh it to be the hunted deer, and he sees that his fellows and -the hounds be on a stynt, he should well beware that he blow not too -nigh him, lest he start, and go away, before the hounds come. -Nevertheless for to wit whether it be the hunted deer or no, the -tokens have been rehearsed before--and when he hath been so well run -to and enchased and retrieved, and so oft relayed and vauntelayed to, -and that he seeth that_ (neither) _by beating up the rivers nor brooks -nor foiling him down, nor going to soil, nor rusing to and fro upon -himself, which is to say in his own fues, can help him, then turns he -his head and standeth at bay. And then as far as it may be heard every -man draweth thither, and the knowing thereof is that the hunter that -cometh first, and the hunters_ (one) _after the other they holloa all -together, and blow a mote and rechace all at once. And that they never -do but when he is at bay or when bay is made for the hounds, after he -is dead, when they should be rewarded or enquerreyde.[220] And when -the hunters that held the relays be there, or that they be nigh the -bay, they should pull off the couples from the hounds' necks and let -them draw thither. And the hunters should break the bay as often as -they can for two causes; the one lest he _(the stag) _hurt the hounds, -if he stand and rest long in one place; another is that the relays -that stand far can come up with their hounds the while he is alive, -and be at the death. And it is to be known that if any of the hunters -have been at any time while the deer hath been run to out of hearing -of hound and horn, he should have blown the forloyne,[221] unless he -were in a park, for there it should never be blown. And whoso first -heard him so blow should blow again to him the "perfect,"[222] if it -so be that he were in his rights, and else not. For by that shall he -be brought to readiness and comfort who before did not know where the -game or any of his fellows were. And when it so is, that they have -thought that the bay has lasted long enough, then should he whoso be -the most master bid some of the hunters go spay[223] him behind the -shoulder forward to the heart. But the lymerer should let slip the -rope while he_ (the deer) _stood on his feet, and let the lymer go to_ -(him), _for by right the lymer should never_ (go) _out of the rope, -though he_ (be let) _slip from ever so far. And when the deer is dead, -and lieth on one side then first it is time to blow the death, for it -should never be blown at hart hunting till the deer be on its side. -And then should the hounds be coupled up and as fast as a man can. One -of the Berners should encorne him, that is to say turn his horns -earthwards and the throat upwards, and slit the skin of the throat all -along the neck, and cut labelles_ (small flaps) _on either side of the -skin, the which shall hang still upon the head, for this belongeth to -an hart slain with strength, and else not. And then should the hunter -flay down the skin as far as he can, and then with a sharp trencher -cut as thick as he can the flesh down to the neck bone, and this done -every man stand abroad and blow the death, and make short bay for to -reward the hounds. And every man_ (shall) _have a small rod in his -hand to hold the hounds that they should the better bay and every man -blow the death that can blow. And as oft as any hunter beginneth to -blow every man shall blow for the death to make the better noise, and -make the hounds better know the horns and the bay, and when they have -bayed a while let the hounds come to eat the flesh, to the hard bone -from in front of the shoulders right to the head, for that is their -reward of right. And then take them off fair and couple them up again. -And then bring to the lymers and serve each by himself, and then -should the Lord if he list or else the Master of the Game, or if he be -absent whoso is greatest of the hunters, blow the prise at coupling -up, and that should be blown only of the aforesaid, and by no others. -Nevertheless it is to wit that if the Lord be not come soon enough to -the bay, while the deer is alive they ought to hold the bay as long as -they can, without rebuking the hounds, to await the Lord, and if the -Lord remains away too long, when the deer is spayed and laid on one -side, before they do ought else, the Master of the Game, or which of -the horsemen that be there at the death, should mount their horses and -every man draw his way blowing the death till one of them hath met -with him, or heard of him, and brought him thither. And if they cannot -meet with him, and that they have word that he is gone home, they -ought to come again, and do, whoso is greatest master, as the Lord -should do, if he were there, and right so should they do to the Master -of the Game in the Lord's absence. Also if the Lord be there all -things should be done of the bay and rewarding as before is said, and -then he should charge whom he list to undo the deer, if the hounds -shall not be enquyrid thereon, for if they should, there needeth no -more but to caboche[224] his head, all the upper jaw still thereon, -and the labelles aforesaid; and then hold him and lay the skin open, -and lay the head at the skin's end right in front of the shoulders. -And when the hounds are thus inquirreide the lymers should have both -the shoulders for their rights, and else they should not have but the -ears and the brain whereof they should be served, the hart's head -lying under their feet. But on the other hand if the lord will have -the deer undone, he that he biddeth as before is said, should undo him -most woodmanly and cleanly that he can and wonder ye not that I say -woodmanly, for it is a point that belongeth to woodmanscraft, though -it be well suiting to an hunter to be able to do it. Nevertheless it -belongeth more to woodmanscraft than to hunters, and therefore as of -the manner he should be undone I pass over lightly, for there is no -woodman nor good hunter in England that cannot do it well enough, and -well better than I can tell them. Nevertheless when so is that the -paunch is taken out clean and whole and the small guts, one of the -groom chacechiens should take the paunch and go to the next water -withal, and slit it, and cast out the filth and wash it clean, that no -filth abide therein. And then bring it again and cut it in small -gobetts in the blood that should be kept in the skin and the lungs -withal, if they be hot and else not, and all the small guts withal, -and bread broken therein according whether the hounds be few or many, -and all this turned and meddled together among the blood till it be -well brewed in the blood, and then look for a small green, and thither -bear all this upon the skin with as much blood as can be saved, and -there lay it, and spread the skin thereupon, the hair side upward, and -lay the head, the visage, forward at the neck end of the skin. And -then the lord shall go take a fair small rod in his hand, the which -one of the yeomen or of the grooms should cut for him, and the Master -of the Game and other, and the sergeants, and each of the yeomen on -horse, and others, and then the Lord should take up the hart's head by -the right side between the surroyal and the fork or troche whichever -it be that he bear, and the Master of the Game, the left side in the -same wise, and hold the head upright that the nose touch the earth. -And then every man that is there, save the berners on foot and the -chacechiens and the lymerers which should be with their hounds and -wait upon them in a fair green where there is a cool shadow, should -stand in front on either side of the head, with rods, that no hound -come about, nor on the sides, but that all stand in front. And when it -is ready the Master of the Game or the sergeant should bid the berners -bring forth their hounds and stand still in front of them a small -quoit's cast from thence, as the bay is ordained. And when they be -there the Master of the Game or sergeant should cry skilfully loud: -"Devour" and then holloa every wight, and every hunter blow the death. -And when the hounds be come and bay the head, the Berners should pull -off the couples as fast as they can. And when the Lord thinketh the -bay hath lasted long enough, the Master of the Game should pull away -the head and anon others should be ready to pull away the skin and let -the hounds come to the reward, and then should the Lord and Master of -the Game, and all the hunters stand around all about the reward, and -blow the death. As oft as any of them begin every man bear him -fellowship till the hounds be well rewarded, and that they have nought -left. And right thus should be done when the hounds should be -enquyrreied of the whole deer. And when there is nought left then -should the Lord, if he wishes, or else the Master of the Game or in -his absence whoso is greatest next him, stroke_ (blow) _in this wise, -that is to say blow four motes and stynt_ (stop) _not_ (for the time -of) _half an Ave Maria and then blow other four motes a little longer -than the first four motes. And thus should no wight stroke, but when -the hart is slain with strength, and when one of the aforesaid hath -thus blown then should the grooms couple up the hounds and draw -homewards fair and soft. And all the rest of the hunters should stroke -in this wise: "Trut, trut, tro-ro-row, tro-ro-row," and four motes all -of one length not too long and not too short. And otherwise should no -hart hunter stroke from thenceforth till they go to bed. And thus -should the Berners on foot and the grooms lead home the hounds and -send in front that the kennel be clean and the trough filled with -clean water, and their couch renewed with fresh straw. And the Master -of the Game and the sergeant and the yeoman at horse should come home -and blow the menee at the hall door or at the cellar door as I shall -devise. First the master, or whoso is greatest next him, shall begin -and blow three motes[225] alone, and at the first mote[226] the -remnant of the aforesaid should blow with him, and beware that none -blow longer than another, and after the three motes even forthwith -they should blow the recoupling as thus: "Trut, trut, trororo rout," -and that they be advised that from the time they fall in to blow -together, that none of them begin before_ (the) _other nor end after_ -(the) _other. And if it be the first hart slain with strength in the -season, or the last, the sergeant and the yeoman shall go on their -office's behalf and ask their fees of the which I report me to the old -statutes and customs of the King's house. And this done the Master of -the Game ought to speak to the officers that all the hunters' suppers -be well ordained, and that they drink not ale, and nothing but wine -that night for the good and great labour they have had for the Lord's -game and disport, and for the exploit and making of the hounds. And -also that they may the more merrily and gladly tell what each of them -hath done all the day and which hounds have best run and boldest._ - -[208] Shoots, fresh-growing young wood. - -[209] A long note. - -[210] Recheat, a hunting signal on the horn. - -[211] Recheating. See Appendix: Hunting-Music. - -[212] Vauntlay, to cast off the relay before the hounds already -hunting have passed. See Appendix: Relays. - -[213] Do not hunt heel: _contre_, counter. - -[214] Drop his jaw. (?) - -[215] Gone off the right line. - -[216] This chapter does not exist. - -[217] If the hounds have gone away after two stags. - -[218] Call to the hounds encouragingly. - -[219] Shirley MS.: "doubling of their mouths," from the Fr. _menee_. -See Appendix: Menee. - -[220] See Appendix: Curée. - -[221] A horn signal denoting that the chase is being followed at a -distance by those who blow. From the Fr. _fortloin_, written forlonge. -See Appendix: Forlonge. - -[222] A note sounded only by those who are on the right line. - -[223] To kill with a sword or hunting knife. See Appendix: Spay. - -[224] Cut off the head close behind the antlers. Shirley MS.: -"Cabache." - -[225] Shirley MS. says four notes. - -[226] Should read: "at the last moot." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD SEEK AND FIND THE HARE WITH RUNNING HOUNDS AND -SLAY HER WITH STRENGTH - - -_Ere I speak how the hare should be hunted, it is to be known that the -hare is king of all venery, for all blowing and the fair terms of -hunting cometh of the seeking and the finding of the hare. For certain -it is the most marvellous beast that is, for ever she fumeth or -croteth and roungeth and beareth tallow and grease. And though men say -that she fumeth inasmuch as she beareth tallow, yet that which cometh -from her is not called fumes but croteys. And she hath teeth above in -the same wise as beneath. It is also to be known that the hare is at -one time male and another time female. When she is female sometimes -she kindles in three degrees, two rough, two smooth and two knots that -afterwards should be kindles, but this happeneth but seldom. Now for -to speak of the hare how he shall be sought and found and chased with -hounds. It is to be known what the first word_ (should be) _that the -hunter should speak to his hounds when he lets them out of the kennel. -When the door is opened he shall say loud: "Ho ho arere,"[227] -because that his hounds will come out too hastily. And when he -uncoupleth his hounds, he shall say to them when he comes into the -field: "Sto mon amy sto atrete," but when he is come forth into the -field he shall blow three motes and uncouple the hounds, then he shall -speak twice to his hounds in this wise, "Hors de couple, avaunt cy -avaunt"[228] and then he shall say thrice "So how" and no more; -afterward he shall say loud "Sa say cy avaunt" and then "Sa cy avaunt, -sa cy avaunt so how," and if he see the hounds draw fast from him and -would fain run, he shall say thus to them here: "How amy--how amy," -and then shall he say "Swe mon famy swef"[229] for to make them go -softly, and between always blow three motes. And if any of his hounds -find and own to the hare where he hath been, he shall say to them in -this wise: "Oyez a Beaumont le vaillant," or what the hound is called. -And if he seeth that the hare hath been at pasture in green corn or in -any other place and his hounds find of her and that they fall well in -enquest[230]_ (hunt) _and chase it well, then he shall say "La Douce, -la il a este"[231] and therewith "So howe" with a high voice, and if -his hounds chase not well at his pleasure and they grede_ (hunt) -_there where he has not pastured, then shall he say "Illeoqs -illeoqs"[232] in the same place while they seek her. And then he -should cast and look about the field, to see where she hath been and -whether she hath pastured or not, or whether she be in her form, for -she does not like to remain where she hath pastured except in time of -relief. If any hounds scent her, and she hath gone from thence to -another place, he shall say thus to his hounds as loud as he can: "Ha -cy douce cy et venuz arere, so howe."[233] And if he see that she be -gone to the plain or the field or to arable land or into the wood, if -his hounds get well on her scent, then he shall say: "La douce amy, il -ad est illeoqs"[234] and therewith he shall say: "so-how illeoqs, sy -douce cy vayllant"[235] and twice "so-howe," and when he is come there -where he supposeth the hare dwells then shall he say thus: "La douce -la est il venuz" and therewith thrice "so-howe" and no more. And if he -thinks he is sure to find her in any place then he shall say: "La -douce how-here, how-here, how-here, how-here, douce how-here -how-here," and when she is found and started he shall blow a mote and -rechase[236] and holloa as often as he wishes and then say loud: -"Oyez! a Beaumond" or what the hound is named, "le vailaunt oyez, -oyez, oyez, who-bo-lowe," and then "Avaunte assemble, avaunte." And -then should the horsemen keep well to one side and some way to the -front with long rods in their hands to meet with her, and so blowe a -mote and rechace and holloa and set the hounds in the rights if they -see her, and also for to prevent any hound following sheep, or other -beasts, and if they do to ascrie_ (rate) _them sorely and dismount and -take them up and lash them well, saying loud "Ware ware ha ha ware" -and lash them back to their fellows, and if it happens that the hare -be seated in her form in front of the hounds, and that they cannot -find her as soon as they would, then shall he say: "How-sa amy sa sa -acouplere, sa arere, so-how," but not_ (blow) _the stynt too soon. And -if he seeth that his hounds cannot put her up as soon as he would, -then shall he blow the stynt, and say loud: "ho ho ore swef a la -douce, a lui, a lui, so how assamy, assamy, la arere so-howe, venez -acouplere," and thus as oft as the aforesaid case happeneth. And as -oft as any hound catcheth it_ (the scent) _he should hue to him by his -name, and rout him to his fellows as before is said, but not rechace -till the hare be found, or that some man meet it and blow the rights -and holloa, or else that he findeth her pointing or pricking whichever -it be, for both mean the same, but some call it the one and some the -other. And if he find that he can well blow the rights and holloa and -jopey three or four times and cry loud "le voy, le voy," till the -hounds come thither and have well caught it. And_ (when) _she is -retrieved blow and holloa and rout to the hounds as it is said you -should do at the finding, and follow after and foot it who can foot -it. And if it happen when men hunt her and hounds chase her that she -squat anywhere before the hounds, and that any hunter find her -squatting, if the hounds be nigh about, he should blow a mote and -rechace and start her, and then halloa and rout to them as above is -said. And if he find her squat, and the hounds be far from him, then -should he blow as I last said before, and after two motes for the -hounds, and the berners that hear him should answer him thus "trut, -trut, trut" and draw all towards him with the hounds as fast as they -can, saying to their hounds: "so-how, mon amy, so-howe." And when they -be there and the hounds have all come up, they should check them with -one of their rods, and when she is started, blow, holloa and rout as -before is said, and according to what the case requireth, do as before -is said and devised. And when she hath been well chased and well -retrieved, notwithstanding her rusing and squatting and reseating, so -that by strength at last she is bitten by the hounds, whoso is nearest -should start to take her whole from them, and hold her in his one hand -over his head high, and blow the death that men may gather thither, -and when they be come, then should she be stripped, all save the head, -and the gall and the paunch cast away, and the remnant should be laid -on a great staff or on a board, whoso hath it, or on the earth, and -then it should be chopped as small as it can be, so that it hang -together; and when it is so done then should one of the berners take -it up with the head and hold it as high as he is able in his hands, -and then whoso is most master, blow the death, and anon as he -beginneth every man help and holloa. And when the hounds have bayed, -as long as is wished by the aforesaid most master, then should the -berner pull as high as he can every piece from the other and cast to -every hound his reward. And then should the most master blow a mote -and stroke, if so be that he thinks that the hounds have done enough, -and else he should rest awhile, if the hounds be hot, till they be -cooled, and then led to the water to lap. And then if he wish blow -three motes and uncouple and speak and so do as before is said. And if -they will seek a covert for the hare and set greyhounds without, they -should blow and seek and speak in the manner as before is said, save -that if the hounds find anything what so ever it be, he shall rally -and jopey till he has seen it, or that he knows what it is (and if it -be an hare do as above is said),[237] and if it be ought else he shall -blow drawing with his horn and cry loud "So-how mon amy, so-how, sto -arere, so-how, so-howe," and seek forthwith again with three long -motes till the hare be found. Yet nevertheless if they be hart-hunters -that seek a covert for the hare, and their hounds find a fox, whoso -meeteth with him should blow out upon him to warn the fewterers[238] -that there is a thief in the wood. And if they run at the hare and the -hare happen to come out to the greyhounds in front of the raches and -be killed, the fewterer that let run should blow the death and keep it -as whole as he may till the hunters be come, and then should they -reward the hounds as before is said._ - -[227] "Back there!" from the Fr. _arrière_. - -[228] "Out of couples, forward there, forward!" (Precisely the same -instructions are given by the later Twety and Gyfford.) - -[229] "Gently, my friend, gently!" - -[230] Quest, hunt, seek, also challenge. - -[231] "Softly, there he has been!" - -[232] "In this place," or "here, here." This passage, which reads -somewhat confusedly in our MS., is clearer in Twety and Gyfford -(_Reliquiæ Antiquæ_, vol. i. p. 149). It reads as follows: "And then -ye shall blowe iij notes, yf yowr hund ne chace not well hym, there -one ther another, as he hath pasturyd hym, ye shall say _'Illeosque, -illeosque, illeosque_,'" meaning that 3 motes should be blown where -the hare has pastured to bring your hounds to the place, _illeosque_ -meaning here, in this place. - -[233] "Softly there, here she has been, back there." Following this -the Shirley MS. and Twety and Gyfford contain a passage which our MS. -has not got: "And thenne _sa cy, a este sohow_, and afterwards _sa cy -avaunt_." - -[234] "Softly, my friend, she has been here." - -[235] "Here gently, here valiantly." - -[236] To call back the hounds from a wrong scent, the same as -"recheat." - -[237] The words in brackets are in the Shirley MS. - -[238] Huntsman holding hounds in leash. - -[Illustration: HARE-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RUNNING HOUNDS (From -MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - -[Illustration: HARE-DRIVING WITH LOW BELLS (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. -Nat._, Paris)] - -[Illustration: NETTING HARES IN THEIR "MUSES" (From MS. f. fr. 616, -_Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI - -OF THE ORDINANCE AND THE MANNER OF HUNTING WHEN THE KING WILL HUNT IN -FORESTS OR IN PARKS FOR THE HART WITH BOWS AND GREYHOUNDS AND STABLE - - -_The Master of the Game should be in accordance with the master -forester or parker where it should be that the King should hunt such a -day, and if the tract be wide, the aforesaid forester or parker should -warn the sheriff of the shire where the hunting shall be, for to order -sufficient stable,[239] and carts, also to bring the deer that should -be slain to the place where the curées at huntings have been usually -held. And thence he should warn the hunters and fewterers whither they -should come, and the forester should have men ready there to meet -them, that they go no farther, nor straggle about for fear of -frightening the game, before the King comes. And if the hunting shall -be in a park all men should remain at the park gate, save the stable -that ought to be set ere the King comes, and they should be set by the -foresters or parkers. And early in the morning the Master of the Game -should be at the wood to see that all be ready, and he or his -lieutenant or such hunters that he wishes, ought to set the greyhounds -and who so be teasers[240] to the King or to the Queen, or to their -attendants. As often as any hart cometh out he should when he passes -blow a mote and recheat, and let slip to tease it forth, and if it be -a stag, he should let him pass as I said and rally to warn the -fewterers what is coming out. And to lesser deer should no wight let -run, and if he hath seen the stag, not unless he were commanded.[241] -And then the master forester or parker ought to show him the King's -standing if the King would stand with his bow, and where all the -remnant of the bows would stand. And the yeoman for the King's bows -ought to be there to keep and make the King's standing, and remain -there without noise, till the King comes. And the grooms that keep the -king's dogs and broken greyhounds should be there with him, for they -belong to the yeomen's office, and also the Master of the Game should -be informed by the forester or parker what game the king should find -within the set,[242] and when all this is done, then should the Master -of the Game worthe_ (mount) _upon_ (his) _horse and meet the King and -bring him to his standing and tell him what game is within the set, -and how the greyhounds be set, and also the stable, and also tell him -where it is best for him to stand with his bow or with his greyhounds, -for it is to be known that the attendants of his chamber and of the -queen's should be best placed, and the two fewterers ought to make -fair lodges of green boughs at the tryste to keep the King and Queen -and ladies, and gentlewomen and also the greyhounds from the sun and -bad weather. And when the King is at his standing or at his tryste, -whichever he prefers, and the Master of the Game or his lieutenant -have set the bows and assigned who shall lead the Queen to her tryste, -then he should blow the three long motes for the uncoupling. And the -hart hounds and the harriers that before have been led by some -forester or parker thither where they should uncouple, and all the -hounds that belong to both the mutes_ (packs) _waiting for the Master -of the Game's blowing. Then should the sergeant of the mute of the -hart-hounds, if there be much rascal within the set, make all them of -office, save the yeomen of the horse, hardel[243] their hounds, and in -every hardel two or three couple of hounds at the most suffice. And -then to stand abroad in the woods for relays, and then blow three -motes to the uncoupling. And then should the harrier uncouple his -hounds and blow three motes and seek forth saying loud and long, "hoo -sto ho sto, mon amy, ho sto" and if they draw far from him in any -unruly manner he should speak to them in that case as when he seeketh -for the hare. And as oft as he passes within the set from one quarter -to another, he should blow drawing, and when he is passed the boundary -of the quarter, and entered into a new quarter, he should blow three -motes and seek forth, but if so be, that his hounds enchace anything -as he wishes, and if any hound happen to find of the King's_ (game), -_he should hue to him by his name and say loud: "Oyez a Bemond, -oyez-oyez, assemble, assemble," or what the hound is named, "assemble, -assemble" and jopey and rally. And if it be an hart and any of the -hart hounds meet with it they should blow a mote and rechace and -relay, and go forth therewith all rechacing among. And if it come to -the bows or to greyhounds and be dead, he should blow the death when -he is come thither, and reward his hounds a little, and couple them up -and go again to his place. And if the hart has escaped he should no -longer rechace, but blow drawing and draw in again, and in the best -way that he can, take up his hounds and get in front of them. And -after that the harriers have well run and well made the rascal -void,[244] then should the sergeant and the berners of the hart hounds -blow three motes, the one after the other and uncouple there where -they suppose the best ligging_ (lair) _is for a hart, and seek as -before is said; unless it be the season when the hart's head is -tender, then he shall use some of the aforesaid words of seeking to -the hounds: "Le doulez, mon amy, le doulez, le doules," and if his -hounds find anything do as before is said, and if it be a hart, do as -above is said, as he may know by his fues or by men that meet with -him. And if it be ought else, the berner ought to blow drawing, and -who meeteth with him_ (the hart) _call to them, and the berner should -say "Sto arere so how, so how." And if the lymerer meet withal, or see -by the fues that it is an hart, he should sue thereto till he be dead. -If it go to the greyhounds and if it go to the bows, and be smitten -anon, as he findeth blood he should take up his hounds and lead them -thence and reward them a little, and then if he escape out of the set, -he should reward his hounds, and take them up and go again to the wood -and look if he may meet with anything. And as often as he meeteth and -findeth, or his hounds run on a fresh scent, do as before is said. And -one thing is to be known, that the hart-hounds should never be -uncoupled before any other, unless a hart be readily harboured, and -that he may be sued to and moved with the lymer, or else that they be -uncoupled to a herd of great male deer at the view, namely within a -set in a forest or in a park, there where there is a great change of -rascal. And that is the cause why the other hounds shall be first -uncoupled to make the rascal void, for small deer will sooner leave -their covert than will a great hart, unless it be a hind that hath her -calf in the wood, and hath lately calved. And when the rascal is thus -voided then the hart hounds are uncoupled and they find the great old -wily deer that will not lightly void, and they enchace him well and -lustily and make him void both to bows and to greyhounds, so that they -fully do their duty. And all the while that the hunting lasteth should -the carts go about from place to place for to bring the deer to the -curée. And there should the server[245] of the hall be to arrange the -curées, and to lay the game in a row, all the heads one way--and every -deer's feet to the other's back. The harts should be laid in two or -three rows_ (by themselves) _according to whether there be many or -few, and the rascal in the same way by themselves, and they should -take care that no man come within the curées till the King come, save -the Master of the Game. And when the covert is well hunted and -cleared, then should the Master of the Game come to the King to know -if he would hunt any more. And if the King say yea, then shall the -Master of the Game if the greyhounds or bows or stable need not to be -removed, blow two long motes for the hounds, and forthwith blow -drawing with three long motes that men should stand still, and the -hunters may know that they should come to a new seeking with their -hounds. And when the hounds be come there where they should uncouple -blow three long motes and do and seek and blow, as is before said. And -if the bows and greyhounds and stable should be removed, then should -he blow a mote and stroke, without the mote in the middle, for to draw -men together, and thereby may men know that the king will hunt more -ere he go home. And when men come together, then should the Master of -the Game see to the placing of the King and of the Queen and of the -bows and of the greyhounds and of the stable, as I have said here -before, and the hunters to their seeking, and of all other things do -in the same manner as I have said. And if the king will hunt no more, -then should the Master of his Game, if the King will not blow, blow a -mote and stroke with a mote in the middle and the sergeant or whoso -bloweth next him, and no man else, should blow the first mote but only -the middle, and so every man as oft as he likes to stroke, if they -have obtained that which they hunted for. And the middle mote should -not be blown save by him that bloweth next the master. And thereby may -men know as they hear men stroke homeward whether they have well sped -or not. And this way of stroking should serve in the manner I have -rehearsed for all hunting save when the hart is slain with strength. -And when the mote is blown and stroked, then should the Master of the -Game lead the King to the curée, and show it him, and no man as I have -said above should come within it, but every man_ (keep) _without it. -And then the King shall tell the Master of the Game what deer he would -were_ (given away) _and to whom, and_ (after this) _if the King wishes -to stay he may. Nevertheless he usually goes home when he hath done -this. And then should the Master of the Game begin at one row and so -forth, and tythe all the deer right as they lie, rascal and others, -and deliver it to the proctors of the church that ought to have it. -And then_ (separate) _the deer that the king commandeth him to -deliver, and if any of them that should have part of the deer be not -there he should charge the master forester to send it home, and then -he should deliver a certain_ (part) _of the remnant to the afore said -sewers and to the sergeant of the larder and the remnants should be -given by the Master of the Game, some to the gentlemen of the country -by the information of the forester or parker, as they have been -friendly to the bailie, and the remnant to the officers and hunters as -he liketh best. And it is to be known that every man bow and fewterer -that hath slain anything should mark it that he might challenge his -fee, and have it at the curée, but let him beware that he marks no -lord's mark nor_ (other) _fewterers nor hunters, or he will lose his -fee. And also it is to be known that the fees of all follies belong to -the master of the harriers, if so be that he or his deputy be at the -hunting, and blow three motes and else not, in which case the Master -of the Game can give it to whom he wishes save what the King slayeth -with his bow or the Queen or my lord the prince, or that which they -bid with their own mouth to let run to. And all shall be judged folly -of red deer which is beneath the hart, and of fallow deer which is -beneath the buck, nevertheless if the harrier would challenge the deer -for folly, and it is not folly, if there be a strife with him who -asketh the fee, the Master of the Game shall judge it, and right so -shall he do of all these strifes for fees between bow and bow, and -fewterer and fewterer, and of all other strifes and discords that -belong to hunting. And when all the deer be delivered, and the hunters -and the fewterers of the kennel be assigned to undo the deer that be -delivered for the king's larder, then should the grooms chacechiens of -the hart-hounds gather the paunches and small guts together and do -with them as is advised in the chapter of the hart hunting with -strength, and get them a skin to lie thereover, and do as in the same -chapter described with the greatest and best head_ (antlers) _that -they can find in all the curée. Save the blowing of the prise and the -stroking and the menee, the bay should wait till the curées be done, -and the flesh taken away, and there should the Master of the Game be, -and the sergeant and all the yeomen and grooms of the office. And if -the greyhounds[246] shall be rewarded it should be done right as is -devised in the aforesaid chapter, except that the blowings above -described shall be left out. And also whosoever slew the deer the -yeomen of the office should have the skin that lyeth upon the deer -when the hounds are rewarded. And also it is to know that the harriers -when they have run shall be rewarded with the paunches and guts, but -there is no need to make a long bay with the hart's head to them, for -they are made to run and chase all game that one wishes, and that is -the cause why the master of them has the fees of all deer save the -hart and the buck, unless it be in the certain case before mentioned. -And when the curée is done, and the bay made, then is the time for -every man to draw homeward to his supper and to make himself as merry -as he can. And when the yeomen berners and grooms have led home the -hounds and set them well up and supplied them with water and straw -according to what they need, then should they go to their supper and -drink well and make merry. And of the fees it is to be known that the -man whoever he be, who has smitten a deer while posted at his tree -with a death-stroke so that the deer be got before the sun goes down, -he shall have the skin. And if he be not posted or has gone from his -tree, or has done otherwise than is said, he shall have none. And as -of the fewterers, if they be posted, the first teaser and -receiver[247] that draweth the deer down shall divide the skin.[248] -Nevertheless in other lord's hunting whoso pincheth first and goeth -therewith to the death he shall have the skin. And all the deer's -necks are the hunters, and one shoulder and the chine is his that -undoeth the deer, and the other shoulder is the forester's or the -parker's fee that keepeth the bailie that is hunted. And all the skins -of harts slain with strength of the hart-hounds, belong to the master -of the hart-hounds as his fee, that is to say he that hath the wages -of twelve pence a day for the office. It is to be known that when the -king hunteth in the park or in the forest with bows and greyhounds, -and it happens that any hart be slain with strength of hart-hounds, -all the hart hunters after the King or the Master of his Game have -blown a mote and stroked, all day they should stroke the assise that -belongeth to the hart slain with strength, but not with eight long -motes, but with four short and four long motes, as is in the aforesaid -chapter plainly devised. And all the other hunters should stroke the -common stroking as is above described and said._ - -[239] Men and hounds stationed at different places, usually on the -boundaries of the district in which the game was to be roused and -hunted, or at convenient passes from whence the hounds could be -slipped at the game. - -[240] Teasers, a small hound to tease forth or put up the game. - -[241] A difficult sentence to unravel. In the Shirley MS. it runs: -"and yif hit have eseyne nought to ye stagge, but yif he were -avaunced." - -[242] "Within the set" means within that quarter of the forest or park -around which are set or stationed the men and hounds, called the -stable. - -[243] To tie the couples of hounds together. - -[244] Made the smaller deer clear out of the forest. - -[245] The beginning of this sentence relating to the "server of the -hall" is not in our MS. but in the Shirley MS. - -[246] Shirley MS., "harthounds." - -[247] Shirley MS. has "resteynour." - -[248] This means that the men in whose charge the teasers and -receivers were placed were given the skin or fee. - -[Illustration: THE "UNDOING" OR GRALLOCHING OF THE HART THE MASTER -INSTRUCTING HIS HUNTERS HOW IT IS DONE (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. -Nat._, Paris)] - -[Illustration: HART-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RACHES (From MS. f. -fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - -[Illustration: THE "CUREE" OR REWARDING OF THE HOUNDS (From MS. f. fr. -616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - - END OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM MS. - VESPASIAN B. XII. - -THE FOLLOWING IS THE CONCLUDING PASSAGE OF THE SHIRLEY MANUSCRIPT -(Add. MS. 16, 165) IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM:-- - - -_Now I pray unto every creature that hath heard or read this little -treatise of whatever estate or condition he be that there where there -is too little of good language that of their benignity and grace they -will add more, and there where there is too much superfluity that they -will also abridge it as may seem best by their good and wise -discretion. Not presuming that I had over much knowledge and ability -to put into writing this royal disportful and noble game of hunting so -effectually that it might not be submitted to the correction of all -gentle hunters. And in my simple manner as best I could and as might -be learned of old and many diverse gentle hunters, I did my business -in this rude manner to put the craft and the terms and the exercise of -this said game more in remembrance and openly to the knowledge of all -lords, ladies, gentlemen and women, according to the customs and -manners used in the high noble court of this Realm of England._ - -FINIS - - - - -APPENDIX - - -ACQUILLEZ, Fr., to take, to hold at bay, to gather. "Et s'il voit que -les chiens heussent acueili le change" (G. de F., p. 156)--"if he sees -that the hounds have taken the change." It also denotes: "owning to -the scent" (Senechal, p. 8; Roy Modus, xxix. v). - -Twici says: "Les chevereaus ne sunt mie enchacez ne aquyllees," which -Dryden translates, "the roebuck is not chased nor hunted up," from -_enquiller_ or _aquiller_, O. Fr. a form of _accuellir_, to push, put -in motion, excite. "The word in English which is nearest to it is 'to -imprime,' which was afterwards used for the unharbouring of the hart" -(Twici, p. 26). - -In the old English translation of Twici (Vesp. B. XII.) _aquylees_ is -construed "gadered," which is certainly one sense, but not the one -here required (Twici, p. 53). - -The "Master of Game" translates _ils accueillent_ in G. de. F., p. -112, by "they run to them" (p. 111. _See also_ Godefroy). - - -AFFETED, Mid. Eng., _affaiten_; O. Fr. _affaitier_, to trim, to -fashion. A well-affaited or affeted head, a well-fashioned or -good-shaped head. In speaking of stags' antlers, means regularly tined -and well grown. - -_Affeted_ also meant trained or tamed, reclaimed, made gentle, -thoroughly manned. _Affaiter_ is still in use in M. Fr., as a term of -falconry. - -We find this word employed in this sense in the Vision of Piers -Plowman (1362): "And go affayte the Fawcons, wilde fowles to kill." -And in O. Fr. sporting literature one constantly reads of "Chiens -bien, affaities" (well-broken dogs); "oiseaux bien affaities" -(well-trained hawks). Roy Modus, lxxix.; Bormans, p. 52; _La Chace dou -Cerf_, Jub. 157; T.M. vol. ii. p. 933. - - -ALAUNTES, _Allaunts_, _Canis Alanus_; Fr. _alans_. Also spelt -_alande_, _alaunt_, _allaundes_, _Aloundys_ (MS. Brit. Mus., Egerton, -1995). _See also_ Twici, p. 56. - -A strong, ferocious dog, supposed to have been brought to Western -Europe by a Caucasian tribe called Alains or Alani. This tribe invaded -Gaul in the fourth century, settling there awhile, and then continued -their wanderings and overran Spain. It is from this country that the -best _alans_ were obtained during the Middle Ages, and dogs that are -used for bull-or bear-baiting there are still called _Alanos_. Gaston -de Foix, living on the borders of this country, was in the best -position to obtain such dogs, and to know all about them. His -description, which we have here, tallies exactly with that written in -a Spanish book, _Libro de la Monteria_, on hunting of the fourteenth -century, written by Alphonso XI. - -Alauntes were used as war dogs, and it was said that when once they -seized their prey they would not loose their hold. - -Cotgrave (Sherwood's App.) says that the mastiff resembles an Alan, -and also Wynn in his book on the "British Mastiff" (p. 45) says that -he is inclined to think that the Alan is the ancient name for mastiff, -and thinks it possible that the Ph[oe]nicians brought this breed to -the British Isles. He cannot have known the description given us of -the Alan by the "Master of Game," nor can he have been acquainted with -the work of Gaston Ph[oe]bus, for he says that the Alan is not -mentioned among any of the earlier dogs of France and Germany. There -is ample evidence that they existed in France from very early days. -Probably they were relics left there by the Alani in their wanderings -through Gaul. About the same period as our MS. we find Alans mentioned -by Chaucer, who in the "Knight's Tale" describes Lycurgus seated on -his throne, around which stand white _Alaunts_ as big as bulls wearing -muzzles and golden collars. - -The ancient Gallo-Latin name of _veltrahus_, or _veltris_, which in -the first instance denoted a large greyhound used for the chase of the -bear and wild boar, passed later to a different kind of dog used for -the same purpose. These _veltres_, _viautres_, or _vautres_ were also -known under the name of Alan, and resembled the Great Dane or the -German Boarhound (De Noir., vol. ii. p. 295-7). - - -ANTLER, O. Fr. _auntilor_, _antoiller_, or _andoiller_, derived from a -Teutonic root; Anglo-Saxon _andwlit_; Frank. _antlutt_ or _antluzze_; -Goth. _andawleiz_; O. Ger. _antliz_; face. Gaston Ph[oe]bus and Roy -Modus and other old French authors almost invariably use _teste_, or -head, when referring to a hart's antlers, but English writers did not -observe time-hallowed terms of venery so rigorously, and our author -frequently uses the jarring and, from every point of view, incorrect -term "horns" when speaking of the hart's attire or head. The substance -of deers' antlers is true bone, the proportion of their constituents -differing but very slightly from ordinary bones. The latter, when in a -healthy condition, consist of about one-third of animal matter or -gelatine, and two-thirds of earthy matter, about six-sevenths of which -is phosphate of lime and one-seventh carbonate of lime, with an -appreciable trace of magnesia. The antlers of deer consist of about -thirty-nine parts of animal matter and sixty-one parts of earthy -matter of the same kind and proportion as is found in common bone. -Later on, a more sportsmanlike regard for terms of venery is -observable, and Turbervile in one of his few original passages -impresses upon his fellow-sportsmen: "Note that when you speake of a -harts hornes, you must terme them the Head and not the Hornes of a -hart. And likewise of a bucke; but a Rowes hornes and a Gotes hornes -are tollerable termes in Venery" (1611, p. 239). - -Up to the end of the seventeenth century it was customary when -speaking of a stag's head to refer only to the tines "on top," or the -"croches" or "troches," leaving unconsidered the brow, bez and trez -tines, which were called the stag's "rights," and which every -warrantable hart was supposed as a matter of course to possess. When -referring to the number of tines a head bore, it was invariably the -rule to use only even numbers, and to double the number of tines borne -by the antler which had most. Thus, a stag with three on each top was -a head of "twelve of the less" (or "lasse"); "twelve of the greater" -when he had three and four on top, or, counting the rights, six and -seven tines, or, as a modern Scotch stalker would call it, a -thirteen-pointer. The extreme number of tines a hart was supposed to -bear was thirty-two. - - -BERCELET, barcelette, bercelette, is a corruption of the O. Fr. -_berseret_, a hunting dog, dim. of _bersier_, a huntsman; in Latin, -_bersarius_, French, _berser_, _bercer_, to hunt especially with the -bow. _Bercel_, _biercel_, meant a butt or target. Italian, -_bersaglio_, an archer's butt, whence _bersagliere_, archer or -sharpshooter (Oxford, and Godefroy Dict.). - -Given the above derivation, it may be fairly accepted that _bercelet_ -was a dog fitted to accompany a hunter who was going to shoot his -game--a shooting dog. The "Master of Game's" allusion also points to -this. He says some mastiffs (_see_ Mastiff) become "_berslettis_, and -also to bring well and fast a wanlace about." We might translate this -sentence: "There are nevertheless some (mastiffs) that become shooting -dogs, and retrieve well and put up the game quickly" (_see_ Appendix: -Wanlace). - -Jesse conceives _bracelettas_ and _bercelettus_ to come from -_brache_, but that can scarcely be so, as we see the two words used -together, as the following quotations will show: - - "Parler m'orez d'un buen brachet. - Qens ne rois n'ont tel berseret." - - T. M. i. 14404. - -When the fair Ysolt is parting from her lover Tristan she asks him to -leave her this same brachet, and says that no huntsman's shooting dog -will be kept with more honour: - - "Husdent me lesse, ton brachet. - Ainz berseret à vénéor - N'ert gardeé à tel honor - Comme cist sera." - - _Ibid._ i. 2660. - -Jesse quotes Blount's "Antient Tenures": "In the 6th of John, Joan, -late wife of John King, held a serjeantry in Stanhow, in the county of -Norfolk, by the service of keeping 'Bracelettum deymerettum of our -Lord the King,'" and Jesse thinks these might have been a bitch pack -of deerhounds, overlooking the fact that it was only in later days -that the words _brache_ and _rache_ were used for bitch hounds. As -_deymerettum_ meant fallow deer, the _bracelettum_ or _bercelettum -deymerettum_ may be taken, I think, to mean those hounds that were -used for buck-shooting (Jesse, ii. 21). - - -BERNER, bernar; O. Fr. _bernier_, _brenier_, a man who has the charge -of hounds, a huntsman, or, perhaps, would be more accurately described -as a kennelman. The word seems to have been derived from the French -_brenier_ or _bernier_, one who paid his dues to his feudal lord in -bran of which bread was made for the lord's hounds. _Brenage_, -_brennage_, or _bernage_ was the tenure on which land was held by the -payment of bran, and the refuse of all grains, for the feeding of -hounds. Berner in its first sense meant finder of bran, then feeder -of hounds. This word seems to have remained in use in England long -after it had disappeared from the language of French venery. Gaston no -longer uses the word _berner_, but has _valet de chiens_. - - -BISSHUNTERS, furhunters. Our MS. (p. 74) declares that no one would -hunt conies unless they were bisshunters, that is to say rabbits would -not be hunted for the sake of sport, but only for the sake of their -skins. Bisse, bys, byse was a fur much in vogue at the period of our -MS., as its frequent mention in contemporaneous records testifies. - - -BLENCHES, trick, deceit; O. N. _blekkja_ (Strat.). Blanch, or blench, -to head back the deer in its flight. Blancher or blencher, a person or -thing placed to turn the deer in a particular direction. - - -BOCE, from the French _bosse_, O. Fr. _boce_, boss, hump or swelling. -Cotgrave says: "Boss, the first putting out of a Deere's head, -formerly cast, which our woodmen call, if it bee a red Deere's, the -burle, or seale, and, if a fallow Deeres, the button." - - -BOUGHS, bowes (_brisées_). When the huntsman went to harbour the deer -he broke little branches or twigs to mark the place where he noticed -any signs of a stag. Also, at times during the chase he was instructed -to do the same, placing the twigs pointing towards the direction the -stag had gone, so that if the hounds lost the scent he could bring -them back to his last markings, and put them on the line again. In -harbouring the stag a twig was broken off and placed in front of the -slot with the end pointing in the direction in which the stag was -going; each time the harbourer turned in another direction a twig was -to be broken and placed so as to show which way he took; sometimes the -twig was merely bent and left hanging on the tree, sometimes broken -off and put into the ground (in French this was called making _brisées -hautes_ or _brisées basses_). When making his ring-walks round the -covert the harbourer was told to put a mark to every slot he came -across; the slot of a stag was to be marked by scraping a line behind -the heel, of a hind by making a line in front of the toe. If it was a -fresh footing a branch or twig should be placed as well as the -marking, for a hind one twig, for a stag two. If it be a stale trace -no twig must be placed. Thus, if he returned later, the hunter would -know if any beast had broken from or taken to covert since he -harboured his stag in the morning. When the harbourer went to "move" -the stag with his limer he was to make marks with boughs and branches -so that the berners with their hounds should know which way to go -should they be some distance from the limer (Roy Modus, x. v; xii. r; -xiii. r; Du Fouilloux, 32 r). Blemish is the word used by Turbervile -for _brisées_ (Turbervile, 1611, p. 95, 104, 114). - - -CHANGE. The change, in the language of stag hunting, was the -substitution of one deer for another in the chase. After the hounds -have started chasing a stag, the hunted animal will often find another -stag or a hind, and pushing it up with its horns or feet will oblige -it to get up and take his place, lying down himself in the spot where -he found the other, and keeping quiet, with his antlers close over his -back, so that the hounds will, if care is not taken, go off in chase -of the substitute. Sometimes a stag will go into a herd of deer and -try to keep with them, trying to shake off his pursuers, and thus give -them the change. - -A hound that sticks to the first stag hunted, and refuses to be -satisfied with the scent of another deer, is called a staunch hound, -one who will not take the change, which was considered one of the most -desirable qualities in a staghound. G. de F., in speaking of the -different kinds of running hounds, says that there were some that, -when they came to the change, they would leave off speaking to the -scent, and would run silently until they found the scent of their stag -again (G. de F., p. 109). - - -CURÉE, Kyrre, Quyrreye, or Quarry. The ceremony of giving the hounds -their reward was thus called because it was originally given to the -hounds on the hide or _cuir_ of the stag. - -Twici, the huntsman of Edward II., says that after the stag is taken -the hounds should be rewarded with the neck and bowels and the liver. -("Et il se serra mange sur le quir. E pur ceo est il apelee -quyrreye.") When the hounds receive their reward after a hare-hunt he -calls it the hallow. In the "Boke of St. Albans" we find the quarry -given on the skin, and it is only in the "Master of Game" that it is -expressly stated that a nice piece of grass was to be found on which -the hounds' mess was to be put, and the hide placed over it, hair-side -upwards, the head being left on it and held up by the antlers, and -thus drawn away as the hounds rush up to get their share. According to -Turbervile, in his day the reward was placed _on_ the hide; at least -he does not in his original chapter on the breaking up of the deer -notice any such difference between the French and English customs. In -France, it is as well to expressly state, the _curée_ was always given -on the hide until the seventeenth century, but after that it seems the -hide was placed over it just as described in our text (De Noirmont, -vol. ii., p. 458). Preceding the quarry came the ceremonial breaking -up of the deer. The stag was laid on its back with feet in the air, -slit open, and skinned by one of the chief huntsmen, who took a pride -in doing it according to laws of woodmanscraft. They took a pride in -not turning up their sleeves and performing everything so daintily -that their garments should show no bloodstains; nobles, and princes -themselves, made it a point of honour to be well versed in this art. -After the skinning was done, it was customary to give the huntsman who -was "undoing" the deer a drink of wine; "and he must drinke a good -harty draught: for if he should break up the dear before he drinke the -Venison would stink and putrifie" (Turb., 1611, p. 128). - -In the "Master of Game" the limers were rewarded after the other -hounds, but they were never allowed to take their share with the pack. - -The bowels or guts were often reserved, and put on a large wooden -fork, and the hounds were allowed to have this as a sort of dessert -after they had finished their portion. They were halloaed to by the -huntsman whilst he held the fork high in the air with cries of _Tally -ho!_ or _Tiel haut!_ or _Lau, lau!_ This tit-bit was then thrown to -them. This was called giving them the _forhu_, from the word -_forthuer_, to whoop or holloa loudly. Probably our term of giving the -hounds the holloa was derived from this. It was done to accustom the -hounds to rally round the huntsman when excited by a similar halloaing -when they were hunting, and had lost the line of the hunted beast. - -In some instances the daintiest morsels were reserved for the King or -chief personage, and for this purpose placed on a large wooden fork as -they were taken from the deer. The vein of the heart and the small -fillets attached to the loins (Turbervile says also the haunches, part -of the nombles and sides) should also be kept for the lord, but these -were generally recognised as the perquisites of the huntsmen, -kennelmen, foresters, or parkers. - - -EXCREMENTS, fumes, fewmets, obs. term for the droppings of deer. From -the Fr. _fumées_. G. de F. says that the droppings of all deer, -including fallow and roe deer, are to be called _fumées_. The "Master -of Game," no doubt following the custom then prevalent in England, -says the droppings of the hart only are to be called fumes, and of -the buck and the roebuck croties. The following names are given to -droppings by-- - - GASTON DE FOIX AND MASTER OF GAME - - Of the hart } Of the hart--Fumes. - " buck } Fumées " buck } - " roebuck } " roebuck } Croteys. - " bear } " wild boar } - " wild boar } Laisses. " black beasts } Lesses. - " wolf } " wolves } - " hare and conies--Crotes. " hare and Conies--Croties. - " fox, badger, and } " fox--The wagging. - stinking beasts } Fiantes. " grey or badger--The Wardrobe. - " otter--Spraintes. " stinking beasts--The Drit. - " otter--Spraintes. - -Other forms of this term are: fewmets, fewmishing, crotels, -crotisings, freyn, fuants, billetings, and spraits. - - -FENCE MONTH. The month so called began, according to Manwood, fifteen -days before and ended fifteen days after midsummer. During this time -great care was taken that no men or stray dogs should be allowed to -wander in the forest, and no swine or cattle were allowed to feed -within the precincts, so that the deer should be absolutely -undisturbed during three or four weeks after the fawning season. He -tells us that because in this month there must be watch and ward kept -with men and weapons for the fence and defence of wild beasts, for -that reason the same is called fence or defence month (Man., p. 76, -ed. 1598). - - -FEWTE, fuite, fute (M. E.), O. Fr. fuite (_voie de cerf qui fuit_), -track, trace, foot. Gawaine: feute. Will of Palerne (90): foute. Some -beasts were called of the sweet _fute_, and some of the stinking -_fute_. The lists of the beasts which should come under either heading -vary somewhat; some that are placed by the "Boke of St. Albans" under -"Swete fewte" coming under the other category in the MS. Harl., 2340. - - IN "BOKE OF ST. ALBANS." IN HARL. MS. 2340, FOL. 50B. - - _Beasts of "Swete fewte."_ - - The Buck, the Doo, the Beere, the The Buke, the Doo, the Ber, - Reynd, the Elke, the Spycard, the the Reyne der, the Elke, - Otre, and the Martwn. the Spycard. - - _Beasts of the "Stinking fewte."_ - - The Roobucke, the Roo, the The Fulmard, the Fechewe, - Fulmard, the Fyches, the Bauw, the Catt, the Gray, the - the Gray, the Fox, the Squirrel, Fox, the Wesyll, the - the Whitecat, the Otyr, the Stot, Marteron, the Squirrel, the - the Pulcatt. Whyterache, the Otyr, the - Stote, the Polcatte. - -In Roy Modus the beasts are also divided into _bestes doulces_ and -_bestes puans_. The reasons for doing so are also given (fol. lxii.): -"_Les bestes doulces sont: le cerf, la biche, le dain, le chevreul et -le lièvre. Et sont appelées doulces pour trois causes: La première si -est que d'elles ne vient nulle mauvais senteur; la seconde, elles ont -poil de couleur aimable, lequel est blond ou fauve; la tierce cause, -ce ne sont mie bestes mordans comme les autres cincq, car elles n'ont -nulz dens dessus; et pour ces raisons puent bien estre nommées bestes -doulces._" Under the _bestes puans_ are classed the wild boar, the -wild sow, the wolf, the fox, and the otter. - - -FEWTERER, the man that lets loose the greyhounds (Blome, p. 27); from -_veltraria_, a dog leader or courser; originally one who led the dogs -called _veltres_, _viautres_ (_see_ Veltres). In Gallo-Latin, -Veltrahus. It has been asserted that the word fewterer is a -corruption of _vautre_ or _viautre_, a boarhound, but although both -evidently owe their origin to the same parent-word, fewterer can -scarcely be derived from _vautre_, a boarhound. It was only in the -Middle Ages in France that the word _vautre_, from originally meaning -a powerful greyhound, was applied to a large boarhound. Fewterers in -England appear invariably as attendants on greyhounds, not boarhounds. -Another derivation has been also given from fewte, foot or track, a -fewterer being, according to this, a huntsman who followed the track -of the beast. But _venator_ was the contemporary designation for a -huntsman, and as far as we can ascertain the fewterer was always -merely a dog-leader. - - -FORLONGE, forloyng, forlogne, from the Fr. _fort loin_. G. de F. says, -"flies far from the hounds," _i.e._ having well distanced them ("_Fuit -de fort longe aux chiens, c'est a dire que il les ait bien -esloinhes_"). Hounds are said to be hunting the forlonge when the deer -is some way in front of them, or when some of the hounds have got away -with the deer and have outpaced the rest. As our MS. (p. 173) says, -the forlogne should be blown if the stag has run out of hearing of -hound and horn, but it should not be blown in a park. In old French -hunting literature it is an expression one constantly comes across. - -Twici, writing almost a hundred years earlier than the Duke of York, -says: "The hart is moved and I do not know where the hart is gone, nor -the gentlefolk, and for this I blow in that manner. What chase do we -call this? We call that chase The chase of the forloyng." - -Forloyneth: "When a hound meeteth a chase and goeth away with it far -before the rest then we say he forloyneth" (Turber., ed 1611, p. 245). - - -FOX. According to the laws of Canute the fox was neither reckoned as a -beast of venery nor of the forest. In Manwood's Forest Laws he is -classed as the third beast of chase (p. 161), as he is also in Twety -and Gyfford, and the "Boke of St. Albans." - -Although early records show that the English Kings kept their -foxhounds, we hear nothing of their having participated in this sport, -but they seem to have sent their hounds and huntsmen about the country -to kill foxes, probably as much for the value of the pelt as for -relieving the inhabitants of a thievish neighbour. - -In Edward's I.'s Wardrobe Accounts, 1299-1300, appear some interesting -items of payments made to the huntsman for his wages and the keep of -the hounds and his _one horse_ for carrying the nets. These allusions -to nets throw an interesting light on the fox-hunting of those days. -William de Blatherwyke, or, as he is also called, _William de -Foxhunte_, and _William Fox-dog-keeper_, had besides their wages an -allowance made to them for clothes and winter and summer shoes (_see_ -Appendix: Hunt Officials). As only one horse was provided, and that to -carry the nets, the huntsman, we must presume, had to hunt on foot, -not such an arduous undertaking when we remember that the country was -so much more thickly wooded than at present, and that every possible -precaution was taken to prevent Reynard's breaking covert. - -We see by our text (p. 65) that it was usual to course foxes with -greyhounds, and although the passages referring to this are translated -from G. de F. we know from many old records that this fox-coursing was -as usual in England at this time as in France. - -In the earlier days hounds used for the chase of the fox one day, -probably hunted hare, or even buck or stag, on another--such as the -harriers, which, if we can believe Dr. Caius, were entered to any -animal from stag to stoat (_see_ Appendix: Harriers). The first real -pack of foxhounds is said to be the one established by Thomas Fownes, -Esq., of Stepleton, in Dorsetshire (1730). They were purchased at an -immense price by Mr. Bowes, of Yorkshire. A very amusing description -is given in "Cranbourne Chase" of the first day's hunting with them -in their new country. There must have been several packs entered to -fox only about the end of the eighteenth century, for an erstwhile -Master of the Cheshire Foxhounds had in his possession a horn with the -following inscription: "Thomas Boothby Esqre. Tooley Park Leicester. -With this horn he hunted the first pack of foxhounds then in England 5 -years: born in 1677 died 1752." This pack, which was purchased by "the -great Mr. Meynell" in 1782, had been hunted both in Hampshire and in -Wiltshire previously by the ancestors of Lord Arundel (Bad. Lib., -"Hunting," p. 29). - - -FRAYING-POST, the tree a stag has rubbed his antlers or frayed -against. - -By the fraying-post the huntsman used to be able to judge if the stag -he wished to harbour was a warrantable stag or not. The greater the -_fraying-post_ the larger the deer (Stuart, vol. ii. p. 551). - - -FUES, "not find his fues," not to find his line of flight, his scent; -Gaston says: "Ne puissent deffaire ses esteurses": literally, "cannot -unravel his turnings." - -_Fues_, flight, fuite, track. Gaston calls these sometimes _voyes_. -_Voyes_ was written later _Foyes_ (Fouilloux). - - -FUE. "Se mettre a la fue" (var. _fuie_), (to take flight) (Borman, p. -89). - - -GLADNESS, glade. The original sense is a smooth, bare place, or -perhaps a bright, clear place in a wood. - - -GREASE. One of the important technical terms of venery, related to the -fat of game; for in the Middle Ages, when game was hunted to replenish -the larder as much as for sport, it entered largely into the economy -of even the highest households. The fat of the red deer and fallow -deer was called _suet_, occasionally _tallow_. That of the roebuck was -bevy-grease. Between that of the hare, boar, wolf, fox, marten, -otter, badger, and coney no difference was made--it was called grease; -and in one sense this general term was also used for deer: "a deer of -high grease," or "a hart in the pride of grease," were phrases used -for the season of the year when the stag and the buck were fattest -(_see_ Appendix: Seasons of Hunting). - - -GREASE TIME, not _Grace Time_ or _Grass Time_, as Strutt and others -have it. It did not include the whole season when the hart or buck -could be killed, but meant to indicate the time when they were fat and -fittest for killing. As pointed out already by Dryden (p. 25), the -_Excerpta Historica_ (Lond. 1831) contains an interesting example of -the use of this word. This is a letter written (p. 356) about 1480 by -Thomas Stonor, Steward of the Manor of Thame. He was in Fleet Prison -at the time he writes to his brother in the country concerning some -property of his own in his brother's neighbourhood. "No more to you^e -at thys tyme but ... more ov^r I entende to kepe my gresse tyme in yat -countre, where fore I woll^e yat no man^e huntte tyll^e I have bene -ther." - -In the privy-purse expenses of Henry VIII. (1532) is an entry of a -payment for attendance on the king during the last _grece-time_. -Cavendish in his Life of Wolsey says: "My lord continued at Southwell -until the latter end of _grease time_." Both these passages refer to -the month of June. In the laws of Howel the Good, King of Wales, a -fine of 12 kine was imposed on whoever kills a hart in grease time -(_kylleic_) of the kings. - -Confusion arose occasionally owing to the similarity of the words as -formerly spelt, grass being sometimes spelt "grysse" (Dryden, p. 25). -Manwood, also, misinterprets Grease time. In the agreement between the -Earl of Winchester and the Baron of Dudley of 1247, in which their -respective rights of hunting in Charnwood Forest and Bradgate Park, -Leicestershire, were defined, and which agreement Shirley has given -(in a translation) in his "English Deer Parks," the time of the fallow -buck season (_tempus pinguedinis_) or grease time or the fat season, -is fixed between the Feast of St. Peter ad Vincula (August 1) and the -Exaltation of Holy Cross (September 6, 14), while the time of the doe -season (_tempus firmationis_) was fixed between the Feast of St. -Martin (November 11) and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin -(February 2). - - -GREYHOUND, Fr. _levrier_, Lat. _leporarius_. Under this name a whole -group of dogs were included, that were used for the chase of big and -small game. They were swift hounds, hunting chiefly and in most cases -by sight only. For in the Middle Ages the name greyhound, or -_levrier_, denoted such seemingly different dogs as the immense Irish -wolfhound, the Scotch deerhound, and the smaller, smooth-coated, -elegant Italian greyhound. The powerful greyhound used for the chase -of stag, wolf, and wild boar were known in France as _levrier -d'attache_, and the smaller, nervous harehound as _petit levrier pour -lievre_. In our illustrations we can see what are intended to be -portraits of both the larger and the smaller kinds, some being -smooth- and some rough-coated. The bigger hounds were considered -capable of defending their masters against their armed enemies, as is -shown by numerous legends of the Middle Ages, which, although they may -not be strictly historical facts, showed the reputation these dogs -enjoyed in those days (Jesse, p. 19). - -Greyhounds were the constant companions of their masters during -journeys and wars, and at home. In the houses they were allowed the -greatest liberty, and seem to have ranged at will in both living- and -bed-rooms; one sees them at the board when their owners are at meals, -at the fireside, and they even accompanied their masters as good -Christians to mass. - -No hound seems to belong so peculiarly to the epoch of chivalry as the -greyhound, and indeed one can scarcely picture a knight without one. A -Welsh proverb declared that a gentleman might be known "by his hawk, -his horse, and his greyhound." By a law of Canute, a greyhound was -not to be kept by any person inferior to a gentleman ("Greyhounds," by -a Sportsman, p. 28; and Dalziel, vol. i. p. 25). - -_Canis Gallicus_ was the name used by the Gauls for their coursing -dogs, which were most probably greyhounds, and Arian says they were -called _Vertragia_, from a Celtic word denoting swiftness. In -Gallo-Latin the name for a large greyhound was _Veltrahus_ or -_veltris_ (De Noir., ii. 295). They were also called _Veltres -leporarii_ (Blane, p. 46). There is some difference of opinion as to -the derivation of our word greyhound. In the early Anglo-Norman days -they retained their French name of _levrier_, or Latin _leporarius_. -When our MS. was penned the English word _grei_, _gre_, or _grewhound_ -was in general use; it is thought by some to be derived from Grew -hound or Greek hound, as they were supposed to have been originally -brought from Greece. Others, again, consider that the name was simply -taken from the prevalent colour of the common greyhound. Jesse gives -the most likely origin of the name. "Originally it was most likely -_grehund_, and meant the noble, great, choice, or prize hound" (Jesse, -ii. 71; and Dalziel, i. 23). Probably the Celtic denomination for a -dog, _grech_ or _greg_, stands in close connection with our word -greyhound (Cupples, p. 230). White seems to have been the favourite -colour, and to say one had _i levrier plus blanc que flors de lis_ -(_Heruis de Mes_, 107a, 44; Bangert, p. 172) would be the greatest -tribute to the beauty of one's hound. _Co si sunt deus leveres nurit -en ma meisun, cume cisne sunt blauns_ (Horn, 613 f.). - -When Froissart went home from Scotland he is depicted as riding a grey -horse and leading _un blanc levrier_, perhaps one of the four he took -from these isles and presented to the Comte de Foix at Orthéz, whose -names have been preserved to us as Tristan, Hector, Brun, and Rolland -(La Curne de la Palaye). - -Greyhounds were used, as has already been mentioned, for all kind of -hunting and every kind of game, in conjunction with limers who -started the game for them. They were let slip as relays to a pack of -running or scenting hounds, and they were used by themselves for -coursing game in an open country, or were placed at the passes where -game was likely to run and were slipped to turn the game back to the -archer or to chase and pull down the wounded deer (_see_ Appendix: -Stables). In our illustrations we see them in the pictures of stag-, -hare-, roe- and boar-hunting, to say nothing of badger-hunting, for -which one would have thought any other dog more suitable. - -They seem always to have been held in couples except when following -their master and he not bent upon the chase. The collars to which -these couplings were attached were often wonderful gems of the -goldsmith's and silversmith's art. Such an item appears in the Q. R. -Wardrobe Acc. for 1400 (Wylie, iv. p. 196): "2 collars for greyhounds -(_leverer_) le tissue white and green with letters and silver -turrets." Another one of "soy chekerey vert et noir avec le tret (? -turret) letters and bells of silver gilt." - -The ancient doggerel in the Book of St. Albans, "Heded like a snake, -and necked like a drake. Foted like a cat. Tayled like a Rat, Syded -lyke a Teme. Chyned like a Beme" ("Boke of St. Albans," f. iv.), was -preceded by a very similar one written some time previously by Gace de -la Buigne. Of these verses G. de F. gives, twenty-eight years later, a -prose version, which our Master of Game has rendered into English. - - -HARDEL, hardeyl, to tie couples of hounds together. From the French -word _harder_, which has the same meaning: _Harder les chiens_, and -_harde_, the rope with which they are tied. It is derived from _hart_, -_hard_, _art_, a binder of willow or other pliable wood used for -fastening fagots together (Lit. and God.). The primitive way of tying -hounds together was by passing such a small flexible branch through -the couplings which bent back on itself, both ends being held. "_Les -chiens ... seront enhardez par les couples à genoivres ou à autre -josne bois tors_" (Roy Modus, f. xlvii. recto). In France there used -to be two hardes to each relay and not more than eight hounds in every -harde (D'Yauville). In England there used to be about the same number. -The term was still used in Blome's time (1686), for he writes in his -"Gentleman's Recreation": "The huntsman on foot that hath the charge -of the coupled hounds, and before that must have _hardled_ them, that -is, with a slip, for the purpose ready secured three or four couple -together, that they may not break in from him, to run into the cry of -the Finders" (p. 88). - -_Harling_ was a word used in Devonshire, and as it meant tying the -hound together by means of a rope passed through the rings of the -couples, it is undoubtedly a corruption of the word _hardeling_. -"Until comparatively recent times the hounds in Devonshire were taken -to the meet and held in this manner until the time came to lay the -pack on" (Collyns). - -_Hardel_, the technical O. E. term for binding together the four legs -of the roebuck, the head having been placed between the two forelegs, -in order to carry him whole into the kitchen. - - -HARE. Pliny records the fable that hares "are of many and various -sexes." Topsell remarks that "the Hebrews call the hare 'arnebet,' in -the feminine gender," which word gave occasion to an opinion that all -hares were females (pp. 264, 266). - -"In the Gwentian code of Welch laws supposed to be of the eleventh -century, the hare is said not to be capable of any legal valuation, -being in one month male and in another female" (Twici, p. 22). - -Certainly in many of the older writings on hares the pronouns "her" -and "him" are used indiscriminately in the same sentence. Sir Thomas -Browne in his treatise on vulgar errors asserts from his own -observation that the sex of the hare is changeable, and that the buck -hare will sometimes give birth to young. Up to the end of the -eighteenth century there was a widespread and firm belief in this -fable (Brehm, ii. p. 626). Buffon describes it as one of the animal's -peculiar properties, and from the structure of their parts of -generation he argues that the notion has arisen of hermaphrodite -hares, that the males sometimes bring forth young, and that some are -alternately males and females and perform the functions of either sex. - -"Master of Game" (copying G. de F.) states that the hare carries her -young for a period of two months, but in reality the period of -gestation is only thirty days. Harting says that the adult hare will -breed twice or thrice in the year, but Brehm declares they breed as -many as four times, and but seldom five times (Encyclop. of Sport, -vol. ii. p. 504; Brehm, vol. ii. p. 626; G. de F. p. 47). - -G. de F. (p. 43) says of a hare, "_Elle oït bien, mais elle voit -mal._" "Master of Game" translates this simply as _She hath evil -sight_; but does not say she hears well. The sense of hearing is most -highly developed in the hare, and every lightly breaking twig or -falling leaf will disturb her. It is said that of old when warreners -wished to prepare hares for the market they filled their ears with -wax, so that, not being continually disturbed by noises, they did not -move about much, and grew sleek and fat (Blome, p. 95). G. de F.'s -assertion that the hare "has evil sight" is also confirmed by Brehm, -who, however, says that they are endowed with a keen sense of smell, -whereas G. de F. says _elle sent pou_. - -Attention has already been called to the Duke of York's statement that -"the hare hath great fear to run." This arose probably from the -similarity of the words _peur_ and _pouvoir_ in the MSS., for it -should read "hath great power to run," the principal MSS. which we -have examined showing _pouvoir_. Verard in his first edition of G. de -F. also has the same rendering as the Duke of York, to which Lavallée -draws attention as being one of the many ludicrous mistakes in this -edition (G. de F., xli.). - -[Illustration: SHOOTING HARES WITH BLUNT BOLTS (From MS. f. fr. 616, -_Bib. Nat._, Paris)] - -Our text calls the hare the most marvellous beast (p. 181), the -reasons given being because she "fumeth or croteth and rowngeth and -beareth tallow and grease." By "rowngeth" (Fr. _ronger_) it was meant -that the hare chewed the cud, as by the ancients it was generally -supposed that the hare was a ruminant. Although this is not the case, -and the hare has not a compound stomach, nevertheless this belief -showed a close observation of nature, for when a hare is seated she -can bring up parts of her food and give it a second mastication. - -The hare and rabbit have little or no fat, but what they do possess is -called grease. Twici says: _Il porte gresce_ (pp. 1 and 21). - -"She has teeth above in the same wise as beneath" (p. 181) is another -of the peculiarities noticed in our text, which shows that the -difference in dentition that distinguishes the hare from all other -rodents had been remarked. Instead of two incisors in the upper jaw, -the hare has four, having two small rudimentary incisor teeth behind -the two large front ones, and five or six molars in the upper jaw, -with two incisors and five molars in the lower jaw (Brehm, ii. p. 627; -Cornish, "Shooting," ii. p. 153). - -It is difficult to know why the hare was considered a "melancholy" -beast, and how this curious reputation was kept up during the whole of -the Middle Ages. It was thought that eating the flesh of the hare -rendered one also subject to melancholy. G. de F. does not mention -this, and altogether his book is comparatively free of such -superstitions, but he says the flesh of the hare should not be given -to the hounds after a day's hunting, as it is indigestible: _quar elle -est fastieuse viande et les fet vomir_ (p. 210). Therefore, when -rewarding the hounds, they should only have the tongue and the -kidneys, with some bread soaked in the blood of the hare. - -In our MS., at the end of the chapter on the nature of the hare (p. -22), the Duke of York says that he "trows no good hunter would slee -them so," alluding to pockets, pursenets, and other poaching devices; -and although G. de F. gives six ways of taking the hare, he does not -approve of such methods for the true sportsman, but enters an amusing -protest: "I would that they who take hares thus should have them [the -cords] round their own necks" (p. 171). Snaring hares was never -considered legitimate sport. In hare-hunting proper, the hounds were -taken into the fields to find the hare, as at present; or hare-finders -were sent out early in the morning, and the tufts of grass or plants -where the hare was likely to be seated were beaten, and the hounds -uncoupled only when the hare was started. One of the chief differences -in the sport between then and now was that often, when the hare was -once on foot, greyhounds were also uncoupled, and our Plate, p. 182, -shows greyhounds and running-hounds hunting seemingly happily -together. It must have been rather discouraging for the old-fashioned, -slow scenting-hound to have the hare he has been diligently hunting -suddenly "bitten" in front of him by the swifter greyhound. -Trencher-fed packs also existed as early as the fourteenth century, -and we read in Gace de la Buigne that the small farmers would assemble -together, bringing all told some forty hounds of different breeds and -sizes, immensely enjoying their sport, and accounting for many hares. - - -HARNESS means in our text "paraphernalia where-with animals can be -caught or taken." It is frequently used in this sense by -Gaston--_Hayes et autres Harnoys_ (p. 126). In Julien's note to this -same sentence occurring in _Le bon Varlet_, he says, _autres harnois, -autres engins, instruments, procédés_. - - -HARRIER, spelt in early documents with many variations--_eirere_, -_heyreres_, _heyrer_, _hayrers_. A hound which is described in modern -dictionaries as "resembling a foxhound but smaller, used for -hare-hunting" (Murray). This explanation would not have been a correct -one for our harriers of the fourteenth century, for as far as we can -gather they were used to hunt all kinds of game and by no means only -the hare. They were evidently a smaller kind of running hound, for as -our MS. says, there are some small and some large running hounds, "and -the small are called Kenettis (or small dogs--_see_ Kenet), and these -hounds run well to all manner of game and they that serve for all game -men call them heirers" (p. III). And in chapter 36 we see that -_heyrers_ were used to hunt up the deer in the forest, the herthounds -and greyhounds meanwhile being held in leash till a warrantable deer -was on foot, or till "the heyrer have well run and well made the -rascal void" (made the smaller deer clear out of that part of the -forest) (p. 191). Then the herthounds were to be uncoupled where the -most likely "ligging is for an hert, and seek." The herthounds then -put up the wary old stag and hunted him till he came to the tryst -where the King would be with his long bow or cross-bow, or till the -hert was pulled down by them or the greyhounds which had been slipped -at him. - -In the chapter on hare-hunting in our MS. the word harrier does not -occur; only hounds, greyhounds, and raches are mentioned. So when -Henry IV. paid for "_La garde de nos chiens appelez hayrers_" (Privy -Seal, 20 Aug. 9th Henry, 1408, No. 5874), or Henry V. for the -"_Custodiam Canum nostrum vocatorum hayreres_" (Rot. Pat. I Henry V. -1413), it was not because they were especially addicted to -hare-hunting, but because they kept these useful hounds to "harry" -game. - -In 1407 we find one Hugh Malgrave "_servienti venatori' vocat' hayters -p' c'vo (cervo)_," which we may accept as another proof that their -office was to hunt the stag. The Duke of York also repeatedly says -that "_heirers_" run at all game (see pp. III, 196, 197). In 1423 Hugh -Malgrave still held the "office of the hayrers" by grant from Henry -IV. In the curious legal Latin of the thirteenth century, we find the -word _canes heirettes_, and _heyrettor_ (Wardrobe Accounts, 34 Ed. -I.). - -There are a great number of early records which show us that these -hounds were used then for hunting red and fallow deer, sometimes in -conjunction with greyhounds and sometimes without their aid. - -Harriers were sometimes taken with buckhounds on hunting expeditions -as well as with greyhounds. In some of the documents harriers are -simply alluded to as _canes currentes_. As they were not a distinct -breed, but were included under the designation "raches," or running -hounds, a separate chapter is not given to them in our text, and -neither Twici nor the Dame of St. Albans mentions these hounds. -Gradually we find the spelling, although presenting still countless -variations, bringing the _a_ more constantly than the _e_; the -"_heirers_" become _hayrers_, _hareres_, _hariers_, and after the -sixteenth century harriers. It is also probable that the word was -originally derived from the Anglo-Saxon _Hergian_, _herian_, to harry, -to disturb, to worry; O. Fr. _harrier_, _herrier_, _herier_, to harry; -F. _hare_ and _harer_, to set a dog on to attack. The harrier, in -fact, was a dog to "hare" the game. Although now obsolete, we find -this word used late in the seventeenth century. - -"Let the hounds kill the fox themselves and worry and _hare_ him as -much as they please" (Cox, "Gent. Rec.," p. 110). It is also in the -sixteenth century that one comes across the first allusions to their -use in hunting the hare. - - -HART. It is not necessary to dwell here at length upon the great -esteem in which the hart was held by all devotees to sport in Europe -during the Middle Ages. It was royal game, and belonged to the Prince -or ruler of the country, and the chase was their prerogative. Few -unconnected with the court were ever able to enjoy the chase of the -stag unless in attendance on or by special licence granted by the -sovereign. Those who had extensive property of their own and had -permission to erect a fence could, of course, keep deer on it, but -this did not enable them to enjoy the sport of real wild deer hunting, -or _La chasse Royale_ as the French called it. - -The stag was one of the five beasts of venery, and was, according to -the ancient French regulations, a beast of the sweet foot, although in -the list of beasts of sweet and stinking foot given in the "Boke of -St. Albans" the hart is included in neither category (_see_ Appendix: -Fewte). - -One of the first essentials for a huntsman in the Middle Ages was to -learn to know the different _signs_ of a stag (according to German -venery there were seventy-two signs), so as to be able to "judge -well." These signs were those of the _slot_, the _gait_, the -_fraying-post_, the _rack_ or _entry_ (_i.e._ the place where the stag -entered covert), and the _fumes_. By recognising differences in these -signs made by a young stag, a hind, and a warrantable stag, he was -enabled to find out where the latter was harbouring, and by the slot -and gait he could recognise when the chased stag was approaching his -end. - -There were many things that the huntsman of old had to learn regarding -the stag before he could be considered as more than an apprentice--for -instance, how to speak of a hart in terms of venery. The terms used -were considered of the greatest importance, even to the manner in -which the colour of the stag was spoken of, brown, yellow, or dun -being the only permissible terms to distinguish the shade of colour. -Special terms are given for every kind of head, or antlers, a stag -might bear. - -The huntsman spoke of the stag's _blenches_ and _ruses_ when alluding -to the tricks of a deer when trying to rid himself of the hounds, of -his _doubling_ and _rusing to and fro upon himself_ when he retraced -his steps, of his _beating up the river_ when he swam up-stream, and -of _foiling down_, when he went down-stream, or of _going to soil_ -when he stood in water. When the deer lay down he was _quat_, when he -stood still in covert he was _stalling_. When he was tired he "_cast -his chaule" i.e._ drooped his head, a well-known sign when the deer is -done, as was his closed mouth when dead beat. - -The hart was _meved_ or moved, when he was started from his -resting-place; he was _quested_ or hunted for, and _sued_ or chased; -his resting-place was called his _ligging_ or _lair_, his scent of -line of flight, his _fues_. He was spoken of as _soule_ or _soile_ (F. -_seule_) if unaccompanied by other deer, and in "_herd with rascal and -folly_" if keeping company with lesser deer. - -Besides many other quaint terms of venery the following were the -designations given to the hart according to his age by:-- - - Twici, "Boke of St. Blome; Cox's - "Master of Game." Albans," Manwood, "Gentleman's - Turbervile. Recreations." - - 1st yr. A calf. A calf. A hinde-calf or calf. - 2nd " A bullock. A brocket. A knobler or knobber. - 3rd " A brocket. A spayer, spayard, or A brocket or brocke. - spayd. - 4th " A staggart. A staggart or stag. A staggard. - 5th " A hart of ten. A hart. A hart. - -Until he was a hart of ten our text tells us he was not considered a -chaseable or warrantable deer. By the above one will see that the -"Master of Game" is exceptional in calling a deer of the second year a -bullock, brocket being the usual term. - -In old French literature we occasionally find the word _broches_ used -for the tines of a deer's antlers; brochet would be the diminutive, -_i.e._ a small tine, and hence perhaps brocket, a young stag bearing -small tines. Any stag of ten or over if hunted by the king became a -Hart Royal, and if hunted and not taken, but driven out of the forest, -a proclamation was made to warn every one that no person should chase -or kill the said hart, and he was then a "Hart Royal proclaimed" -(Man., p. 180). - -All stags not chaseable, such as young or lean stags and hinds, were -classed as folly or rascal. - -A young stag accompanying an old one was called his squire (F. -_escuyer_). - -Hinds also were called by different names from the first to the third -year, but the "Master of Game" does not give these, nor do any of the -earliest works. Manwood, Blome, and Cox give the following terms: -first year, a calf; second year, a Hearse or brocket's sister; third -year and ever after, a hind. A somewhat similar term was employed in -France to denote a young stag between six months and a year old. -_Haire_, also spelt _her_ (G. de Champgrand Baudrillard), and -_Harpaille_, was the term for a herd of young stags and hinds. - -_Hart's Age._--The fable that a stag can live a hundred years which -the "Master of Game" repeats (p. 34) after G. de F. was not of the -latter's invention, but one that had been current for many centuries -before their day. - - -HORNS.--When the "Master of Game" was written hunting horns were the -curved primitive shape of those made from the horns of animals, and -most of them probably were still made of the horns of cattle, while -those used by the richer gentry and nobles were fashioned from some -rarer animals' trophy, such as the ibex, or carved of ivory, and some -were made of precious metal. But whether of simple horn, ivory, or of -wood, they were decorated with gold or silver ferrules, rings, and -mouthpieces, and some being provided with a stopper, could be -converted into drinking horns. Unfortunately the "Master of Game" does -not tell us the material of which horns should be made. He simply says -how they should "be dryve." They were to be two spans long (1 ft. 6 -in.), slightly curved so that both ends were raised from three to four -fingers' breadth above the centre; the larger end or the bell was to -be as wide as possible, and the mouthpiece not too small. It was waxed -thickly or thinly, whichever the huntsman thought produced the best -sound. What effect the wax had can scarcely be judged, but it was -evidently considered an improvement, as it is stated that for -foresters "mene hornes and unwexid" are good enough for them. Besides -the hunter's horn five different kinds of horns are mentioned in our -MS.--the bugle, great abbots, ruets, small foresters, and mean horns. -The bugle was not the trumpet we now understand by that name, but a -simple curved horn, most probably deriving its name from the bugle, as -the wild ox was called; although Dryden says from the German word -_bugel_, a curve or bend. Ruets may have been the name for a much -curved or almost circular horn, from French _rouette_, small wheel. -The mean horns were probably the medium-sized, shrill-sounding horns -made out of wood or bark, known as _ménuels_, _menuiaux_, _moienel_, -_menuier_, &c. (Perc. 27,166 and 27,140). - -A good length for a horn is mentioned as being "_une paume et demie_" -(Perceval, 31,750). It is uncertain whether this length and that given -by the "Master of Game" were measured round the inside of the bend or -in a straight line between the two extremities. The famous Borstall -horn, also known as Nigel's horn, is 2 feet 4 inches long on the -convex and 23 inches on the concave bend; the inside measure of the -bell end being 3 inches in diameter. The size of another noted horn, -_i.e._ the Pusey horn, is 2 feet 1/2 inch long, the circumference at -the widest end being 12 inches. The general length of these horns -seems to have been somewhere between 18 inches and 2 feet. The -above-mentioned specimens were horns of tenure, the first being a -hunting-, the second a drinking-horn. The Borstall horn is said to -have been given by Edward the Confessor to one Nigel, in reward for -his killing an immense wild boar, and by this horn he and his -successors for generations held lands of the crown. - -The curved horn remained in fashion in England till about the latter -half of the seventeenth century, then a straight one came into use -about 1 ft. 6 in. to 2 ft. long, such as we see depicted in Blome. Of -this shape, but a few inches shorter, is the hunting-horn still in -use in England. The French hunting-horn was used in England in the -eighteenth century, but did not remain long in fashion. - - -HUNTING CRIES. We can see that the hunting cries and the language used -in speaking to the hounds when hunting in the days of the "Master of -Game" were still those brought into Britain by the Normans, and in -most instances the words can actually still be recognised as French. -There are only a few examples given by him as to the manner a huntsman -should speak to his hounds in the stag-hunting chapters, such as:-- - -_Ho moy, ho moy, hole, hole, hole_: To encourage the limer when -drawing for a stag (p. 166). - -_Cy va, cy va, cy va_: To call the hounds when any signs of the stag -were seen (p. 167). - -_Le douce mon amy, le douce_: "Softly, my friend, softly." To the -hounds when they were uncoupled near to where the stag was supposed to -be lying. - -_Sto arere, so howe, so howe_: "Hark back," if the hounds were on a -wrong scent. - -_Hoo sto, ho sto, mon amy, ho sto_: To harriers drawing for a stag. - -_Oyez, à Beaumont, oyez, assemble à Beaumont_: "Hark to Beaumont, -hark, get to him." To the hound of that name who picks up the right -line, and to bring the other hounds to him. - -It is in the hare-hunting chapter that we have more of the "fayre -wordis of venery," and here, if the "Master of Game" does not -slavishly copy Twici, yet he employs the same cries, with a slight -difference only in orthography. The "Boke of St. Albans" has also most -of the following:-- - -_Hoo arere_: "Back there." When the hounds come too hastily out of the -kennel. - -_So moun amy atreyt_: Until they come into the field; these two are -not given by Twici, but the following are identical in both books:-- - -_Hors de couple, avaunt sy avaunt_, and thrice _so howe_: When the -hounds are uncoupled. - -_Sa sa cy avaunt, cy sa avaunt, sa cy avaunt (avaunt, sire, avaunt_, -in Twici): Forward, sir, forward. - -_Here how, amy, how amy, and Swef, mon amy, swef_: "Gently, my friend, -gently" (_swef_, from Latin _swavis_), when the hounds draw too fast -from the huntsman. - -_Oyez, à Beaumont_ (in Twici: _Oyez, a Beaumont le vaillaunt que il -quide trover le coward od la courte cowe_): "Hark to Beaumont the -valiant, who thinks to find the coward with the short tail." - -_La douce, la il ad este sohowe_: "Softly, there--here he has been," -if the place where the hare has pastured is seen. - -_Illoeques, illoeques_: "Here, here," if the hounds hunt well on the -line (_see_ Appendix: Illoeques). - -_Ha sy toutz, cy est il venuz arere, so howe. Sa cy a este so howe. Sa -cy avaunt_: "Here, he has gone back. Here he has been. Forward there." -When the hare has doubled. - -_La douce amy, il est venuz illoeques, sohowe_: "Softly, friend, he is -here." When the hounds hunt well in fields or arable land. - -_La douce, amy, la est il venuz (pur lue segere sohow)_: "Softly, -friend, here he has come to seat himself" (Mid. Eng., _sege_--a seat. -Latin, _sedere_). - -_La douce, amy, la il est venuz (pur meyndir)_: "Here he has been to -feed" (_meyndir_, from Latin _manducare_, _mandere_). - -The bracketed part of the last two cries are given in the MS. of Twety -and Gyff., and the following are only in the "Master of Game":-- - -_Le valliant oyez, oyez who bo bowe_, and then, _Avaunt, assemble, -assemble, war war, a ha war_, for running riot. _How assamy assamy so -arere so howe bloues acoupler._ - -On seeing the pricking or footing of the hare: _Le voye, le voye_ -("The view, the view"). - -In France, _Tallyho_, or a very similar sounding word, was employed in -the early days when the huntsman was sure that the right stag had gone -away, whether he only knew it by his slot, &c., or whether he had -viewed him. - -It was also a call to bring up the hounds when the stag had gone away, -and at the end of the _curée_, when the huntsman held part of the -entrails of the deer on a large wooden fork, and the hounds bayed it -(which was called the _forhu_), the huntsman called out _Tallyho_. - -We only find _Tallyho_ in comparatively recent English hunting -literature and songs--never, so far as I am aware, before the late -seventeenth century, and it does not occur at all constantly until the -eighteenth century. Neither Turbervile nor Blome nor Cox, in their -books on the various chases, mention such a word, though we find -instruction to the huntsman to say "Hark to him," "Hark forward," -"Hark back," and "To him, to him"; besides the inevitable "So how -sohow." Neither in Twici, "Master of Game," "Boke of St. Albans," -Chaucer, or Shakespeare can we find an invigorating _Tallyho_. It -would almost appear as if it were a seventeenth century importation -from across the Channel, which is quite possible, for Henry IV. of -France sent in that century three of his best huntsmen, Desprez, de -Beaumont, and de Saint-Ravy, to the Court of King James I. to teach -the royal huntsmen how to hunt the stag in the French way, English -Court hunting having degenerated into coursing of stags within the -park palings. - -_Taïaut_ in France was used solely in the chase of red, fallow, or roe -deer. - - -HUNTING MUSIC. In the "Master of Game," as in all the earliest hunting -literature, much importance is placed on the huntsman's sounding his -horn in the proper manner in order, as Twici says, that "Each man who -is around you, who understands Hunting, can know in which point you -are in your sport by your blowing." The author of "Master of Game" (p. -170) says he will give us "a chapter which is all of blowing," but he -omitted to fulfil this promise, so that we have only such information -as we can gather in his chapters on stag and hare-hunting. The -differences in the signals were occasioned by the length of the sound -or note, and the intervals between each. Twici expresses these notes -in syllables, such as _trout_, _trout_, _trourourout_. The first of -these would be single notes, with an interval between them, blown -probably with a separate breath or wind for each; the latter would be -three notes blown without interval and with a single breath or wind. -The principal sounds on the hunting horn were named as follows:-- - -A _Moot_ or _Mote_, a single note, which might be sounded long or -short. - -A _Recheat_. To recheat, Twici says, "blow in this manner, -_trourourourout, trourourourout, trourourourout_," therefore a -four-syllabled sound succeeded by an interval, blown three times. In -the "Master of Game" we find the recheat preceded or followed by a -moot, the most constantly recurring melody. When the limer has moved -the stag, and the huntsman sees him go away, he was to blow a moot and -recheat. If the stag is moved but not viewed, and the huntsman knows -only by the slot that it is his stag that has gone away, he is to -recheat without the moot, for that was only to be blown when the stag -was seen. When the hounds are at fault and any one finds the slot of -the deer, he should recheat "in the rightes and blow a long moot for -the lymerer," or if he thinks he sees the hunted stag, he should blow -a moot and recheat, and after that blow two moots for the hounds. - -The _Forlonge_. A signal that the stag had got away far ahead of the -hounds or that these had distanced some or all of the huntsmen (_see_ -Appendix: Forlonge). - -The _Perfect_ or _Parfit_. Twici says it began by "a moot and then -_trourourout, trout, trout, trourourout, trourourout, trourourout, -trout, trout, trourourourout_," "and then to commence by another moot -again, and so you ought to blow three times. And to commence by a moot -and to finish by a moot." This was only blown when the hounds were -hunting the right line (_see_ Appendix: Parfet). - -The _Prise_. Twici says, blow four moots for the taking of the deer. -According to the "Master of Game," "the prise or coupling up" was to -be blown by the chief personage of the hunt only, after the quarry. It -was only blown when the deer had been slain by strength, or hunted, -and not when shot or coursed. He was to blow four moots, wait a short -interval (half an Ave Maria), and blow another four notes a little -longer than the first four. - -The _Menée_. Twici says the _Menée_ should only be blown for the hart, -the boar, the wolf, and the male wolf, but he does not give us any -analysis of this melody. In the "Master of Game" we are told that the -_Menée_ was blown at the hall-door on the return of the huntsmen. The -Master first blew four moots alone, then at the end of the four moots -the others joined him in blowing, and they all continued keeping time -together (_see_ Appendix: Menée). - -The _Mort_ or _Death_ was another sound of the horn, but we have no -description of the notes. Perhaps it is synonymous with the _Prise_. - -The _Stroke_ must have been another grouping of short and long notes, -but of this we have no record. - -Hardouin de Fontaines Guerin wrote a poem on the chase chiefly -concerning the different manners of blowing such as obtained in his -native country the provinces of Anjou and Maine. The poem was -illustrated with fourteen miniatures showing the notes to be blown on -as many different occasions during stag-hunting. - -The notes are written in little squares: [**white] denoting a long -note; [**black] a short note; [**white][**white] a note of two long -syllables; [**black][**black] a note of two short syllables; -[**black][**white][**white] a note of one short and two long -syllables; and [**black][**white][**white][**black][**black] a note of -one short, two long, and two short syllables. Of these six notes -combinations were made for all the signals to be blown. - - -ILLOEQUES, "here in this place," from the L. _illo loco_. Sometimes it -is spelt _illecques_, _iluec_, _illosques_, &c. It is constantly met -with in Anglo-Norman, and the Provence dialects (Botman, pp. 90, 242; -T. M., pp. 31, 93, 142; Roy Modus, lxix.; and in the will of the Duke -of York, Nichols). It has been suggested that it is the origin of the -familiar _yoicks_. In the "Boke of St. Albans" in the verses on -hare-hunting it also occurs. - -[Illustration: FROM HARDOUIN DE FONTAINES GUERIN'S WORK, WRITTEN IN -1394] - - -JOPEYE, synonymous with _jupper_, which, according to Cotgrave, is an -old word signifying "to whoot, showt, crie out alowd." The French word -_juper_, _jupper_, also spelt _joppeir_, had the same meaning, and we -find it employed in the "Chace dou cerf" for a halloa in hunting in a -similar way to _jopeye_ in our text: - - "_Et puis juppe ou corne i. lonc mot - Chaucuns en a joie qui l'ot._" - -In the sense it is used in our "Master of Game" (p. 185) it means to -halloa to the hounds, to encourage them with the voice. - - -KENETTES, small hounds. Kenet is a diminutive form of the -Norman-French _kenet_, and the O. F. _chen_, _cienetes_, _chenet_, a -dog: _i veneour a ii cienetes, Ne mie grans mais petitetes, Et plus -blans que n'est flors d'espine_ (Percival, 22,895). Derived from the -Latin _canis_ (_see_ Appendix: Harriers). - - -LIGGING, a bed, a resting-place, a lair. From O. Eng. _licgan_, -_licgean_, Goth. _ligan_, lie, lie down. The ligging of the hart was -what we now call his lair, spelt also layer. In our MS. it is used for -the dwelling of a wild cat (p. 71). - -This old expression is not entirely obsolete, but can be heard still -among the country people of the northern counties of England. - - -LIMER, lymer; the name given to a scenting-hound which was held in a -liam or leash whilst tracking the game. Limers never were any distinct -breed of hounds, but, of course, some breeds produced better limers -than others (De Noirmont, vol. ii. p. 350). - -A dog used as a limer had to be keen on the scent, staunch on the -line, not too fast, and was taught to run mute, for if the exact -whereabouts of any game had to be discovered, it would have been -impossible, if the hound gave tongue or challenged while on the scent. -A likely hound was chosen from the kennel at an early age, G. de F. -says at a year old (p. 157), and from that time accompanied his -master, sleeping in his room, and being taught to obey him. He was -continually taken out by his master with collar and liam and -encouraged to follow the scent of hinds and of stags and other beasts, -and punished should he venture to acknowledge the scent of any animal -he was not being entered to, or should he open on finding or following -the line. - -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 _li_mer has been used. - - -MADNESS. 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. - -These are mentioned in Roy Modus, and the cure for rabies, of taking -the afflicted dog to the sea and letting nine waves wash over him, as -well as the cock cure mentioned in our English MS., were both taken by -Gaston from Roy Modus, or both derived them from some common source -(Roy Modus, fol. xlv. r). - -The water cure is mentioned also by Albertus Magnus (Alb. Mag., 215, a -27). - -It seems likely to have been to try the efficacy of this cure that -King Edward I. sent some of his hounds to Dover to bathe in the sea, -the following account for which is entered in his Wardrobe Accounts: - -"To John le Berner, going to Dover to bathe six braches by the King's -order and for staying there for 21 days for his expense 3. 6d" (6 -Edward I. Quoted from MS. Philipps, 8676). - -The means of recognising rabies by a cock is also mentioned in the -recipe of the eleventh century given by Avicenna (957-1037), and it -appears again in Vincentius Bellovacensis and is also to be found in -Alexander Neckham. Although the manner of using the cock for this -purpose varies, we see by the fact of its being mentioned in different -works preceding our MS. that the cock enjoyed some legendary renown -for at least a couple of centuries before Gaston (Werth, p. 55). - -Nowadays only two varieties of rabies are recognised: furious and dumb -rabies. The numerous divisions of the old authors were based on -different stages of the disease and slight variations in the symptoms. - -When a dog is attacked with rabies its owner often supposes that the -dog has a bone in its throat, so that a report of this condition is -regarded by veterinary surgeons with suspicion. This corresponds with -the description in our text of dogs, with their mouths "somewhat -gaping, as if they were _enosed_ in their throat." - - -MASTIFF, from F. _metif_, O. F. _mestif_, M. E. _mastyf_, _mestiv_, -mixed breed, a mongrel dog (Cent. Dict., Murray). Some etymologists -have suggested that the word mastiff was derived from _masethieves_, -as these dogs protected their master's houses and cattle from thieves -(Manwood, p. 113). Others again give _mastinus_, i.e. _maison tenant_, -house-dog, as the origin, but the first derivation given of _mestif_, -mongrel, is the one now generally recognised. - -Although it will be quite evident to any one comparing the mastiff -depicted in our Plate, p. 122, with any picture of the British mastiff -that the two are very different types, we must not therefore conclude -that the artist was at fault, but that the French _matin_, which is -what our MS. describes and depicts, was by no means identical with our -present English breed of mastiffs, nor even with the old British -mastiff or bandog. The French _matins_ were generally big, hardy dogs, -somewhat light in the body, with long heads, pointed muzzles, -flattened forehead, and semi-pendant ears; some were rough and others -smooth coated. - -_Matins_ were often used for tackling the wild boar when run by other -hounds, so as to save the more valuable ones when the boar turned to -bay. - -In this chase, as well as when they were used to protect their -master's flocks against wolves, huge iron spiked collars were fastened -round the dog's neck. These spiked collars were very formidable -affairs; one of very ancient make which I have measures inside nearly -eight inches in diameter, and the forty-eight spikes are an inch long, -the whole weighing without the padlock that fastened it together about -two pounds. - -In England the name Mastiff was not in general use till a much later -date, even as late as the end of the eighteenth century, Osbaldiston -in his Dictionary ignoring the term mastiff, and using, like a true -Saxon, the old term bandog (Wynn, p. 72). In the seventeenth and -eighteenth centuries the terms were generally synonymous, and it seems -quite possible that the mastiff of the ancient forest laws was not our -bandog, but denoted, as in France, any large house-dog capable of -defending his master and his master's goods, watching his cattle, and, -as frequently necessary, powerful enough to attack the depredatory -wolf or the wild boar. These would in all likelihood be a very mixed -breed, and thoroughly justify the name _mestif_ or mongrel. - -Cotgrave in his French-English Dictionary gives the following:-- - -"_Mastin_, a mastiue or bandog; a great country curre; also a rude, -filthie, currish or cruell fellow." - -We find the word _matin_ in France used as a term of opprobrium, or a -name of contempt for any ugly or distorted body or a coarse person: -"_C'es un matin, un vilain matin._" Many interesting facts about the -mastiff have been collected by Jesse in his "History of the British -Dog," but he also makes the mistake of considering that the "Master of -Game" and Turbervile give us the description of the dogs then existing -in England, whereas these descriptions really relate only to French -breeds, although the characteristics may in many cases have tallied -sufficiently; but in others a dire confusion has resulted from blindly -copying from one another. - - -MENÉE, from Latin _minare_, something which is led, a following. This -word frequently occurs in the mediæval romances, and usually denoted -pursuit, either in battle or in the hunting field (Borman, p. 37). - -There are various meanings attached to _menée_:-- - -1. The line of flight the stag or other game has taken, and _Chacier -la menée_ seems to have meant hunting with horn and hound by scent on -the line of flight, in contradiction to the chase with the bow or -crossbow, which was called _berser_ (_Le Roman des Loherains_, 106, c. -30). In G. de F. (p. 157) it is used in the same sense. The meaning -in which Gaston de Foix uses the word menée is explained by him: _Et -puis se metre après, et chevauchier menée: c'est à dire par où les -chiens et le cerf vont_ (G. de F., pp. 43, 44, 171, 179). See also -_Chace dou Cerf_ and Hard. de Font. Guer. Edit. Pichon. - -2. The challenge of the hound when on the line. Page 171, we read that -a hunter should know whether the hounds have retrieved their stag by -the doubling of their menée, _i.e._ the hounds would make more noise -as soon as they found the scent or line of flight of the stag they -were chasing. _Menée_ evidently meant the sound made by the hound when -actually following the scent, not when baying the game. Later the -sense seems to have been widened, and a musical hound was said to have -_la menée belle_ (Salnove, p. 246). - -3. A note sounded on a horn (_see_ Appendix: Hunting Music). It was -the signal that the deer was in full flight. It appears to be used in -Twici to signify the horn-signal blown when the hounds are on the -scent of hart, boar or wolf, to press the hounds onwards (Twici, p. -23). This author says one cannot blow the menée for the hare, because -it is at one time female and another male, and to this Dryden in his -notes remarks that Twici is perfectly right in saying a man ought not -to blow the menée for a hare; for as every one knows, it is but a rare -occurrence for a hare to go straight on end like a fox, for they -commonly double and run rings, in which case if the hounds were -pressed, they would over-run the scent and probably lose the hare. But -he does not explain why Twici says if it were always male the menée -could be blown at it as at other beasts, such as the hart, the boar, -and the wolf. Is it that a male hare will occasionally run a long, -straight course of several miles, but that the female runs smaller -rings and more constantly retraces her steps, and therefore the menée -could never be blown at her? - -4. Menée was also used in the sense of a signal on a horn. - -The "Master of Game" says the _menées_ should be sounded on the return -of the huntsman at the hall or cellar door (p. 179). There was a -curious old custom which occasioned the blowing of the horn in -Westminster Abbey. Two _menées_ were blown at the high altar of the -Abbey on the delivery there of eight fallow deer which Henry III. had -by charter granted as a yearly gift to the Abbot of Westminster and -his successors. - - -METYNGE, here evidently means meating or feeding. As the "Master of -Game" says: "or pasturing" as if the two words were synonymous, as -_metinge_ also was Mid. Eng. for _measure_, it might have been a deer -of "high measure and pasturing." But anyhow the two were practically -identical, for as Twici says: "Harts which are of good pasture. For -the head grows according to the pasture; good or otherwise." See -below: MEUTE. - - -MEUTE had several meanings in Old French venery. - -1. The "Master of Game" translated G. de F.'s "grant cerf" as a hart -of high feeding or pasture. But he omitted to render the following -passage: "_Et s'il est de bonne meute, allons le laisser courre._" The -"_bonne meute_" is not translated by "high meating." It was an -expression in use to indicate whether the stag was in good company or -not. If a warrantable stag was accompanied by one or two large stags -he was termed "_Un cerf de bonne mute_" (or _meute_), but if hinds and -young stags (rascal) were with him he was designated as a "_cerf de -mauvaise mute_." In Roy Modus we read: "_La première est de savoir -s'il est de bonne mute._" - -Perhaps _meute_ when used in this sense was derived from the old -Norman word _moeta_, _m[=a][=e]ta_, from _m[=o]t_, meet, come -together. There was also an Old Eng. word _metta_ or _gemetta,_ -companion. - -2. Meute was also used in another sense which is translated by the -"Master of Game" as _haunts_, probably the place the deer usually -moves in. G. says: "_Il prendra congé de sa meute_," and the "Master -of Game" has: "he leaves his haunts." If a deer was harboured in a -good country for hunting he was also called "_En belle meute_" -(D'Yauville, voc. _Meute_). - -It was in this sense that the "Sénéschal de Normandye" answers the -question of his royal mistress about the stag he himself had harboured -that morning; he tells her the stag was _En belle meute et pays fort_. - -3. MEUTE, MUTE, a number of hounds, now called a pack or kennel of -hounds or a cry of hounds. - - -MEW, _Mue_, to shed, cast, or change. "The hart mews his horns," the -deer casts his head, or sheds his antlers. From the French _muer_, and -the Latin _mutare_, to change, of hawks to moult. - - -MOVE, MEU, Meue, mewe, meeve, old forms of move. To start a hart -signified to unharbour him, to start him from his lair. - -G. de F. says: _Allons le laisser courre_; but the word _meu_ or -_meve_ was also used in Old French in the same way as in English. - -Twici says: _Ore vodroi ioe savoir quantez des betes sunt meuz de -lymer, e quanz des bestes sunt trouez des brachez.... Sire, touz ceaus -qe sunt enchaces; sunt meuz de lymer. E tous ceaus enquillez sunt -trovez de brachez._ (Now I would wish to know how many beasts are -moved by a lymer and how many beasts are found by the braches.--Sir, -all those which are chased are moved by a lymer. And all those which -are hunted up are found by braches.) (Line 18; Tristan., i. 4337; -Partonopeus de Blois, 607.) - - -MUSE, _Meuse_. An opening in a fence through which a hare or other -animal is accustomed to pass. An old proverb says: "'Tis as hard to -find a hare without a muse, as a woman without scuse." - -"A hare will pass by the same muses until her death or escape" (Blome, -p. 92). - - -NUMBLES. M. E. _nombles_, _noumbles_; O. F. _nombles_. The parts of a -deer between the thighs, that is to say, the liver and kidneys and -entrails. Part, and sometimes the whole of the numbles were considered -the right of the huntsman; sometimes the huntsman only got the -kidneys, and the rest was put aside with the tit-bits reserved for the -King or chief personage (Turb., pp. 128-129). Numbles by loss of the -initial letter became umbles (Harrison, vol. i. p. 309), and was -sometimes written humbles, whence came "humble pie," now only -associated with the word humble. Humble pie was a pie made of the -umbles or numbles of the deer, and formerly at hunting feasts was set -before the huntsman and his followers. - - -OTTER. The Duke of York does not tell us anything of the chase of the -Otter, but merely refers one at the end of the chapter on "The Nature -of the Otter" to Milbourne, the King's Otter-hunter, for more -information and says, "as of all other vermin I speak not" (p. 73). -The Otter was evidently beneath his notice, as being neither regarded -as a beast of venery nor of the chase (Twety and Gyfford, Brit. Mus. -MS. Vesp. B. XII.). But the very fact that the King had an -Otter-hunter shows that it was a beast not altogether despised, -although probably hunted more for the value of its skin and for the -protection of the fish than for the sport. - -The Milbourne referred to by the Duke of York can scarcely be any -other than the William Melbourne we find mentioned in Henry IV.'s -reign as "Valet of our Otter-hounds" (Privy Seal, 674/6456, Feb. 18, -1410). - - -PARFET, _the perfect_. Twici says: _Une autre chasce il y ad qe homme -appele le parfet. Dunkes covient il qe vous corneez en autre -maneree.... E isse chescun homme qest en tour vous, que siet de -venerie puet conustre en quel point vous estes en vostre dedut par -vostre corneer_ (line 111). - -From comparing the various places where the word _parfait_ is employed -in connection with hunting, it may be concluded that to hunt the -"_Parfet_" was when the hounds were on the line of the right stag, to -sound the "_Parfet_" was to blow the notes that indicated the hounds -were hunting the right line. Dryden in his notes to Twici suggests -that the chase of the _parfet_ was "in opposition to the chase of the -_Forloyng_," that is, when the pack run well together "jostling in -close array" (Twici, p. 43). But Perfect in the O. F. works seems to -us to invariably be used, as already said, to indicate that the hounds -have not taken the change, but are staunch to the right scent. Jacques -de Brézé says the stag he is hunting joins two great stags, but -although some of the hounds ran silent for awhile, they still -continued staunch to their line, and here he uses the word "_parfait_" -(Sen. de Nor., p. 13). - -Modus also uses it in this sense: _Les chiens qui viennent chaçant -après le parfait_ (fol. xix. v). And what is most conclusive is the -sense given to it in our text: "Should blow to him again the parfyt so -that he were in his rightes and ellys nought," _i.e._ the parfyt -should only be blown if the hound was on the right line (p. 174). - - -PARFYTIERES, the name given in the "Master of Game" to the last relay -of hounds uncoupled during the chase of the stag. First came the -"_vaunt chase_," and then the "_midel_," and then the "_parfytieres_." -They may have been so called from being the last hounds to be -uncoupled, being those that completed or perfected the pack--_i.e._ -perfecters, or this relay may have derived its name from being -composed of some of the staunchest hounds from the kennel, those not -likely to follow any but the right line or the _parfyt_. It was -customary in the old days to keep some of the slower and staunchest -hounds in the last relay, and to cast them only when a stag nearing -its end rused and foiled, and sought by every means to shake off his -persecutors (_see_ Appendix: Relays). G. de F. gives the names of the -three relays simply as _La première bataille_, _la seconde_, and _la -tierce_ (p. 175). - - -POMELED; spotted, from O. F. _pomelé_, spotted like an apple. The -young of the roedeer are born with a reddish brown coat with white -spots, which the "Master of Game" calls _pomeled_. This term was also -frequently used in Ang.-N., O. F., and in the dog-Latin of our ancient -records to describe a flea-bitten or dappled horse. "_His hakenei that -was all pomeli gris_" (Strat.). "_Pommeli liardus, gris pommele, Uno -equo liardo pomele_" (Obs. Ward. Acc. 28, Ed. I.). G. de F. does not -use this word in describing the young of the roedeer, but says they -are born "_eschaquettes_" (p. 40). - - -RACHES; _ratches_ or _racches_, a dog that hunts by scent. A.-S. -_raecc_, a hound, and O. F. and Ang.-N. _brache_, _brachet_, _bracon_, -_braquet_; Ger. _bracken_. Ang.-Lat., _brachetus_, _bracketus_. - -Raches were scenting hounds hunting in a pack, later called "running -hounds," and then simply hounds. Although raches or brachets are -frequently mentioned in the O. F. and Ang.-N. metrical romances, and -in various early documents, we have never found any description of -them, but can only gather what they were from the uses they were put -to. We find that the bracco was used by the early German tribes to -track criminals, therefore they were scenting hounds. There is plenty -of evidence that they were used for stag, wild boar, and buck hunting -during the Middle Ages. They were coupled together and led by a -_berner_ or _bracennier_ or _braconnier. Braconnier_ now means -poacher, but this is only the later meaning; originally braconnier was -the leader of the bracos, or huntsman (Daurel, p. 337; Bangert, p. -173; Dol. 9188). - - -We gather that these brachets of the early Middle Ages were small -hounds, sometimes entirely white, but generally white with black -markings. Sometimes they were mottled (_bracet mautré_). One -description of a _braces corant_ says this hound was as white as a -nut, with black ears, a black mark on the right flank, and flecked -with black (Blancadin, 1271; Perc. 17,555, 22,585; Tristan M., 1475, -2261; Tyolet, 332). - -In the early days in England we find that braches were used to hunt up -such smaller game as was not unharboured or dislodged by the limer. -Twici says: "_Sire, touz ceaus qe sunt enchaces, sunt meuz de lymer. E -tous ceaus enquillez sunt trovez de brachez_" (_see_ Appendix: -Acquillez), _i.e._ All beasts that are enchased are moved by a limer, -and all those that are hunted up are found by braches (Twici, pp. 2, -12). Raches are mentioned in the "Boke of St. Albans" among the -"_Dyvers manere of houndes_," and the apprentice to venery is told he -should speak of "A mute of houndes, a kenell of rachys." He is also -informed that the hart, the buck, and the boar should be started by a -limer, and that all "other bestes that huntyd shall be sought for and -found by Ratches so free." John Hardyng in his Chronicle, speaking of -an inroad into Scotland by Edward IV., in whose reign he was yet -living, said, "And take Kennetes and Ratches with you and seeke oute -all the forest with houndes and hornes as Kynge Edwarde with the long -shanks dide." In the "Squyer of Low degree" we read that the huntsman -came with his bugles "and seven score raches at his rechase." - - -RESEEYUOUR; the word the most approaching this to be found in any -dictionary is under the head of receiver, M. E. _receyvour_, one who, -or that which receives. The _reseeyuours_ were most likely those -greyhounds who received the game, _i.e._ pulled it down after it had -been chased. We see in our text that _teasers_ and _reseeyuours_ are -mentioned together (p. 198). The former were light, swift greyhounds; -these were probably slipped first; and the latter (Shirley MS. spells -_resteynours_) were the heavy greyhounds slipped last, and capable of -pulling down a big stag. De Noirmont tells us: _Ces derniers étaient -surnommés receveours ou receveurs_ (ii. p. 426, and G. de F., p. 177). - - -RELAYS. In the early days of venery the whole pack was not allowed to -hunt at the commencement of the chase. After the stag had been started -from his lair by a limer, some hounds were uncoupled and laid on, the -rest being divided off into relays, which were posted in charge of one -or more _berners_ along the probable line of the stag, and were -uncoupled when the hunted stag and the hounds already chasing him had -passed. There were usually three relays, and two to four couples the -usual number in each relay, though the number of couples depended, of -course, on the size of the hunting establishment and the number of -hounds in the kennel. G. de F. calls these relays simply, première, -seconde, and tierce. The "Master of Game" calls the first lot of -hounds uncoupled the "finders" (p. 165), though this seems rather a -misnomer, as the harbourer with his limer (_see_ Limer) found and -started the deer. The _vauntchase_ for the first relay, and the -_midel_ speak for themselves, but we have little clue to the origin of -_parfitieres_ for the third relay. Were they so called because they -perfected or completed the chase, or because they were some of the -staunchest hounds who could be depended upon to follow the _parfit, -i.e._ the right line of the stag or animal hunted? (_see_ Appendix: -Parfet). Old authorities seem to have differed in opinion as to -whether the staunchest and slowest hounds should have been put in the -first cry or in the last (Roy Modus, fol. xvi.; G. de F., p. 178; -Lav., Chasse à Courre, pp. 297-8). - -In the "Boke of St. Albans" we read of the _vauntlay_, _relay_, and -_allay_. The first was the name given to hounds if they were uncoupled -and thrown off between the pack and the beast pursued, the relay were -the hounds uncoupled after the hounds already hunting had passed by; -the _allay_ is held: - - "Till all the houndes that be behynd be cum therto - Than let thyn houndes all to geder goo - That is called an _allay_." - -Instructions concerning when relays should be given always warn the -_berner_ not to let slip the couples till some of the surest hounds -have passed on the scent, and till he be sure that the stag they are -hunting is the right one and not a substitute, _i.e._ one frightened -and put up by the hunted stag. The "Master of Game" is careful also to -say: "Take care that thou _vauntlay_ not" (p. 169). - -The discontinuing of relays seemed to have been begun first in -Normandy and probably about the same time in England. - -In France the three relays of greyhounds which were used were called -_Levriers d'estric--i.e._ those which were first let slip; _levriers -de flanc_, those that attacked from the side; and _levriers de tête_, -those that bar the passage in front of the game or head it, terms that -correspond with our vauntlay, allay, and relay. In the "Master of -Game's" chapter on the wolf these relays of greyhounds are indicated -(p. 59). - - -RIOT. The "Master of Game's" statement on p. 74 that no other wild -beast in England is called ryott save the coney only has called forth -many suggestions as to the origin of this name being applied to the -rabbit, and the connection between riot, a noise or brawl, and the -rabbit. The word riot is represented in M. E. and O. F. by _riote_, in -Prov. _riota_, Ital. _riotta_, and in all these languages it had the -same signification, _i.e._ a brawl, a dispute, an uproar, a quarrel -(Skeat). - -Diez conjectures the F. _riote_ to stand for _rivote_, and refers to -O. H. G. _riben_, G. _reiben_, to grate, to rub (orig. perhaps to -rive, to rend). From German, _sich an einem reiben_, to mock, to -attack, to provoke one; lit. to rub oneself against one. - -Rabbit, which is in O. Dutch robbe, has probably the same origin from -_reiben_. - -The etymology and connection, if any, between the two words rabbit and -riot is difficult to determine. It is very probable that the rabbit -was called _riot_ from producing a brawling when the hounds came -across one. The term "running _riot_" may well be derived from a -hunting phrase. - - -ROE. The error regarding the October rut into which G. de F. and the -Duke of York fell was one to which the naturalists of much later times -subscribed, for it was left to Dr. Ziegler and to Dr. Bischoff, the -Professor of Physiology at Heidelberg, to demonstrate in 1843 the true -history of the gestation of the roe, which for more than a century had -been a hotly disputed problem. On that occasion it was shown with -scientific positiveness that the true rut of the roe takes place about -the end of July or first week in August, and that the ovum does not -reach the uterus for several months, so that the first development of -the embryo does not commence before the middle of December. - - -RUNNING HOUNDS AND RACHES (F. _chiens courants_). Under this heading -we include all such dogs as hunted by scent in packs, whatever the -game they pursued might be. They appear in the early records of our -kings as _Canes de Mota_, _Canes currentes_, and as _Sousos_ (scenting -hounds) (Close Rolls 7 John; Mag. Rot. 4, John Rot. 10; 4 Henry III.), -and are mentioned specifically as _cervericiis_, _deimericiis_, as -_Heyrectorum_ (harriers) or _canes heirettes_, and foxhounds as -_gupillerettis_ or _wulpericiis_ (Close Rolls, 15 John). - -The Anglo-Saxon word _Hundas_, hound, was a general name for any dog; -the dog for the chase in Anglo-Saxon times being distinguished by the -prefix _Ren_, making _ren hund_. - -Gradually the word dog superseded the word hound, and the latter was -only retained to designate a "scenting" dog. Dr. Caius, writing to Dr. -Gesner, remarks in his book: "Thus much also understand, that as in -your language _Hunde_ is the common word, so in our naturall tounge -dogge is the universall, but _Hunde_ is perticular and a speciall, for -it signifieth such a dogge onely as serveth to hunt" (Caius, p. 40). -(_See_ Appendix: Raches.) Running hounds was a very literal -translation of the French _chiens courants_, and as the descriptive -chapter given in our text is as literal a rendering from G. de F. -there is no information that helps us to piece together the ancestry -of the modern English hound. We do not know what breed were in the -royal kennels in the reign of Henry IV., but probably some descendants -of those brought to this country by the Normans, about the origin of -which breed nothing seems known. - -_Keep of Hounds._ The usual cost of the keep of a hound at the time of -our MS. was a halfpenny a day, of a greyhound three farthings, and of -a limer or bloodhound one penny a day. - -However for the royal harthounds an allowance of three farthings a day -was made for each hound (Q. R. Acc. 1407), and we also find -occasionally that only a halfpenny a day was made for the keep of a -greyhound. In Edward I.'s reign a halfpenny a day was the allowance -made for fox- and otter-hounds (14, 15, 31, 32, 34, Edward I. Ward. -Acc.), and sometimes three farthings and sometimes a halfpenny a day -for a greyhound. The Master of Buckhounds was allowed a halfpenny a -day each for his hounds and greyhounds. - -In the reign of Richard III. the Master of Harthounds was allowed 3s. -3d. a day "for the mete of forty dogs and twelve greyhounds and -threepence a day for three limers" (Rolls of Parl., vol. v. p. 16). - -The "Boke of Curtasye" (fourteenth century, Percy Society, iv. p. -26), gives us information which quite agrees with the payments entered -in the Wardrobe and other accounts of the King's hunting -establishment. And under the head of _De Pistore_ we find the baker is -told to make loaves for the hounds: - - "Manchet and chet to make brom bred hard - ffor chaundeler and grehoundes and huntes reward." - -Chet, a word not in use since the seventeenth century, meant wheaten -bread of the second quality, made of flour more coarsely sifted than -that used for manchet, which was the finest quality. - -Brom bread was oaten bread, and probably was very much the same as a -modern dog biscuit. - -One of the ancient feudal rights was that of obtaining bran from the -vassals for the hounds' bread, known as the right of brennage, from -bren, bran. - -Although bread was the staple food given to hounds, yet they were also -provided with meat. At the end of a day's hunting they received a -portion of the game killed (_see_ Curée), and if this was not -sufficient or it was not the hunting season game was expressly killed -for them. In a decree from King John to William Pratell and the -Bailiffs of Falke de Breaut of the Isle of Ely, the latter are -commanded to find bread and paste for the hounds as they may require, -"and to let them hunt sometimes in the Bishops chase for the flesh -upon which they are fed" (Close Roll, 17 John). In an extract from the -Wardrobe Accounts of 6 Edward I. we find a payment was made of 40s. by -the King to one Bernard King for his quarry for two years past on -which the King's dogs had been fed (MS. Phillipps, 8676). - -We find also that "Pantryes, Chippinges and broken bread" were given -to the hounds, _Chippings_ being frequently mentioned in the royal -accounts as well as meat for the hounds (Liber Niger Domus Ed. IV.; -Collection of Ordinances of the Royal Households; Jesse, ii. 125; -Privy Purse Expenses Henry VIII. 1529-1532). - -The cost of the keep of some of the King's hounds were paid for out of -the exchequer, others were paid from the revenues and outgoings of -various counties, and an immense number were kept by subjects who held -land from the crown _by serjeantry_ or _in capite_ of keeping a stated -number of running hounds, greyhounds, and brachets, &c., for the -King's use (Blount's Ancient Tenures, Plac. Chron. 12, 13 Ed. I.; -Issue Roll 25 Henry VI.; Domesday, tom. i. fol. 57 v). - -We see by the early records of our kings that a pack of hounds did not -always remain stationary and hunt within easy reach of their kennels, -but were sent from one part of the kingdom to another to hunt where -game was most plentiful or where there was most vermin to be -destroyed. As early as Edward I.'s reign we find conveyances were -sometimes provided for hounds when they went on long journeys. Thomas -de Candore or Candovere and Robert le Sanser (also called Salsar), -huntsmen of the stag and buckhounds (Close Rolls 49 Henry III.; 6, 8 -Ed. I.), were paid for a horse-litter for fifty-nine days for the use -of their sixty-six hounds and five limers (Ward. Acc. 14, 15 Ed. I.). -And as late as Henry VIII.'s time the hounds seemed to travel about -considerable distances, as in the Privy Purse expenses of that King -the cart covered with canvas for the use of his hounds is a frequently -recurring item. - - -SCANTILON, O. F. _eschantillon_, Mid. Eng. _Scantilon_, Mod. Eng. -scantling, mason's rule, a measure; the huntsman is continually told -to take a _scantilon_, that is, a measure, of the slot or footprint of -the deer, so as to be able to show it at the meet, that with this -measure and the examination of the droppings which the huntsman was -also to bring with him the Master of the Game could judge if the man -had harboured a warrantable deer (_see_ Appendix: Slot and Trace). - -SEASONS OF HUNTING. In mediæval times the consideration for the -larder played a far more important part in fixing the seasons for -hunting wild beasts than it did in later times, the object being to -kill the game when in the primest condition. Beginning with the-- - -_Red deer stag_: according to Dryden's Twici, p. 24 (source not -given), the season began at the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June -24), and _ended_ Holyrood Day (September 14). Our text of the "Master -of Game" nowhere expressly states when the stag-hunting begins or -terminates, but as he speaks of how to judge a hart from its fumes in -the month of April and May (p. 30), and further says that harts run -best from the "entry of May into St. John's tide" (p. 35), we might -infer that they were hunted from May on. He also says that the season -for hind-hunting begins when the season of the hart ends and lasteth -till Lent. But as this part of the book was a mere translation from G. -de F. it is no certain guide to the hunting seasons in England. The -Stag-hunting season in France, the _cervaison_, as it was called, -began at the _Sainte Croix de Mai_ (May 3rd) and lasted to _la Sainte -Croix de Septembre_ (Holyrood Day, Sept. 14), the old French saying -being: "_Mi Mai, mi teste, mi Juin, mi graisse; à la Magdeleine -venaison pleine_" (July 22) (Menagier de Paris, ii.). And although the -stag was probably chiefly hunted in England between Midsummer and the -middle of September, when they are in the best condition, and it was -considered the best time to kill them, they were probably hunted from -May on in the early days in England as they were in France. Had this -not been customary we imagine the Duke of York would have inserted one -of his little interpolations in the text he was translating, and -stated that although the season began in May _beyond the sea_, it only -began later in England. - -In Twety and Gyfford we read that the "tyme of grece, begynnyth alle -way atte the fest of the Nativyte of Saynt Johan baptist." Later on, -according to Dryden, the season of the stag began two weeks after -Midsummer (July 8). - -_Red deer hind_, Holyrood Day (Sept. 14) to Candlemas (Feb. 2) (Twici, -p. 24; Man., p. 181). According to others the hind and the doe season -ends on Twelfth-day or Epiphany (Jan. 6). - -_Fallow deer buck._ According to the Forest Laws the season began at -the Nativity of St. John (June 24) and ended on Holyrood Day (Sept. -14). Dryden adds a second date, _i.e._ two weeks after Midsummer, to -the former, but does not quote the source. - -_Fallow doe_ was hunted from Holyrood Day (Sept. 14) to Candlemas -(Feb. 2). - -_Roe deer buck_ was hunted from Easter to Michaelmas (Sept. 29). - -_Roe doe_, Michaelmas to Candlemas. - -_Hare._ According to the Forest Laws (Man., 176) the season commenced -Michaelmas (Sept. 29) and ended at Midsummer (June 24); Dryden in his -notes in Twici states that it commenced at Michaelmas and ended at -Candlemas (Feb. 2), while the "Boke of St. Albans" gives the same date -as the first-named in Manwood. According to the "Master of Game" the -hare seems to have enjoyed no close season, as G. de F.'s assertion -that the hunting of the hare "lasteth all the year" is also translated -without comment (p. 14): _Et le peut chassier toute l'année, en -quelque temps que ce soit quar touzjours sa sayson dure_ (G de F., p. -204). - -In Twety and Gyfford we also find that "The hare is alway in season to -be chasyd." - -In the sixteenth century in France the hare-hunting season was from -the middle of September till the middle of April (Du Fouilloux, p. 51; -De Noir., ii. p. 476). In England the same season seems to have been -observed (Blome, p. 91). - -_Wild boar._ According to the Forest Laws (Manwood and Twici), the -boar was hunted from Christmas Day to Candlemas (Feb. 2), but we have -evidence that boar-hunting usually began earlier. The boar was in his -prime condition when acorns, beechmast, and chestnuts were plentiful, -and was considered in season from Michaelmas to St. Martin's Day (Roy -Modus, xxxi.), and by some even from Holyrood Day (Bornam, p. 100; -Part, de Blois, 525). - -The huntsmen of King John of England were sent to hunt in the forest -of Cnappe in order to take two or three boars a day in November. King -John's letter giving instructions on this point to one Rowland Bloet -is dated 8th November 1215 (Jesse, ii. 32). - -_Wolf._ According to the Forest Laws, in the book already quoted, the -season during which the wolf was hunted began at Christmas and ended -at the Annunciation (March 25), but considering the destruction -wrought by this beast it is far more likely that it was hunted -throughout the year. - -_Fox._ According to the Forest Laws the season opened on Christmas Day -and ended on March 25, but nevertheless the fox was hunted early in -the autumn, for we have it on Twety and Gyfford's authority that "the -sesoun of the fox begynneth at the natyvite of owre Lady, and durryth -til the Annunciacion" (Sept. 8 to March 25). - -The "Boke of St. Albans" gives the season of the fox and wolf from the -Nativity to the Annunciation of Our Lady and that of the boar from the -Nativity to the Purification of Our Lady. Manwood and other accepted -authorities quote the above as alluding to the Nativity of Christ, -whereas the Nativity of Our Lady, Sept. 8, was intended, thereby -creating some confusion. - -According to the Wardrobe Accounts of Edward I. the foxhunting season -began on 1st September (Ward. Acc. Ed. I. 1299-1300). - -No doubt one of the reasons why the fox was not hunted earlier in the -year was on account of the fur, which was of course of less use or -value if obtained in summer. - -_Otter._ The Forest Laws give the season as from Shrove Tide (Feb. 22) -to Midsummer (June 24), but we find that in King John's reign the -otter was hunted in July (Close Rolls 14 John I.). - -_Martin_, _badger_, _and rabbit_ were hunted at all seasons of the -year. - -SNARES. No work dealing with the chase of wild animals in mediæval -times would be complete were it to omit all reference to snares, -traps, gins, pitfalls, and other devices to take game other than by -hunting. The "Master of Game" mentions the subject but briefly, -saying, "Truly I trow no good hunter would slay them so for no good," -but "Gaston Ph[oe]bus" contains seventeen short chapters in which the -author as well as the miniaturist describe the various contrivances -then in use, although the same disdain of these unsportsmanlike -methods is expressed by G. de F. that marks the Duke of York's pages. -In the first edition of the present work will be found descriptions of -the principal snares used in the Middle Ages. - - -SPANIEL. It is difficult to say at what date these dogs were first -introduced into our country; we only know that by the second half of -the sixteenth century spaniels were a common dog in England. In Dr. -Caius's time the breed was "in full being." He mentions land spaniels, -setters, and water spaniels, besides the small spaniels which were -kept as pet and lap dogs. That the breed was not then a recent -importation we may infer from the fact that, when speaking of the -water spaniel and giving the derivation of the name, Dr. Caius says: -"Not that England wanted suche kinde of dogges (for they are naturally -bred and ingendered in this country). But because they beare the -general and common name of these dogs synce the time when they were -first brought over out of Spaine." - -The chapter in the "Master of Game" on this dog, being translated -from G. de F., unfortunately throws no light on the history of the -spaniel in England, although we imagine that, had there been no such -hounds in our island at the time, the Duke would have made some such -remark as he has in other parts of his book of their being a "manner -of" hound as "men have beyond the sea, but not as we have here in -England." - -In his time the spaniel had enjoyed popularity in France for some two -centuries, and there was such continual communication between France -and England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that it would -have been indeed strange if this most useful dog for the then -favourite and universal sport of hawking had not been brought to -England long before his time. We may conclude that the "gentle hounds -for the hawk" of which he speaks in his Prologue were not spaniels. - - -SPAY. The usual meaning of this word (castrating females) given in all -dictionaries is clearly inapplicable on this occasion (p. 174), where -it undoubtedly means killing a stag with a sword, probably derived -from the Italian _spada_. When the velvet was once off the antlers the -stag at bay was usually despatched with the bow, for it was then -dangerous to approach him close enough to do so with the sword. When -achieved by bold hunters, as it occasionally was, it was accounted a -feat of skill and courage. - - -STABLES. O. F. _establie_, a garrison, a station. Huntsmen and -kennelmen with hounds in leash, whose duty it was to take up a post or -stand assigned to them during the chase, were called stables. We have -_Stabilitiones venationis_ that are mentioned in Domesday (i. fol. 56b -and fol. 252). In Ellis's introduction to Domesday he says: -"_Stabilitio_ meant stalling the deer. To drive the Deer and other -Game from all quarters to the centre of a gradually contracted circle -where they were compelled to stand, was _stabilitio_." Malmesbury, -Scriptores, post Bedam, edit. 1596, p. 44, speaking of the mildness of -Edward the Confessor's temper, says, "_Dum quadam vice venatum isset, -et agrestis quidam Stabulata illa, quibus in casses cervi urgentur, -confudisset, ille sua nobili percitus ira, per Deum, inquit, et matrem -ejus tantundem tibi nocebo, si potero_" (Ellis, i. 112). - -We see, however, at a later date from Twici and the "Master of Game" -that the watchers or stables they allude to were stationary--and did -not drive the game as described in above. - -These stations of huntsmen and hounds were placed at intervals round -the quarter of the forest to be driven or hunted in with hounds to -move the game, so that the hounds could be slipped at any game -escaping; sometimes they were to make a noise, and thus blench or head -the game back. In French such a chase was called a _Chasse à tître_ -(Lav. xxviii.), the word _tître_ meaning net or tape, but in this case -used figuratively. Our "Master of Game" evidently placed these -stations to keep the game within the boundaries so as to force it to -pass the stand of the King. Twici describes these stations of -huntsmen, using the word _establie_. "The bounds are those which are -set up of archers, and of greyhounds (_lefrers et de establie_) and -watchers, and on that account I have blown one moot and recheated on -the hounds. You hunter, do you wish to follow the chase? Yes, if that -beast should be one that is hunted up (_enquillee_), or chased I will -follow it. If so it should happen that the hounds should be gone out -of bounds then I wish to blow a moot and stroke after my hounds to -have them back" (Twici, p. 6). - -It was the duty of certain tenants to attend the King's hunts and act -as part of the stable. In Hereford one person went from each house to -the stand or station in the wood at the time of the survey (Gen. -Introduction Domesday, Ellis, i. 195). From Shrewsbury the principal -burgesses who had horses attended the King when he went hunting, and -the sheriff sent thirty-six men on foot to the deer-stand while the -King remained there. - -_Stable-stand_ was the place where these _stables_ were posted or -"set," and the word was also used to denote the place where archers -were posted to shoot at driven game. Such stands were raised platforms -in some drive or on some boundary of the forest, sometimes erected -between the branches of a tree, so that the sportsman could be well -hidden. A good woodcut of what was probably intended to represent a -"stand" is in the first edition of Turbervile's "Arte of Venerie," -representing Queen Elizabeth receiving her huntsman's report. - -There is no mention made of raised stands in our text, but with or -without such erections the position taken up by the shooters to await -the game was called his _standing_ or _tryste_, and a bower of -branches was made, to shelter the occupant from sun and rain, as well -as to hide him from the game. Such arbours were called _Berceau_ or -_Berceil_ in Old French, from the word _berser_, to shoot with a bow -and arrow; they were also called _ramiers_ and _folies_, from rames or -branches, and folia, leaves, with which they were made or disguised -(Noir., iii. p. 354). - -Manwood tells us that _Stable-stand_ was one of four "manners in which -if a man were found, in the forest, he could be arrested as a poacher -or trespasser," and says: "Stable-stand is where one is found at his -standing ready to shoot at any Deer, or standing close by a tree with -Greyhounds in his leash ready to let slip" (Man., p. 193). - - -STANKES, or layes; tanks or pools, large meers. Gaston says: _Estancs -et autres mares ou marrhés_ (G. de F., p. 21). Stank house was a -moated house. A ditch or moat filled with water was called a tank. - - -TACHE, or tecche, Mid. Eng. for a habit, especially a bad habit, vice, -freak, caprice, behaviour, from the O. F. _tache_, a spot, a stain, or -blemish; also a disgrace, a blot on a man's good name. In the older -use it was applied both to good as well as bad qualities, as in our -text. - - -TAW, to makes hides into leather; tawer, the maker of white leather. -In the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, in the days of the -strict guilds, a sharp line was drawn between tawers and tanners, and -a tawer was not allowed to tan nor a tanner to taw (Wylie, vol. iii. -p. 195). No tawers were allowed to live in the Forest according to the -ancient forest laws. - -"If any white Tawer live in a Forest, he shall be removed and pay a -Fine, for they are the common dressers of skins of stolen deer" (Itin. -Lanc. fol. 7, quoted by Manwood, p. 161). - - -TEAZER, or _teaser_. "A kind of mongrel greyhound whose business is to -drive away the deer before the Greyhounds are slipt," is the -definition given by Blome (p. 96). These dogs were used to hunt up the -game also when the deer was to be shot with the bow. The sportsmen -would be standing at their trysts or stable-stand in some alley or -glade of the wood, and the hounds be put into the covert or park "_to -tease them forth_." - - -TRACE, slot, or footprint of deer. In O. F. and Ang.-N. literature the -word trace seems to have been used indifferently for the track of the -stag, wild boar, or any game (Borman, notes 147, 236, 237). G. de F. -expressly says that the footprint of the deer should not be called -_trace_ but _voyes_ or _piés_ (view or foot), yet the "Master of Game" -in his rendering says: "Of the hart ye shall say 'trace,'" so -evidently that was the proper sporting term in England at the time. -When slot entirely superseded the word trace amongst sportsmen it is -difficult to determine. Turbervile uses slot, and in the beginning of -the seventeenth century it seems the general term for the footprint of -deer (Man., p. 180; Stuart Glossary, vol. ii.; Blome, p. 76). Slot, it -may be contended, is as old a word as trace, but in Mid. Eng. it was -employed as a general term for a foot-track or marking of any animal. -The trace or slot was one of the signs of a stag, that is the mark by -which an experienced huntsman could recognise the age, size, and sex -of the deer. - -The old stag leaves a blunter print with a wider heel than a hind, but -it is difficult to distinguish the slot of a hind from that of a young -stag. Although the latter has invariably a bigger heel and makes -deeper marks with his dewclaws, yet his toes are narrow and pointed, -their edges are sharp, and the distance between his steps is somewhat -unequal, all of which may lead his slotting to be mistaken for the -tracks of a hind. "He has found what he wanted," says Dr. Collyns, -when speaking of the harbourer, "the rounded track, the blunted toe -point, the widespread mark, the fresh slot, in short, of a stag" -("Chase of the Red Deer"). - -The huntsman of old used to consider that any slot into which four -fingers could be placed with ease belonged to a warrantable stag (some -declared a stag of ten). That would mean that the slot would be about -three inches wide, if not more. I believe two and a half inches is -considered a fair measurement for mark of the heel by Devonshire -stag-hunters, who alone in England concern themselves with the -differences in the slot, as they only chase the wild deer. No such -woodcraft is necessary for the chase of the carted deer, and as long -as the master and huntsman can distinguish the footprint of a deer -from that of any other animal, that is all that is required of them in -this matter. The stepping or gait of a stag is also a sign that was -taken into consideration. The old stag walks more equally, and -generally places the point of his hind feet in the heel of his fore -feet. The gait of a hind is more uncertain; it is said she misprints, -that is sometimes the hind foot will be placed beside the fore foot, -sometimes inside or in front of it. She is not even so regular in her -gait as a young stag, unless she is with fawn, when she will place -her hind feet constantly outside her fore feet. A hind walks with -wide-spreading claws, so does a young stag with his fore feet, but -those of his hind feet will be closed. The larger the print of the -fore feet are in comparison to the hind feet the older the stag. - -The underneath edge of the claws round the hollow of the sole was -called the _esponde_ (sponde, edge or border). In older stags they -were blunter and more worn, and in hinds and younger deer sharper, -unless indeed the stag inhabited a damp and mossy country, where the -_esponde_ would not be so much worn down as if he lived on a rocky or -stony ground. (G. de F., 155, 129-145; Lav., p. 246; Stuart, p. 58; -Fortescue, p. 133). And thus did the woodmen of old study the book of -nature, which told them all they wished to know, and found for them -better illustrations than any art could give. - - -TRYST, in the language of sport, was the place or stand where the -hunter took up his position to await the game he wished to shoot. The -game might be driven to him by hounds, or he might so place himself as -to shoot as the game went to and from their lair to their pasturing -(_see_ Appendix: Stables and Stable-stand). In French it was called -shooting _à l'affut_, from _ad fustem_, near the wood, because the -shooter leant his back to, or hid behind a tree, so that the game -should not see him. - -In our MS. we are told that Alaunts are good for hunting the wild boar -whether it be with greyhounds, at the "tryst," or with running hounds -at bay within the covert. The tryst here would be the place where a -man would be stationed to slip the dogs at the wild boar as soon as he -broke covert, or after the huntsman had wounded the boar with a shot -from his long or cross-bow (p. 118). - - -VELTRES, _velteres_, _veltrai_. A dog used for the chase, a hound. -Probably derived from the Gaelic words _ver_, large or long, and -_traith_, a step or course, _vertragus_ being the name by which -according to Arian, the Gauls designated a swift hound (Blanc, 52). - - -WANLACE. Winding in the chase (Halliwell). In the sentence in which -this word is used in the chapter on the Mastiff (p. 122) we are told -that some of these dogs "fallen to be berslettis and also to bring -well and fast a wanlace about." Which probably means that some of -these dogs become shooting dogs, and could hunt up the game to the -shooter well and fast by ranging or circling. _Wanlasour_ is an -obsolete name for one who drives game (Strat.). - -In Brit. Mus. MS. Lansdowne 285 there is an interesting reference to -setting the forest "with archers or with Greyhounds or with -Wanlassours." - - -WILD BOAR. These animals were denizens of the British forests from the -most remote ages, and probably were still numerous there at the time -our MS. was penned. For although the Duke of York has only translated -one of the eleven chapters relating to the natural history, chase, or -capture by traps of the wild boar, and does not give us any original -remarks upon the hunting of them, as he has of the stag and the hare, -still it was most likely because he considered these two the royal -sport _par excellence_, and not because there were none to hunt in -England in his day. If the latter had been the case, he would in all -probability have omitted even the chapter he does give us, as he has -done with those written by Gaston de Foix on the deer, the reindeer, -and the ibex and chamois (p. 160). - -In some doggerel verses which are prefixed to "Le venery de Twety and -Gyfford" (in Vesp. B. XII.), the wild boar is classed as a beast of -venery. In the a "Boke of St. Albans" the wild boar is also mentioned -as a beast of venery. - -When Fitzstephen wrote his description of London in 1174, he says -wild boars as well as other animals frequented the forests surrounding -London, and it would certainly be a long time after this before these -animals could have been extirpated from the wild forests in more -remote parts of the country. - -_Sounder_ is the technical term for a herd of wild swine. "How many -herdes be there of bestes of venery? Sire of hertis, or bisses, of -bukkes and of doos. A soundre of wylde swyne. A bevy of Roos" (Twety -and Gyfford). In the French Twici we have also _Soundre dez porcs_. - -_Farrow_ (Sub.) was a term for a young pig, in Mid. Eng. _farh_, -_far_, Old Eng. _fearh_ (Strat.). Farrow (verb) was the term used when -sows gave birth to young. - -G. de F. says that wild boars can wind acorns as far as a bear can (p. -58), and turning to his chapter on bears, we find that he says that -bears will wind a feeding of acorns six leagues off! - -_Routing_ or rooting. A wild boar is said to root when he is feeding -on ferns or roots (Turb., pp. 153, 154). - -_Argus_, as our MS. calls the dew-claws of the boar, were in the later -language of venery called the _gards_ (Blome, p. 102). Twety and -Gyfford named the dew-claws of the stag _os_ and of the boar _ergos_. -"How many bestis bere _os_, and how many _ergos?_ The hert berith _os_ -above, the boor and the buk berith _ergos_." - -_Grease_, as the fat of the boar or sow was called, was supposed to -bear medicinal qualities. "And fayre put the grece whan it is take -away, In the bledder of the boore my chylde I yow pray, For it is a -medecine: for mony maner pyne" ("Boke of St. Albans"). - - -WILD CAT (_Felis Catus_), which at one time was extremely common in -England, was included among the beasts of the chase. It is frequently -mentioned in royal grants giving liberty to enclose forest-land and -licence to hunt therein. - -It was probably more for its skin than for diversion that the wild cat -was hunted, as its fur was much used for trimming dresses at one time. - -The wild cat is believed to be now extinct, not only in England and -Wales, but in a great part of the South of Scotland. A writer in the -new edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_ (art. "Cat") expresses -the opinion that the wild cat still exists in Wales and in the North -of England, but gives no proof of its recent occurrence there. - -Harvie-Brown in his "Vertebrate Fauna of Argyll" (1892) defines the -limit of the range of the wild cat by a line drawn from Oban to -Inverness; northward and westward of this line, he states, the animal -still existed. But there is no doubt that of late years the cessation -of vermin trapping in many parts of Scotland, which has caused a -marked increase in the golden eagle, has had the same effect upon the -wild cat. - -The natural history chapter of the wild cat is taken by the Duke of -York from G. de F.; did we not know this, some confusion might have -arisen through the fact being mentioned that there are several kinds -of wild cat, whereas only one was known to the British Isles. G. de F. -says there were wild cats as large as leopards which went by the name -of _loups-serviers_ or _cat wolves_, both of which names he declares -to be misnomers. He evidently refers to the _Felis Lynx_ or _Lynx -vulgaris_, which he properly classes as a "manner of wild cat," -although some of the ancient writers have classed them as wolves -(Pliny, Lib. viii. cap. 34). - - -WOLF. For a long time it was a popular delusion that wolves had been -entirely exterminated in England and Wales in the reign of the Saxon -King Edgar (956-957), but Mr. J. E. Harting has by his researches -proved beyond doubt that they existed some centuries later, and did -not entirely disappear until the reign of Henry VII. (1485-1509). - - -WORMING A DOG. This was supposed to be a preventive to the power of a -mad dog's bite. It was a superstition promulgated in very early times, -and seems to have been believed in until comparatively recent times. -We find it repeated in one book of venery after another, French, -English, and German: in England by our author, Turbervile, Markham, -and others. - -Pliny suggests this operation, and he quotes Columna as to the -efficacy of cutting off a dog's tail when he is very young (Pliny, -chap. xli.). - -G. de F. and the Duke of York are careful to say that they only give -the remedy for what it is worth, the latter saying: "Thereof make I no -affirmation," and further on: "Notwithstanding that men call it a worm -it is but a great vein that hounds have underneath their tongue" (p. -87). - - - - -LIST OF SOME BOOKS CONSULTED AND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN TEXT - - - Albertus Magnus. _De Animalibus._ Ed. 1788. - - ---- _The Secrets of._ London, 1617. - - _Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales._ 1841. - - _---- of Cambria._ E. Williams. 1823. - - _Anc. 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Melton Mowbray, - 1886. - - - D'Yauville. _Traité de Venerie._ Paris, 1688. - - - - -GLOSSARY - -OF OBSOLETE ENGLISH TERMS AND WORDS OCCURRING IN THE ANCIENT TEXTS OF -"THE MASTER OF GAME" AND IN APPENDIX. - - - ABAI, ABAY, being at bay, 29, 118 - - ACHARNETH, ACHARNE, to set on, to eat flesh, 59, 60, 62 - - ACHAUF, heat, 38, 98 - - ACQUILLER, ENQUILLER, to rouse animals of the chase with hounds, App. - - AFERAUNT, the haunch, 38 - - AFFETED, fashioned, trained, 27, 141 - - AFORCE, _par force_, by force, App. - - AIGUILLOUNCE, thorny - - AKELID, cooled, 186 - - AKIRE, AKKERNE, acorns, 144 - - ALAUNTIS, ALAUNTZ, ALOND, allans or allauntes, a large hound, 3, 116-8 - - ALVELUE, covered with fleece, fat or woolly substance, App. - - ANALED, for _avaled_, hanging down, 114 - - ANCEPS, HAUSSEPIED, a snare which caught the game by the foot and - lifted it into the air, 61 - - ANCHES, rosemary - - APEL, French hunting-note, App. - - APERYNG, stoned, the roughness of antlers, 143 - - APPARAILLE, dressed venison - - ARBITTEN, bitten, devoured - - ARBLAST, cross-bow, 27 - - ARECHE, reach, 60 - - ARERE, _arrière_, behind, back there, 182, App. - - AREYN, spider, 137 - - AREYN, rain, 157 - - ARRACHER, to tear out; a term used for skinning certain animals, App. - - ASAUTE, SAUTE, in heat, 64, 66 - - ASCRIETHE, ASCRIE, to rate, shout at, to scold, 63, 74, 170 - - ASSAIEN, try or test, 88 - - ASSAYE, ESSAY, to try; taking assay, to see by a cut the thickness of - the fat, App. - - ASSISE, note on hunting-horn blown at death of stag which has been - hunted by stag-hounds, App. - - ASTERTE, escape - - ASTIFLED, inflammation in the stifle-joint, 103 - - ASTRIED, rated, shouted at, 170 - - ATHREST, thrust or push, 106 - - ATTE FULLE, when the stag's antlers show a certain number of tines, - App. - - ATTIRE, the stag's antlers, App. - - AUALED, AVAILED, hanging down, 106, 114 - - AUERILLE, _Avrille_, April, 30 - - AUNTELERE, AUNTILLER, AUNCULER, antler, 130, 140 - - AUNTRED, ventured, 28 - - AVAUNT, AUAUNT, a hunting cry, "Forward," 182 - - AVAUNTELLAY, relay of hounds - - AVAYL, avail, profit, 13, 31 - - AVENAUD, approachable - - AVENERY, oats - - AVISED, aware of, warned, informed, advised, cautious - - AVOY, a hunting cry, probably from "Away," App. - - - BACE, for Luce, a pike - - BAFFERS, barkers, 120 - - BAKE, back - - BALISTA, BALESTA, cross-bow, haronsblast, 27 - - BALOWE, bellow, roaring of a stag - - BANDRIKE, BALDRIC, belt to which horn was fastened, 128, 140 - - BARATEUR, quarreller - - BARBOURIS, barbers - - BAREYN, barren, 35 - - BASCO, Basque, Biscay, 106 - - BATYD, bruised, sore, 98 - - BATYNG, bating - - BAUDES, baubles, trifles, 83 - - BEAM, the main part of the stag's antlers, 142 - - BEENDYNG, bending - - BEERNERS, BERNERS, attendant on hounds, 148, 165 - - BEESTALE, BESTAILE, beasts, cattle, 36, 61 - - BEESTIS, beasts, App. - - BELLEN, BELOWYN, BELERVE, BELOWEN, bellow or roar, 160 - - BELUEZ, velvet, 26 - - BEME, beam; also trumpet - - BENES, beans, 26 - - BERCEL, a mark to shoot at, App. - - BERCELET, BERSLETTIS, BARCELETTE, a shooting-dog used by archers, 122 - - BERIES, burrows, earth of fox and badger, 67, 68 - - BERYED, buried - - BERYING, bearing, breaking, 136 - - BESTIS OF THE CHACE, beasts of the chase, usually fallow deer, - roe-deer, fox, martin, 3 - - BESTIS OF VENERIE, beasts of venery, usually the hart, hare, boar, and - wolf, 3 - - BEVY, a number of roe-deer together, App. - - BEVYGREASE, the fat of the roe-deer, App. - - BEWELLIS, BAWAYLLES, BAWELLIS, bowels - - BILLETINGS, the excrements of the fox, App. - - BISSES, BISES, BISCHES, red-deer hinds - - BISSHUNTERS, fur-hunters, 74 - - BITTE, bitten, taken, 17, 186 - - BLENCHES, marks, tricks, deceits, 159 - - BOCHERIE, butchery, 116 - - BOKEYING, the rut of the roe-deer, 41 - - BOLN, BOLK, BOLNE, bellow or bark, 39, 162 - - BOOCHERS HOUNDIS, butchers' dogs, 118 - - BOOLE, bull, 118 - - BOONES, bones, stag's foot - - BOONYS, bones, 131 - - BOORDCLOTH, table-cloth, 164 - - BOORDES, boards - - BOORIS, boars, 143 - - BOOST, boast - - BOTCHES, BOOCHES, sores, 63 - - BOTIRFLIES, butterflies, 66 - - BOUNTE, bounty, goodness, 79 - - BOUYES, boughs, App. - - BOWIS, BOWES, boughs, 137, 153 - - BRACH, BRACHE, a scenting-hound; later on it meant bitches - - BRACHETUS, a hound for hunting, 22 - - BRACONIER, the man who held the hounds - - BRAYNE, BREYN, brain, 176 - - BREDE, breadth - - BREDE, broad, 138 - - BREKE, brook, break; also applied to dress a deer - - BREMED, burnt, 112 - - BRENT, burnt, 79 - - BRERES, briars, 93 - - BRIGILLA, mildew, 96 - - BRIMMING, BREMYNG, be in heat, said of boar; the word _breme_, - _bryme_, or _brim_, valiant-spirited, 47 - - BROACHER, a red-deer stag of second year, App. - - BROCARD, a roebuck of the third year and upwards, App. - - BROCK, badger, App. - - BROKES, BROOCHES, BROACHES, the first head of a red-deer stag, and of - roebuck, 45 - - BROKET, brocket, young stag, 29 - - BROKET'S SISTER, hind in the second year, App. - - BROND, proud, 46 - - BUCHE, BYCHES, bitch - - BUGLE, buffalo; also horn for sounding hunting signals, App. - - BUKKES, BUKES, BUCKES, bucks - - BUKMAST, beechmast, App. - - BULLOKE, young stag in second year, 29 - - BURNYSSHEN, burnish, to rub the antlers when the velvet is off, 134 - - BURR, the lowest part of the stag's antlers - - - CABOCHE, to cut off the hart's head near the antlers, 176 - - CALF, CALFE, the young stag in his first year - - CAMAMYLE, camomile, 95 - - CAMPESTRIS, beast of the field or chase--_i.e._ buck, doe, fox, - martin, and roe-deer - - CANDLEMAS, February 2 - - CARAYNES, CARREYNS, KARIN, carrion, carcase, 62, 77 - - CARDIAC, CARDRYACLE, a disease of the heart, 34 - - CARRES, marshes, 45 - - CASE TO, stripping or skinning the hare, App. - - CATAPUCIA, spurge (_Euphorbia resinifera_), 101 - - CATT, CATTE, CATTYS, cat, App. - - CAUTELOUS, CAUTELS, cautious, crafty, 45 - - CETE, a number of badgers - - CHACEABLE, chaseable, a hert chaseable, which is now called a - warrantable stag, one fit to be hunted - - CHACECHIENS, grooms in attendance on hounds, 148, 177 - - CHALAUNGE, challenge - - CHASE, forest; also used to designate a method of hunting, and also a - hunting-party - - CHASSE, a French hunting-note - - CHASTISED, trained, 189 - - CHATER, CHACER (RECHATER, RECHEAT), a horn signal; also to chastise - hounds - - CHAUFED, ACHAUFED, heated, in heat, 49, 98 - - CHAULE, CHAULIS, CHAVEL, jaw, 170 - - CHAUNGE, change, 31, 108, 111 - - CHEERE, CHERE, cherish, welcome, 85 - - CHEVERAUS, roe-deer - - CHIBOLLIS, chives, 90 - - CHILDERMAS, Innocents' Day (December 28) - - CHIS, dainty, 83 - - CHIVAUCHER, CHEVAUCHER, to ride - - CHYMER, riding-cloak - - CHYMNEYIS, chimney, 98, 126 - - CLEES, clawes, the "toes" of a deer's foot, 77, 80, 131 - - CLEEVES, _sur_ or dew cleeves at the back of a deer's fetlock - - CLEPED, CLEPYD, called, 59, 140 - - CLERE SPERES, clear spires, woods, App. - - CLICQUETING, vixen fox when in heat, App. - - CLISTRE, enema, 100 - - CODDES, testicles of the hart - - COITING STONE, a quoit - - COLERS, COLIERS PLACES, collier or charcoal pits, 26 - - CONCILIDA MAIOR, comfrey (_Symphytum officinale_), 98 - - CONCILIDA MINOR, prunella, selfheal (_Prunella vulgaris_), 98 - - CONINGER, CONIGREE, rabbit warren, App. - - CONTRE, counter, back, heel - - CONTRE, country, 36 - - CONTROUGLE, CONTREONGLE, hunt counter, hunt heel, 150 - - CONYNGE, rabbit, 18 - - COOLWORT, cabbage, 100 - - COPEIS, COPIS, coppice, 155 - - CORNER, CORNEER, horn blower - - COTES, quoits, 178 - - COUCH, the resting-place of game; also hound's bed - - COUCHERS, setters, 120 - - COUERTTS, covert, shelter - - COUNTERFEET, COUNTFEIT, abnormal, 28, 142 - - COURSER, CURSAR, CURSER, swift horse - - COUTHEN, CONTHEN, COUTH, knew, to be able, ob. could, 2 - - COWE, cow, also tail, from _queue_ - - CRIE, cry (of hounds), 65 - - CROCHES, the upper tines of a deer's horns; called also _troches_ - - CROISE, cross, 150 - - CROKES, stomach (of red-deer) - - CROKYNG, crooked, curved, 128 - - CROMMES, crumbs - - CRONEN, groan, the roar of the stag - - CROSS TO, to dislodge roe-deer by hounds - - CROTETHE, voiding excrements, 29 - - CROTEY, CROTILS, CROTISEN, CROTISINGS, excrements, 16, 29, 30, 133 - - CUER, COER, heart - - CUIR, QUIR, leather, hide - - CURÉE, CURE, rewarding the hounds (also KYRRE and GUYRRE), 7, 29, 52, - 208 - - CURRES, CURRYS, curs - - CURTAISE, courteous, 115 - - - DAUNGERE, danger, 161 - - DEDIS, deeds, 49 - - DEDUT, DEUDIZ, DEDUIZ, _déduit_, pleasure, pursuit, sport - - DEFAUTE, DEFAUNT, lack, default, 84, 140 - - DEFET, DEFFETEN, opening or undoing the boar and removing the entrails - - DEFOILE, track, 150 - - DELYUERE, deliver, active, 124 - - DEPILED, stripped of hair - - DESFAIRE, undoing (brittling) of deer or boar, App. - - DESPITOUS, DESPYTOUS, despiteful, furious, 49 - - DESTERERE, DESTRIER, horse - - DETOURNER (LE CERF), to harbour the hart, App. - - DEYENG, doing - - DEYM, DEYME, DAINE, DINE, fallow-deer - - DISLAUE, wild, 159 - - DISSESE, disease - - DOO, doe - - DOWN, OR HUSKE, a number of hares, App. - - DRAGMES, drachms - - DREYNT, drowned - - DRIT, DRITT, excrements of animals called "stinking beasts," also mud, - 50, 66 - - DRYEN, dry, 102 - - DRYUE, driven, 128 - - DRYVE, made - - DUNE, donn, dun - - DURE, to last, endure, 43 - - DYETTE, diet - - - EARTH, a fox and badger's lodging-place, App. - - EDIGHT, done, set in order - - EELDE, old age, 123 - - EENDIS, ends - - EEREN, hairs, 44 - - EERYS, ERES, ears - - EGRE, eager, 115 - - EIRERES, harriers, 190 - - ELLIS, else, 90 - - EMELLE, EMEL, female, 41 - - EMPAUMURE, the croches or top tines of a stag's antlers, App. - - ENBROWED, brewed, soaked, 177 - - ENCHACE, to hunt, 108 - - ENCHARNYNG, blooding, feeding on flesh, 113 - - ENCHASEZ, moving deer, &c., with a limer, App. - - ENCORNE, to place a dead stag on his back, the antlers on the ground - underneath the shoulders, 174 - - ENFOURMED, informed - - ENGLEYMED, glutinous, 29 - - ENOSED, a bone in the throat, 87 - - ENPESHED, prevented, 11 - - ENQUEST, hunt, 182 - - ENQUILLER, rousing a buck with hounds, App. - - ENQUYRID, ENQUEYRREIDE blooding hounds after death of deer; also - rewarding of hounds, 173 - - ENSAUMPLE, example, 79 - - ENTENTE, intent - - ENTRYING, entering, beginning of - - ENTRYNGIS, entering, beginning of, 35 - - ENVOISE, ENVOYSE, O.F. _envoisse_, to leave the line, or overshoot the - line of the animal hunted, 31, 108, 170 - - ERBIS, herbs - - ERES OF ROEBUCK, "target," 44 - - ERGOTS, ARGUS, claws of boar, buck and doe; those of the boar were - sometimes called _gardes_, 130, 144 - - ERIS, ERES, ARS, anus, hinder parts; ears, occasionally thus spelt, - 89, 95, 106, 116 - - ERTHE, earth - - ESCORCHER, ESTORCHER, flaying deer, and other beasts of venery, App. - - ESPAULES, shoulders - - ESPAYARD, SPAYARD, SPAYER, stag of the third year, App. - - ESSEMBLE, assembly, 150 - - ESTABLIE, stand occupied by sportsmen; also beaters - - ESTORACIS CALAMITA, storax, resin, 96 - - ESYE, easy - - ETAWED, tanned - - ETYN, ITVN, eat - - EUENYNGIS, evening, 11 - - EUERYCHONE, EVERICHON, each one, every one, 163 - - EUILLE, EUELL, evil, wicked, bad, 6 - - EVOISED, at fault, or off the line - - EXPEDITE, to maim dogs by cutting off some of their claws - - EYNE, EYGH, EYNEN, eye, 116 - - EYRE, air - - - FACON, FAUCON, falcon, 121 - - FADIR, FADERE, father, 105 - - FADMYS, FADOMS, fathoms, 125 - - FAROWE, FAREWYN, PHAROWYN, farrow, bringing forth young pig, 47, 48, - 68 - - FARSYN, FARSINE, farcy, 69, 92 - - FASSON, FASSION, fashion - - FAUND, fawned - - FAUS, false - - FAUSMANCHE, false sleeve - - FAUT, fault - - FECHEWE, fitchew, polecat - - FEELDES, fields, 158 - - FEERNE, fern - - FELAUES, fellows - - FELE, many; also sensible, feeling - - FELLE, fierce, cruel, treacherous - - FELLE, FELE, wise, sensible, feeling; also cunning, 30, 115 - - FELNESSE, cruelty, fierceness, 71 - - FEMELLIS, females - - FENCEMONTH, the month when deer had their young and were left - undisturbed, App. - - FERMYD, firm, 162 - - FERRE, far, 16 - - FERRETTIS, ferrets, 72 - - FERRTEST, farthest - - FERS, fierce, 47 - - FERSLICHE, fiercely, 86 - - FESAWNT, pheasant - - FEUERYERE, February - - FEWES, FEWTE, track, trace, foot. Some animals were called of the - sweet foot, others of the stinking foot, 10. _See_ Appendix. - - FEWTERER, FEUTRERES, DEWTREES, man who leads greyhounds, 129 - - FIANTS, also LESSES, excrements of the wild boar, App. - - FISTOLES, fistula, 92 - - FIXEN, vixen, O.G. _fuchsen_, 64 - - FLAY, FLEAN, FLENE, to skin deer and certain other game, 174 - - FLAYSSH, flesh, 5 - - FLUX, dysentery - - FOILLYNG, stag going downstream when hunted, 32, 173 - - FOLIES, FOLY, FOLLY, lesser deer, not hart or buck, 196 - - FOLTISCH, foolish, 45 - - FOORME, FORME, FOURME, form of the hare, 14, 17 - - FORAGLE, strangle, straggle - - FORCHE, FOURCHED, forked, said of stag's antlers, 140, 177 - - FORLOYNE, FORLOGNE, FORLONGE, a note sounded on the horn, to denote - that the quarry or hounds or both had distanced the hunters, 173 - - FORSTERS, foresters, 148 - - FORSWONG, M.E. _Forswinger_, bruised, beaten (tucked up), 88 - - FORT, the thick part of woods - - FORUN, forewarn, 148 - - FOTYDE, footed - - FOUAILL, the reward given to the hounds after a boar hunt, consisting - of the bowels cooked over a fire, App. - - FOUMART, FAULMART, FOLMERT, polecat - - FOWTRERES, FEWTERERS, huntsmen who led greyhounds, slippers - - FOXEN, FFIXEN, A.S. _fixen_--_vixen_, a bitch fox, 64 - - FOYNE, weasel - - FRAIED, rubbed, 135 - - FRAY, frighten, scare, 149 - - FRAY, to rub off the velvet on stag's antlers, 26, 135 - - FRAYING-POST, the tree against which it was done - - FREYN, excrements of the wild boar, App. - - FROOT, FROTID, rub, 53, 94, 95, 146 - - FUANTS, excrements of the fox, martin, badger, and wolf, App. - - FUES, track, line, 18, 31 - - FUMES, FUMEE, FUMAGEN, FIMESHEN, FEWMETS, FEMEGEN, FEWMISHINGS, - excrements, droppings, particularly of deer, 9, 16, 38, 39, 133 - - FURKIE, pieces of venison hung on a fork-shaped stick - - FURROUR, fur, Fr. _fourrure_, 63 - - FUTAIE, FUTELAIE, forest, wood of old trees, also plantation of - beech-trees, App. - - FYNDERS, finders, hounds to start or find deer, 161, 165 - - - GADERYNGE, GADERYNG, gathering, meet, 156, 163 - - GADIRE, gather, 43 - - GAR, to force, to compel, 39 - - GARDES, the dew-claws of the wild boar - - GARSED, cupped, 90 - - GIN, GYNNE, trap, snare - - GIRLE, the roebuck in the second year, App. - - GISE, guise, manner of - - GLADNESSE, a glade, a clear space, 137 - - GLAUNDRES, glanders, 96 - - GLEMYNG, GLEYMING, slime, stickiness, 133 - - GLOTENY, gluttony - - GNAPPE, snap, 92 - - GOBETTES, small pieces, 81, 177 - - GOOT, goat - - GORGEAUNT, wild boar in his second year - - GOTERS, GOOTERE, GOUTIERES, gutters, the small grooves in the antlers - of a stag, 143 - - GRAUNT SOUR, stag of fifth year - - GRAUYLL, gravel, 143 - - GREASE, GRECE, the fat of certain animals, 25, 27, 49 - - GREASE-TIME, the season of hart and buck when they were fattest, 160 - - GREATER, OF THE, term used in counting the tines of a stag's antlers, - App. - - GREDE, seek, hunt, 183 - - GRES, upper tusks of wild boar, grinders, 50 - - GRESSOPPES, grasshoppers, 66 - - GRETE, greet, great, 13 - - GREUE, grieve, harass, injure, 45 - - GREY, badger, 68 - - GROVYS, grooves - - GUSTUMES, customs, 4 - - GUTTES, guts - - GUYEN, GUEYNE, Guienne - - GUYRREIS, quarry (_curée_), 105 - - GYNNES, GYNES, gins, traps, ruses, wiles, tricks, 35, 73 - - GYNNOUSLY, by stratagem or ingenuity, 15, 39, 43, 59 - - - HAIES, HAYES, nets, hedges, 74 - - HALLOW, the reward given to the hounds at the death - - HALOWE, halloa, App. - - HAMYLONS, the wiles of a fox - - HARBOUR, HERBOROWE, HARBOURE, HARBOROW, to track a hart to his lair, - 29 - - HARBOURER, man who harbours the deer, 130, 148 - - HARDIETHE, herds with - - HARDLE, HERDLE, HERDEL, HARLING, HARDEL, fasten or couple hounds - together, also to fasten the four legs of a roebuck together, 45, 190 - - HARDY, bold, courageous - - HARIS, hares, 17 - - HARNAYS, HERNEIS, harness, appurtenances, arms, &c., 60 - - HARONSBLAST, a crossbow, from O.F. _Arcbaleste_, 27 - - HAROWDE, herald, 139 - - HARTHOUND, HERTHOUND, hound used to chase the stag - - HAST, haste - - HASTILETTIZ, the dividing of the wild boar into thirty-two pieces - - HATT, hath - - HATTE, thicket, 118 - - HAUKES, hawks, 120 - - HAUKYNG, hawking - - HAUNTELERS, antlers, App. - - HAUSPEE, HAUSSEPEE, a trap; also a siege engine, 61 - - HAYTER, harrier, App. - - HEARSE, also BROKET'S SISTER, a red-deer hind in her second year, App. - - HEDDYD, headed - - HEERE, hair, 27 - - HEGHES, hocks - - HEIRERS, harriers, 111 - - HELE, HELTHE, health - - HELYN, heal, 127 - - HEMULE, HEMUSE, HEYMUSE, roebuck in the third year - - HENDIS, red-deer hind, 130 - - HER, hear - - HERBIS, herbs, 14 - - HERBOROWE. See HARBOUR - - HERDLE, to dress a roebuck - - HERNEIS, harness. See HARNAYS, also Appendix - - HEROUN, heron, 1 - - HERT, heart; also stag, 23, 34 - - HERTIS, harts, stags, 130 - - HIDRE, hinder - - HIGHTEN, called, named, 148, 182 - - HIRE, her, 19 - - HOGGASTER, wild boar in his third year, App. - - HOKKES, HOGHES, HOUGHS, hocks, 99, 114 - - HOOKES, hooks, first teeth of wolf and dog, 56, 83 - - HOOT (BE), promised, 79 - - HOOTE, hot, 32 - - HOPELAND, HOPOLAND, HOUPPELAND, a long surcoat or gownlike garment - - HOPPYN, hoping - - HORRED, hairy, 106 - - HOS, hoarse, 66 - - HOUE, hoof - - HOUGH, HOWFF, HOUFF, a haunt, a resort, used especially for the holt, - or dwelling-place of an otter, App. - - HOUNDIS, HUNDES, hounds; also hands, 1 - - HOUNGER, hunger - - HOUNTER, hunter - - HOWLYN, howl - - HOXTIDE, feast fifteen days after Easter, App. - - HUSKE, a number of hares, App. - - - IBOYLED, boiled - - ICLEPID, called, 105, 144 - - ILEYN, lain, 136 - - ILLOEQUES, ILLEOQS, here in this place, 183, 234 - - ILOST, lost - - IMAKYD, made, 137 - - IMEYNGID, mingled, 102 - - IMPRIME, unharbouring a hart - - INGWERE, INQUERE, inquire or seek, 151 - - IPRESSID, pressed, 136 - - IREEYNED, rained, 157 - - IREN, iron, 90 - - IRENGED, arranged, 142 - - IRONGED, ranged - - IROOS, iris, 93 - - ISPAIDE, spayed, castrated; also to kill with a sword. See Spay - - ISTAMPED, stamped, crushed, 93 - - ISTERED, stirred, 91 - - ITAWED, tawed, tanned, 126 - - ITHREST, thrust, pushe, 136 - - ITRED, trodden - - ITYNDED, tined, 142 - - IWERYD, worn, 147 - - IWETED, wetted, moistened, 97 - - IWRETHEDE, wreathed, 133 - - - JANGELERE, jangler, 124 - - JANNERE, January - - JAWLE, jaw, 50 - - JENGELETH, jangeleth, said of a noisy hound, 110 - - JOLLY, a bitch in heat, 54, 58 - - JOPEY, JUPPEY, to holloa, to cry out, to call, 171, 234 - - JUGE, JUGGE, judge - - JUGGEMENTZ, judgments, 130 - - JUILL, July - - JUIN, June - - JUS, juice - - JWERYD, worn - - - KAREYNES, carrion, 48, 58, 68 - - KELE, cool, 91 - - KEMBE, comb, 127 - - KENNETTIS, KENET, a small hunting hound, 111 - - KEPYN, keeping - - KERRE, KIRRE, KYRRE, CURE, CURÉE, QUARRY, reward of hounds. _See_ - CURÉE - - KEUERE, cover, 65 - - KEUERED, covered, 80 - - KITTE, to cut, sharp, 95 - - KITTYNG, cutting, 50 - - KNOBBER, stag in second year or broket, App. - - KNYFF, knife, 90 - - KOUNYNGLY, cunningly; also wisely - - KUNNE, KEN, to know, to be able, 15 - - KYDE, roebuck in first year - - KYEN, kine, cattle, 120 - - KYLLEIC, Welsh for grease time - - KYNDELETH, bring forth (said of the hare), 181 - - KYNDELS, young hare, 19 - - KYNDELY, naturally, M.E. kindely, kendeliche, cundeliche - - KYNNINGLY, cunningly - - KYTONS, KYTTONS, kittens, 71 - - - LABELLES, small flaps, 174 - - LADDE, led - - LADIL, ladle - - LAIES, pools, lakes - - LAIR, the resting-place of the various kinds of deer, 10 - - LAMMAS, LAMMASSE, August 1, 2 - - LAMMASSE OF PETER APOSTULL, June 29 - - LAPPE, lap, 158 - - LASSE, less, smaller - - LAUNCET, lancet - - LAUNDES, LONDES, wild uncultivated land, 36 - - LAVEY, unrestrained, wild, 111 - - LEATHER, the skin of deer and of the wild boar, App. - - LECHES, leeches, doctor or surgeon, 12 - - LEDER, leather, 126 - - LEFRER, levrier, greyhound - - LEFT, last, or live - - LEGGES, legs - - LEIE, lair - - LEIRE, river Loire in France, 77 - - LEIRES, lair, bed of a stag, 136 - - LEITH, layeth - - LEKES, leeks, 90 - - LERNYD, learned, taught - - LESE, leash, 59 - - LESETH, loseth, 52 - - LESS, OF THE, term used in counting the tines, App. - - LESSES, Fr. _laissées_, excrements of boar and wolves, 139, 146 - - LESSHE, LESSE, LESCHE, leash, 140 - - LESSHES, lesses, inferiors, 189 - - LESYNG, loosing, 119 - - LETTE, hindered, 51, 163 - - LEUERE, leaver, rather, sooner - - LEURETTIS, leverets, 19 - - LEUVE, leave, 31 - - LEUYS, LEUES, leaves, 138 - - LEVIR, leaver, rather - - LEVRIER, a hare hound - - LIAM, LYAM, rope by which the limer was held - - LIBARD, leopard, 70 - - LIFF, life, 31 - - LIFLODE, LYVELODE, livelihood, 59 - - LIGGING, LYGGING, lair, resting-place, 24, 71, 149, 191 - - LIPPIS, lips - - LITERE, litter - - LOGGES, lodges, 190 - - LONDE, land, 75 - - LOUEN, love - - LOUPES CORRYNERS (_loup cerviers_), lynx; occasionally it was probably - applied to the wolverine, 70 - - LOWRE, laugh, 81 - - LUCE, pike, 113 - - LYFF, life - - LYMER, a tracking hound on a leash, 31, 38, 152, 157, 167-9, 235 - - LYMMES, limbs - - LYMNER, LYMERER, LIMERER, man who leads hounds on a leash, 148, 166, - 235 - - LYMNERE, used both for man and hound, App. - - LYNSED, linseed, 104 - - LYOUN, lion - - LYTHIS, LIGHTIS, lungs - - LYVEN, LYUEN, live - - - MAISTIVES, mastif, mastiff - - MAISTRIS, masters - - MALEMORT, glanders, 96 - - MALENCOLIOUS, melancholy - - MALICE, cunning, 34 - - MAMEWE, MAMUNESRE, MAMEUE, MAUEWE, mange, 90, 91 - - MANESSETH, threatening, 51 - - MANNYS, man's, 151 - - MARCHES, district, 19 - - MARIE, marrow - - MARRUBIUM ALBUM, white horehound (_Marrubium vulgare_), 101 - - MARTRYN, martin, 73 - - MARY MAGDALENE DAY, July 22nd, 26 - - MASCLE, MASCHE, male, 67 - - MASTIN, a hound used for boar-hunting, a mongrel - - MATERE, matter - - MAYNED, maimed, bitten - - MAYNTYN, maintain - - MAYSTIF, MASTIF, MESTIFIS, MASTOWE, mastiff, 118, 122, App. - - MAYSTRE, MAISTRIE, MAISTRICE, MAYSTRY, mastery, skill, 71, 107 - - MECHE, big, 113 - - MEDE, meadow, 163 - - MEDLE, MEDEL, mix, 91 - - MENE, lesser, small, 128 - - MENEE, MENNEE, note sounded on a horn; also the baying of a hound - hunting, 171, 179 - - MENG, MENGE, mingle, 102 - - MERREIN, the main beam of a stag's antlers, App. - - MERVAILE, marvel - - MERVEILIOST, most marvellous, 181 - - MERVEILLOUS, MERUEYLOUS, marvellous - - MESTIFIS, mastifs, 118, 122 - - METIS, meats - - METYNG, METYNGIS, meet, meeting, 148 - - METYNGE, METYNG, feeding or pasture of deer, 9, 25, 34, 152 - - MEUE, MEW, MEVE, move, start, shed, 26, 42, 166 - - MEULE, MULE, burr, part of the antler, App. - - MEUTE, pack of hounds - - MEVETHE, meweth, to mew, casts or sheds. _See_ MEUE - - MEWS, house for hawks - - MODIR, mother, 105 - - MODIRWORT, motherwort (_Leonurus cardiaca_), 101 - - MONYTHE, MONETH, MONETHENYS, month, 27 - - MOOTE, MOTE, a note or horn signal, App. - - MORFOUND, MORFOND, to catch cold, glanders, 124 - - MORNYNGIS, morning, 7 - - MORSUS GALLINE, chickweed, 101 - - MORT, a note sounded on the horn at the death of the hart - - MOSEL, MOSELLE, muzzle, 77 - - MOTE, MOOTE, a note sounded on the horn, 168, 185 - - MOTYING, MOVING, 150 - - MOUNTENANCE, MOUNTANCE, extent of, as far as, 21, 101 - - MOUSTENESSE, moisture, 124 - - MOW, MOWE, MOWEN, to have power, to be able, 97, 178 - - MOWSE, burr of an antler - - MUE, mew, shed antlers, or feathers, molt. _See_ MEUE - - MULE, MEULE, burr of a stag's antler, 141 - - MUTE, MEUTE, a pack of hounds - - MYCHE, the assibulated form of _mukel_, _mikl_, great, much, 41 - - MYDDES, midst - - MYDDIL, middle - - MYNDE, memory, 2 - - MYSIUGEN, misjudge, 29 - - - NAIL, name given to a disease in dogs' eyes, now called Pterygium, 94 - - NARTHELESS, NATHELESS, nevertheless, 149 - - NATYUITE, nativity - - NEDEL, needle, 61 - - NEKYS, NEKE, NECKYD, neck, necked, App. - - NEMETH, taketh, 75 - - NEMPE, name, 165 - - NERES, kidneys - - NESCHE, NEYSSH, NESSH, soft, tender, moist, 52, 130, 131 - - NETHIR, nether, lower - - NETTELIS, nettles, 89, 101 - - NEWLICH, newly, freshly - - NOMBLES, NOMBLIS, part of the stag's intestines, App. - - NOONE, no more - - NOORCHE, NORSHE, NORSSH, nourish, to bring up, to educate, 56, 58, 80 - - NOOSETHERLIS, NOSETHRELLES, nostrils, 96, 105 - - NORTURE, bringing up, 30 - - NOTIS, nuts, 91 - - NOUGH, nigh - - NOYAUNCE, annoyance, 163 - - NYME, to take, to hold - - - OKIS, oaks, 144 - - OLYFF, olive, 90, 102 - - ONYS, once, 156 - - OO, OON, one, 17 - - OPENE, OPYN, open (of hounds to give tongue), 108, 155 - - OR, ERE, before, 17 - - ORDEYNE, ordain - - ORPED, brave, valiant, 107 - - OS, the dew-claws of the stag and hind, App. - - OSCORBIN (OS CORBIN), a small bone in the stag's body given to the - crows, App. - - OSTORACES CALAMYNT, storax or resin, 96 - - OTYR, OTERE, otter, 72-4 - - OUERJAWES, upper jaws, 176 - - OUERSETTE, overcome, 60, 66 - - OUERWHERTE, athwart, 87 - - OURSHETTE, overshoot, 159 - - OUYR, over - - OWETH, OWEN, ought - - OWRERS, harriers - - OYE, eye, 157 - - OYLE, oil, 102 - - - PAAS, PIZ, chest, 114 - - PAAS, pace, to walk slowly - - PACE, slot, track of stag, 132 - - PAMED, palmated - - PARASCEVE, PARASSEUE, Good Friday - - PARFITERS, PARFITORS, PARFITOURS, PARFYTEIROS, the third or last relay - of hounds 7, 10 - - PARTEL, a part of portion - - PARTEYNETH, appertaineth - - PARTIE, part - - PASE, pace, to step slowly, 130 - - PEARLS, the excrescences on the stag's antlers, App. - - PECE, piece - - PEECHTRE, PEOCHETRE, peach-tree, 102 - - PEL, Fr. _peau_, skin - - PERCEL, parsley, 101 - - PERCHE, the main beam of the stag's antler, App. - - PERFITE, PERFEET, PERFIT, perfect; also note sounded on the horn, 174 - - PERITORIE, wall pellitory (_Parietaria_), 101 - - PESEN, peas, 26 - - PESETH, paceth, 149 - - PEYN, pain - - PIERRURES, "pearls" or excrescences on the stag's antlers - - PILCHES, pelisse, a coat of skin or fur, 63 - - PLAYN CONTRE, clear open country, 19, 65 - - PLAYNES, plains - - PLAYSTIRE, plaster - - PLECKE, PLEK, PLECK, PLECCA, piece of ground, place, 183 - - PLEYN, PLEYNETH, complain, lament, 51 - - PLEYN, PLAYNETH, PLEIGNEN, Fr. _pleigner_, complain, lament - - POINTYNG, pointing, track of hare - - POLCATTES, polecats, 73 - - POMELED, mottled, dappled, spotted, 45 - - POONDE, POON, pond - - POORT, parts, behaviour, manners, 4 - - POPY, puppy - - PORCHE. _See_ PERCHE - - POUERE, POUER, power, 164 - - POUTURE, keep, food, used in connection with hounds - - POYNTED, painted - - PREEF, proof, 88 - - PREES, press, crowd, 118 - - PREUYD, proved, 90 - - PREUYLI, PRIUYLI, privily, 149 - - PRICE, PRISE, PRIEE, take, capture - - PRICKET, PRIKET, the fallow buck in his second year, App. - - PRIK, PRICK, to hunt, 116 - - PRIKHERID CURRIS, rough-coated curs, App. - - PRIKKYNG, PRICKING, footprint of hare, App. - - PRIME, noon (_hie prime_), midday - - PRISE, PRIZE, PRYCE, a horn signal blown in France for the buck, in - England for the hart and buck after the kill, 175 - - PRIVE, tame - - PROCATOURS, proctors, 195 - - PROFITENESS, perfectness, 2 - - PULEGRUN, pennyroyal (_Mentha pulegium_), 20 - - PULLETH, POILETH, take the hair off, Fr. _poiler_, 90 - - PURSNETTIS, purse-nets, 67 - - PURUEAUNCE, perseverance, 80 - - PUTTES, pits - - PYCHE, pitch - - PYLES, PILES, the skin of the boar, wolf, and smaller animals - - PYNSOURS, pincers, 98 - - - QUALES, quails, 119 - - QUARRY, the reward given to the hounds. _See_ CURÉE, App. - - QUAT, couched, lying down, used for deer, 172 - - QUATTELL, to quat, to squat, to crouch, to lie down, App. - - QUESTY, QUEST, to hunt, to give tongue, 110, 130, 155 - - QUYERE, QUYRRE, QUIR, QUARE, curée, quarry for hounds, reward, App. - - QUYK, EUELIS, QUICKEVIL, a disease of hounds - - QUYRRCIS, reward given to hounds. _See_ CURÉE, App. - - - RACCHES, hounds, 3, 74, 167 - - RAGE, madness - - RAGERUNET, RAGEMUET, dumb madness, 86 - - RASCAILE, RASCAYLE, RASKAILE, lean deer; any deer under ten was - usually called rascal, 7, 25, 150, 193 - - RAVEYN, prey, rapine, 57, 60 - - REAL, REALL, a tine (in France, the bay) on the stag's antler - - REAME, REAUME, realm, 78 - - REAR TO, to dislodge a wild boar, App. - - REBELLY, rebellious, unruly, 191 - - RECHASE, recheat, sound a note on the horn, to call back the hounds by - sound of horn, also to put them on the right scent, 168, 178, 191-8, - App. - - RECHE, to reck, to care, 57, 131 - - RECHELESS, reckless - - RECOPES, recoupling, 179 - - REFRAIED, REFREIDE, refrected, chilled, cooled, 47, 99 - - REIES, nets, App. - - RELAIES, relays (of hounds), 165 - - RELEVED, Fr. _relever_, said of the hare rising from her form to go to - her pasture, 14, 183 - - RELIE, RELYE, rally, 167 - - REMEUYE, REMEYID, removed - - RENNEN, rained, rains - - RENNYNG, RENNETH, running - - RENOUET, RENOVEL, Fr. _renouveler_, to renew, 48 - - RESCEYUED, received - - RESEEYUOUR, receiver, a greyhound in front of deer, 198 - - RESEITYNG, reseating - - RESOUNS, RESOUNS, RESONS, reasons, 6 - - RESTIF, quiet, restive, unwilling to go or to move forward, 109 - - RESTREYED, restrained, held back, 109 - - RETREYED, retrieved, 29 - - REUERE, REVERE, river - - REWE, rue, 90 - - REWE, row, 193 - - REWLE, rule, 55 - - REWME, Fr. _rhume_, a cold, 96 - - REYNE, rain, 21 - - REYNDERE, reindeer - - REYSON, REYSE, raising, raise, 29 - - RIALLE, RIAL, royal, also tine of stag's antlers, 28, 140 - - RIDINGTIME, REDENGTIME, bucking time of the hare, 20 - - RIG, RAGGE, backbone, App. - - RIOT, 74, App. - - ROCHES, ROKKES, rocks, 26 - - RODES, rods - - ROTELYNG, rattling, 162 - - ROUNGETH, Fr. _ronger_, chews the cud, 181, App. - - ROUSE TO, ROWZE, rouse, to dislodge buck or doe, App. - - ROUT, a number of wolves, 62 - - ROUTES, synonymous with slot, line of deer, 132 - - ROYAL, a tine, sometimes the trez tine (_see_ RIALLE), 28, 140 - - RUETTIS, horn or trumpet, 128 - - RUSYNG, rusing, 31, 45, 173 - - RUTSOMTIME, RUTSON, RUTTE, rutting time of deer, 24, 109 - - RYGES, back, haunches, 17 - - RYGHTES, rights, a stag's rights, three lower tines of antlers; a - hound was in his "rights" when hunting line, 174 - - RYOT, noise, 121 - - RYUERE, REUERE, river, 77 - - - SAYNOLFES, SPAYNELS, spaniels, 119 - - SCANTILONN, measure, 150, 165 - - SCOMBRE, SCOMBERE (stercoro in MS. Bod. 546), voiding excrements, 100, - 127 - - SCOMFITED, discomfited, 82 - - SEAT, the form of a hare, 16 - - SECHE, seek - - SECHYNG, SEKYNG, seeking, 110 - - SEEGH, SEGHE, saw, 13 - - SEELD, SEELDEN, seldom, 181 - - SELIDOYN, celandine, 94 - - SEMBLAUNT, SEMBLANCE, pretence, 16 - - SEMBLE, assembly or meet, 9 - - SEMOLY, seemly, 75 - - SENGLER, wild boar (_Sanglier_) - - SENS, incense, 96 - - SENTYN, scent - - SERCHYNG, searching, 6, 29 - - SERGEAUNTIS, sergeants, 165 - - SESOUNN, SESOUN, SESON, season, 29 - - SESOURS, seizers, 114, 117 - - SETTE, set, place, part of forest round which "stables" or stations of - men and hounds were placed, 149, 189 - - SEWE, SUE, Fr. _suir_, hunt, pursue, 150, 161 - - SEWET, suet, fat of deer - - SEWRE, swear - - SEYN, say, see - - SHAP, shape - - SHAPON, shaped - - SHEELD, shield, shoulder of a boar, 49 - - SHEELLEN, shall - - SHEERDE, cut, wound, 99 - - SHENT, shamed, disgraced, 79 - - SIKERLI, securely, 159 - - SINGULAR, the wild boar when he leaves the sounder, App. - - SKIRTIS, SKYRTIS, the skin and tissue surrounding the stomach - - SKULK, a number of foxes, App. - - SLAWTHE, sloth, 5 - - SLOUGH, lower part of the heart - - SLUG-HOUND, a sleuth-hound, a track hound, App. - - SLYKE, slick, sleek or smooth, 44 - - SMET, SMYTTEN, smitten, 192 - - SNAWE, snow - - SOAR, a buck in his fourth year - - SOEPOL, wild thyme (_Thymus serpyllum_), 20 - - SOILE, SOULE, SOUILLE, wallowing pool, soil or mud; "to soil" means - when a deer or wild boar takes to water or wallows in it, 37, 50, 144 - - SOIOURNE, SOIOURN, SOIOURNYING, SOJORN, SOJOURN, to remain, 98 - - SOLERE, upper chamber, 126 - - SOMEDELE, somewhat - - SOMERE, SOMER, summer, 45 - - SONE, soon - - SONNE, SUNNE, sun, 9 - - SONNE, SOUNE, sound - - SOPERE, SOPER, supper, 180 - - SOPPE, SOPPERS, herd of deer, 25 - - SORRELL, a buck in his third year - - SOTELLY, subtlety, cleverly - - SOTIL, SOTILLE, SOTILTE, subtle, clever, 67, 80, 95 - - SOULE, SOILE, alone, 168 - - SOUNDER, SOUNDRE, SUNDRE, a herd of wild boars, 53, 143 - - SOUR, stag of fourth year, the colour of a deer's hide; according to - Roquefort, a herd of swine, App. - - SOUSSE, oxide of zinc, 95 - - SOUZ-REAL, SOUCH-REAL, SUR-RYAL, sur-antler, a tine of the stag's - head, 140, 177, App. - - SOWLE, soul, 12 - - SPAINEL, SPAYNELS, spaniel - - SPARHAUKE, sparrowhawk, 114 - - SPATELL, spittle, 92 - - SPAY, to kill a deer with a sword 10, 174, 258; to castrate, 84, 258 - - SPAYARD, SPAYDE, SPAYER, SPYCARD, the stag in his third year, App. - - SPAYNEL, spaniel, 119 - - SPEIES, spires, young wood, 157 - - SPIRES, SPOYES, stalks, young wood; thick spires means thick wood, 65, - 118 - - SPITOUS, despiteful, 115 - - SPRAINTES, SPRAYTYNG, excrements of the otter, 73, 139 - - SPRINGOL, SPRINGALD, SPRINGOLD, SPRINGALL, siege engine to throw - stones or balks of timber, 23 - - STABLE, STABLYS, Fr. _establie_, a post or station of huntsmen and - hounds, 188 - - STAGGART, the stag in his fourth year, 29, 131 - - STALK, to go softly, creep, "Stalk the deer full still" (used by John - Lydgate, about 1430) - - STALL, to corner, to bring to bay, to stand still, 153 - - STANC, STANK, STANGES, STANGKES, Fr. _estanc_, pool, tank, pond, 32, - 72 - - STEPPIS, steps, footprint of deer, 73, 137 - - STERE, stir, 91 - - STERT, STIRT, start - - STINTE, STYNTE, to stop, to blow a stint--_i.e._ to stop or check the - hounds, a false scent, check, 19, 165 - - STONE-BOW, Fr. _arc-à-pierre_, a kind of crossbow - - STOONYS, stones, 143 - - STORDY, _estordic_, giddy, 116 - - STOUPEN, stoop - - STRAKE, to blow, 178 - - STRANGLE, straggle, 188 - - STRANLING, STRANLYN, squirrel - - STRATERE, straighter - - STRAUGHT, straight, 128 - - STRENGE, STRENGTH, stronghold, thick woods, 16, 118, 156 - - STRENGESTE, strongest - - STREPID, to strip - - STREYNOUR, strainer - - STREYNT, strain, progeny or breed - - STRIPID, stripped, term to denote skinning of hare, wild boar, and - wolf, App. - - STROKE, STRAKE, or STUKE, to sound a note on a hunting-horn, 52 - - STRONG, said of woods and coverts, thick, dense, 25 - - SUE, to seek, to hunt, 161 - - SUERS, followers - - SUET, the fat of the red-deer and fallow-deer - - SUETE, sweet, 19 - - SUGRE, sugar - - SURANTLER, a tine, generally the _bay_ - - SUR-ROYAL, the surroyal tine, 28 - - SURE BATYD (of hounds' feet), battered, bruised from over running, 98 - - SUSRIAL, surroyal tine - - STYNT, at fault; to stop - - SUYTE, suite, following - - SWEF, a hunting cry, meaning gently or softly, 182 - - SWERDE, sword, 11 - - SWOOR, swore - - SWOOT, SWOTE, sweat - - SYLVESTRES, beasts of venery--_i.e._ red-deer, hare, boar, and wolf, - App. - - SYNNES, sins, 7 - - SYNOWES, SYNEWES, sinews - - SYTHES, times - - - TACCHES, habits, also spots, markings, 121 - - TALOUN, talon, heel, 130, 131 - - TAWED, a kind of tanning, preparation of white leathers, 63 - - TAWNE, tan, tawny, 105 - - TAYLYD, tailed - - TEASER, TEAZER, TESOURS, a small hound that "teases" forth the game in - coverts, 189 - - TEG, the fallow doe in her second year - - TENT, tended, cared for, 103 - - TERCELLE, TIERCEL, the male of any species of hawk, 119 - - TERER, TEERORS, terrier, 4 - - TERPSE, to poise an arrow for shooting - - TERRYERS, terriers, 4 - - TESTE, head or antlers (_tête_) - - TEYNTES, touches, 65 - - THENDERLEGGIS, hind legs - - THENKYNGIS, thinking, 75 - - THENNES, thence - - THIDERE, thither - - TOCHES, teeth, 50, 56 - - TOGADERE, TOGIDRE, together - - TOKENYS, tokens, 86 - - TOSSHES, tusks - - TOUNGE, TOONG, tongue - - TOURE, tower, 77 - - TOWAILLES, towels, 164 - - TOWNGE, TUNGE, tongue - - TRACE, track or footprint of an animal, 9, 73, 130, 137 - - TRAUAILLE, TRAVAYLE, Fr. _travaille_, work, labour, 54, 93 - - TREDELES, excrements of otter, 73 - - TRENCHOUR, trencher, 174 - - TRESTES, tryst, trist, 190 - - TRESTETH, trusteth, 49 - - TREU, TREWE, true, faithful - - TRIP, a herd of tame swine, 53 - - TROCHIS, TROCHES, the tines "on top," 28, 135, 140 - - TRODES, trod - - TROWETH, believes or knows - - TRUSTRE, tryst, 118 - - TWIES, TWYES, twice, 82 - - TWIN, between - - TWYGGES, twigs, 22 - - TYME, season - - TYNDES, TYNYS, tines, 132, 142 - - TYSANE, a medicinal tea, 11 - - - UMBICAST, to cast round, 151 - - UNDIRNETHE, underneath - - UNDOING, dressing of a deer - - UNDOON, undone, to cut up - - UNNETH, scarcely, 80 - - UNSICKER, uncertain - - UNTHENDE, unsuccessful - - UNWAYSSH, unwashed - - UNWEXID, unwaxed - - UNYOYNE, unjoin, 97 - - UPREAR TO, finding of the hart buck, and boar with the limer - - USYN, use - - - VANCHASOURS, VANCHASERS, the relay of hounds that comes first, 7, 10 - - VANNCHACE, the first in the chase, 7, 10 - - VAUNTELLAY, VAUNTLAY, VNLAY, part of the pack held in reserve, when - uncoupled on the line of the stag before the hounds already hunting - had passed, 169, 172 - - VEEL, calf, used sometimes for the stag in his first year, App. - - VELINE, a horn signal, App. - - VELTRAGA, VELTRARIUS, a hound, an alaunt, App. - - VENT TO, said of an otter when it comes to surface of water for air; - also to empty, to cast excrements, App. - - VENTRERS, ventreres, 116, 117 - - VENYIN, venom - - VERFULL, a glassful, 101 - - VERREY, truly, true, 75, 105 - - VERTEGRECE, VERTEGRES, verdigris, 91 - - VESTEING, investigating, looking, 151 - - VEUTRERES, VEAUTRE, boarhound - - VEYN, vein - - VISHITETH, voiding excrements, 66 - - VMBLIS, umbles - - VNDIRTAKYNG, undertaking - - VNDYRSTONDYNG, understanding - - VNGLES, bugles, 128 - - VNNANYS, onions, 102 - - VOIDE, VOYDE, leave, go away, empty, 51, 191 - - VOIDEN, to purge, 61 - - VOIS, VOYS, voice, 66 - - VOYNES, veins, 99 - - - WAGGYNG, excrements of foxes, 139 - - WAIES, way, track - - WALOUYNG, wallowing, 146 - - WALTRER, welter - - WANLACE, put up game, 122 - - WARAUNT, warrant, save, 31 - - WARDEROBE, WERDROBE, excrement of badgers, 139 - - WARE, aware; also war, beware - - WAREYN, WAREYNS, warren, 66 - - WARLY, warily - - WAYSSH, wash - - WEDIR, weather, 8 - - WEDIS, weeds - - WELEX, grow, 163 - - WELLE, WOLLE, wool - - WELSPEDDE, well sped - - WENE, know, to think - - WERED, worn - - WERKIS, works, 5 - - WERVOLF, WERWOLFE, a man-eating wolf, 59 - - WERY, weary, 107 - - WETE, to wit, to know, 137 - - WEX, wax, to grow, 56, 85 - - WEXED, waxed, 128 - - WEXING, WEXYN, growth, 26 - - WEYTINGE, waiting - - WHEDER, whether - - WHITLY, whiter - - WIF, wiff, wife, 75 - - WODE, wood - - WODEMANNYS, woodman's, 129 - - WODMANLY, woodmanly, 176 - - WOLD, wish or would - - WONES, dwellings - - WONNED, WOUNED, wont, accustomed, 85 - - WOODE, wode, mad, 61, 85 - - WOODNESS, madness, 85 - - WOOTE, know, 43 - - WORTH UP, ON HORSE, mount on horseback, 175 - - WORTES, vegetables, roots, 11 - - WOXEN, part of verb _wax_, to grow - - WREECH, WRECHE, wretched, 55 - - WRETHIS, wreaths, 133 - - WROOT, to root, 48, 144 - - WROOTH, wrath, 49 - - WRYTENG, writing, 200 - - WURTHYNES, worthiness - - WYLELI, WILILICHE, wilily, 31 - - WYMMEN, women, 200 - - WYNDE, wind, scent, smell - - WYNDETH, winds, scents, 17 - - - YBREND, burnt, dry, 134 - - YEDE, went, 150, 166 - - YEMAN, yeoman, 148, 165 - - YEUE, give, 110 - - YFETED, made, well or evil shaped - - YFLANKED, a species of madness in hounds, "lank madness," 88 - - YFORE, therefore - - YFOUNDE, found, 164 - - YGOTE, begotten, bred - - YHEWE, hewn, 152 - - YLAFT, left, 178 - - YMAKYD, made - - YNOWE, YNOW, enough, 1 - - YONGIS, young - - YOULE, howl - - YPOCRAS, Hippocras, 11 - - YPOTICARIES, apothecary, 84, 101 - - YREST, rested, 136 - - YTHOWZT, thought of - - - - -INDEX - - - Acquillez, 201 - - Affeted, 27, 201 - - Agincourt, xi - - Agrimony, 100 - - Aiguilles or needles, 61 - - Alauntes, 3, 116-18, 202 - - Antlers of the hart, 26, 140-3, 203-4 - - Appollo, King of Lyonnys, 76 - - Aquitaine, xii - - Assembly, 7, 9, 150, 163-4 - - Auberey of Montdidier, 80 - - Aumarle, Duke of, xi - - - Badger, 3, 68-9 - - Badminton Library, xvi - - Baillie-Grohman, xxvi, xxviii - - Baiting, 118 - - Baldric, 128 - - Beaumont, 167, 182, 184 - - Bellowing time, 160, 162 - - Bercelet, 204 - - Berners, or attendants on hounds, 165-9, 172, 174, 205 - - Bisshunters, furhunters, 74, 206 - - Blaine, xvi - - Blenches, trick, deceit, 159, 206 - - Boar, wild--_see_ Wild boar - - Boce, hump, 206 - - Bodleian Library, xvii - - Boughs, 206 - - Brache, 22 - - Broches, 45 - - Brocket, 130 - - Buck, 3, 38-40, 109 - - Burnish, 28 - - Burr, 141 - - Burrows, 68 - - Butchers' hounds, 118 - - - Caboche, 176 - - Camomile, 95 - - Canker, the cure for, 99 - - Cat, wild--_see_ Wild cat - - Cecil's "Records of the Chase," xvi - - Celandine, 94 - - Chacechiens, 148 - - Change, 31, 111, 207 - - Chase, 3 - - Chase, beasts of the, 3 - - Chaucer, 2 - - Claudoneus, 76 - - Coney, 74 - - _Consolida major_, 98 - - _Consolida minor_, 98 - - Contreongle, 150 - - Cotton MS., British Mus., xii - - Couchers (setters), 120 - - Couples, 126 - - Curée, 7, 10, 29, 52, 173, 193, 208-209 - - - Dalziel, xvi - - D'Aumale, Duc, xvii - - Deer tithes, 195 - - Dryden, Sir Henry, xvii, Appendix - - - Encorne, 174 - - Envoiced, 170 - - Ergots of the hart, 130, 169 - - Excrements--_see_ Fumes - - - F. G. DE--_see_ Gaston de Foix - - Farrow, giving birth to young pigs, 47, 48, 68 - - Fees of huntsmen, 198 - - Fence month, 210 - - Ferrets, 72 - - Fewte, track, 210 - - Fewterer, 129, 211 - - Finders, 7, 9, 165 - - Foils, 32 - - Foix, Gaston de--_see_ Gaston de Foix - - Forlonge, a horn signal, 212 - - Fownes, Thomas, first pack of foxhounds established by, 213 - - Fox, the, 3, 64-67, 68, 212 - - Foxhounds, first pack of, 213 - - Fray, 135 - - Fraying-post, 214 - - Froissart, xii - - Fues, track, 10, 31, 111, 158, 168, 214 - - Fuite, track, 210 - - Fumes, 9, 17, 29, 39, 73, 133, 209-210 - - Fute, track, 210 - - - Garlic, 89 - - Gaston de Foix, xii, 12, 20, 202, 203, and App. - - Gathering--_see_ Assembly - - Gins, 30 - - Gladness or glade, 214 - - Grease or fat of game, 25, 30,36, 69, 214 - - Grease time, 215 - - Greyhound, the, 3, 24, 30, 45, 59, 62, 65, 70, 110, 113-115, 189, 197, - 216-8 - - Grinders, 50 - - Guienne, xxi, 3 - - _Guyenne loup cerviers_, 70 - - - Harbour, 9, 38 - - Hardel, 45, 218 - - Hare, 3, 14-22, 109, 181-7, 219-222 - - Hare pipes, 22 - - Haronblast, 27 - - Harness, 30, 60, 222 - - Harrier, 111, 196, 222-4 - - Hart, 3, 7, 23-37, 109, 140, 148-151, 165, 191-9, 224-7 - - Harting, J. E., xvii - - Hausse-piez, the, 61 - - Hawks, 1, 119, 120 - - Hayes or haia, 67, 74 - - Henry IV., King of England, xi, 1 - - Hippocras, 11 - - Holy Cross, Feast of, 29, 49 - - Holy Rood, 23 - - Horn, hunter's, 4, 128, 227 - - Horse, 69, 95 - - Hound, 1, 3, 30, 31, 75-84, 85-104, 105-112 - - Hunter, 4, 8, 123 - - Hunting cries, 150, 166-180, 181-7, 191, 229; - music, 168, 178, 191-9, 231-4, 244; - seasons, 253 - - - Idleness, the foundation of all evil, 5 - - _Illocques_, 234 - - Imagination, 5 - - Iris, the, 93 - - - Jopeye, to holloa to the hounds, 171, 234 - - - Kenettes, small hounds, 111, 235 - - Kennel, 4, 125 - - Kids, 42, 45 - - Kindles of the hare, 20, 21 - - King, hunting of the, 188-199 - - - Langley, Edmund of, xvi - - Latimer, 167 - - Lesses, 52 - - Leverettes or kindles, 20, 21 - - Ligging, a bed, a lair, 24, 71, 235 - - Lilies, medicinal qualities of, 102 - - Limer, a scenting hound, 31, 38, 152, 157, 161, 167-9, 235-7 - - Limerer, 150 - - Loup cerviers, 70 - - Lymer--_see_ Limer - - - Madness in the hound, 85, 86, 237 - - Makary slays Auberey of Montdidier, 81 - - Mallows, 102 - - Mange in the hound, 90, 91 - - Marten, 73 - - _Master of Game_, xi-xix, xxiv, 1, 2, 150, 163, 165, 175, 188 - - Master of Herthounds, 198 - - Mastiff, 3, 122, 204, 239-242 - - Melbourne, William, 73 - - Menée, the, 240-2 - - Metynge, or feeding, 242 - - Meute, 242 - - Mew, to shed, 243 - - Milbourne, 73 - - Moot or mote, 179 - - _Mort_ or death, the, 197 - - Mortimers, the, xii - - Motherwort, 101 - - Move, to start a hare, 243 - - Muse or meuse, 243 - - - Needles, 61 - - Nets, 30, 67, 73 - - Numbles, 243 - - - Otter, 3, 72-74, 244 - - - Parfet, the, 174, 244 - - Parfitters, 7, 10, 245 - - Parker, 189 - - Partridge, 119 - - Pennyroyal, 20 - - Pevensey, xii - - Ph[oe]bus, Gaston, Count de Foix--_see_ Gaston de Foix - - Pomeled, spotted, 45, 246 - - Prise, the, 197 - - _Pterygium_, 94 - - - Quail, 119 - - Quarry, 127, 136 - - Quest, 9, 130, 152, 154, 155, 156, 157, 163 - - - Rabies--_see_ Madness - - Raches, scenting-hounds, 3, 74, 246, 250-3 - - Rascal, 7, 25, 150, 193 - - Relays, 7 - - Resceyuour or receiver, 198, 247 - - Riot, 74, 249 - - Roebuck, 41-5, 250 - - Roosevelt, Th., xviii, xix-xxix - - Roy Modus, 202, 203, App. - - Royals (antlers), 28 - - Rue, 96 - - Ruets, 128 - - Running hounds--_see_ Raches - - Rutting, 23, 36, 109, 160, 161 - - Ryding time, 20 - - - Scantillon, a measure, 9, 253 - - Scotland, 120 - - Scombre, 127 - - Seasons of hunting, 253 - - Seton, 103 - - Setters, 120 - - Seven deadly sins, 4 - - Shakespeare, xi - - Shaw, Vero, xvi - - Shirley MS., 200 - - Snares, 257 - - Sounder or herd of wild swine, 53 - - Spain, 119 - - Spaniel, the, 3, 119-121, 257 - - Spay, to kill, 10, 174, 258 - - Spay, to castrate, 84, 258 - - Spraintes of otter, 73, 139 - - Springole, 23 - - Spurge, 48 - - Squire, a companion of the hart, 26 - - Stable-stand, 188, 258 - - Staggard, 29, 131 - - Stankes, or pools, 33, 72, 260 - - Stint, 19, 165, 171 - - "Stinking foot," 211 - - _Storax_, 96 - - Strutt's "Sports and Pastimes," xvi - - Sur-royal of the hart, 28 - - "Sweet foot," 211 - - - Tache, 260 - - Tally Ho, etymology and use of, 209 - - Talon, 130 - - Taw, to make hides into leather, 63, 261 - - Teazer, 198 - - Terrier, 4 - - Thyme, wild, 20 - - Trace, footprint of deer, 9, 137, 141 - - Troche, 140 - - Tryst, 118, 263 - - Twety and Gifford, 201, App. - - Twici, William, 201, App. - - Tysane, 11 - - - Valerian, 91 - - Vanchasers, 7, 10 - - Vauntlay, to cast off, 169, 172 - - Veltres, 263 - - Venery, beasts of, 3, 52, App. - - Vixen, 64 - - - Wagging, 139 - - Wall pellitory, 101 - - Wanlace, 204, 264 - - Wardrobe, 139 - - Wer-wolves, 59 - - Wild boar, 3, 23, 46-53, 264 - - Wild cat and its nature, 3, 70-71, 144, 265 - - Wilton, Lord, xvi - - Wolf, 3, 54-63, 266 - - Woodman's craft, 176 - - Worming a dog, 87 - - Wright, xv - - Wynn, xvi - - - Yeoman at horse, 165 - - Yeomen berners on foot, 165 - - York, Duke of, xi., xii - - - Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. - Edinburgh & London - - - - -_ABRIDGED PROSPECTUS OF THE -FIRST EDITION OF_ - -THE - -MASTER OF GAME - -_The Oldest English Book on Hunting_ - -BY EDWARD, DUKE OF YORK - -EDITED BY - -W. 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