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Title: The boke of Saint Albans
Author: Juliana Berners
Commentator: William Blades
Release date: July 24, 2023 [eBook #71266]
Language: English
Original publication: United Kingdom: Elliot Stock
Credits: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOKE OF SAINT ALBANS ***
[Illustration: Fleuron]
=The Boke of Saint Albans=
[Illustration: Fleuron]
=The
Boke of Saint Albans=
BY
DAME JULIANA BERNERS
CONTAINING
TREATISES ON HAWKING, HUNTING, AND COTE ARMOUR:
PRINTED AT SAINT ALBANS BY THE SCHOOLMASTER-PRINTER IN 1486
REPRODUCED IN FACSIMILE
=With an Introduction by=
WILLIAM BLADES
_AUTHOR OF “THE LIFE AND TYPOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM CAXTON”_
LONDON
ELLIOT STOCK, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
=“Manhood I am, therefore I me delyght
To hunt and hawke, to nourish up and fede
The greyhounde to the course, the hawke to th’ flight,
And to bestryde a good and lusty stede.”=
_From_ SIR THOMAS MORE’S _Poems_.
[Illustration: Fleuron]
=Introduction.=
Several independent printing presses were established in England before
the close of the fifteenth century; and from them issued numerous books
which are invaluable to all students of antiquity from the light they
throw upon the social habits and literary progress of our nation. Of
these it may safely be said that not one exceeds in interest that work
of an unknown typographer, which is here presented in facsimile, and
which, from the town in which it was compiled, as well as printed, is
known to all bibliographers as “The Book of St. Albans.” This work has
always been a favourite, partly because our feelings are appealed to in
favour of the writer who for centuries has taken rank as England’s
earliest poetess, and is still, in all our Biographical Dictionaries,
reckoned among “noble authors;” and partly because we love mysteries,
and a mystery has always enshrouded the nameless printer. The subjects,
too, so curiously alliterative—Hawking, Hunting, and Heraldry, have an
enticing and antique flavour about them, being just those with which, at
that period, every man claiming to be “gentle” was expected to be
familiar; while ignorance of their laws and language was to confess
himself a “churl.”
As to the language and orthography of the book, it is a never-failing
source of interest, being quite different from any other printed work of
the fifteenth century, except the St. Albans’ Chronicle from the same
press. Among bibliographers it ranks as “_rarissimus_,” the known copies
being so few that they might probably be counted on the fingers of one
hand.
Looking at the book, then, all round, it will be a convenient plan to
consider these subjects separately, and to treat the volume in its four
aspects of Authorship, Typography and Bibliography, Subject-matter, and
Philology.
[Illustration: Fleuron]
[Illustration: Fleuron]
CHAPTER I.
=Authorship.=
Historians and Biographers, together with Librarians and Booksellers,
have a natural antipathy to anonymous books; and, wherever they can, are
willing to accept the smallest amount of evidence as proof of paternity.
It saves much trouble and avoids numerous errors in cataloguing, when a
recognised name can be associated with an anonymous work. From this
tendency a bad habit has arisen of attributing to particular writers
books concerning which the evidence of authorship is doubtful, if not
altogether untrustworthy.
In this very book we have a striking instance of such erroneous
attribution. The three treatises, of which the book is made up, are
quite distinct, and to a portion only of one of these is there any
author’s name attached. Yet that name, “Dam Julyans Barnes,” altered by
degrees to “Dame Juliana Berners,” is now universally received as the
name of the authoress of the whole volume. With even less show of reason
she is credited with the authorship of a “Treatise on Fishing” for which
there is not the shadow of evidence, that treatise having been added ten
years later by Wynken de Worde, who, when reprinting the Book of St.
Albans, thought that the subject of Fishing would complete the work as a
Gentleman’s Vade Mecum.
There are really four distinct tractates in the Book of St. Albans,
although the two last being on Heraldry are generally counted as one.
The first is on Hawking; to this no name of the author is attached, but
it has a prologue which no one acquainted with the other writings of the
printer can doubt to be his. Of this we shall have more to say anon.
The second tractate is on Hunting: it is specially associated with the
name of Dame Juliana Berners, and will require a more extended
elucidation than the others.
Here the evidence of authorship is as good as for most pieces of
fifteenth-century production—a period at which literary rights did not
exist, and when the scribe, if at all acquainted with the subject upon
which the book he was copying treated, did not scruple to interpolate
his own ideas, and that without any egotistical vanity, but merely from
a feeling that all books being written for the good of men, and not from
vanity in the author, it was a duty to improve them where possible. But
as improvement mostly meant the addition of something on the same
subject taken from another manuscript, we have the constant occurrence
of one MS. being a compilation of two or three others, and yet appearing
under the name of the last compiler.
In this treatise on Hunting we have the express statement at the end of
the twenty-fourth page—“Explicit Dam Julyans Barnes.” This might
certainly apply to the transcription only, but, when taken with Wynken
de Worde’s version, the probability is, that the lady compiled as well
as wrote it. In the reprint by Wynken de Worde, only ten years later
than the original, he varies the colophon thus:—“¶ Explicit dame Julyans
Bernes doctryne in her boke of huntynge,” the whole reprint ending
“Enprynted at westmestre by Wynkyn the Worde the yere of thyncarnacōn of
our lorde. M . CCCC . lxxxxvj.” So that he, a contemporary, evidently
believed her to be the authoress. Later authorities attributed the whole
book to her pen, but as they were in possession of no more evidence than
we now are, and probably not so much, we should attach no weight to such
statements, which were founded simply on a vivid imagination.
But what is known of the lady who is admitted to have compiled the
twenty-four pages on Hunting? Who was Dame Julians Barnes? Here, unless
a sentimental and inventive sympathy be employed to throw an artificial
light upon the darkness, we are in total ignorance. A biography of her
has certainly been written, and all our Dictionaries and Encyclopædias
devote a page or two to her history, which, in 1810, under Haslewood’s
nurture, attained its full development. Even so far back as 1549, or
nearly a century after her supposed death, the learned Bale, who wrote
an account of all our English celebrities, allows his gallantry to
bedeck her memory with garments fine. “Fœmina illustris!” he exclaims,
“corporis et animi dotibus abundans ac forma elegantia spectabilis” (An
illustrious lady! abundantly gifted, both in body and mind, and charming
in the elegance of her mien). Considering that the name of the lady is
the whole of the text upon which Bale had to build, this is by no means
a bad specimen of imaginative biography, and became a good foundation
for future commentators. The story, however, fared rather badly at
first; for Holinshed, in 1577, while echoing Bale very exactly, is made,
by a curious error of the printer, who mistook the letters _rn_ for _m_,
to call the authoress Julyan Be_m_es; while Baker in his Chronicles, too
careless even to refer to the original text, adds another blunder to the
story, and, thinking that Julyan must be a man’s name, dubs the
authoress “a gentleman of excellent gifts, who wrote certain treatises
of Hawking and Hunting.”
Chauncy, in 1700 (History of Hertfordshire), restored her sex to the
lady, and then set to work upon making a family history for her. His
first discovery was that, being a “Dame,” she was of noble blood.
Finding also that the family name of Lord Berners was, in olden time,
spelt occasionally Barnes, he soon supplied a father for our authoress,
in the person of Sir James Berners. And so the game of making history
went on merrily up to the time of Joseph Haslewood, who, in 1810,
reprinted Wynken de Worde’s edition of the Book of St. Albans, and
supplied a full-blown biography of the authoress, giving particulars of
her birth and education, the occupations of her youthful days, and a
most imposing pedigree. Let us quote Haslewood’s own words: “Julyans, or
Juliana, Barnes, otherwise Berners, who has been generally designated as
the authoress of the present volume, is supposed to have been born,
towards the latter end of the fourteenth century, at Roding-Berners, in
the county of Essex. The received report is that she was the daughter of
Sir James Berners, whose son was created Baron Berners, temp. Henry IV.,
and that she once held the situation of Prioress of Sopwell Nunnery, in
Hertfordshire.” He then attributes to her the authorship of all four
works in the Book of St. Albans. The difficulty of accounting for a lady
so placed writing upon such subjects, is cleverly, if not satisfactorily
settled by assuming that she passed her teens at court, partaking of the
amusements of the field, and writing for her own use a commonplace book
on various subjects. Then retiring through disappointment (doubtless a
love affair) to a cloister, her rank raised her to the position of
prioress. There in her seclusion, writing amidst the solitude of
listless hours and vain regrets, she versified the general rules of
sport from her own pleasant recollection, and from the diaries of her
youthful happiness, which fortunately she had preserved. If we remember
the mania which seized all classes for diary-keeping at the beginning of
this century, when Haslewood wrote this, it will deepen our sense of
humour to note that he attributes private diary-keeping to a young lady
who lived _ante_ 1450.
But enough of such sham biography; let us return to facts.
The word “Dame” did not in the fifteenth century, as it does now, imply
any connection with a titled family, it meant simply Mistress or Mrs.
Chaucer speaks of Dame Partlet in this sense; and had the Dame Julyans
Barnes of the fifteenth century lived now, she would have been just
“Mrs. Barnes.”
Similarity of name in history, like similarity of sound in philology is
a will-o’-the-wisp which has led many a writer into a bog. Allowing that
Lord Berners’ name was sometimes spelt Barnes, is that sufficient reason
for making our authoress a member of his family? I think not.
That the greater portion of the book on Hunting was compiled by Mistress
Barnes, is probably correct,[1] and had she written much more, and
produced even an original work on the subject, she would not have stood
alone, even at that early period, as an authoress. Crystine de Pisan,
two of whose works were printed by Caxton, was contemporary with Julians
Barnes, and left not only numerous original writings behind her—one of
which was upon the Art of War—but left her mark, and that no mean nor
ignoble one, upon the political course and moral development of her
countrymen. But Dame Julyans’ work upon Hunting is certainly not
original, as indeed very few works upon any subject were at that period.
This is evident from a glance at the text and the grouping of the
subjects. It begins with distinguishing the varieties of beasts and
their ages; the proper names by which to designate the beasts, singly
and together; on hunting and dressing a Roe, a Boar, a Hare; of flaying;
of the horns of a Roebuck; of the Hart; of the seasons; of the Hare.
Then follows, from another source, an interpolation of a discourse
between a Master of the Hunt and his man, going over portions of the
same ground again; and this ended, we get back again to the original MS.
and the dismemberment of various beasts. All through, with the exception
of the interpolated conversation, the text is addressed to “My deare
childe.” Thus we read—“Do so, my child;” “Think what I say, my son;” “My
lief childer;” “Say, child, where you go? my dame taught you so.”
Evidently that portion was originally written for a mother to use as a
school-book, by which her son would learn to read, and, at the same
time, become familiar with the terms of venery.
Footnote 1:
Taking Berners and Barnes to be the same word, it is curious to
note—in connection with the work attributed to Dame Juliana, viz., The
Book of Hunting—that the masters of that sport employed men called
_Berners_, to be ready with relays of horses and to feed the
hounds.—_See_ Halliwell’s “Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial
Words.”
In the Bodleian Library is a small manuscript on the Terms of the Chase,
the beginning of which is:—
“Mi dere sones, where ye fare, be frith or by fell,
Take good hede in his tyme how Tristram wol tell.”
This manuscript was probably copied by some youth as a school-exercise,
which would account for the following odd colophon—“Explicit, expliceat,
ludere scriptor eat.”
Compare the above with the opening stanza of the verses we attribute to
Mistress Barnes:—
“Wheresoever ye fare, by frith or by fell,[2]
My dear child, take heed how Tristram doth you tell.”[3]
Footnote 2:
“By frith or by fell” = by forest or by plain; but see Halliwell’s
Dictionary.
Footnote 3:
Sir Tristram, the well-known knight of the Round Table, was a mighty
hunter, and the great authority upon all subjects connected with the
chase. Popular belief attributed to him the origin of all the special
terms used in hunting, and his name was invoked to give authority to
any statement upon this subject, just as in a later century the
arithmetical rules of Cocker give rise to the popular
phrase—“According to Cocker.”
The rest of the Oxford MS. is in similar accord with the print, but
nowhere in it is there a word about Mistress Barnes.
The words “Explicit Dam Julyans Barnes” have been considered to prove
that the lady was alive when the book was printed. If, however, Sir
James Berners were her father, of which there is no evidence, she must
have been close upon a hundred years old in 1486, as he died in 1390.
But this is importing a needless difficulty into the theory, which is
not rendered more probable by making the authoress and printer
contemporary.
It may here be as well to say a few words about Sopwell Nunnery, over
which, without a particle of evidence, our authoress is supposed to have
presided. Sopwell Nunnery, Hertfordshire, was founded about 1140, under
the rule of St. Benedict, and subject to the Abbot of St. Albans, from
which it was not far distant. The rule of life among the inmates was
very severe, and at the first the nuns were enclosed under locks and
bolts, made additionally sure by the seal, on the door, of the Abbot for
the time being (Chauncy’s History, p. 466). How long this lasted, and
how the nuns liked it, history saith not; but, in 1338, a
re-organisation had become imperative, and the Abbot of St. Albans,
among other instructions, ordered that no nun should lodge out of the
house, and no guest within it (Newcome, p. 468). There does not seem
much scope left here for the Prioress to take an active part in field
sports, though a hundred and fifty years later, which was about the
period of our “Dame,” many relaxations of the strict rules may have
become common. But, then, we have apparently accurate lists of all the
Prioresses of Sopwell in the fifteenth century, and the name of Juliana
Barnes does not appear at all in them. The known dates are these:—In
1416, Matilda de Flamstede was Prioress. Four years before her death,
which was in 1430, she was succeeded by Letitia Wyttenham. The next
whose name is known was Joan Chapell; the date of her appointment is not
recorded, but as she was set aside in 1480 on account of her age, she
had probably occupied the position for many years. In 1480, Elizabeth
Webb succeeded Joan Chapell.
What is really known of the Dame is almost nothing, and may be summed up
in the following few words. She probably lived at the beginning of the
fifteenth century, and she possibly compiled from existing MSS. some
rhymes on Hunting.
There is still the authorship of the other parts of the book to
determine, and if similarity of wording and phraseology may be taken as
evidence, they were all from one pen.
At the end of the book on Heraldry the printer has put the
following—“Here endeth the book of Blasing of Arms translated and
compiled together at Seynt Albons.” Here we have the printer’s own
statement as to the origin of his text, and doubtless this, as well as
the treatise on Hawking, were made up or “compiled” from more than one
manuscript in French. Haslewood gives a list of such as are in the
British Museum, in several of which portions of the printed work are
contained. Works on Hunting and Hawking were not uncommon in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and are still found in all large
collections of manuscripts. There were several in the libraries of the
Dukes of Burgundy in the fifteenth century, and many are still extant in
the national collections of England and France.
The other tractates in the volume have an origin very similar to that of
the Book of Hunting. The Book of Hawking is an evident compilation from
several manuscripts, which accounts perhaps for its deficiency in
arrangement and want of continuity. The Book of Coat Armour also has two
distinct sources in contemporary works, one of which was the “De Officio
Militari” of Nicholas Upton. From this the schoolmaster copied Book IV.
almost word for word, supplementing it from “The Book of the Lineage of
Coat Armour,” as stated already. The only other literary work which can
be attributed to our printer is the extensive compilation known as the
St. Albans’ Chronicle or the Fructus Temporum. But neither in the
Chronicle, where he simply combined two histories into one, nor in the
Book of St. Albans, which is also a compilation, does the schoolmaster
show any literary ability above the average of scholars of his period.
As specimens of the schoolmaster’s powers of composition we annex the
following, the originals of which can be seen in the ensuing facsimile
pages:—
=Prologue to the Book of Hawking.=
“In so much that gentlemen and honest persons have great delight in
Hawking, and desire to have the manner to take hawks: and also how and
in what wise they should guide them ordinately: and to know the gentle
terms in communing of their hawks: and to understand their sicknesses
and infirmities, and to know medicines for them according, and the many
notable terms that be used in hawking both of their hawks and of the
fowls that their hawks shall slay. Therefore this book following in a
due form shows very knowledge of such pleasure to gentlemen and persons
disposed to see it.”
=Prologue to Mistress Barnes’ Compilation on Hunting.=
“Likewise, as in the Book of Hawking aforesaid are written and noted the
terms of pleasure belonging to gentlemen having delight therein, in the
same manner this book following showeth to such gentle persons the
manner of Hunting for all manner of beasts, whether they be beasts of
Venery, or of Chace, or Rascal. And also it showeth all the terms
convenient as well to the hounds as to the beasts aforesaid. And in
certain there be many diverse of them as it is declared in the book
following.”
=Prologue to the Book of Coat Armour.=
“Here in this book following is determined the lineage of Coat Armours:
and how gentlemen shall be known from ungentle men, and how bondage
began first in angel and after succeeded in man kind, as it is here
showed in process, both in the childer of Adam and also of Noe, and how
Noe divided the world in three parts to his three sons. Also there be
showed the nine colours in Arms figured by the nine orders of Angels,
and it is showed by the foresaid colours which be worthy and which be
royal; and of regalities which be noble and which be excellent. And
there be here the vertues of Chivalry, and many other notable and famous
things, to the pleasure of noble persons shall be showed, as the works
following witnesses, whosoever liketh to see them and read them, which
were too long now to rehearse. And after these notable things aforesaid
followeth the Blasing of all manner Arms in Latin, French, and English.”
So wrote the schoolmaster. Let us now see what kind of book this is
typographically.
[Illustration: Fleuron]
CHAPTER II.
=Typography and Bibliography.=
Old books must be loved, and their idiosyncrasies carefully studied,
before they will yield up _all_ their treasures; that done, the
observant lover will obtain possession of both soul and body; he may
revel in the intellectual feast provided by the author, or he may study
the material and mechanical features of the books as represented by the
peculiarities of paper and the habits and customs of the various
printers. Then, by grouping these as a botanist does his flowers,
according to their organisation into classes, orders, genera, and
species, he may extract from his volumes true replies to questions which
otherwise would remain hidden for ever. So true is the dictum, “The Mind
it is which sees, and not the Eye alone.”
Many bibliophiles, however, of education and taste have been positively
blind when outside the circle of their own particular studies. So it was
with the Rev. Dr. M‘Neille, a well-known critic and book-collector of
sixty years ago. When addressing Dr. Dibdin he wrote thus of “The Book
of St. Albans”—“This book is itself useless, and only a _bon morceau_
for the quizzical collector.” With such feelings towards one of the most
curious works which this country produced during the infancy of the
printing press, it was simply impossible that the interest of its pages
should be revealed to him; and however rich in divinity and _editiones
principes_ of the classics the library of the worthy doctor may have
been, it is evident that our Book of St. Albans could never have been
aught but an alien on _his_ book-shelves.
The works printed by William Caxton were almost without exception in the
English tongue, while the contemporary presses of Oxford, St. Albans,
and Machlinia were nearly all in Latin. Of the eight books at present
known to have been printed at St. Albans, the only two in English were
the “Fructus Temporum” and the work under review. The “Fructus” or St.
Albans’ Chronicle is the same as that printed two years previously by
Caxton, with the addition of certain ecclesiastical events and Papal
chronology, probably added by the printer himself to please the monks.
The Book of St. Albans’ and the St. Albans’ Chronicle make a class of
themselves; but as it is impossible to understand their position without
a glance at the other works from the same press, we will give a
tabulated description of the whole eight.
BOOKS PRINTED AT ST. ALBANS IN FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
┌─┬────────────────────┬─────────┬─────┬─────────┬───────┬─────┬───────┐
│ │ Title of Book. │Language.│Size.│ Date of │ No. of│Type.│Size of│
│ │ │ │ │Printing.│Printed│ │Printed│
│ │ │ │ │ │Leaves.│ │ Page. │
├─┼────────────────────┼─────────┼─────┼─────────┼───────┼─────┼───────┤
│1│Augustini Dacti │Latin │ 4to │ n. d. │ 18│ 1 │5¾ × 3½│
│ │ elegancie │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│2│Laur: de Saona │Latin │ 4to │ 1480 │ 81│ 2–1 │5¾ × 3½│
│ │ Rhetorica nova │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│3│Alberti quest. de │Latin │ 4to │ 1480 │ 46│ 3–1 │5¾ × 3½│
│ │ modo Significandi │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│4│Joan: Canonici │Latin │fol. │ 1481 │ 174│ 3 │ 8 × 5 │
│ │ Quest. sup. Phys. │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ Arist. │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│5│Exempla sacre │Latin │ 4to │ 1481 │ 83│ 3 │5¾ × 3½│
│ │ scripture │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│6│Ant. Andreæ super │Latin │ 4to │ 1482 │ 335│ 3 │5¾ × 3½│
│ │ Logica Aristotelis│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│7│Chronicles of │Engl. │fol. │ 1483? │ 295│ 2 │ 8 × 5 │
│ │ England │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│8│The Book of St. │Engl. │fol. │ 1486 │ 88│ 2–4 │ 8 × 5 │
│ │ Albans │ │ │ │ │ │ │
└─┴────────────────────┴─────────┴─────┴─────────┴───────┴─────┴───────┘
┌─┬────────────────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────┬───────┬─────────┬─────┐
│ │ Title of Book. │Signatures.│ Printed │Ink. │Device.│Woodcuts.│Lines│
│ │ │ │Initials.│ │ │ │ in │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Page.│
├─┼────────────────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────┼───────┼─────────┼─────┤
│1│Augustini Dacti │ none │ none │black│ none │ none │ 36 │
│ │ elegancie │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│2│Laur: de Saona │ signed │ none │black│ none │ none │ 24 │
│ │ Rhetorica nova │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│3│Alberti quest. de │ signed │ none │black│ none │ none │ 32 │
│ │ modo Significandi │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│4│Joan: Canonici │ signed │ none │black│ none │ none │ 44 │
│ │ Quest. sup. Phys. │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ Arist. │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│5│Exempla sacre │ signed │ none │black│ none │ none │ 32 │
│ │ scripture │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│6│Ant. Andreæ super │ signed │ none │black│ none │ none │ 32 │
│ │ Logica Aristotelis│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│7│Chronicles of │every leaf │ yes │black│ with │ yes │ 32 │
│ │ England │ signed │ │& red│ │ │ │
│8│The Book of St. │ signed │ yes │black│ with │ yes │ 32 │
│ │ Albans │ │ │& red│ │ │ │
└─┴────────────────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────┴───────┴─────────┴─────┘
But who was the printer? What was his name? Was he associated with the
great Abbey? and is there any internal or external evidence in his works
to connect him with any other printer or any other town?
The only notice we have of the printer is an accidental one by Wynken de
Worde, who, in reprinting the St. Albans’ Chronicle, says in the
colophon, “Here endith this present Chronicle ... compiled in a book and
also enprinted by our sometime Schoolmaster of St. Alban.” He was a
schoolmaster, then, and this will account for the nature of his early
works, all scholastic and all in Latin. Not till the end of his
typographical career did he realise the fact that the printing press,
instead of being the hobby of a few learned men, was the educator of the
people, the whole nation; and then he gave his countrymen what they
wanted—a history of their own country and a book upon the whole
(secular) duty of the gentleman, as then understood.
The name of the schoolmaster-printer is quite unknown. No notice of him
is found in the records of the Abbey, nor does he appear in any
contemporary document. Yet here, as in Mistress Barnes’s case,
imagination has come to the rescue and a legendary name has been
provided.
Finding that the Prologue to the Book of Hawking began with the words,
“_Insomuch_ as gentle men and honest persons have great delight in
Hawking;” finding also that the St. Alban’s Chronicle from the same
press began thus: “_Insomuch_ as it is necessary;” and bearing in mind
that certain old authors had veiled _their_ names in the first words of
their works, Dr. Chauncy arrived at the sagacious conclusion that the
St. Albans printer wished to veil _his_ name, which really was
“Insomuch.” The joke, for it almost seems like one, does not bear even
the scrutiny which itself invites, for although the schoolmaster uses
the words in two other places, in neither case are they at the beginning
of a chapter.[4] It should be added that in this the worthy historian of
Hertfordshire only followed the lead of both Bale and Pits.
Footnote 4:
On sig. =a j= recto of “Cote Armour” is “Insomuch as all gentleness
comes of God;” and upon sig. =b iij= verso is “Insomuch that in the
fifth quadrat,” &c. The use of the word in these cases could have no
veiled meaning, and it was probably only a peculiarity of diction
which had become a habit with the schoolmaster.
Was he connected with the Abbey? I think not. There is not a word to
suggest such a connection, although we may take it for granted that the
Abbot and his fraternity could not have frowned upon the printer, or he
would never have established himself. His imprints all mention the town
of St. Albans, but never the Abbey, and his position was probably
similar to that of Caxton, who was simply a tenant of the Abbot of
Westminster, but, so far as is known, nothing more.
Was he connected with Caxton and the Westminster press? Without a shadow
of doubt I say, No! Mr. E. Scott, of the MS. department in the British
Museum, has indeed strung together a number of surmises to show that the
Schoolmaster was employed by Caxton, and that all the books without date
or place hitherto attributed to Westminster were really printed at St.
Albans. But internal evidence is against any such gratuitous assumption.
There is nothing in common between the two printers in any of their
habits or customs except the possession of Caxton’s No. 3 type. This is
the only one of Caxton’s types used outside his own office (for W. de
Worde, his successor in house and business, must not be regarded as a
separate printer). Caxton employed it from his arrival in England in
1477 till 1484, when it makes its last appearance in the headings of
“Æsop,” the “Order of Chivalry,” and “The Golden Legend.” In 1485 Caxton
obtained a new fount, similar in shape and character, and from that time
the old No. 3 disappears to make way for the new and smaller type No. 5.
This being more suited to the taste of the day, we find the larger and
worn fount passing over to the country press of St. Albans, where the
Schoolmaster first uses it in 1486, being the identical year in which
its successor appears in Caxton’s “Royal Book.” We may here observe that
after the stoppage of the St. Albans’ Press the same fount finds its way
back again and is seen in W. de Worde’s reprint, in 1496–97, of the two
English St. Albans books. But the discovery of a copy of Caxton’s
Boethius in the old Grammar School at St. Albans, and the numerous
fragments of old books extracted from its covers, are quoted as
confirming the idea. Yet the book itself and all these fragments were
from Westminster, not a single one being from a known St. Albans book,
and they included the Caxton “Chronicles,” 1480, the “Dictes,” 1477, and
the still earlier “Life of Jason;” so that we had better at once remove
the whole Westminster press, dated and undated, to St. Albans, if such
an argument is to have any force. These fragments, indeed, can only
point to the fact that the copy of Boethius was bound in the printing
office, as was commonly the case with the books from Caxton’s press.
Again, Mr. Scott draws attention to the fact that a page of the St.
Albans’ Book, 1486, has been copied by a contemporary writer on to the
blank leaves of one of Caxton’s earliest books. ’Tis true; but this
copying of part of one book into another, printed ten years before, has
no typographical bearing whatever. Lastly, the name Causton appears in
an old St. Albans’ Register of the early part of the fifteenth century.
But this, again, means positively nothing. Caxton’s name was not at all
uncommon; there were Caustons or Caxtons in nearly every English county,
and I have quite a long list of them.
It is highly probable that Caxton, while at Westminster, in the van of
all the literature of his day, would have communications of some sort
with the important town of St. Albans; but that the two printers
assisted one another in the production of books, is, so far as any
evidence goes, a pure fiction.
Let us now glance at the bibliographical aspect of the book.
The work itself has no title. It is difficult in our time, accustomed as
we are to “teeming millions” of books, each with its own title-page, to
conceive a period when the press sent out works without even the shadow
of a title-page. Before the invention of printing, the author simply
headed his first page with the name of the work, as “Here begins the
Confessio Amantis,” or “Hic incipit Parvus Catho,” and, without preface
or more ado, the text commenced. Sometimes even this little notification
was omitted, and, as in Caxton’s “Jason,” “The Chess Book,” “Tulle,” and
many other fifteenth-century books, the subject of the work had to be
learned by reading the text. So it is with the book now under review; it
comprises four distinct works, but to one only is there any heading, and
that has the bare line “Incipit liber armorum.” The first, “The Book of
Hawking,” starts straight off—“This is the manner to keep Hawks,” and
occupies three signatures, =a=, =b=, and =c=, of eight leaves each, and
sig. =d=, which has but four leaves, on purpose that this portion might
be complete alone, if so desired. The same idea controlled the
arrangement of “The Book of Hunting,” which, beginning on sig. =e j=,
ends with Dame Juliana’s “Explicit” on the recto of sig. =f iiij=. This
left the last seven pages of the quaternion to be filled up. Now it was
a common practice, both with the scribes and with the early printers,
when they got to the end of their text and found that a page or two of
blank paper was left, to occupy the blank pages with such common
household aphorisms or popular rhymes as came easily to the memory, or
were at hand in some other book. So here the schoolmaster-printer fills
up his vacant pages with a number of odd sentences and rhymes, most of
which occur over and over again in numerous manuscripts of early poetry.
Among others we notice the well-known:—
“Arise erly,
serue God deuouteli,
and the world besily.”
&c. &c.
Also the folks proverb:—
“Too wyues in oon hous,
Too cattys and oon mous,
Too dogges and oon boon,
Theis shall neū accorde oon.”
Then the list of proper terms to be used by gentlemen and those curious
in their speech is of very common occurrence:—
“An herde of Hertis
An herde of all mañ dere
A pride of Lionys
A sleuth of Beeris.”
&c. &c.
This was evidently copied from some MS., and ends with “¶ Explicit,” and
nothing more. On the next page we have the proper terms for carving or
dismembering beasts, fowls, and fishes, followed on the last leaf by a
list of bishoprics and provinces.
Having thus filled up all his leaves, the printer begins his third
subject on a fresh signature, and introduces the “Liber Armorum” with
the Preface (already printed). A long work on the “Blasing of Arms”
follows, beginning on sig. =c j=, and ending on sig. =f= 10.
This is extremely interesting, both in matter and in the very rude
woodcut representations of armorial bearings with which the text is
profusely illustrated. Except in one or two cases of uncommon tints,
these are all colour-printed, as are the initials to paragraphs. In the
Grenville copy, the pressman having forgotten to roll the “forme,” the
initials all appear in that semi-tinted state which would be the natural
result of such an omission. We notice, too, that where the coats of arms
require, say, three colours on one page, then the initials are also in
three colours; but if only one colour is required for the arms, only one
colour, and that the same, is used for the initials. Occasionally, where
a peculiar colour was necessary, a brush was used to insert that tint by
hand.
In workmanship the St. Albans printer, especially in the English books,
is much inferior to the contemporary issue from the Westminster press.
The types are worse, the arrangement worse, the presswork worse, and the
ink worse. From this point of view alone, the theory that he would print
for Caxton so much better than he did for himself, is not worth serious
consideration.
The Book of St. Albans went through many editions, particulars of which
are difficult to obtain.
1486. The Boke of St. Albans (Brit. Mus.).
149–. By Wynken de Worde “at the sygne of the Sonne.”
1496. By Wynken de Worde (Brit. Mus.).
15—. By W. Powell. “Imprinted at London in Fletestrete at the sygne of
George next to saynt Dunston’s Church by Wyllyam Powell.”
15—. By W. Copland. “Imprinted at London in Flete Street at the sygne
of the Rose Garlande by Wylliam Copland for Richard Tottell”
(Brit. Mus.).
15—. By W. Copland. “In Lothebury” 4to.
15—. By W. Copland. “In saynt Martyns parish in the Vinetre uppon the
three crane wharfe.”
1548? By W. Copland. “Imprynted at London in the Vyentre vppon the thre
Craned Wharfe by Wyllyam Copland.”
1550. By W. Powell. “Hawkynge Huntynge and Fishynge.” 8vo. London.
1551? By Abraham Vele.
15—. By Henry Tab. “Imprynted at London in Paul’s chyrch yarde by me
Hēry Tab” (Brit. Mus.).
15—. By J. Waley. “Imprinted at London in Foster laen by John̄ Waley”
4to.
1561. By Copland. In this year Copland was fined for “a book of
Hawkyng, Huntyng, and fyshynge cōtrary to the orders of this
howse—iiij d” (Herbert, p. 367).
1586. By E. Alde. 4to. (Bib. Dec.).
1590. By John Wolfe “at the sygne of the Gunne.”
1595. By H. Lownes. “The Gentleman’s Academie or the Booke of St.
Albans * * * Compiled by Juliana Barnes in the year from the
incarnation of Christ 1486. And now reduced into a better
method by G. M.” (Gervase Markham). London. 4to. (Brit. Mus.).
1596. By Wolffe.
1596. By Islip. “Hawking Hunting Fowling and Fishing,” by Adam Isllip.
4to.
1596. By E. Alde. “Hawking Hunting Fowling and Fishing,” by Edward
Alde.
1600. By Wolffe.
1606. By Wolffe.
1614. By Helme. “A Jewell for Gentrie by S. T.” 4to. (Brit. Mus.).
1793. “The Book of Cote Armour.” London, 4to, reprinted by J. Dallaway,
with an excellent introduction (Brit. Mus.).
1810. The Boke of Hawking Hunting and Cote Armour. Hazlewood’s reprint.
London. 4to. (Brit. Mus.).
How did the schoolmaster at St. Albans obtain his types? This is a
puzzling question in the present state of palæotypography. Mr. Bradshaw
of Cambridge has, by unwearied study of early printed books, thrown
great light upon the connection and genealogy of numerous founts used by
fifteenth-century printers, and systematic attention to the minute
peculiarities of each printer is doubtless the only way in which those
old books can be forced to yield up their secrets; but the task is
immense, and beyond the powers of any one man to complete. Some day,
however, when the palæotypography of this country, as well as of the
Continental presses, shall have received that full technical and
philosophical analysis which time is sure to bring, the more fortunate
bibliographer of the future will be able with certainty to track the
footsteps and operations of the early typefounders, and will be enabled
to state for certain to what extent Caxton and the St. Albans printer
were their own typefounders, and to what extent and to whom they looked
for outside help. As the case now stands, we can only confess our
ignorance of where the St. Albans types came from.
[Illustration: Fleuron]
CHAPTER III.
=The Subjects Treated.=
In the rude civilisation of the fifteenth century, a year’s experience
of which would send most of us to our graves, the mental occupation as
well as the bodily recreation of our ancestors was almost confined to
hunting and hawking. “Fishing with an Angle” came in as a bad third,
being too tame a pursuit for men who were no men if not men of war.
Mimic war—war on the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air—war
which could be pursued in times of peace, and which yet required
knowledge, patience, fortitude, and courage—this had great attractions,
and we cannot wonder at the general popularity of these pursuits.
The first treatise in the following reprint is upon Hawking, a pastime
essentially aristocratic from the great expense it entailed in the
purchase, breeding, and maintenance of the birds. This, indeed, coupled
with the diminution of game consequent on the progress of civilisation
and the increase of the population, led to the gradual decadence of the
sport, and nearly to its extinction in the eighteenth century, although,
in very rare cases, falconry is even now practised.
As we have seen, one of the most difficult objects in hawking was to
obtain an easy command of the proper vocabulary, and so at first start
our author instructs us in “The manner to speak of Hawks, from the egg.”
We must not say a young hawk is hatched, but ‘disclosed;’ they do not
breed but “eyer;” it was a want of culture in any falconer to say that
hawks were building their nest, they “timbered” it. When the young could
first leave the nest they were “Bowesses,” and when they could fly they
were “Branchers,” and then was the time to catch and train them.
When the young were caught, which was with nets, the first thing was to
“ensile” them, that is, to “take a needle and thread and sew up the
eyelids,” so that they “see never a dele.” After a night and a day the
threads were cut softly for fear of breaking the “lyddis of the ighen,”
then they were fed with well-washed flesh, but kept awake the next night
and day, after which they were supposed to be tame, or “reclaimed.”
The various diseases to which Hawks are liable are then explained, and
medicines prescribed for them. Some of these are very absurd and some
contradictory. Then comes a variety of terms for every movement and
habit, for every limb or part of the body, and for almost every feather
in the plumage. In this minute description the author begins at the feet
of the bird and so works upwards, as when “Knyghttis been harnesside.”
Next we are instructed how important it is to be careful of the manner
of guiding the Hawk the first time it is ready to “nomme a partridge;”
how to reward her by giving her the head and neck, after which on no
account is she to fly again till she has “rejoiced,” _i.e._, sharpened
her beak and shaken her feathers. More medicines follow, among which is
how to get rid of “lies” (lice). “Take a piece of rough blanket and hold
it to the fire till it is quite hot; wrap the hawk therein, and without
hurting hold her ‘softely and stylly’ in your hands, and all the vermin
will creep into the cloth.” A happy thought this!
The “Gesse,” or strip of leather by which the Hawk is held when carrying
her on the hand, is next described, together with the creance or long
line. More medicines still, and then how to treat Hawks when “in mew,”
or moulting, a matter of great importance. To promote “mewing” give the
flesh of a kid, a young swan, and especially rats flesh; stewed adders
are also strongly recommended, or chickens which have been fed upon
wheat soaked in broth of vipers.
Gout seems a common disease in various parts of the Hawk’s body, which
may be known by swelling and “ungladness;” also rheum and fever and
blains and agrum, which last is cured by a red-hot silver needle thrust
into the nostrils. Botches in the jaw should be “kutte with a knyfe.”
More terms follow for various habits and actions, the last paragraph
being upon the variety of Bells used for Hawks. There should be two, one
a “semytoyn” (semitone) below the other. “The Bells of Melen (Milan?)
were the best, but,” says the author, “there be now used Dutchland
bells, of a town called durdright (Dordrecht), and they be passing good,
sonowre (sonorous) of ringing in shrillness, and well lasting.”
The whole ends with a list of various species of Hawks and their
appropriateness to the various stations of life, among which are—
An Eagle for an Emperor.
A Gerfalcon for a King.
A Peregrine for an Earl.
A Merlyon for a Lady.
A Goshawk for a Yeoman.
A Sparehawk for a Priest.
A Muskyte for “an holiwater clerke.”
The second treatise is upon Hunting, and has a short preface, which
probably came, like the first, from the pen of the Schoolmaster.
The work is all in metre, and evidently intended for boys to learn by
heart. It begins by telling “my dere chylde” the various kinds of beast
to be hunted; the changes of name they take as they grow older; the
variety of horns; how to skin and dismember; the various cries and
noises to be used; the seasons of hunting various beasts.
Then follow instructions how to hunt the Hare, and what to say to the
hounds, who must always be addressed in French, as “arere!” when he
enters the kennel-door; “this is the first word, my son, of venery.” “Sa
sa cy auaunt,” “Sweff mon amy sweff,” and other similar cries are noted
down, some to be shouted twice only and some thrice, the chief cry being
“So how.” The knowledge of when and how often these cries should be used
was most important, as their proper use would bring “worship among all
men.” Here, apparently, in the midst of one essay, another is
interpolated, and we are treated to a portion of some old dialogue like
“The Master of the Hunt,” in which the “Man” asks all sorts of questions
and the “Master” replies. It might indeed be dubbed “The Hunter’s
Catechism.” This occupies eight pages, and then we fall back upon the
original rhyme again and the instructions of the Dame to “my childe,”
ending with the “Explicit” of Dam Julyans Barnes. Some leaves remaining
to be filled up, the moral and other sentences, as already described at
page 21, were added.
Perhaps the third treatise upon Coat Armour and the Blason of Arms is
the most interesting portion of the book. The quaintness of some of the
explanations is very amusing, and many people will find more points of
sympathy, both historical and technical, with this than with the others.
The headline, “Incipit Liber Armorum,” gives us at once the title of the
manuscript from which the text was compiled. “Heraldry Run Mad” might
indeed have been an appropriate title for this, as well as all similar
tractates; for the author, in his anxiety to honour the science, does
not scruple to take the reader back historically not to Noah only, but
to Adam, whose spade, he tells us, was the first shield in Heraldry, and
who was the first to bear Coat Armour. The argument, if it may so be
called, is:—All “gentilnes” comes from God; there were originally in
heaven ten Orders of Angels bearing Coat Armour, but now only nine,
Lucifer with “mylionys of aungelis” having fallen out of heaven into
hell and other places. As a bondman might say that all men come from
Adam, so might Lucifer say he and his angels came from heaven.
Cain, for his wickedness, was the first churl, and all his offspring
were churls also by the curse of God. Seth, on the other hand, was a
gentleman by his father’s blessing; Noah, too, was a gentleman by
nature, but of his three sons, “Sem, Cham, and Jafeth,” Cham, for his
unfilial conduct, was made “ungentle.” The address of Noah to his three
sons is curious, and is thus supplemented:—
“Of the offspring of the gentleman Japhet came Abraham, Moses Aaron, and
the prophets, and also the King of the right line of Mary, of whom that
gentleman Jesus was born, very God and man, after his manhood King of
the land of Judah and of Jews, a gentleman by his mother Mary, and
Prince of Coat Armour.”
Some say that Coat Armour began at the siege of Troy, but it was of far
greater antiquity than that, and was founded upon the nine Orders of
Angels, who were crowned each with a diadem of precious stones—the Topaz
(truth), Smaragdus (hardihood), Amethyst (chivalry), Loys (powerful),
Ruby (courageous), Sapphire (wisdom), Diamond, a black stone (durable),
Carbuncle (doughty and glorious). These represent Gentleman, Squire,
Knight, Baron, Lord, Earl, Marquis, Duke, and Prince. Here we probably
have the origin of the shape of various crowns and coronets. Everything
is treated in nines, and the nine virtues and nine vices of gentleness
follow, with nine rejoicings, nine articles that every knight should
keep, and nine manner of gentlemen, in which we learn that the
Evangelists and Apostles were all gentlemen of the right line of that
worthy conqueror, Judas Machabeus, who in course of time had fallen to
labour, and so were not called gentlemen. The four doctors of the
Church—St. Jerome Ambrose, Augustine, and Gregory—were also gentlemen of
blood and of Coat Armour. There are nine differences of Coat Armour and
nine quadrats, all of which are explained. The “Blasyng of Arms” comes
next, the preface to which is by the author, and not by the printer. It
begins with the varieties of the Cross as borne in arms, each being
illustrated by a rude woodcut printed in its proper colours, and the
blason, or technical description of each is given in Latin, French, and
English. All varieties of arms follow, with the mysteries of bends,
engrail, borders, chequers, balls, cakes, rings, &c., offering but
little which can be quoted, but forming an interesting and useful book
of reference.
[Illustration: Fleuron]
CHAPTER IV.
=Philology.=
There is a strongly marked individuality in the spelling throughout all
the treatises in this work. If the Hunting rhymes belong to Dam Julyans,
their orthography, like the prose portions, is that of the Schoolmaster,
who appears to have been a North-countryman, many words leading to that
conclusion. The formation of the plural by adding the letters “is” or
“ys” strikes the attention at once. Thus the plural of bells is bellis;
egg, eggis; vetch, fetchis; fulmert, fulmertis; hawk, hawkys; herd,
herdys; person, personys, and so on. The change of a _y_ at the end of a
word to an _i_ is common, as onli, softeli, unthrefti; and for if;
algate; awth for all the; bowke; chylder; clepit; clees; knaw; ken;
yowre; and many others are Northern. As might be expected, many
Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman words now obsolete are found, such as
benymme, blynne, byzete, canell, clepit, colver, dagon, gobbit, kawe,
kydde, liggen, merde, nasethrils, nym,[5] raton, and many others.
Footnote 5:
In the slang of thieves to _steal_ is to _nim_ at this day.
The following vocabulary will show the chief words in which peculiarity
of spelling or dialect are noticeable:—
_alfe_, half
_algate_, always
_and_, used for “if”
_appillis_, apples
_arn_, are
_assone_, as soon
_awntelere_, antler
_awth_, aught
_awth_, all the
_barris_, bars
_beestys_, beasts
_beke_, beak
_bellis_, bells
_bene_, be
_benymme_, take away
_blynne_, to cease
_boon_, bone
_bodi_, body
_bowellis_, bowels
_bott_, but
_bottre_, butter
_bowke_, crooked
_bridde_, bird
_broght_, brought
_bysprenged_, sprinkled
_byzete_, gain
_calt_, called
_calde_, called
_cattis flesh_, cat’s flesh
_canell_, cinnamon
_callish_, call (imper.)
_chycon_, chick
_chykynnes_, chickens
_chooce_, choice
_chylder_, children
_clepit_, called
_cloos_, close
_communeli_, commonly
_commythe_, cometh
_cowntenansis_, countenances
_coluer_, a dove
_colode_, cold
_cogh_, cough
_contenyt_, contained
_cowples_, couples
_croampe_, cramp
_currage_, courage
_cum_, _cumme_, come
_dais_, days
_dagon_, a piece
_dayses_, daisies
_deeil_, a portion
_defawte_, default
_diueris_, divers
_dookes_, ducks
_doon_, do
_doys_, does
_echeon_, each one
_ech_, each
_eeg_, egg
_eegis_, eggs
_ellis_, else
_elis_, eels
_errabull_, arable
_eseli_, easily
_eueri_, every
_euerose_, rosewater
_euyn_, _eeuen_, even
_eyre_, air
_eygh_, _eyghen_, eye, eyes
_febulness_, feebleness
_fechens_, stoats
_faukeneris_, falconers
_feederis_, _federes_, feathers
_fetchis_, vetches
_feldis_, fields
_fosterys_, foresters
_folowys_, follows
_flee_, flay
_forder_, further
_forrgeet_, forget
_fostewt_, fost
_fowrith_, fourth
_fulmertis_, polecats
_gedder_, gather
_glayre_, white of an egg
_gobbit_, piece
_gres_, grease
_groyn_, grown
_gyde_, guide
_habull_, able
_hawkys_, hawks
_hawtyn_, proud
_hakke_, hack
_haare_, hare
_heepis_, heeps
_hedgis_, hedges
_herdys_, herds
_howndys_, hounds
_hoole_, whole
_hoold_, _holde_, old
_hoom_, home
_hudge_, small
_huntid_, hunted
_hunterys_, hunters
_hennys_, hens
_huicles oppon hir houghis_
_hanylon_, wiles of a fox
_igh_, _ighe_, _iyen_, eye, eyes
_ingraylyt_, engrailled
_inowgh_, enough
_ilich_, alike
_iren_, iron
_ilke_, each
_juse_, juice
_kawe_, call
_ken_, know
_knaw_, _knawe_, know
_knottis_, knots
_kneys_, knees
_kow_, cow
_knyue_, knife
_kydde_, known
_kyndeli_, natural
_kut_, cut
_layserly_, leisurely
_lew warme_
_leppys_, leaps
_leif_, dear
_leuer_, liver
_lies_, lice
_linne_, _lynne_, linen
_littyl_, little
_liggyn_, lie
_luke water_
_lyddis of the ighen_, eyelids
_lymayall_, iron filings
_looff_, loaf
_maake_, make
_mary_, marrow
_markeris_, markers
_merde_, dung
_medecyne_, _medesyn_,
_medlide_, mingled
_meele_, _melis_, meal, meals
_medill_, mingle
_moch_, much
_mony_, many
_mowothe_, mouth
_moystour_, moisture
_myddes_, midst
_mynne_, mine
_nasethrillis_, nostrils
_nares_, nostrils
_naamys_, names
_natheless_, nevertheless
_neppe_, catmint
_nettis_, nets
_notabull_, notable
_no moo_, no more
_nombur_, number
_not_, a nut
_nyghtis_, nights
_nym_, _nomme_, take, taken
_okys_, oaks
_onli_, only
_ony_, honey
_ones_, _onys_, once
_oouen_, oven
_oon_, one
_oppyn_, open
_ordenatili_
_owte_, out
_parlous_, _perlous_, perilous
_pennyd_, feathered
_personys_, persons
_pellittis_, pellets
_pike_, pick
_proceis_, process
_puttith_, putteth
_praty_, pretty
_properteis_, properties
_quarterit_, quartered
_rad_, ? afraid
_raton_, a rat
_restith_, resteth
_rede_, ready
_rebuket_, rebuked
_roys_, roes
_roungeth_
_rowse_, rouse
_saauue_, save
_serven_, sew
_semytoyn_, semitone
_se_, see
_shewys_, shows
_slau_, slow
_snakys_, snakes
_softeli_, softly
_somwatt_, somewhat
_soore_, sore
_sowre_, soar
_soper_, supper
_sowkyng_, sucking
_sonnys_, sons
_spanyellis_, spaniels
_snakys_, snakes
_taake_, take
_takys_, takes
_tempur_, temper
_termys_, _termis_, terms
_tho_, _thei_, they
_thridde_, third
_theyem_, them
_threis_, thrice
_theys_, thighs
_togeyder_, together
_toon_, two
_tweys_, twice
_tymeli_, timely
_thredis_, threads
_varri rede_, very red
_veri_, very
_vnthrefti_, unthrifty
_vreyne_, urine
_warbellith_, warbelleth
_watt_, what
_weere_, where
_weere_, weary
_ware_, were
_wengys_, wings
_whaan_, when
_whote nat_, wot not
_wroght_, wrought
_wode_, _wold_, would
_wight_, swift
_woddys_, woods
_wylis_, while
_yche_, each
_yghes_, eyes
_yolow_, yellow
_yowre_, your
_yowris_, yours
We have now traced the various aspects in which this curious work may be
viewed. There is not one of them that would not repay much deeper study,
and the reader will, doubtless, sympathise with the writer in the wish
that more could be discovered concerning the schoolmaster-printer. That
his pioneer attempts to establish a printing press met with many
discouragements was a matter of course; and, doubtless, he had many
technical, business, and even social difficulties to overcome; for a
reading public had to be created and patronage was scantily afforded.
Nevertheless he struggled on for at least seven years, as we learn from
the dates on his books, and whatever may have been his shortcomings,
either as author or as printer, the fact of his having been one of the
earliest promoters in this country of the grandest discovery which the
mind of man has yet made, will unite all of us in honouring the memory
and respecting the name, shadowy though it be, of the “Scole mayster of
St. Albon.”
WILLIAM BLADES.
[Illustration: Fleuron]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In so moch that gentiƚƚ men and honest persones haue greete delite in
haukyng and desire to haue the maner to take haukys: and also how and in
waat wyse they shulde gyde theym ordynateli: and to knaw the gentiƚƚ
termys in communyng of theyr haukys: and to vnderstonde theyr sekeneses
and enfirmitees: and also to knawe medicines for theym accordyng. and
mony notabuƚƚ termys that ben vsed ī hawkyng both of their haukys and of
the fowles that their hawkys shaƚƚ sley. Therfore thys book fowlowyng in
a dew forme shewys veri knawlege of suche plesure to gentiƚƚ men and
ꝑsonys disposed to se itt.
Thys is the maner to begynne to kepe hawkys: bot not aƚƚ maner hawkys.
bott oonli Goshawkys: and Tercellis of Goshawkys. and spare hawkys. and
in watt maner thay shaƚƚ be taake.
The maner to speke of hawkis fro an eeg to thei be habuƚƚ to be takene.
Now to speke of hawkys. first thay been Egges. and afterwarde they bene
disclosed hawkys. and communeli goshawkys been disclosed. as sone as the
choughe and in some place more tymeli after the contre is of hete. and
tymeli bredyng.
¶ And we sħaƚƚ say that hawkis doon Eyer. and not brede. in the woodes.
And we shaƚƚ say that howkys doon draw when they bere tymbering to their
nestes. and nott they beld ne make ther nestes And in the tyme of their
loue they caƚƚ. and not kauke. And we shaƚƚ say that they trede.
¶ And when they bene vnclosed and begynneth to feder any thyng of
lengthe Anoon be kynde they wiƚƚ draw somwatt out of the nest: and draw
to bowis. and come agayn to ther nest And then thay be clepit Bowessis ¶
And after saynt Margaretis day thay wiƚƚ flie fro tree to tree. And then
thay bene calde Brawncheris. And then it is time for to take hem
¶ And .vij. nighttis be fore saynt Margaritis day &̄ .vij. nightis after
is beste takyng of spare hawkes.
How ẏe shall demeẏn ẏow ī takẏng of hawkis & with wat instrumētis & how
ẏe shall kide them
Who so wiƚƚ take hawkes he must haue nettis wich ben kalled vrines and
tho must be made of good small threde. and it hade need to be died other
green or blwe for espieng of thee hawke. and he most take with hym
needeƚƚ and threde to ensile the hawkes that ben takien. And in this
maner they must be ensiled. Take the needeƚƚ and threde: and put it
thorow the ouer igh lid and so of that other. and make hem fast vnder
the beke: thatt she se neuer a deeƚƚ and then sħe is ensiled as she
awthe to be. Sum vsen to ensile hem with the needer igh lidde a bone the
beke on the hede almost: bot that is the wors way For of reeson the ouer
igh lidde closith more iustly then the nether be cause of the
largenesse. When she is ensiled then bere thi hawke home on thi fiste
and cast hir on a perch and let hir stande ther a night and a day and on
that other day towarde eeuen. then take and cut eseli the thredes and
take hem a way softeli for brekyng of the lyddis of the ighen. Then
softe and faire begynne to fede her. and fair fare with her tiƚƚ sħe
wiƚƚ sitte weeƚƚ vppon the fist. For it is drede for hurtyng of hir
wengys. And then thessame night after the fedyng wake her aƚƚ nyght and
the morow aƚƚ day. Then shee wiƚƚ be preui Inowgh to be reclamed. And
the first meete that she shaƚƚ eete: lett it be hoot. and yeue her
Inough ther of
Whan ẏowre hawke maẏ be draw to reclaẏme and the maner of hir dẏette
And if yowre hawke be harde pennyd: she may be drawne to be reclaymed
For aƚƚ the while that she is tender pennyd: she is not habuƚƚ to be
reclaymed ¶ And if she be a Goshawke or Terceƚƚ that shaƚƚ be reclaymed
euer fede hym with wasħe meete at the drawyng. and at the reclaymyng.
bot loke that hit be hoote. and in this maner wasħe it. Take the meet
and go to the water and strike it vpp and downe in the water. and wringe
the waater owte. and fede hir ther with and she be a brawncher. And if
it bene an Eyesse thow most wasħ the meete clenner then ye doo to the
brawncher. and with a linne cloth wipe it and fede hir. And euermore the
thrid day yeue her castyng when she is fleyng if she be a Goshawke or
Terceƚƚ in this maner: Take new blanket cloth and cut .v. pelettis
therof of an inche longe. And take the flesħ and cutt .v. morceilis: and
withe a knyues poynt make an hoole in eueri morceƚƚ. and put therin the
pellettis of cloth. and take a fair disħ with water and put hem therin.
Then take the hawke and yeue her a morceƚƚ of hoote meete the
mowntenawns of halfe hir sooꝑ. Then take hit that lyth in the waaṫ. and
fede hir for aƚƚ nyght.
How ẏe shall fede ẏowre hawke. and to knawe hir infirmiteis. & ther bene
monẏ diueris of them
If yowre hawke be a spare hawke: euer fede hir with vnwascħ meet and
looke that hir castyng be plumage. than looke that it be cleyn vnder the
perch. and in the morow ye shal fynde the castyng vnder the perch. and
ther ye shaƚƚ knowe whether the hawke be clene or noo. For sum gobbit
wiƚƚ be yolow and sum greene. and sum glaymous. and sum cleere And if
itt be yolow she engenderith the frounce. the wych is an eueƚƚ that wiƚƚ
riese in the mowothe or in the cheke. And if it be grene. she
engenderith the Ry. The condicion of this eueƚƚ is this. it wil arise in
the hede and make the hede to sweƚƚ. &̄ the iyen aƚƚ glaymous. and
dyrke· and bot it haue helpe: it wiƚƚ downe in to the legges. and maake
the legges to rancle. and if it goo fro the legges in to the hede a
gayne. thi hawke is bot loost. And if it be glaymous and roping she
engenderith an eueƚƚ callid the Cray. that is whan an hawke may not
muteyse
Merke wele ẏowre medicines here folowẏng
¶ A medicine for the frounce ī the mowth
Take a siluer spoone and put the smaƚƚ ende in the fyre tiƚƚ it be
hoote. Then let holde the hawke and oppyn hir beke and brin the soore
and anoynte it with the mary of a goose that hathe lyne longe. and she
shaƚƚ be hoole. And if the frounce be wex as greete as a note. Than ther
is a grubbe ther in. and then thow most cutt it with a Rasure in this
maner. Lette hoolde the hawke: and slitte ther the soore is. and thew
shalte fynde ther as it ware the mawe of a pegeon. Take it owte aƚƚ
hoole. and take a payre of sheeris and cutt the hoole of the soore. and
make it as fayre as ye may with a lynne cloth. and wipe clene the bloode
a way. and anoynt the soore with bawme .iiii. dais arewe and afterwarde
with papylyen. tiƚƚ it be hoole.
¶ how the frounce commẏthe.
The frounce commyth whan a man fedith his hawke withe Porke or cattis
flesħ .iiii. days to geyder.
¶ how the Rẏ commẏthe.
For defawte of hoote meete this sekenese the Ry commyth.
¶ how the Craẏ commẏthe.
The Cray commyth of wasħ meete the wich is wasħ withe hoote water in the
defawte of hoote meete. Also it commythe of thredis the wtch ben in the
flesħ that the hawke is fedde with. For though thow pike the flesħ neuer
so clene. yit thow shalte fynde thredes ther in.
¶ whan thẏn hawke shall bathe hẏm.
And euermore ech thridde day let thyn hawke bathe hym. aƚƚ the somer if
it be mere wether. and onys in a weeke in wynter if it be fayre wether.
and not ellis. And whan thow bathes thy hawke: euer yeue hir a morceƚƚ
of hoote meete vnwasħ though she bene a Goshawke.
How ẏe maẏ cawse ẏowre hawke to flẏe withe a currage in the morow.
Iff ye wiƚƚ that yowre hawke flye in the morowtide. fede hir the nyght
before with hoote mete. and wasħ thessame meete in vreyne and wryng owt
the water clene. and that shaƚƚ make hir to haue lyst and currage to
flie ī the morow in the best maner.
How ẏe shall gẏde ẏow if ẏowre hawke be full goorged and ẏe wode soone
haue a flẏght.
Iff yowre hawke be fuƚƚ goorged. and that ye wold soone vppon haue a
flighte take .iij. cornes of whete. and put hem in a morceƚƚ of flesħ.
and yeue thessame morcellie to the hawke. and she wiƚƚ cast anoon aƚƚ
that she hath with in her. and anoon after that she hath cast. Looke ye
haue a morceƚƚ of hoote meete to yeue hir ¶ And if yowre hawke be
ouergoorged. yeue her thessame medesyn.
¶ A medecẏne for the Rẏ
Take dayses leeuys. and stampe hem in a morter. and wrynge owt the Iuse.
and with a penne put it in the hawkis nares Ones or twyes whan the hawke
is smalle goorged. and a non after let hir tyre. and she shaƚƚ be hoole
as a fysħ ¶ Or ellis take percelli Rootis and serue hir with theyem in
thessame maner. and when she tyrith holde rew ī yowre honde with the
tyring and that shaƚƚ make hir voide. bot it is perlous to vse it often
that the Iuce faƚƚ ner spryng in to hir yghes.
¶ Also and ye yeue yowre hawke fresħ butter or the marow of hogges that
is in the bone of the butte of porke. it shaƚƚ make hir to cast water
wele at the nares. and it will kepe the nares opyn. bot it wiƚƚ make hir
hawtyn and prowde
¶ A medecẏne for the Craẏ & moo folow
Take and chafe with yowre hondys the fundement of yowre hawke with luke
water a longe tyme. and after that take the powder of Saxifrage or ellis
the powder of Rewe. and a quantite of may butter. and temper hit weeƚƚ
to geder tiƚƚ thay ben euen medlide. than putte it in a littyƚƚ box and
stoppe it faste. & as oftyn as yow fede yowre hawke an hoole meele
anoynt hire meete a littyƚƚ ther with. and that shaƚƚ make hir to loue
meet the bettir for loue of the oyntement. and it shaƚƚ saaue hir fro
the Cray and from mony oder sekeneses: that gender ofte in an hawke.
¶ Also take the hoote hert of a swyne or of a pigge and feede her .ij.
days therwith. and she shaƚƚ be hoole.
¶ Also take porke and weete it in hoote mylke of a cowe. &̄ fede the
hawke therwith. and that shaƚƚ make hir mutyse att the best.
¶ Also poorke with the mary of the boon of the but of porke shaƚƚ make
hir mutise &̄ fede hir with booth to geder.
¶ Also vse hir to fresh butter and it wiƚƚ doo thessame.
¶ Also oon mele or .ij. at the most of the hoote leuer of a pig shaƚƚ
make hir to mutyse weele. be ware ye yeue hir not to grete a goorge
therof. for it is a perlous meete
¶ Also take y^e white of an egge. &̄ labur thessame ī a spoge as weele
as ye wolde make glayre for rede Inke tiƚƚ it be like wat̄. put thessame
ī a vesseƚƚ. & let the meete y^t shaƚƚ be for hir soꝑ: ly a stepe ther
in aƚƚ the day be for. &̄ at night fede hir therw^t and that the wich
shaƚƚ be for hir dyner in the mornyng let it ly aƚƚ the nyght. bot in
any wyse that ye haue alway fressħ gleyre. and if hir fedyng be poorke
it is the bettir. y^t is proued
¶ The kẏndeli termis that belong to hawkis
In the begynnyng of kyndeli spech of the termys that belong to hawkys
here ye may fynde theym ¶ The first is holde fast at aƚƚ timys. and
specially whan she batith. It is calde batyng. for she batith with hir
selfe most oftyn causeles
¶ The secunde is rebate youre hawke: to yowre fyst. & thatt is whan
yowre hawke batith. the leest meuyng that ye can make with yowre fyst
she wiƚƚ rebate ayen vppon yowre fyst
¶ The thride is feede yowre hawke. and not gyue hir meete ¶ The fawrith
is an hawke snytith. or sewith hir beke and not wipith hir beke ¶ The
.v. youre hauke Ioukith. and not slepith ¶ The .vi. youre hawke
proynith. and not pikith and she pronyth not bot whan she begynnyth at
hir leggys. and settheth moystour like oyle. at hir taiƚƚ. and bawmeth
hir fete &̄ strikyth the federis of hir wynges thorow her beke. and it
is calde the note. than as she fetchis the oyle. And ye shaƚƚ
vnderstonde an hawke wolde not be letted of hir proynyng. For that tyme
that she proynyth she is lykyng and lusty. and whanne she hathe doone
she wiƚƚ rowse hire myghtyly.
And sum tyme yowre hawke cowntenansis as she piked hir. and yet she
proynith not. and then ye most say she Reformith hir federis and not
piketh hir federis. ¶ The .vij yowre hawke colyeth and not beckyth ¶ The
.viij. she rowsith and not shakith her selfe ¶ The .ix. she streynith
and not Clithith nor Cratchith ¶ The .x she mantellith and not
stretchith whan she puttith her leges from hir oon after an other: and
hir wynges folow after hier leggꝭ. then she dooth mantiƚƚ hir and whaan
she hath mantilled hir and bryngith booth her wynges to geider ouer hir
backe ye shaƚƚ say yowre hawke warbellith hir wynges. and that is oon
terme dewe therfore ¶ The .xi ye shaƚƚ say yowre hawke mutessith or
mutith and not sklysith. ¶ The .xij ye shaƚƚ say cast yowre hawke to the
perch. and not set youre hawke vppon the perch.
Here shal ẏe vnderstonde furthermore other maner of termẏs that belong
vn to hawkis for to cōmende them for diuerse of theẏre propirteis
First ye shaƚƚ say This is a fayr hawke. an hudge hauke a longe hawke. a
short thike hawke. &̄ say not this is a grete hawke. also ye shaƚƚ say
this hauke has a large beke Or a shortt beke. and caƚƚ it not bille. an
hudge hede or a smaƚƚ hede fayre sesoned ye shaƚƚ say yowre hawke is
fuƚƚ goorged and not cropped. and yowre hawke puttithouer and endueth.
and yet she dooth booth dyuersely.
¶ How ẏowre hawke puttithouer
An hawke puttithouer when she remeuith the mete from hir goorge in to
hir bowillis. And thus ye shaƚƚ knawe it whan she puttithouer she
trauersith withe hir bodi. and specialli with the necke: as a Crane
doothe or an other bridde
¶ whan ẏe shall saẏ enduth & embowellid
An hawke enduth neuer as long as hir bowillis bene fuƚƚ at her fedyng.
bot assone as she is fedde. and restith she enduthe littiƚƚ and littiƚƚ.
And if her goorge be wide and the boweƚƚ any thyng stiffid. ye shaƚƚ say
she is embowellid and hath not fully endewed and as long as ye may fele
any thyng in hir bowellis it is perlous to gyue her any mete.
¶ Merke well theẏs termẏs folowẏng
Say an hawke hath a long wyng. a faire long tayƚƚ with vi barris owt.
and stondith vppon the .vii. This hawke is entirpenned That is to say
when the federis of the wynges bene bitwen the body and the thighis.
This hawke has an hudge legge or a flat leg. or a rownde legge. or a
faire enserid legge
¶ To knawe the maill of an hawke
Hawkes haue white maiƚƚ. Canuasmaiƚƚ or Rede maiƚƚ. And som caƚƚ Rede
maiƚƚ Iren mayƚƚ. white maiƚƚ is soone knawe. Canuasmaiƚƚ is betwene
white maiƚƚ and Iron maiƚƚ. And Iron maiƚƚ is varri Rede.
¶ Plumage. and Caste ẏowre hawke.
¶ A Goshawke nor a terceƚƚ in thare sore aage haue nott thau mayles
named. bot it is calde their plumage. and after the cote. it is calde
theyr Maiƚƚ ¶ And if yowr hawke reward to any fowle by countenance for
to flee ther to ye shaƚƚ say cast the hawke ther to. and not lett fli
ther to.
¶ Nomme or seesid.
¶ And if yowre hawke Nomme a fowle. and the fowle breke a way fro hir.
she hath discomfet mony federes of the fowle. and is brokyn a way for in
kyndeli spech ye shaƚƚ say youre hawke hath Nomme or seesid a fowle and
not take it
¶ werfore an hawke is calde a Rifelere.
¶ And oft tyme it happith mony an hawke for egernesse when he shulde
Nomme a fowle he seesith bot the federis. and as ofte as he doos so he
Riflith. therfore such hawkys been called Rifeleres if they doo ofte so.
How ẏe shall naame the memberes of ẏowre hawkis in conuenient termes.
Now ye shaƚƚ vnderstande the naamys off the membries of hawkys: to
begynne at hir fete and goo vpwarde as knyghttis been harnesside and
armeed. & so we shaƚƚ enarme her
¶ Talons.
Fyrst the grete Clees behynde. that strenyth the bake of the hande. ye
shaƚƚ caƚƚ hom Talons
¶ Pownces.
The Clees with ī the fote ye shaƚƚ caƚƚ of right her Pownces
¶ Longe Sengles.
Bott certaynly the Clees that are vppon the medyƚƚ stretcheris ye shaƚƚ
caƚƚ the loong Sengles.
¶ Petẏ Sengles.
And the vttermest Clees ye shaƚƚ caƚƚ the Pety Sengles
¶ The keẏ or Closer.
Vnderstond ye also that the longe Senclees be calde the key of the fote.
or the Closer. For what thyng som euer it be y^t yowre hawke strenyth:
open that Sengle. and aƚƚ the fote is oppen· for the strength ther of
fortyfieth aƚƚ the fote.
¶ Seris of waterẏ or waxẏ colowre.
Knawe ye: that the skynne a bowte yowre hawkys legges & his fete is
calde: the Seris of hir legges and hir fete. whether thay be watery
hewed or of waxy colowre yolowe.
¶ The Beme feder. Full Sommẏd and Reclaẏmede.
An hawke hath .xij. federis vppon his tayle. and oon principaƚƚ feder of
thessame is in the myddis. and in maner aƚƚ that oder bene couertid
vnder thessame feder. and that is called the Beme feder of the tayle.
And ther gooth blacke barris ouerwarde the tayle. and thos same barris
shaƚƚ telle yow whan she is fuƚƚ summed. or fuƚƚ fermyd. For whan she is
fuƚƚ barrid she stondith vppon .vij. and then she is perfite rede to be
Reclaymede.
¶ Ye shaƚƚ vnderstonde that as longe as an hawke stondeth vnder the
nombre of .vij. barris. And she be in hir sore aage: it most be sayde
that she is not fuƚƚ summed. for so longe she is bot tender Pennyd
whether she be brawncher or Eyes.
¶ And iff she be a mewed hawke. and stonde within .vij. barris. ye shaƚƚ
say she is not fuƚƚ fermed. for she is not habuƚƚ to be Reclaymed. be
cause she is drawe to soone owt of the mewe for she is not harde
pennyde. no more than a soore hawke.
¶ Braẏles or Braẏlfederẏs. Degouted
To knaw forthermor of hawkes. an hawke hath long smale white federis.
hangyng vndeer the tayƚƚ: from hir boweƚƚ downe warde. and the same
federis ye shaƚƚ caƚƚ the brayles or the brayle federis. And communely
euery goshawke and euery tercellis braylis bene bysprenged with blake
speckes. like Armyns. and for aƚƚ that thay bene accomptid neuer the
better. Bot and a sparehawke be so Ermyned vppon the brayles. or a
Musket. oder ye shaƚƚ say she is Degouted to the vttermost brayle. and
much it betokynis hardenes.
¶ Brest federẏs. Plumage. Barbe federẏs. Pendaunt federẏs.
The federis abowte the formore parteys of an hawke: becalled the brest
feederis. & the feederis vnd the wynges are plumage The federis vnder
the beke be calde the barbe federis. And the federis that bene at the
Ioynte: at the hawkes kne thay stonde hangyng and sharppe at thendes.
thos be calde the pendaunte federis.
¶ Flagg or faggis federẏs.
The federis at the wynges next the body be calde the flaggꝭ or the faggꝭ
federis.
¶ Beme federes of the wẏng Sercell
And the long federis of the wynges of an hawke bene calde the beme
federis of the wyng. And the federis that sum caƚƚ the pynyon feder. of
a noder fowle. of an hawke: it is calde the Serceƚƚ ¶ And ye shaƚƚ
vnderstonde iff an hawke be in mewe y^t same serceƚƚ feder shaƚƚ be the
last feder that she wiƚƚ cast. and tyƚƚ that be cast. she is neuer
mewed. yit it has bene seen: that hawkes haue cast that same first as I
haue herde say. bot that other Rewle is gendraƚƚ. and whan she hath cast
hir sercellis in mew. then and not erst it is tyme for to fede hir with
wasħ meete and to begynne to ensayme hire.
¶ Ensaẏme
Ensayme of an hawke is the grece. and bot if that be take a way with
fedyng of wasħ meete and otherwyse as it shaƚƚ be declared here after.
she wiƚƚ gedder a paneƚƚ wich may be hir vttermost confusion. and she
flye therwith. and take blood. and colde ther vppon.
¶ Couertis or couert
Ther bene also federis that cloos vppon the sarcellis. and thossame be
calde the couertis or the couert federis. and so aƚƚ the federis be
calde that bene next ouer the long beme federis. and the fagg federis
vppon the wynges.
¶ Backe federis.
¶ The federis vppon the backe halfe be called the backe federis.
¶ Beke Clape Nares Sere
¶ The Beke of the hawke is the vpper parte that is croked.
¶ The neder parte of hir beke is calde the clape of the hawke.
¶ The Hoolis in the hawkes beke bene callede the Nares.
¶ The yolow be twene y^e Beke &̄ y^e yeghen is calde y^e Sere.
¶ Crẏnettis.
Ther be oon an hawke long smale blake federis: like heres about the sere
&̄ thossame: be calde Crinettis of y^e hawke.
¶ Sore aage.
¶ Ye shaƚƚ vnderstonde that the first yere of an hawke whether she be
calde Brawncher or Eyesħ. that first yere is calde hir sore aage. and
aƚƚ that yere she is calde a sore hawke. for and she eskape that yere.
with good fedyng she is likly to endure longe.
¶ To Reclaẏme an hawke
Iff ye wiƚƚ Reclaym yowre hawke ye most departe oon mele in .iij. melis.
vnto tyme that she wiƚƚ come to Reclayme. and whan she wiƚƚ come to
Reclayme encrece her melis euery day better and better. And or she come
to the Reclame make her that she sowre not. For thogh she be wele
Reclaymed hit may happyn that she wiƚƚ sowre: so hegh in to the Eyre.
that ye shaƚƚ Nether se hir nor fynde hir.
¶ And iff yowre hawke shaƚƚ flie to the partrich. looke that ye Ensayme
her or she flie. whether she be Brawncher or Eyes Or mewed hawke.
¶ whẏ an hawke is called an Eẏes.
An hawke is calde an Eyes of hir Eyghen. for an hauke that is broght vp
vnder a Bussard or a Puttocke: as mony be: hath wateri Eyghen. For whan
they be disclosed and kepit in ferme tyƚƚ thay be fuƚƚ summyd. ye shaƚƚ
knawe theym by theyr wateri Eyghen. And also hir looke wiƚƚ not be so
quycke as a Brawncheris is. and so be cause the best knawlege is by the
Eygh. they be calde Eyeses.
¶ Ye may also knawe an Eyes. bi the palenese of the seres of her legges
of the sere ouer the beke. And also by the tayntys that be vppon her
tayƚƚ and her wengys wiche tayntys com for lacke of fedyng. when thay be
Eyes.
¶ what a taẏnt is.
A Taynt is a thyng that gooth ouerwarte the federis of the wynges. and
of the tayƚƚ lyke as and it were eetyn with wormys and it begynyth first
to brede at the body. in the penne and that same penne shaƚƚ frete
asonder. and falle a way thurrow thessame taynte and then is the hawke
disparagid for aƚƚ that yere.
¶ Medecẏnẏs to Ensaẏme ẏowre hawke
Take the Rote of Rasue and do it in clene water. and lay thy flesħ ther
in. to temper a grete whyle. and yeue it to yowre hawke to eete. and if
she eete therof. drede not bot hit shaƚƚ benymme hir grece. bot within
.iij. days she shaƚƚ not grettely abate.
¶ Also take puliaƚƚ and garlek and stampe it wele to geder. and wrynge
owte the Iuce in a dysħ. and then weete the flesħ ther in. and fede
yowre hawke therwyth. and bot it tempur yowre hawke. that is to say
ensayme yowre hawke. with in .iiij. days. I merueƚƚ Bot looke eueri day
that ye make new Iuce and whan ye fede hir. weete yowre meete ther in.
¶ Also take the Iuce of percelly Moris otherwise calde percelly Rootis.
and thossame of Isop. and wasħ yowre flesħ ther in and yowre hawke shaƚƚ
be Ensaymed kyndly. and no grete abate to the hawke.
¶ Som vse to lay thare flesħ in water almost a day. and yeue thessame to
the hawke at soper. and that at lyth aƚƚ nyght. to geue to hir in the
mornyng. and thus to fede hem in mew or thay be drawen a bowte a monyth
or .vi. weekys. and to ensayme theym or thay com on fist. as sone as
thay cast theyr cerceƚƚ. then is the tyme to begynne to fede hem soo.
¶ How ẏowre hawke ensaẏmẏthe
Understonde ye for certayn: that as longe as yowre hawkes fete be
blakysħ and rough: she is fuƚƚ of grece. and euer as she ensaymyth. hir
fete wiƚƚ wax yolow and smothe
How ẏe shall gẏde ẏow whan ẏowre hawke is redẏ to flie. Also ẏe shall
saẏ put vp a partriche
Whan ye haue ensaymed yowre hawke: and Reclaymyd hir. and that she is
redi to flie to the partrich. ye most take a partrich in yowre bagge.
and goo in to the felde. and let yowre spanyellis fynde a Couy of
partrichys. and when thay be put vpp. and begynne to scatre. ye most
haue markeris to marke som of thaym. and then cowple vp yowre houndys.
wan ye haue so doon. let sum felow of yowris preueli take the partrich
owte of yowre bagge. and ty it by the legge: with a creaunce. and cast
it vp as high as he can. and as soon as the hawke seith hir she wiƚƚ
flie ther to. and if yowre hawke sees the partirich a boone. yeue hir a
rewarde: theruppon. and go after y^t by laysoure to the partrich that be
marked and doo as I shaƚƚ teƚƚ yow here folowyng.
¶ Iff ye haue a chastised hounde: that wiƚƚ be rebuket: and is a
Retriuer. vncouple him and no moo of yowre houndis. and goo to a sengler
partrich: of the couy so sparplid. and be as nygh as ye can to the
Risyng therof and if yowre hawke desire cast hir to it. and if she take
it then is yowre hawke made for that yere. and of thessame partrich that
she sleth. thus ye moost rewarde hir as it shewith here next folowyng.
¶ how ẏe shall rewarde ẏowre hawke.
Take a knyfe and cutt the hede and the necke from the body of the
partrich. and stripe the skynne a way from the necke. and yeue that same
to the hawke. and couer the body of the fowle with a bonett or an hatt.
and lay thessayd hede and the necke theruppon. and if she wiƚƚ forsake
the fowle that she plumyth on. and com to the rewarde. then preuyli take
a way the partrich. and rewarde yowre hawke with the Brayne. and the
necke. Beware that she eete no bonys. for that is eueƚƚ to endewe. and
it wiƚƚ make hir vnlusty: for to flye. And thus ye most serue hir of as
many as she sleth. bot let hir rewarde be the lasse. for ellis she may
be sone fuƚƚ goorged. and then she may flye no more a grete while.
¶ how ẏowre hawke shall Reioẏse.
And whan yowre hawke hath sloyne a fowle. and is rewarded as I haue
sayde. let hir not flie in no whise tyƚƚ y^t she haue Reioysed hir. that
is to say. tyll she haue sewed. or snyded her beke. or ellys rowsed her.
and whan she hath done any of theys. or aƚƚ. go and retriue moo and she
wiƚƚ nym plente.
Whan ẏowre hawke hath nomme a fowle how ẏe shall do that ẏe rebuke not
the hawke.
Lerne wele oon thyng. and beware therof. whan yowre hauke hathe nomme a
partrich. stonde a goode way of. and come not to nygh her. and dryue a
way yowre houndys for rebukyng of hir. for many hawkys loue noon
howndys. and also many howndys wiƚƚ benymme theym theyre gamme from ther
fote. and that is parlous. and whiles yowre hawke plumith cumme softely
towarde hir. alway nere and nere. and if she leue plumyng. and loke
vppon yow. stonde styƚƚ and cherke hir. and whistyƚƚ hir. tyƚƚ she plume
ayen. and thus serue hir tyƚƚ ye be right nere hir. Than softe and
layserly: faƚƚ oppon yowre kneys. and preuely while she plumyth sett
yowre honde and be sure of the gesse. and than ye may gyde aƚƚ thyng as
ye wyƚƚ. and if ye doo the contrary: she wiƚƚ for feere cary hir game or
let it go quyke. and that is bot losse to yow and yowre hawke also.
A medecẏne for to make an hawke to cast that is a comberẏd with castẏng
with in her bodẏ
Take the Iuce of Salandyne. and wete a morceƚƚ of flesħ therin. the
mowntenaunce of a Note. and yeue that morceƚƚ to the hawke. and that
shaƚƚ make hir for to cast hir olde casttyng. and the hawke shaƚƚ be
safe.
¶ A medecẏne for an hawke that will soure
Wassħ the flesħ that yowre hawke shaƚƚ be fedde with: in y^e Iuce of
feneƚƚ. and that shaƚƚ take away that pride from hir and make hir to
leue hir sowryng whether she be lene or fatte. And mony tymes an hawke
wiƚƚ sowre whan she lackyth bathyng.
¶ A medecẏne for an hawke that is lowse.
Take quycke siluer and put it in a bassien of brasse. and do ther to
saladyne: and askys. and medyƚƚ it wele to geder. tyƚƚ aƚƚ the quycke
siluer be dede. and medyƚƚ therto fat of bonnys. and anoynte the hawke
ther with. and hang it aboute hir necke tyƚƚ it faƚƚ a way. and that
shaƚƚ slee the lies.
¶ Also powdre of orpement blowen vppon an hawke: with a penne shaƚƚ slee
the lies.
¶ Also take a dagon or pece of Rough blanket vnshoron and holde it to
the fire. vnto tyme it be thorough owte warme and wrappe the hawke
therin. and than holde hir softely and stylly. for hurtyng in yowre
hondys. and the vermyn wiƚƚ crepe in to the cloth.
¶ Also holde hir in the sonne in a fayre day. & ye shaƚƚ se the vermyn
crepe owte vppon her federis. then take a knyfe and wete the oon side of
the blade therof w^t yowre mowth. &̄ alway as thay appere lay the wete
side of the knyfe to theym. and they wiƚƚ cleue ther to. and then ye may
slee thaym.
¶ The opẏnẏon of Ostregiers.
After the opynyon of many Ostregiers: and ye fede yowre hawke
contynually with Porke with Iayes. with Pyes. Or especially bere hir
moch in Rayeny weder. thay shaƚƚ be lowse.
¶ Ostregeris. Speruiteris. Faukeneris.
Now be cause I speke of Ostregeris: ye shaƚƚ vnderstonde that thay be
calde Ostregeris that kepe Goshawkys. or Tercellis. and tho that kepe
Sperhawkys and muskettys ben called Speruiteris. and keperis of aƚƚ
other hawkys ben callidde Faukeneris.
¶ The length of the Gesse. Lewnes. Tẏrettis. and how theẏ be fastined. &
Bewettis
Hawkys haue aboute ther legges Gesse made of leder most commynly. some
of silke. wich shulde be no lenger bot that the knottis of theym shulde.
appere in myddys of the lefte honde: betwene the longe fyngre and the
leche fyngre. be cause the lewnes shulde be fastened to theym. with a
payre of tyrettis. wich tyrettis shuld rest vppon the lewnes. and not
vppon the gesses. for hyngyng and fastynyng vppon trees when she flyeth.
and the saame lewnes. yow shaƚƚ fastyn than abowte yowre lyttyƚƚ fyngre
slackely. in compaysyng the saame in .iiij. or .v. folde. as a bowstryng
vnocupyede and the terettys serue to kepe hir from wyndyng whan she
bathes ¶ Also thessame letheris that be putt in hir bellis: to be
fastyned a boute hir leggys ye shaƚƚ calle Bewettis.
¶ Creaunce.
Also ye shaƚƚ caƚƚ the long lyne that ye do caƚƚ youre hawke to Reclaym
with: yowre Creaunce. what so euer it be.
¶ A medecẏne for an hawke that will cast flesh
Putt the flesħ that yowre hawke shaƚƚ eete: in fayre water. and fede her
therwith .iij. days. and she shaƚƚ holde hir flesħ at the best.
¶ A medecẏne for an hawke that has lost here corrage.
An hawke that hath loost her corrage: aman may knawe if he wiƚƚ take
good hede. For siche is hir maner. whan she is cast to a fowle. she
fleith a waywarde as thogh she knewe nott the fowle. Or ellis she wiƚƚ
flie a littyƚƚ way after. and a noon she yeueth it vpp. and for suche an
hawke thys is a goode medecyn.
¶ Take Oyle of spayne and tempere it with clere wyne. and with the yolke
of an egge and put therin befe. and therof yeue to yowre hawke .v.
morcellis. and then set hir in the sonne. and at euen fede hir with an
olde hote coluer. and if ye fede hir thꝰ iij tymys that hawke was neuer
so lusty nor so Ioly before. as she wiƚƚ be after and come to hir owne
corege.
¶ Othir make poudre of mecles that stynkith. and putt the poudre on the
flesħ of a pecoke and mediƚƚ the blode of the pecoke among the poudre.
and make hir to eete the flesħ.
A medecẏne that an hawke shall not lie ī mew for vnlustẏnese.
Take ferne Rotis that growith on an Oke. and oke appillis and make Iuce
of theym. and wete hir flesħ therin. &̄ feede the hawke .ij. timys or
.iij. and that shaƚƚ make hir to leue that
¶ A medicine for an hawke that hath the teẏne
An hawke that hath the teyne a man may sone knaw if he take hede. for
this is hir maner She wiƚƚ pante more for oon batyng then an other for
.iiij. & if she shulde flie a littyƚƚ wile she shuld almost lese her
breth. whether she be fatte or lene. and alway she makyth heuy chere.
and for that this is the medycyne.
Take a quantyte of the Redenesse of haseƚƚ with the poudre of Rasne and
peper and somwhat of gynger. and make thereof in fresħ grece iij.
pellettys and holde the howke to the fire and when she felith the hete
make hir to swalowe the .iij pellettys by strength. and knytte fast her
beke that she cast it not owte and do so thries. and she shaƚƚ be safe.
¶ Also take Rasne and Rubarbe. and grynde it to gedre. and make Iuce
therof and wete the flesħ therin. and yeue it hir to eete. and she shaƚƚ
be hooƚƚ.
¶ Also take alisawndre and the Roote of prima rose and the Roote of gro
gnauteles and seeth aƚƚ in the bottre of a kow and yeue hir .iij
morcellis euery day vnto the tyme that she be hoole. and looke that she
be voide when ye yeue hir the medecyne.
How a man shall take an hawke fro the Eẏrer
Who so takys an hawke from the Eyerer: hym behoueth to doo wisely. in
bryngyng hym easeli. and to kepe him wele from colde. and from hurtyng
of theyr bonys. for thay be fuƚƚ tendre. and thay most haue grete rest.
and thay may not haue stynkyng & filthy Eyre bot as clene as can &̄ may
be thoght. and euermore yeue him clene meete. and hote. &̄ a littyƚƚ &
oftyn. & change oftyn ther meete bot loke it be hot and cutt her meete
in to smale morcellis. for thay shulde nott tyre on bonys tyƚƚ they
myght flie. Then after when she begynnyth to penne. and plumyth. and
spalchith and pikith her selfe. Putt hir in a cloose warme place. that
no fulmertis nor fecheus. ne other vermyn com nott in to hir. and let
the place be secure from wynde and rayne. and then she wiƚƚ preue hir
selfe and euer more yeue hir good hote meetys. For it is better to a man
to fede his hawke while she is tendre with hoote meetis. to make hir
good with somme cost. then to fede hir with eueƚƚ meetis to make hir
vnthrefti with lytyƚƚ cost. ¶ And looke whan she begynnyth to ferme then
yeue hir bathyng.
A medecẏne for wormẏs in an hawke wiche sekenesse is called the
Fẏlaundris.
Merke wele this sekenese and beware therof. This is the medecyne
therfore. ye shaƚƚ take an herbe that is called Neppe and putt it in a
smaƚƚ gut of a Capon or of an henne. and knyt it with a threde. and let
hir Resaue it hooƚƚ. and she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ and saafe ¶ Thus ye shaƚƚ
knawe whan yowre hawke hath wormys in hir bowke. Looke whan she hath
castyng and ye shaƚƚ fynde oon or .ij. a bowte hir castyng place iff she
haue ony.
¶ A medecẏne foor an hawke that castẏs wormẏs at the foundemēt what
wormis that thei be
Take the lymayƚƚ of Iren: &̄ medyƚƚ it w^t flesħ of porke &̄ yeue it to
y^e hauke .ij. days for to heete. and she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ
A medecẏne for an hawke that hath a sekenesse the wich is called the
aggresteẏne.
Whan ye se yowre hawke hurte his fete with his Beke. and pullyth her
tayƚƚ. then she hath the aggresteyne. For this sekennese take Merde of a
dove. and of a shepe. and of an allow. and stronge vynegre. and do aƚƚ
softely in a bassyn of brasse. &̄ Medyƚƚ hem wele to geder: to serue
.iij. days after. and yeue hir flesħ of a coluer with ony and with
powder of peper. and set hir in a derke place. and doo so .iv. days. and
when ye see New federis in the tayƚƚ. wasħ hir with euerose. and she
shaƚƚ be hoole and saafe.
¶ A medecẏne for an hawke that hath the croampe in hir wẏnges and how it
cummẏth.
For this Croampe take a whyte looff of brede sumwat colder then it
commyth owt of the oouen. and let holde the hawke sooftely for hurtyng.
and kut the loofe almoost thorow owte. and display the wynge esely. and
holde it betwene the .ij. partes of the loofe. and let it be hoolde so.
the space of alfe a quarter of an howre. and she shaƚƚ be hoole.
¶ The Croampe commyth to an hawke with takyng of coolde in hir yowthe.
Therfore it is goode for an hawke to kepe hir warme: yonge and hoold.
and this medycyne is good at aƚƚ tymes for hir whether she be yonge or
holde.
Let not an hawke be put in mew to late bot in this maner as it folowth.
if ẏe loue ẏoure hawke
Iff ye loue wele yowre hawke. kepe her wele. and put hir nott late in
mewe. for who so for couetesnese of flieng leses the tyme of his hawke
mewyng. and withholdis her to long therfro he may after putt hir ī mewe
at auenture. for then a parte of hir mewying tyme is past. ¶ Who so
puttyth his hawke in mewe in the begynning of Lentyn. if she be kepit as
she awth to be she shaƚƚ be mewed. in the begynnyng of Auguste.
¶ how ẏe shall dispose and ordaẏn ẏowre mewe
Sett and dispose yowre mewe. in this maner so. that no weseƚƚ ner
pulcatt ner non other vermyn entre ther to Ner none wynde. ner no grate
colde Ner that it be ouer hote. Let that on parte of the mewe be turned
to warde the sonne. so that in the moost parte of the day: the sonne may
come Inne.
¶ Also ye most se that she be not auexed ner greued withe mych noyse.
ner with song of men. and that no manner folkes come to hir. bot oonly
he that fedyth hir.
¶ It behouyth that yowre hawke haue a fedyng stokke in hir mewe. and a
longe stryng tyed therto: to fastyn hir mete with for ellis she wiƚƚ
cary it a bowte the hous. and soyle it with dust And perauenture she
wiƚƚ hyde it tiƚƚ it stynke. and then fede vppon it. and that myght be
hir deth. and therfor when it is bondyn to the sayd fedyng stocke. she
shaƚƚ nether at the fedyng ner at the tyryng ne at the lightyng ne at
the Rysyng hurtte hir selfe. And whan she hath fedde. take a way the
remenaunt if any leeue. and in anywyse that she haue clene mete. and att
euery meeƚƚ fresħ. for of stale metis and eueƚƚ metis she shal engender
mony sekeneses. ¶ And loke ye go neuer to yowre mew hot when ye shaƚƚ
yeue yowre hawke meete. or ellis to bryng water to bathe her. and suffyr
no Rayn to weete hir at no tyme. and ye may. and as for hir bathyng that
shaƚƚ no thīg hynder hir mewyng.
¶ The maner how a man shall put an hawke in to mewe. and that is to be
wele nooted.
Off oon thyng ye most be ware weeƚƚ yff she haue any sekenes that ye
make her hole or ye put hir in mewe. for as I vnterstonde a seke hawke
shaƚƚ neuer mew weƚƚ. for though she mewe she shaƚƚ not endure bot while
she is grete and fatte. for at the abatyng of hir astate she may no
lenger endure.
¶ Some tyme with owt any medicyne many men deuysyn hou thay myght mew
ther hawkys for sum put hawkys in mew at high estate. and sum when thay
be right low. and sum whan thay be fuƚƚ. and sum when they be Empty and
lene. and sume when thay be myserabuƚƚ lene. Bot therof it is no force.
iff she be hole Neuertheles. I shaƚƚ say myn aduyce as I haue sene &̄
lerned.
Who so puttith a Goshawke or a Terceƚƚ or a spere hawke in to mew so
high that she may be no higher. she wiƚƚ holde hir longe in the poynt:
or that she lese or lent any federis. And who so puttith hir in mew
lene. it will be long or she be remounted and who so puttith hir in mew
to hungry and to lene: if she haue meete at hir wiƚƚ she wiƚƚ eete to
moch. be cause of hungre. and ꝑauenture she may be dede ther by. as hath
ofte be sene
Bot who so wiƚƚ that an hawke endure and mew kyndli. myn counceƚƚ it is
that she be not to high noder to low. noder in grete destresse of
hungre. bot like as she wolde flee best then take hede the first day of
to moch eetyng. vnto tyme that she be stawnchid and after that a man may
take her sich mete as I shaƚƚ teƚƚ more playnli here after
In what maner and how a man shall fede his hawke in mewe.
Loke with wat meetis she hath bene most vsed to be fedde and fede hir
therwith .viij. days contynualli. and tho .viij. days yeue hir birdis
Inow. both morow and euyn. and let hir plomme vppon hem wele. and take
castyng of the plomage. and that shaƚƚ talawnt hir wele. and cause her
to haue goode appetide and it shaƚƚ clense wele hir bowillis and whan
she is weeƚƚ clensed. ye may yeue hir what meete that ye wiƚƚ so it be
clene and fresħ
¶ Bot the beste mete to make an hawke to mewe moost sone wyth owte any
medecyne is the fleshe of a kydde and of a yong Swanne and of a chikyn
and especiaƚƚ Ratonys flesħ so thei be not assaughte Noon like to hit
and of a yong goos for sich meete is hote of it selfe.
¶ And take gobittis of grete fresħ Elis. and specialli the colpon next
the Naueƚƚ. and weete it in hote blode of moton it is goode to make her
to mewe. bot specialli it shaƚƚ make her wight after hir soore aage
¶ Thees sayd fleshes bene goode to mewe an hawke: and to kepe hir in
state bot loke she haue goode plente euery day. so that she Rather leue
parte then lacke any. and euery .ijj. day let hir bath if she lyst
¶ And when she waxith nygh ferme yeue hir hennys and fatt porke and of
an hounde is passing good.
¶ An hawke is neuer fuƚƚ ferme nor redy forto drawe owte of mew vnto
tyme hir serceƚƚ be fuƚƚ groyn. yet haue I sene sū folkys take hem owte
of mewe when the sarceƚƚ were bot halfe ispronge. and that is parlous.
for they are not then harde penned.
¶ Som folkys vsen when an hawke has cast hir sarceƚƚ to begynne and wasħ
hir meete. and fede hir so in mew with wasħ meete a monyth or .vi.
weekys or euer thay drawe thaym.
¶ Bot of aƚƚ fleshes after she is mewed. a resenable goorge of an hoote
haare is beest. and also of a crowe hoote. bot it moste be wasħ in
water: and then it is the better. For that wiƚƚ not benymmen hem hastely
theyr grece. ner put hem in no grete febulnes. for it durith sumwat with
hir.
¶ To make an hawke to mew tẏmeli with owt anẏ hurtẏng of hir.
Now I shaƚƚ teƚƚ yow verray true medecynes for to mewe an hawke hastyly
that ye shaƚƚ beleue for trowthe and ye wiƚƚ as-say theym.
¶ Ther be in woddys or in hedgis wormys calde edders that ben Redde of
nature. and he is calde veꝑa. and also ther be snakys of thessame kynde.
and they be verri bitter. Take .ij. or .iij of theym and smyte of ther
hedes and thendys of theyr taylis. Then take a new erthen pot: that was
neuer vsed. and cut hem ī to smaƚƚ gobettys. and put thossame therin.
and let hem sethe stronglich. a grete while. at good layser. and let the
pot be couered. that no ayre com owte of it ner no breth and let it
sethe so long that the saame colpons seth to grece. then cast it out and
doo a way the bonis. and geder the grece. and put it in a clene vessiƚƚ.
and as oft as ye fede yowre hawke: anoȳt her meete therin. and let hir
ete as moch as she wiƚƚ. and that meete shal mewe her at yowre awne
wiƚƚ.
¶ A nother medecẏne.
Take whete: and put it in the brothe that thedderis were sothen in. and
when ye se the whete begynnyth to cleue: take it owt and fede hennys or
chykynnes therwith. and fede yowre hawke with thessame polayn.
Who so will that an hawke mewe not nor fall noon of hir federis.
therfore here is a medecẏne
Take powder of Caneƚƚ. and the Iuce of franke cost and the Iuce of
paranye. and take morcellis of flesħ .iij. or .iiij. if ye lust and
weete them therin. and make the hawke to swalow hem and serue hir so
mony tymys.
¶ Also take the skynne of a snake or of an Edder. and cut it in to smale
peces. and temper it with hoote blode: and cause yowre hawke oftyn tyme
to fede therof and she shaƚƚ not mewe.
¶ For the gowte in the throte.
When ye se yowre hawke blaw oftyn tymes: and that it commys of no
batyng. ye may be sure she hath the gowte in the throte And for that
Take the blode of a pekoc. and Encense myrabolanana. and clawis of
gelofre. and caneƚƚ and gynger. and take of aƚƚ thes euynlich and medyƚƚ
hem with pecokkys blode and seth it tyƚƚ it be thycke. and therof make
morcellis. and yeue the hawke therof eueri day. at mydmorne and att
Noone.
For the gowte in the hede and ī the Raẏnes.
When ye se yowre hawke may not endew her meete nor remoūte her astate.
she hath the gowte in the hede and in the Raynes.
¶ Take Momyan̄ oderwise called momyn̄. among Poticaries ye may haue it.
and the skynne of an haare and yeue it to yowre hawke to eete .ix. tymes
with the flesħ of a catt. and iff she may holde that meette she shaƚƚ be
saafe.
¶ A medecẏne for a sekenes called the fallera
When ye se that yowre hawkes clees wax white: then she has the fallera.
For this sekenes take a blacke snake. and cutte a way the hede. and the
tayƚƚ. and take the myddyƚƚ. and fry it in an erthyn pote. and take the
grece and saue it. and anoynt the flesħ of a pecoke therwith and yeue it
to the hawke for to eete viij. days: and ye haue no pecoke yeue hir
flesħ of a colu̇ and after the .viij. days yeue hir a chekyn. and wasħ
it a littil and yeue it hir to eete. and take the tenderist of the brest
withe the ffresheƚƚ bone and let hir eete it. and if she amende anythyng
she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ.
A medecẏne for the crampe in the thigh in the legge and in the fote of
an hawke.
When ye se youre hauke lay hir oon fote vppō her oder fote. she is take
with the crampe. Then drawe hir blode vppon the fote y^t lies vppon that
other fote. and vppon the legge also. and she shaƚƚ be hoole.
¶ For the Cogh or the poose.
Take powdre of Bays: and put it vppon the flesħ of a Coluer. and yeue it
ofte to yowre hawke and with owte dowte she shaƚƚ be hoole.
¶ A medecẏne for the podagre.
When yowre hawkes fete be swollyn she hath the podagre then Take fresħ
may butter and as moch of Oyƚƚ of olyf and of alyn. and chaufe it wele
to gedre at the fiere and make therof of anoyntement. and anoynt the
fete .iiij. days. and set hir in the sonne. and yeue hir flesħ of a cat.
and if that auayƚƚ nott Seth the cuttyng of a vyne. and wrappe it a
bowte the swellyng. and let hir sit vppon a colde stone and anoynt hir
with butter or freshe grece. and she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ.
A medecẏne for a sekenes within the bodẏ of an hauke and it shewith not
outewarde how she shall be holpen and in what maner.
A man maẏ knaw by the chere. and vngladnes of an hawke this infirmyte
bot yit it is straunge to knawe: thyngys that a man may not se: in what
sekenes and what maner thay be greuyde and specialli whan a man whote
not wherof it commyth ¶ Fede yowre hawke wele vppon an henne and then
make her to fast .ij. days after: to avoide weele hir bowellis. The
thryd day take hony soden̄ and fyƚƚ hir body fuƚƚ. and bynde hir beke
that she cast it not owt of hir body and then set hir owtt in the sonne.
and when it drawith towarde euen fede hir with an hoote fowle. for as I
herde my maystris say and she be nott hooƚƚ herof. loke neuer oder
medecyne.
For the passion that Goshawkis haue fastẏng
¶ Take the Rote of smaƚƚ Rysshes. and make Iuce of hem and weete yowre
flesħ therin and make her to eete it.
¶ For hawkis that ben wonded.
Take a way the federis abowt the wonde and take the white of an Egge and
Oyle of Olyue. and mediƚƚ it to geder. and anoynt the wonde and kepe it
with white wyne. vnto tyme ye se dede flesħ. and then put in the wonde
Escompe saƚƚ vnto tyme the dede flesħ be wastyde. after take encence:
and clene as myche of that oon as of that oder. mediƚƚ it infere. and
whan ye wiƚƚ anoynt the soore heete yowre oyntement and anoynt it with a
pen: tyƚƚ the tyme the skynne grow ayenne. and if ye se dede flesħ
theron: and woƚƚ haue it a way Take venecreke & then anoynt itt with
this Oyntement afforsayde and she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ
¶ A medecine for an hauke that has the artetik
When ye se yowre hawke fat abowte the hert trust it for trouth she hath
the artetike. Therfore do let hir blode in the Origynal vayne. and after
that yeue hir a frogge for to eete. &̄ she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ
A medecine for an hauke combred ī the bowillis
When yowre hawke is Encombred in the bowillis ye shaƚƚ knaw it by hir
Eyghes. for hir Eighen wiƚƚ be derke and she wiƚƚ looke vngladli and hir
metessing wiƚƚ defowle hir foundement. Then take the hawkes meete and
anoynt it with powdre of canneƚƚ and yeue it hir to eete. and she shaƚƚ
be hooƚƚ.
¶ A medecẏne for an hawke that has the goute
Fede yowre hawke with an Irchyn onys or twyes. & it shaƚƚ helpe hir:
¶ A medecẏne for an hawke that hath mites.
Take the Iuce of wormewode and put it ther thay be and thei shaƚƚ dye.
¶ That an hauke vse hir craft all the seson to flẏe or lefe.
When ye go to the felde in the latter ende of hawkyng and desire that
yowre hawke shaƚƚ vse hir crafte. Do to hir in this maner let hir sle a
fowle. and let hir plym vppon it asmoch as she wiƚƚ. and when she hath
plymmed Inough go to hir softely for frayng. and rewarde hir on the
fowle. and after that ye may cast hir on a perch. & asweƚƚ she may vse
hir craft so. as that she slew aƚƚ the yere.
¶ A medecẏne for an hauke that has the stoon
¶ Anoynt hir fundement with Oyƚƚ. and put the powder of alym with an
hole straw.
¶ Also take an herbe callid cristis lardder. & anoynt hir mowthe within
and she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ.
¶ Also take smale flambe rotis and polipodi and the cornes of sporge and
grinde it weeƚƚ and seeth it in butter. and drawe it thorugh a clooth.
and make throf .iij. pellettis of the grettenes of a Not. and put it in
his mowth in the morowtide. and loke that she be voide. and then let her
fast tiƚƚ euensong. and fede hir littiƚƚ and littiƚƚ. and she shaƚƚ be
hooƚƚ.
¶ A medecẏne for vermẏn.
Take the Iuce of the Roote of ffeneƚƚ. and do it where the vermyn be.
and thay shaƚƚ dye.
¶ A medecine for the Reume that haukis haue
When ye se yowre hauke cloose her Eyghen. and shakith hir hede. then
hath she the Reume in the hede. Therfore yeue hir larde of a gote the
first day and the secunde yeue hir epatike with the flesħ of a chycon
and she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ.
¶ A medecẏne for haukis that bene drẏ and desẏre to drẏnke, to kepe hem
moẏst in kẏnde.
¶ Take the Iuce of haarhounde and weete thyn hawkys mete therin. and
fede her therwith onys or twyes. and she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ.
For sekenes that haukis haue ī their Entrellis.
An hawke that is seke withi thentrayles: is of an oder aray then in oder
sekeneses. for if she holde not her mete bot cast it. that is tokyn of
the foule glet. for surfete of federis that be yeuen to hawkis in theyr
yowth and afterwarde when thay come vnto trauayƚƚ. and ben anoyde of the
Reuer then thay waxen slow to flye and desire forto rest. and when
thauke is vppon hir perch then she wiƚƚ slepe forto putouer. at thentrīg
and if she holde flesħ any while in hir goorge: it wiƚƚ loke as it wor
sooden and when she is waked she assayeth to put ouer at thentryng. and
it is agluttide and colded: with the glett y^t she hath engenderid. and
if she shulde ascape she most put ouer. or ellis she most dye. or cast
it and if she cast it she may be holepe with the medecyne.
¶ A medecẏne for the Entreẏllis.
Take yolkys of Egges rawe. and whan they be wele beton to geder. put
therto spanyshe salte. and as mych hony therto. & weete therin thy
fleshe. and fede thyn hawke .iij. days therwith and if she make daunger
to eete it. let holde thyn hawke. and make hir to swalow .iij. or .iiij.
morcellis in a day. and securli she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ ¶ Yit I shaƚƚ say to
yow a noder thyng. take hony at the choungyng of the moon. and a kene
nettyƚƚ and therof make smaƚƚ powdre and when it is weƚƚ grownde. take
y^e brest boon of an henne. and a noder of a coluer. and hakke it with a
knyfe. and do a way the skynne. and do theron the powdre and aƚƚ hoote
with the powdre fede hir. and do so thries. and she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ.
¶ For sekenes of Swellẏng.
Iff an wicked felon be swollyn in sich a maner y^t a man maȳ heeƚƚ it.
that the hawke shaƚƚ not dye thus a man may helpe hir strongly. and
lengthe hir lyfe. bot the hawke wiƚƚ be very eegre and glettous of the
seekenes. and therfor ye moost Take the Rote of comfory and sugre iliche
mych. and sethe it in fresħ grece with the thridde parte of hony. and
then draw it thorogh a fayre clooth. and oft yeue it to the hawke and
she shaƚƚ amende.
For blaẏnis ī haukes mouthes cald frounches
Off the frounches it is dredde for hawkes. for it is aṅoyus sekenes. and
drawith hir to deth. and with holdeth hir strengthe. for men sayn that
it commyth of colde. For colde doth hawkes mych harme. and makyth flewme
faƚƚ owte of the brayne &̄ the Eyghen wiƚƚ sweƚƚ and empeyre in her
hede. and bot she haue hasteli helpe it wiƚƚ stoppe her nase thrillis.
And therfor Take Feneƚƚ Maryaƚƚ and Kersis ilich moch. and sethe it &
draw it thorough a cloth. and oderwhiles: wasħ her hede therw^t and put
som in the Roofe of her mowth. and she shaƚƚ be saafe
¶ A medicine for an hauke that castis hir flesh
Wete hir fleshe in sarfoiƚƚ or ellis seeth Rafne in water and put her
fleshe therin: when it boylith.
¶ A medecẏne for the Reume clepid Agrum
¶ When thou seeth thy hauke vppon his mouth and his chekis blobbed. then
she hath thys sekenes calde Agrum. Therfor take a nedeƚƚ of siluer and
hete it ī the fire. and brynne the Narellis thourogh owte. then anoynt
it with oyle of Olyff.
¶ For to make an hawke grete and fatte.
Take a quantyte of poorke and ony and butter Iliche myche and porgede
grece and do a way the skynne. and sethe hem to geder. and anoynt thy
flesħ therin. and fede yowre hawke therwith. and she shaƚƚ encrece
myghtely. Ellis take the wynges of an Eued. and fede hir and kepe hir
from traueƚƚ and do so ofte though the eued be neuer so fatte. and if
yowre hawke be not passing fat within a fortenet wondre I thynke.
¶ For booches that growe in an hawkis Iowe
Kutt theys botches with an knyfe. and let owte the mater of theym. and
after clense theym clene with a syluer spone or ellis fille the hooƚƚ
with a powdre of arnement Ibrent. and vppon that powdre do a littiƚƚ
larde: that is resside and so it wiƚƚ a way.
Here is a goode medecẏne for an hawke that wyll not coom to Reclaẏme.
¶ Take fresħ butter and put therto sugre and put it in a clene cloth and
Reclayme her to that and kepe it in a box in youre. bagge.
A medecẏne for hawkis that bene Refreẏned.
When ye se yowre hawke Nesyng and Castyng wat thorogh her Nostrellis or
hir nares then dowteles she is Refraned. For that sekenes: take ye
greynes of shaffelegre and of peper and grynde it weeƚƚ. and temper it
with strong vynegre and put in hir Nares and in the Rooff of hir mowth
and yeue hir flesħ to eete. and she shaƚƚ be saaff.
A medecẏne for hawkẏs that haue paẏne in theẏr croupes.
¶ Ye shaƚƚ take fayre Morsum and poudre of gelefre: and meddiƚƚ it to
gedre. and yeue it to yowre hawke to eete. and if she holde it past the
secunde day after. she shaƚƚ be hoole.
A medecẏne for the stoone in the fundement
¶ When yowre hawke may not metese then she hathe thatt sekenes calde the
stoon. And for this sekenes: ye shaƚƚ take the hert of a swyne and the
grece of a swyne. and cutt it with the flesħ of the hert and she shaƚƚ
be holpe.
¶ A medecẏne for the drẏ Frounce.
For thys sekenes take the Roote of Pillipody that growth vppon Okys. and
seth it a grete while then take it fro the fire and let it stonde and
wax lew warme. then wasħ yowre flesħ therin. and feede yowre hawke .iij.
tymes. and she shaƚƚ be hoole
¶ A medecẏne for wormẏs called anguellis
Take pressure made of a lombe that was borne in vntyme &̄ maake therof
.iij. morcellis and put it in a gut of a coluer and fede her therwith
and loke the hawke be voide when ye yeue hir thys medecyne.
¶ Also take Iuce of dragonys and put fuƚƚ the gut of a pegion and then
cut it and departe it as the hawke may ouerswolow it. and put it in his
body. and knytt his beke for castyng
¶ Also yeue hir the ballockys of a Buc as hote as thay ben cut owte. and
make powdre of the pyntyƚƚ and cast it vppō the flesħ of a Cat. and fede
her therwith & she shaƚƚ be hooƚƚ.
An hawke Tẏrith. Fedith. Goorgith. Bekith. Rousith. Enduẏth. Mutith.
Perchẏth. Ioẏkith. Puttithouer. Proẏnẏth. Plommẏth. She warbullith. and
mantellith.
She tyrith vppon Rumppys. She fedith on aƚƚ maner of flesħ. She goorgïth
when she fillith hir goorge with meete. She bekyth when she sewith: that
is to say she wypith hir beke. She Rousith when she shakith aƚƚ hir
federis and hir body to gedre. She Enduyth when hir meete in hir
bowellys faƚƚ to digestion. She mutith when she auoydith hir order. She
perchith when she stondyth on any maner bowe or perch. She Ioykith when
she slepith. She puttithouer when she Euoidith hir meete owte of hir
goorge in to hir bowillis. She proynith when she fetchyth oyle with hir
beke ou̇ hir tayle and anoyntith hir fetr & hir federis. She plōmyth
when she pullith federis of any fowle or of any other thyng and castys
hem from her She warbbelyth when she drawith booth her wyngys ouer the
myddys of her boeke. and ther they mete both and softely shakyth them.
and let hem faƚƚ ayen. And she mantyllith when she stretchith her oon
wyng a long after her lege. and afterwarde that other wyng. and moost
comynly she doth that affore or she warbelyth hir.
¶ The namẏs of a Spare hauke as Ostrigers and Sparuiters haue determẏned
Ther is a question axyd whether a man shaƚƚ caƚƚ a spare hawke Or a
spere hawke Or an aspere hawke. & Ostrigers. and also Sparuiters: sayen
she may be callid aƚƚ .iij. Namys. for thees resonys. She may be callid
a Spere hawke for of aƚƚ the hawkys that ther be she is moost spere.
that is to say moost tendre to kepe. for the leest mysdyetyng and
mysentendyng sleth
¶ Also she may be calde an aspare hawke of sharpenesse of hir corage.
and of hir lokyng quicly. and also of her fleyng For she is moost asper
and sharpe in aƚƚ thyngꝭ that belong vnto hir of any other hawkys
¶ She may be also callid a spare hawke for .ij. Resones. oon is she
sparith goshawkys and tercellys both. siche as ben in their soore aage.
vnto tyme thay may be Reclaymyd. and made redy to flye. as Goshawkys and
tercellys that be not fully mewed: vnto tyme they may be clene ensaymyd
and redy to flye. for aƚƚ the whyle thay bene vnabuƚƚ. the spare hawke
occupithe thesseson. and sleth the partrich weeƚƚ. that is to say froom
saynt Margaritys day vnto it be lammas. and so forth in the yere.
¶ And she wyƚƚ slee weeƚƚ yong fesawntis: yong heth cockys in the
begynnyng of the yere. And after Michelmas whan partriches passe her
daunger I haue seen them made sum to sle the pie sum to sle the Tele
vppon the Reuer: at the Iutte. sume to sle the wodecok and sum for the
blacke bride and the thrushe.
¶ The wodecok is comborous to sle: bot if ther be crafte. therfore when
ye come to a wode or a quech of bushus. cast yowre sparehawke in to a
tre and beete the busħes then and if any wodecok a rise she wiƚƚ be sure
therof. ¶ Ye most first make hir to a fowle cast vp owt of the bushes.
and yowre hawke most sit on loofte as ye make hir to a partriche. Also
as I sayde ye may caƚƚ hir a spare hawke: for an oder cause. for and
ther weer a shippe fraght fuƚƚ of hawkis. and no thyng ellis. and ther
were a spare hawke among thaym ther shuld no custom be payd because of
hir. And so for the most comune name thay be calde spare hawkes for the
resones a forsayd.
An hawke flieth to the vew to the Beke. or to the Toll. Nō Crepe Querre
Fer Iuttẏ &ċ
An hawke fleeth to the Ryuer dyuersis ways. and slethe the fowle
dyuerli. That is to say she flieth to the vew or to the beke. or to the
toƚƚ. & aƚƚ is bot oon. as ye shaƚƚ knawe here after She fleeth also to
the quarre: to the crepe. and no mo ways bot thoos .iij. And she Nymmyth
the fowle at the fer Iutty or at the Iutty ferre.
Now shall ẏe knaw what theis termes betokẏn & moo folowẏng. as Hut.
Iuttẏ ferrẏ. Mounte Raundon. Crepe. Ennewed.
A Goshawke or a terceƚƚ that shaƚƚ flee to the vew. to the toƚƚ or to
the beke. in this maner she is taught ye most fynde a fowle in the Reuer
or in a pitte preueli. and theen sett youre hauke a grete space of.
vppon a mooƚƚ hiƚƚ or on the grownde. and crepe softeli towarde the
fowle: from yowre hawke streght way and when ye come almost ther as the
fowle lyeth. looke backewarde towarde the hawke. and with yowre hande or
with yowre tabur styke: becke yowre hawke to come to you. and when she
is on wyng. and comyth low bi the grounde. and is almost at yow. then
smyte youre tabur. and cry huff. huff. huff and make the fowle to
spryng. and with that noyse the fowle wil rise and the hawke wyƚƚ nym
it.
¶ And now take hede. Iff yowre hawke nym the fowle at the fer side of
the Ryuer or of the pitt from yow Then she sleeth the fowle at the fer
Iutty and if she slee it vppon that side that ye ben on. as it may hape
dyuerse times. Then ye shaƚƚ say she hath sleen the fowle at the Iutty
ferry.
¶ Iff yowre hawke nym the fowle a lofte: ye shaƚƚ say she toke it at the
mounte or at the souce.
¶ And if the fowle spryng not bot flee a long after the Reu̇ and the
hawke nym it then. ye shaƚƚ say she slew it at the Raundon̄.
¶ Creepe.
And yowre hawke fleeth at or to the Creepe when ye haue yowre hawke on
yowre fyst and crepe softely to the Ryuer or to the pit. and stelith
softeli to the brynke therof. and then cry huff. and bi that meane Nym a
fowle. Then it is slayn at the Crepe oder at the fer Iutty. or at the
Iutty ferry. as a booue is sayde.
¶ And if it happyn as it dooth oftimes the fowle for fere of yowre hawke
woƚƚ spryng and faƚƚ ayen in to the Ryuer. or the hawke sees hir. and so
lie styƚƚ and dare not arise. ye shaƚƚ say then yowre hawke hath ennewed
the fowle in to the Ryuer. ond so shaƚƚ ye say and ther be moo fowles in
the Ryuer then thatt yowre hawke nymmyth if thay darenot arise for fere
of yowre hawke
¶ A thefe.
Understonde ye that a Goshawke shulde not flie to any fowle of the Ryuer
with bellis in no wise. and therfore a Goshawke is calde a theef.
¶ Querre.
And yowre hawke fleeth to the querre. when ther be in a stobuƚƚ tyme
Sordes of mallardes in the felde and when she espith theym and commyth
couerte her selfe. and flie preuyli vnder hedges or law bi the grownde.
and nym oon of hem. or thay rise then ye shaƚƚ say that the fowle was
slayn at the querre.
Merke this terme draw
Som folke mysuse this terme draw. and say that thayr hauke wiƚƚ draw to
the Ryuer. And that terme draw is propurli assigned to that hawke that
wiƚƚ slee a Roke or a Crow or a Reuyn: vppon a londe sittyng. and then
it most be sayd that sich an hawke wiƚƚ draw weeƚƚ to a Rooke.
Nowe ẏe shall vnderstonde if a man will make an hawke to the querre in
this maner he most do
Take a tame Malarde and set hym in a fayr playn. and let hym goo where
he wiƚƚ. then take yowre hawke vppon yowre fist. and goo to that playn.
and holde vp yowre hande a praty way of from the Malarde. and looke if
the hawke can espie it. by hir awyn corage and if she haue fowude the
fowle and desire to flee ther to. let hir slee it. and plymme weƚƚ vppon
hir. and serue her so .ij. or .iij. tymes and then she is made to the
quarre.
I haue knawyn gentylmen that whensoeuer and whersoeuer thay se any tame
Dookes. and if theyr hawkys wolde desire to thaym. then thay wolde let
flee to theym in coragyng theyr haukys to be weeƚƚ fleyng to the quarre
an oder tyme.
A pratẏ craft to take an hawke that is brokẏn owt of mew. and all maner
of fowlẏs that sẏt in trees if a man wẏll.
Looke where an hawke perchith for aƚƚ nyght: in any maner place. and
softe and layserly clymbe to her with a sconce or a lanterne that hath
bot oon light. in yowre hande and let the light be towarde the hawke so
that she se not yowre face and ye may take hir by the leggys or oder
wise as ye lyst. and in lyke wise aƚƚ other maner fowle.
Of hawkẏs Bellẏs.
The bellis that yowre hawke shaƚƚ wheer looke in any wise that thay be
not to heuy ouer hir power to weyr. also that noon be heuyer then an
other bot like of weyght. Looke also that thay be sonowre and weƚƚ
sowndyng and shil and not both of oon sowne: bot that oon be a semytoyn
vnder a noder. and that thay be hoole and not brokyn and specialli in
the sowndyng place. For and thay be brokyn thay wyƚƚ sowne fuƚƚ dulli.
Off spare hawke bellis ther is chooce and lyttiƚƚ of charge of thaym:
for ther beeth plenty.
¶ Bot for Goshawkes somtyme Bellis of Melen were calde the best. and
thay be fuƚƚ goode for thay comunely be sownden with siluer and solde
ther after. Bot ther be now vsed of Duchelande bellys: of a towne calde
durdright. and thay be passing goode. for thay be wele sortid weƚƚ
sownded. sonowre of Ryngyng in shilnes and passing weƚƚ lastyng.
¶ Here endyth the proceis of hawkyng. And now foloys the naamys of aƚƚ
maner of hawkys &̄ to whom they belong.
¶ Theẏs haukes belong to an Emproure
Theys be the names of aƚƚ maner of hawkes. First an Egle. a Bawtere. a
Melowne. The symplest of theis .iij wiƚƚ slee an Hynde calfe. a Fawn̄. a
Roo a Kydde. an Elke. a Crane. a Bustarde a Storke. a Swan̄. a Fox in
the playn grownde. And theis be not enlured. ne reclaymed. by cause that
thay be so ponderowse to the perch portatiff. And theis .iij. by ther
nature belong to an Emprowre.
¶ Theis hawkes belong to a kẏng.
Ther is a Gerfawken. a Terceƚƚ of a gerfauken. And theys belong to a
kyng.
¶ For a prẏnce.
Ther is a Fawken gentiƚƚ. and a Terceƚƚ gentiƚƚ. and theys be for a
prynce.
For a duke.
¶ Ther is a Fawken of the rock. And that is for a duke
For an Erle.
¶ Ther is a Fawken peregryne And that is for an Erle
¶ For a Baron.
Also ther is a Bastarde and that hauke is for a Baron
Hawkes for a knẏght
¶ Ther is a Sacre and a Sacret. And theis be for a Knyght.
Hawkis for a Squẏer.
¶ Ther is a Lanare and a Lanreƚƚ. And theys belong to a Squyer.
For a ladẏ
¶ Ther is a Merlyon. And that hawke is for a lady
An hawke for a ẏong man
¶ Ther is an Hoby. And that hauke is for a yong man And theys be hawkes
of the towre: and ben both Ilurid to be calde and reclaymed
¶ And ẏit ther be moo kẏndis of hawkes
¶ Ther is a Goshawke. and that hauke is for a yeman
¶ Ther is a Terceƚƚ. And that is for a powere man.
¶ Ther is a Spare hawke. and he is an hawke for a prest
¶ Ther is a Muskyte. And he is for an holiwater clerke
And theis be of an oder maner kynde. for thay flie to Querre and to fer
Iutty and to Iutty fferry.
¶ Explicit.
Lyke wise as ī the booke of hawkyng aforesayd are writyn and noted the
termys of plesure belongyng to gentiƚƚ men hauyng delite therin. In
thessame maner thys booke folowyng shewith: to sych gentiƚƚ personys the
maner of huntyng for aƚƚ maner of beestys. wether thay be Beestys of
venery. or of chace. or Rascaƚƚ. And also it shewith aƚƚ the termys
cōuenyent as weƚƚ to the howndys as to the beestys a forsayd. And in
certayn ther be many dyuerse of thaym. as it is declared in the booke
folowyng.
Bestẏs of venerẏ.
Wheresoeuere ye fare by fryth or by feƚƚ
My dere chylde take hede how Tristram dooth you teƚƚ
How many maner beestys of venery ther were
Lystyn to yowre dame and she shaƚƚ yow lere
Fowre maner beestys of venery there are
The first of theym is the .hert. the secunde is the hare
The boore is oon of tho. the wolff and not oon moo
Bestẏs of the Chace.
¶ And where that ye cum in playne or in place
I shaƚƚ yow teƚƚ which be beestys of enchace
Oon of theym is the .Bucke. a nother is the Doo
The Fox and the Martron. and the wilde Roo
And ye shaƚƚ my dere chylde other beestys aƚƚ.
Where so ye hem fynde Rascaƚƚ ye shaƚƚ hem caƚƚ
In fryth or in feƚƚ: or in forest I yow teƚƚ.
Note here the aage of an hert.
¶ And for to speke of the hert iff ye wiƚƚ it lere
Ye shaƚƚ hym a .Calfe. caƚƚ at the fyrst yere
The secunde yere a .Broket. so shaƚƚ ye hym caƚƚ
The therde yere a .Spayad. lerneth thus aƚƚ
The fowrith yere a .Stagge. caƚƚ hym by any way
The fithe yere a .grete Stagge. youre dame bide yow say
The vi. yere caƚƚ ye him an .hert.
Doth so my childe wylis ye been in quart
To knaw the hede of an hert. & that is dẏuerse
¶ And of the horny that he then berith a bowte
The fyrst hede shaƚƚ be Iugett wyth owte
Ther in fyndyn wee suche dyuersite.
Natheles the .vi. yere euermoore at the leest
Thow shalt weƚƚ Iuge the perche of thessame beest
When he hath Awntelere with owt any lett
Ryaƚƚ and Surriaƚƚ also there Isett
And that in the toppe so when ye may hym keen
Then shaƚƚ ye caƚƚ hym forchyd an hert of tenne
And when he hath in the toppe .iij. of the selue
Then ye shaƚƚ caƚƚ hym trochid an hert of .xij.
And afterwarde in the toppe when ther .iiij. bene
Then shaƚƚ ye caƚƚ hym sommyd an hert of .xvi.
And from .iiij. forwarde watt so befaƚƚ
Be he neuer of so many ye shaƚƚ hym summed caƚƚ
Ryght of the nombre euyn that he is
Callith hym from .iiii. forth summed Iwys
Also haue ye sele an hert heded weele.
An Heerde. A Beve. A Sounder. A Route.
¶ My chylde callith herdys of hert and of hynde
And of Bucke and of doo where yo hem fynde
And a Beue of Roos what place thay be in
And a Sounder ye shaƚƚ of the wylde swyne
And a Rowte of wolues where thay passin inne
So shaƚƚ ye hem caƚƚ as many as thay bene
A Littill herde. A mẏdẏll heerd A grete heerd
¶ .xx. is a littyƚƚ herde though it be of hyndis
And .xl. is a mydyle herde to caƚƚ hym be kyndis
And .lxxx. is a grete herde caƚƚ. ye hem so
Be it hert be it hynde bucƚƚe or ellis doo
How ẏe shall saẏ a gret hert & not a fair & oder
¶ A grete hert when ye hym se so shaƚƚ ye hym caƚƚ
Bot neuermore a fayre hert for no thyng that may be faƚƚ
A grete hynde a grete bucke and a fayre doo
My sonnys where ye walke caƚƚ ye hem so
So ye shulde naame sich dere: and do as I yow lere
¶ what is a beuẏ of Roos grete or small
¶ And sex is a beue of Roos on a rawe
And .x. is a mydyƚƚ beuy fuƚƚ wele I it kawe
A grete beuy is .xij. when thay to gedre be
And so caƚƚ hem sonnys woere that ye hem se
The moore nombur than ywis: the gretter the beuy is
What is a Sounder of swẏne grete or small
¶ Twelfe make a Sounder of the wylde swyne
Xvi. a medyƚƚ Sounder what place thay be inne
A grete sounder of swyne .xx. ye shaƚƚ caƚƚ
Forr geet not this lession for thyng that may faƚƚ
Thynke what I say: my sonne nyght and day
Of the Roo huntẏng. brekẏng. and dressẏng
When ye hunt at the Roo then shaƚƚ ye say thoore
He crossies and tresones yowre howndys byfoore
A grete Roobucke ye caƚƚ hym not so
Bot a fayre Roobucke and a fayre doo
With the bowellis and with the bloode
Rewarde ye yowre howndes my sonnys so goode
¶ And eche foote ye shaƚƚ cutte in .iiij. I yow kenne
Take the bowellis and the bloode and do aƚƚ to gedre then
Yeuyth hit than to yowre howndys so
And moche the glaadder then thay wiƚƚ go
That to yowre howndes a rewarde is calt
For hit is eeten on the grownde and on the skynne dalte
¶ The Roo shaƚƚ be herdeled by veneri I weene
The .ij. forther legges the hede layde by twene
And take oon ender legge vp I yow pray
And that oder forder legge right as I yow say
vppon the oder forder legge booth ye hem pytte
And with that other forther legge vp ye hem knytte
Oon thys maner thus when ye haue wroght
Aƚƚ hoole to the kechen then hit shaƚƚ be broght
Saue that yowre howndes eete: the bowillis and the fete.
Now of thage & vndoẏng of the boore
¶ Now to speke of the boore the fyrst yere he is
A pygge of the Sounder called ale haue I blis
The secunde yere an hogge and so shaƚƚ he be
And an hoggestere when he is of yeris .iij.
And when he is of .iiij. yere a beore sheƚƚ he be
From the Sounder of the swyne then deꝑtiith he
A Synguler is he so: for a lone he wiƚƚ goo.
¶ when ye haue slayn the boore and wiƚƚ do hym right
Ye shaƚƚ vndo hym vnflayne when he shaƚƚ be dight
Xxx. bredys and .ij. of hym ye shaƚƚ make
By the law of venery as I dare vnder take
Thurgh yowre houndys by stryngth iff that he be dede
Thay shaƚƚ haue the bowyllis boyle with the brede
Cast vppon the grownde ther the boore was slayne
And that is calde a Rewarde so hunteris it sayne
vppon the erth so haue I blis: for that so eeten is
Now of the hare.
¶ Now for to speke of the hare my sonnys secureli
That beest kyng shaƚƚ be calde of aƚƚ venery
For aƚƚ the fayre spekyng and blawyng lerf sere
Commyth of sechyng and fyndyng of the hare
For my leif chylder I take it on honde
He is the meruellest beest that is in ony londe
For he fymaes and crotis and Roungeth euermoore
And beerith talow and gris: and a boue teeth hath be foore
And other while he is male: and so ye shaƚƚ hym fynde
And other while female and kyndelis by kynde
¶ And when he is female and kyndelis hym with in
In .iij. degrees he hem berith or he with hem twyn
Too Rough and .ij. smoth who wiƚƚ hem se
And ij. knottis also that kyndelis wiƚƚ be
When he is female so teƚƚ I my tale.
¶ The rewarde for howndẏs.
¶ When yowre houndis by strenath hath done her to dede
The hunter shaƚƚ rewarde hem then with the hede
With the shulderis and the sides and with the bowellis aƚƚ
And aƚƚ thyngꝭ with in the wombe saue onli the gaƚƚ
The paunche also: yeue hem noon of thoo.
Wich rewarde when oon the erth it is dalt.
With aƚƚ goode hunteris the .halow. it is calt
Then the loynes of the hare loke ye not forgete
Bot bryng hem to the kechyn for the lordis meete
And of this ilke hare speke we no mare.
Wiche beestes shall be flaẏne & wich stripte
¶ Now to speke of the bestes when thay be slayne
How many be strypte and how many be flayne
Aƚƚ that bere skyne and talow and Rounge leue me
Shaƚƚ be flayne safe the hare for he shaƚƚ stripte be
And aƚƚ that berith greece: and piles ther vppon
Euer shaƚƚ be strypte when thay be vndoon
On̄ theys maner play: thus ye shaƚƚ say.
Whiche beestis shall be reride with the lẏmer.
¶ My dere sonnys echeon now wiƚƚ I yow lere
How many maner beestys as with the lymere
Shaƚƚ be vpreryde in fryth or in felde
Booth the hert and the bucke and the boore so wilde
And aƚƚ other beestys that huntid shaƚƚ be
Shaƚƚ be sought and founde with Ratchis so fre
Say thus I yow tolde: my childer so bolde
The discreuẏng of a Bucke.
¶ And ye speke of the Bucke the fyrst yere he is
A fawne sowkyng on his dam say as I yow wis
The secunde yere a preket. the .iij. yere a sowreƚƚ
A sowre at the .iiij. yere the trowthe I yow teƚƚ
The .v. yere caƚƚ hym a Bucke of the fyrst hede
The .vi. yere caƚƚ hym a Bucke and do as I you rede
Of the hornẏs of a Bucke.
¶ The hornys of a grete Bucke or he so be
Most be summyd as I say herkenyth to me
Too braunchis first pawmyd he most haue
And .iiij. avauncers the soth iff ye wiƚƚ saue
And xxiiij. espelers and then ye may hym caƚƚ
Where so ye be a grete Bucke I teƚƚ yow aƚƚ
Of the Roobucke.
¶ And iff ye of the Roobucke wiƚƚ knaw thessame
The first yere he is a kyde soukyng on his dame
The secunde yere he is a gerle: and so be siche aƚƚ
The thirde yere an hemule loke ye hym caƚƚ
Robucke of the first hede he is at the iiij. yere
The .v. yere a Roobucke hym caƚƚ I yow lere
At saynt andrew day his hornys he wiƚƚ cast
In moore or in moos he hidyth hem fast
So that no man may hem sone fynde
Ellys in certayn he doos not his kynde
¶ At saynt Iamys day where so he go
Then shaƚƚ the Roobucke gendre with the Roo
And so boldely ther as ye durne
Then is he calde a Roobucke goyng in his turne
And iff ye may a Robucke sle with owt any fayle
And ye fynde that heue grece at his tayle
As sum Robuckys haue when ye hit fynde
Then shaƚƚ ye rere it as ye do of hert and of hynde
Also the Robucke as hit is weele kyde
At holyrode day he gooth to Ryde.
And vsith the bit: when he may gete hit
Now of the hert and of the hynde.
¶ Sonnys of the hert and the hynde lerne yit ye may
Ther thay draw to the herde at holi roode day
To the stepe then thay goon yche hote day at noon
Which stepe thay vsen my childer I yow say
Tiƚƚ hit be Myddesomere at the last way
The cause of the stepe is to weere hym fro the flee
Who so commyth to that place may se hit with his ighe
An other thyng thay vse my chylde also
The same seson of the yere to soyle to go
Of the criẏng of theẏs beestẏs.
¶ An hert belowys and a bucke gronys I fynde
And iche Roobucke certayne bellis by kynde
The noyes of theyes beestys thus ye shaƚƚ caƚƚ
For pride of theyre make thay vsen hit aƚƚ
Say chylde where ye goo: yowre dame taght you so
Merke well theẏs sesonẏs folowẏng.
¶ Tyme of grece begynnyth at mydsomer day
And tyƚƚ holi Roode day lastyth as I you say
¶ The seson of the fox fro the Natiuyte
Tyƚƚ the annunciacion of owre lady fre
¶ Seson of the Robucke at Ester shaƚƚ begynne
And tiƚƚ mychelmas lastith nygh or she blynne
¶ The seson of the Roo begynnyth at Michelmas
And hit shaƚƚ endure and last vntiƚƚ Candilmas
¶ At Michelmas begynnyth huntyng of the hare
And lastith tiƚƚ mydsomer ther nyƚƚ no man hit spare
¶ The seson of the wolfe is in iche cuntre
At the seson of the fox and euermore shaƚƚ be
¶ The seson of the boore is from the Natiuyte
Tiƚƚ the purification of owre lady so fre
For at the Natiuyte of owre lady swete
He may fynde where he goth vnder his feete
Booth in wodys and feldis corne and oder frute
When he after foode makyth any sute
Crabbys and acornys and nottis ther thay grow
Hawys and heeppes and other thyngꝭ ynow
That tiƚƚ the purification lastys as ye se
And makyth the Boore in seson to be
For while that frute may: last his time is neuer past
Of the huntẏng of the haare
Now to speke of the haare how aƚƚ shaƚƚ be wroght
When she shaƚƚ with houndes be foundyn and soght
The first worde to the houndis that the hunt shaƚƚ owt pit
Is at the keneƚƚ doore when he openys it
That aƚƚ may hym here: he shaƚƚ say arere.
For his howndes wolde cum to hastely
That is the first worde my sonne of venery
And when he hath couplyd his houndes ychoon
And is forth with hem to the felde goon
And when he has of cast his cowples at wiƚƚ
Then shaƚƚ he speke and say his howndes tiƚƚ
Hors de couple auaunt se auaunt twis so
And then So ho so ho. thries and no mo
And then say .Sa sa cy auaunt So how I you pray
And iff ye se yowre howndes haue good wiƚƚ to renne
And draw a waywarde fro yow say as I yow kenne
Here how amy. agayne hem caƚƚ so
Than .Sweff mon amy sweff. to make hem soft go
And iff any fynde of the haare ther he hath bene
And he hight Richer or Bemounde thus to hym bedene
Oyes a Bemounde le vaillant. and I shaƚƚ you avowe
Q^e quida tron̄ la cowarde on la court cowe
That Bemonde the worthe with owt any fayle
That wenyth to fynde the coward with the short tayle
¶ And iff ye se where the haare at pasture hath bene
Iff hit be in the tyme of the corne grene
And iff yowre houndes chace weeƚƚ at yowre wiƚƚ
Then .iij. motis shaƚƚ ye blaw booth lowde and shiƚƚ
There oon and there an other there be pasturyde has
Then say .illoques illoques in thessame place
So say to hem in kynde: vnto tyme that ye hir fynde
¶ And then cast a signe aƚƚ the feld abowte
To se at hir pasture where she hath be in or owte
Oder at hir forme for gladli to be she is not lefe
Ther she hath pasturid in tyme of Relefe
And any hounde fynd or musyng of hir mace
Ther as she hath byne and is goon owt of that place
Ha sy touz cy est yll. so shaƚƚ ye say
venez auez so how sa. also lowde as ye may
Sa cy ad este so how. after that
Sa sa cy auaunt. and therof be not lat
And when ye se vnto the playne her at the last
In felde or in errabuƚƚ londe: or in to the wode past
And yowre hounde wiƚƚ fynde of her ther then
Say .la douce amy la est a. and do as I yow ken
That is to say swete frende: ther is he come low
For to dry here. and ther with ye shaƚƚ say so how
Illoques ey douce ey vaylaunt so how so how. then twy
Thus may yē now dere sonnys lerne of venery
And when ye come ther as ye trow he wiƚƚ dweƚƚ
And so semeth to yow weƚƚ then say as I yow teƚƚ
La douce la est a venuz. for to dweƚƚ thoore
And therwith .iij. sohow. say ye no moore
And iff it semes woƚƚ yow to fynde aƚƚ in fere
And wenen so to do then say .douce how here how here
How here douce how here how here he sittys
So shaƚƚ ye say my chyldre and for no thyng lettyz
Aƚƚ maner bestys that euer chasede wore
Haue oon maner of worde .so how. and no more
To fulfiƚƚ or vnfiƚƚ eche maner of chaas
The hunt euermoore in his mowth that worde he haas
And iff yowre houndys at a chase renne ther ye hunt
And the beest begynne to renne as herttis be wont
Or for to hanylon as doos the fox with his gyle
Or for to crosse as the Roo dooth oder while
Oder dweƚƚ so that yowre honndys cannot owte go
Then shaƚƚ ye say. hoo sa amy sa sa
A complex sa arere so how. sich is the play
And sohow as moch is as sa how to say
Bot for .sohow is short in speche when it is brought
Therfore say we .sohow bot sa how say we noght
And iff yowre houndis chase at hert or at haare
And thay renne at defaute thus ye shaƚƚ say thare
Icy sohow assayne assayne ston hoho
Sa assayne arere sohow theis wordes and no moo
And iff yowre houndes renne weeƚƚ at fox or at doo
And so fayle at defaute say thus ferther or ye goo
Ho ho ore swef aluy douce a luy. that thay here
Ho hoy assayne assayne sa arere
So how so how venez a coupler. and do as I yow kenne
The moore worshyp may ye haue among aƚƚ menne
Yowre craftis let be kydde: and do as I yow bydde
Aƚƚ my sonnys in same: and thus may ye konne of game
The boost that the maẏster hunter makẏthe to his man now here foloẏng ẏe
maẏ here.
The mayster to his man makyth his Roys
That he knowith be kynde what the hert doys
Att huntyng euermoore when he goys
Quod the man to his maister that were good loore
For to knaw what he doos the houndes befoore
What dooth he mayster quod the man
He dooth quod he eeuyn as thow mayst se
Brekyth. and so dooth no beest bot he
When brekyth he quod the man what is that to say
With his feete he opynys the erth ther he gooth a way
What is the cause quod the man maister I the pray
That the hert be foore the houndes when thay hym hunt ay
That then to the Ryuer he wellis for to goon
Quod the maister to the man ther ar causes toon
For .ii. cawses the hert desirith to the Rẏuer. & note wele theis termẏs
foloẏng descende & oder
¶ Oon cause for the Ryuer descende he is ay
And so is he to the water when he takith the way
Why callist thow hym .descende. mayster I the pray
For he payris of is myght the sooth I the say
A nother is to the water whi he gooth other whyle
The howndes that hym sewen to founde to begyle
¶ Yit of this hert quod his man maister wolde I ken
In to the water when he leppys what he makes then
He proferith quod the mayster and so ye shaƚƚ say
For he wot not hym selfe yit how he wiƚƚ a way
Whether ouer the water he wiƚƚ for passe
Or turne ayen thessame way ther he fyrst was
Therfore hit is profre as theys hunteris sayne
And Reprofer iff thessame way he turne ayene
At that oder side of the water iff he vp sterte
Then shaƚƚ ye caƚƚ hit the .soule. of the hert
And that is for the water of his leggee weete
Downe in to the steppis ther fallyn of his fete
Ayen the water his way eeuen iff he hent
Then brekyth he water ther to take yow tent
And iff with the water go algate yow hit shaƚƚ
Defoulant the water an hert so hym caƚƚ
Now of the Nomblis merke wele the termẏs
¶ The man to his mayster spekyth fuƚƚ blyth
Off the nomblys of the hert that he wolde hym kith
How mony endys ther shaƚƚ be hem with inne
Quod the mayster bot oon thyk nor thynne
And that is bot the Gargilon to speke of aƚƚ bi dene
And aƚƚ theys oder .crokes and Roundulis. bene
The Auauncers. the Forchers
¶ Yit wolde I wit and thow woldest me leere
The crokes and the Roundellis of the Nomblys of y^e dere
Oon croke of the Nomblis lyth euermoore
vnder the throote bolle of the beest be foore
That callid is .auauncers. who so can hem kene
And the hyndermost parte of the Nomblis thene
That is to say the Forchers that liggyn euer betwene
The .ij. theys of the beest that oder crokis euene
In the Mydref that callid is the rondeƚƚ also
For the sides rownde a bowte coruen it is fro
My deere sonnys bolde: say of game I thus yow tolde
¶ Yit wolde I witt maister whi theys houndes aƚƚ
Bayen and cryen when thay hym ceche shaƚƚ
For thay wolde haue helpe that is thayr skyƚƚ
For to slee the beest that thay renne tyƚƚ
¶ Teƚƚ me mayster quod the man what is the skyll
Why the haare woolde so faynne renne ayenest the hiƚƚ
Quod the mayster for her leggys be shorter be foore
Then be hynde: that is the skyƚƚ of yoore
¶ What is the cause quod the man y^t men say of y^t beest
That the haare sittith aye when she takyth heir reest
And oder beestys ly: as communeli men sayne
For .ij. causes quod the mayster I teƚƚ the playne
Oon is for she hurcles vppon hir houghis ay
And aƚƚ other beestys: can the side to the grownde lay
An oder cause ther is and that is noo lees
For she beerith booth sewet and pure greece
¶ yit wolde I mayster quod the man fayne witt more
Where lyth the suet of the haare be hynde or befoore
Ouer the loyne quod the mayster of iche haare thow take
By twix the tayle and the chyne euen oon the backe
¶ yit wolde I mayster quod the man thees at the leer
What thow walkest in the felde with thy lymeer
Ther as an hert pasturred hath: or y^t thow hym se
To knawe faatt or lene whether that he be
I can quod the mayster weeƚƚ teƚƚ the thys caas
Whaite wele where he lay: and where he fumeyed haas
Yolow and englaymede iff that it be
Then is he fatt I the teƚƚ lerne theys of me
And iff it be booth blacke and harde and clene
Then he is meegre larbre and leene
And of thys ilke thyng iff thow leue not me
Take heede in the wyntre and then thow may it se
¶ Yit mayster of the haare fayn wolde I wit moore
What he dooth when he gooth the howndys befoore
He sorth and resorth ther he gooth a way
Pryckyth and repryckyth the sooth for to say
Bot wat is that quod the man when thay so doone
That shaƚƚ I quod the mayster teƚƚ the fuƚƚ soone
In the feeldes wheer he gooth no ways beene
Ther he sorth when he steppyth and hit may not be seene
And after when he dowblith and turnyth agaynne
Then he resoorth as goode hunteres saynne
And when he rennyth in the way dry or weete
Then men may fynde fostalx of clees or of feete
That pryckyth the haare aye when he dooth soo
And repryckyth then iff he agaynne goo
¶ Maister yit quod the man what is this to say
A vauntellay a lay. and a Relay.
That shaƚƚ I teƚƚ the quod he: for a littiƚƚ byȝete
When the howndys ar set: an hert for to mete
And other hym chasen and folowyn to take
Then aƚƚ the Relais thow may vppon hem make
Even at his comyng yf thow lett thy howndys goo
While the oder that be behynde fer arn hym froo
That is .a vauntelay. and so thow shaƚƚ hit caƚƚ
For thay are than fer before thoos oder howndes aƚƚ
And an hynderyng grete aƚƚ oder vntiƚƚ
For thay may not that day nomore sewe at wiƚƚ
And holde thyn houndes styƚƚ iff that thow so do
Tiƚƚ aƚƚ the houndes that be behynd be cum therto
Than let thyn houndes aƚƚ to geder goo
That called is an allay. and looke thow say so
And that hynderyng is yit to them that be behynde
For the restede wiƚƚ ouergo the weere by kynde
A relay is after when the houndes ar past
Fer be fore with the hert that hiet hem fast
To let thyn houndes fer after hem goon
And that is then a fortheryng to hem echoon
For and thyn houndes haue ouertake thees oder bi destres
Then shaƚƚ they aƚƚ folue hym of oon sweftnes
What is a forloẏng.
¶ Yit mayster wolde I fayn thus at yow leere
What is a forloyng for that is goode to here
That shaƚƚ I say the quod he the soth at lest
When thy houndes in the wode sechyn any beest
And the beest is stoƚƚ a way owt of the fryth
Or the houndes that thow hast meten therwith
And any other houndes before: than may with hem mete
Thees oder houndes arn then forloyned I the hete
For the beste and the houndes arn so fer before
And the houndes be hynde be weere and soore
So that thay may not at the best cum at ther wiƚƚ
The houndes before forloyne hem and that is the skyƚƚ
Thay be ay so fere be fore to me iff thow wiƚƚ trust
And thys is the forloyne lere hit iff thow lust
Wiche thre thẏnges cause the houndes to endure
¶ Yit wolde I weete mayster iff it ware thy wiƚƚ
Whan thyn houndes renne an hert vntiƚƚ
And ay the forther they goo the gladder thay bene
For .iij. causes quod he oft tyme is sene
Oon is when the hert rennys fast on a rese
He swetith that hit rennyth downe thorogh owt his clees
The houndes when thay fynde of that it is swete
Then ar thay leuer to renne and lother to lete
An oder cause when the hert ny no moore may
Then wiƚƚ he white froth caste ther he gooth a way
When thyn houndes fynde of that then ar thay glad
In hope thay shaƚƚ hym haue and renne so rad
The .iij. cause is of the hert when he is nygh dede
Then he castys owt of his mowth froth and blade rede
The houndes knaw that he shaƚƚ be take soone than
And euer the forther they goo the gladdir they renne
Thes are the causes .iij. that cawses hem gladde to be
Wich best a slau hounde takis as sone as aswift
¶ What beest yit mayster I ax it for non yƚƚ
That moost hoole aƚƚ houndes rennen vntiƚƚ
And also sone the slowyst shaƚƚ hym ouer take
As the swyftist shaƚƚ do what way so euer he take
That beest a Bausyn hight a Brok or a Gray
Thees .iij. namys he hath the sooth for to say
And this is cause therof: for he wiƚƚ by kynde
Go thorugh thornys a way the thykest he may fynde
Ther as the swyftist houndes may no forther goo
Then the slowest of foote be he neuer so thro
Whẏ the hare fumaẏs and croteis.
¶ yit mayster wolde I wete whi that men sayn
That the haare fumays and croteys booth playn
And aƚƚ other maner beestys that huntid be
Femyon̄ or fenon̄ as we wele hit se
That shaƚƚ I weeƚƚ teƚƚ the quod the mayster then
For why that he femays and crotis weeƚƚ I ken
He femaith for he beryth talow. this is no lees
And he croteis men sayn for he beerith grees
And Roukis on his houghis when he lettis it go
And beestys of sich kynde fynde wee no moo
How mony beestis femayen̄ mayster fayn̄ I wolde lere
And how many fenon̄ that ware goode to here
Aƚƚ this to teƚƚ quod the mayster I holde hit bot lihgt
Aƚƚ beestis that beere talow and stonde vpright
Femayen when thay do so say as I the kenne
And aƚƚ oder fenon̄ that rowken downe thenne.
How nonẏ maner beestis of venerẏ Releue
¶ How many maner beestis yit mayster me teƚƚ
Off venery Releuen by fryth or by ffeƚƚ
To this quod the mayster I shaƚƚ the answare
Off aƚƚ beestis bot .ij. the hert and the haare
From the Annunciacion of owre lady day
The hert then releues the sooth for to say
Tiƚƚ saynt Petris day and paule. and the haare right:
From the Purificacion of owre lady bright:
Tiƚƚ the translacion Releuys: leue ye me
Off saynt Thomas tide of Caunturburie.
To vndo the wẏlde Boore.
¶ Yit my chylde of the boore for to speke moore
When he shaƚƚ be vndoon I teƚƚ yow be foore
xxxij. bredis ye shaƚƚ of hym make
Now wiƚƚ yow my sonnys wit weere ye shaƚƚ them take
The fyrst of theym is the hede what euer be faƚƚ
An oder is the coler and so ye shaƚƚ hit caƚƚ
The sheldys on the sholderis: therof shaƚƚ .ij. be
Then eyder side of the swyne depertid in .iij.
The peestellis and the gambons deꝑte theym .ij.
And .ij. feleteys he hath: forgete not thoo
Then take is legges and is feete & shewith yowre sleght
For they shaƚƚ of his bredys be countid for .viij.
Departith the chyne in .iiij. pecis and nomoo
And take ther yowre bredis .xxx. and .ij.
And fayre put the grece whan it is take a way
In the bledder of the boore my chylde I yow pray
For hit is a medecyne: for mony maner pyne
¶ how ẏe shall breeke an Hert.
And for to speke of the hert while we thynke oon̄
My chylde fyrst ye shaƚƚ hym ẜue when he shaƚƚ be vndoon̄
And that is for to say or euer ye hym dyght
With in his owne hornys to lay hym vpright
At thessay cut hym that lordys may see:
A noon fat or leen wheder that he bee
Than cut of the coddis the bely euen froo
Or ye begynne hym to flee: and then shaƚƚ ye goo
At chaulis: to begynne assone as ye may
And slyttith hym downe euen to thassay
And fro thassay euen dewne the bele shaƚƚ ye slitt
To the pissiƚƚ ther the codde was a way kytt
Then slit the lyfte legge euen first before
And then the lyfte legge by hynde or ye do moore
And thees oder legges vppon the right syde
vppon thessame maner slyt ye that tyde
To goo to the chekys looke ye be prest
And so fleeth hym downe euen to the brest
And so fleeth hym forth right vnto thessay
Euen to the place where the codde was cut a way
Then fleeth thessame wyse aƚƚ that oder syde
Bot let the tayƚƚ of the beest stiƚƚ ther oon byde
Than shaƚƚ ye hym vndo my chylde I yow Rede
Ryght vppon his awne skynne and lay hit on brede
Take heede of the cuttyng of thessame dere
And begynne fyrst to make the Erbere
Than take owt the shulderis. and slyttith a noon̄
The baly to the syde from the corbyn bone
That is corbyns fee: at the deeth he wiƚƚ be
Then take owt the sewet that hit be not lafte
For that my chylde is good for lechecraft
Than put thyn honde softely vnder the brest bone
And ther shaƚƚ ye take owt therber a noon
Than put owt the paunche. and from the paunche taas:
A way wightly the Rate sich. as he haas
Hoole it with a fyngre. do as I yow kenne
And with the bloode and the grece fillith hit thenne
Looke threde that ye haue and nedeƚƚ therto:
For to sew it with aƚƚ or ye moore do.
The smale guttis than ye shaƚƚ owt pyt
From hem take the maw. foryet not it.
Than take owt the leuer. and lay hit on the skynne
And after that the bledder with owt moore dynne
Than dresst the Nombles: first that ye reke
Downe the avauncers kerue that cleues to the necke
And downe with the bolthrote put them a noon
And kerue vp the flesħ ther vp to the hach boon̄
And so forth the fillittis that ye vp arere
That fallith to the nombles. and shaƚƚ be ther:
With the neres also and sewit: that ther is
Euen to the mydryf that vppon hym is
Than take downe the mydrif from the sides hoote
And haue vp the nombles hoole by the boƚƚ throte
In thyn hond than them holde. and looke and se
That aƚƚ that longith them to. to geder that thay be
Than take them to thy broder to holde for trist
Whylis thow them dowblyst and dightis as the list
Than a way the lyghtis. and oon̄ the skynne them lay
To a byde the querre my chylde I yow pray.
Than shaƚƚ ye slyt the slough ther as the hert lith
And take a way the Eres from it and by slyth
For sich heris hath his hert: ay it vppon
As men may se in the beest when he is vndon̄
And in the myddis of the hert a boon shaƚƚ ye fynde
Looke ye yeue hit to a lorde. and chylde be kynde
For hit is kynde for mony malydies
And in the myddis of the hert euermore it lies
Than shaƚƚ ye kyt the skyrtis the teeth euen fro
And after the Ragge boon̄ cuttis euen also
The forchis: and the sydes euen betwene
And looke that yowre knyfe ay whettyd bene
Than turne vp the forchis. and frote them with bloode
For to saue the grece. so do men of goode
Than shaƚƚ ye cut the nek the sydes euen fro
And the hede fro the nek cuttyth also
The toong the brayn the paunch and the necke
When thay wasħ be weeƚƚ with water of the becke:
The smale guttis to the lightis in the derys:
A boue the hert of the beest when thow them reris
With aƚƚ the blode that ye may gete and wyn
Aƚƚ to geder shaƚƚ be take. and layde oon̄ the skyn.
To geue yowre houndes. that callid is I wis:
The quyrre. a boue the skyn for it etyn is
And who dightis hym so by my counsayle
Shaƚƚ haue the lefte shuder for hys trauayle.
And the Right shulder where so euer he bee
Yeueth to the foster for that is his fee
And the lyuer also of thessame beest
To the fosterys knaue yeueth at the leest
The nombles trussith in the skynne. and hardeƚƚ hym fast
The sides and the forches to geder that thay last
With thender legges. be doon̄ so it shaƚƚ
Than bryng it hoom. and the skynne with aƚƚ
The nombles. and the hornes. at the lordis yate
Than boldely blow the price tharat.
Yowre play for to mynne. Or that ye come Inne
¶ Explicit Dam Iulyans
Barnes in her boke of huntyng.
Bestis of the chace of the swete fewte & stinkīg.
Ther be beestys of the chace: of the swete fewte. And tho be the Bucke.
the Doo. the Beere. the Reynḋ the Elke. the Spyccard. the Otre. and the
Martron.
¶ Ther be beestis of the chace of the stynkyng fewte And thay be the
Roobucke. and the Roo. the Fulmard. the Fyches. the Baude. the Graye.
the Fox. the Squyreƚƚ. the whitrat. the Sot. and the Pulcatte.
¶ The namẏs of diuerse maner houndis
Theis be the namys of houndes. First ther is a Grehownd a Bastard. A
Mengreƚƚ. a Mastyfe. a Lemor. a Spanyeƚƚ. Rachys. Kenettys. Teroures.
Bocheris houndes. Myddyng dogges. Tryndeltayles. and Prikherid curris.
and smale ladies popis thai beere a way the flees and dyueris smale
fawtis.
¶ The propreteis of a goode Grehound.
A Grehounde shulde be heded like a Snake. and necked like a Drake. Foted
like a Kat. Tayled like a Rat. Syded lyke a Teme. Chyned like a Beme
¶ The first yere he most lerne to fede. The secund yere to felde hym
lede. ¶ The .iij. yere he is felow lyke. The .iiij yere ther is noon
sike. ¶ The .v. yere he is good Inough The .vi. yere he shaƚƚ holde the
plough ¶ The vij yere he wiƚƚ avayle: grete bikkys for to assayle. ¶ The
.viij. yere likladiƚƚ. The .ix. yere cartsadyƚƚ. ¶ And when he is commyn
to that yere: haue hym to the tanner. ¶ For the beest hownde that euer
bikke hade. at .ix. yere he is fuƚƚ badde
The propretees of a goode hors.
A Goode hors shulde haue .xv. ꝓpretees. and condicions. y^t is to wit
.iij. of a man .iij of a woman .iij. of a fox iij. of an haare and .iij.
of an asse.
Off a man boolde prowde and hardy.
Off a woman fayre brestid faire of here & esy to lip vppon.
Off a fox a faire tayle short eris with a goode trot.
Off an hare a grete eygh a dry hede. and weƚƚ rennyng
Off an asse a bigge chyne a flatte lege. and goode houe.
Weƚƚ trauelid women ner weƚƚ trauelid hors wer neu̇ goode
¶ Arise erly. serue god deuouteli. and the worlde besily doo thy werke
wiseli. yeue thyn almese secretly Go by the way sadly. Answere the peple
demurely. Go to thi mete appetideli. Sit ther at discretely. Of thi
tonge be not to liberalli. Arrise therfrom temꝑatly. Goo to thi soper
soborly And to thy bedde merely. Be in thyn Inne Iocūdely Plese thy loue
duly. And slepe surely.
Merke wele theẏs .iiii thẏnges.
¶ Ther be .iiij thyngꝭ principaƚƚ to be drad of eu̇y wise man
The first is the curse of owre holy fader the pope.
The secunde is thindignacion of a prince Quia indignacion regis vel
principis mors est
The thridde is the fauor or the wiƚƚ of a Iuge.
The iiij. is Sclaunder & the mutacion of a comynalte.
Who that makith in Cristynmas a doog to his larder.
And in Marche a Sow to is gardyner.
And in May a fole of a whise mannys counseƚƚ.
He shaƚƚ neuer haue goode larder. fayre gardyn. Ner wele kepyd
cownceƚƚ.
¶ Fer from thy kynnysmen keste the.
Wrath not thy neighborys next the.
In a goode corne cuntre threste the.
And sitte downe Robyn and rest the.
Who that byldys his hous aƚƚ of salowes.
And prickyth a blynde hors ouer the falowys.
And suffrith hys wyfe to seche mony halowys.
God sende hym the blysse of euerlastyng galowis.
If theis be not directid then go thei at aventẏr
¶ Ther be iiij. thynges fuƚƚ harde for to knaw.
Wyche way that thay wiƚƚ drawe.
The first is the wayes of a yong man.
The secunde the cours of a vessayƚƚ in the see.
The thridde of an Edder or a serpent sprent.
The .iiij. of a fowle sittyng on any thyng.
Too wyues in oon hous. too cattys and oon mous:
Too dogges and oon boon: theis shaƚƚ neu̇ accorde ɩ oon̄
Who that mannyth hym with his kynne.
And closith his croofte wyth cheritrees.
Shaƚƚ haue many hegges brokynne.
And also fuƚƚ lyttyƚƚ goode seruyes.
The Compaẏnẏs of beestẏs and fowlẏs.
AN Herde of Hertis
an herde of aƚƚ maṅ dere
an Herde of Swannys
an Herde of Cranys
an Herde of Corlewys
an Herde of wrennys
an Herde of harlottys
a Nye of ffesaunttys
a Beuy of Ladies
a Beuy of Roos
a Beuy of Quaylis
a Sege of heronnys
a Sege of betouris
a Sorde or a sute of malardis
a Mustre of Pecockys
a walke of Snytis
a Congregacion of peple
an Exaltyng of Larkis
a wache of Nyghtingalis
an hoost of men
a ffelisħippyng of yomen
a Cherme of Goldefynches
a Cast of Brede
a Couple or a payer of botillis
a fflight of Doues
an vnkyndenes of Rauenes
a Clateryng of choughes
a Dissimulacion of breddis
a Route of Knyghtis
a Pride of Lionys
a Sleuth of Beeris
a Cete of Graies
a Bery of Conyis
a Riches of Martronys
a Besynes of ferettis
a Brace of grehoundis of ij
a Lece of Grehoundis of .iij
a Coupuƚƚ of spaynellis
a Couple of rennyng houndis
a Litter of welpis
a Kyndyƚƚ of yong Cattis
a Synguler of Boris
a Dryft of tame Swyne
an Harrasse of horse
a Ragg of coltis or a Rake
a Baren of Mulis
a Trippe of Gete
a Trippe of haaris
a Gagle of gees
a Brode of hennys
a badelyng of Dokis
a Noonpaciens of wyues
a State of Prynces
a Thongh of barons
a Prudens of vikeris
a Suꝑfluyte of Nunnys
a Scole of clerkes
a Doctryne of doctoris
a Conu̇tyng of prechouris
a Sentence of Iuges
a Dampnyng of Iurrouris
a Diligens of Messangeris
an Obeisians of ẜuauntis
a Sete of vssheris
a Draught of boteleris
a Proude shewyng of taloris
a Temꝑans of cokys
a Stalke of fosteris
a Boost of saudiouris
a Laughtre of Osteloris
a Glosyng of Tauerneris
a Malepertnes of pedleres
a Thraue of Throsheris
a squatte of Dawberis
a Fightyng of beggers
an vntrouth of sompneris
a Melody of Harpers
A Pauuerty of pypers
a sotelty of sergeauntis
a Tabernacle of bakers
a Drifte of fisħers
a Disgysyng of Taylours
a Bleche of sowteris
a Smere of Coryouris
a Clustre of Grapys
a Clustre of chorlis
a Rage of Maydenys
a Rafuƚƚ of Knauys
a blusħ of boyes
an vncredibilite of Cocoldis
a Couy of partrichis
a Sprynge of Telis
a Desserte of Lapwyngꝭ
a faƚƚ of woodecockis
a Congregacion of Pleuers
a Couert of cootis
a Dueƚƚ of Turtillis
a Titengis of Pies
an Ost of sparowis
a Swarme of bees
a cast of haukis of y^e tour .ij
a Lece of thessame haukis .iij
a Flight of Goshaukes
a Flight of swalowes
a beldyng of Rookes
a Murmuracion of stares
a Route of woluess
a Lepe of Lebardis
a Shrewdenes of Apis
a Skulke of Theuys
a skulke of ffoxis
a Nest of Rabettis
a Labor of Mollis
a Mute of houndes
a Keneƚƚ of Rachis
a Sute of a lyam
a Cowardnes of curris
a Soundre of wilde swyne
a Stode of Maris
a Pase of Assis
a Droue of Nete
a fflocke of Shepe
a Gagle of women
a Pepe of chykennys
a Multiplieng of husbondis
a Pontificalite of prelatis
a Dignyte of chanonys
a Charge of curatis
a Discrecion of Prestis
a Sculke of freris
a bhomynable sight of mōkis
a Scoƚƚ of ffysħ
a Example of Maisteris
an Obẜuans of herimytis
an Eloquens of laweyeris
an Execucion of Officerys
a faith of Marchandis
a ꝓuision of stewardꝭ of hous
a Kerff of Panteris
a Credens of Seweris
an vnbrewyng of Kerueris
a Safegarde of Porteris
a Blast of hunteris
a Thretenyng of courteyeris
a Promyse of Tapsteris
a Lyeng of pardeneris
a Misbeleue of paynteris
a Lasħ of Carteris
a Scoldyng of Kemsteris
a wonderyng of Tynkeris
a waywardnes of haywardis
a worship of writeris
a Neu̇thriuyng of Iogoleris
a ffraunch of Mylneris
a Festre of Brewris
a Goryng of Bochouris
a Trynket of Corueseris
a Plocke of Shoturneris
a Dronkship of Coblers
a Sculke of foxis
a Clustre of Nottis
a Rage of the teethe
a Rascaƚƚ of Boyes
a Disworship of Scottis
¶ Explicit
Here folow the dew termẏs to speke of breekẏng or dressẏng of dẏuerse
beestis and fowlis & ċ And thessame is shewed of certaẏn fẏsshes.
A Dere brokenne.
A Goose rerede
a Pigge hedede and sydede
a Capoon sawsede
a Checoon frusshyd
a Cony vnlaceedde
a Crane displayde
a Curlew vnioyntede
a ffesawnt alet
a Quayle wyngged
a Plouer Mynsed
a Pegeon thyghed
Brawne leechyd
a Swanne lyfte
a Lambe shulderide
a Kidde shulderide
an Hen spoylede
a Malarde vnbrasid
an Heron dysmembrid
a Pecoke disfigured
a Beture vntachid
a Partrich alet
a Raale brestyde
a Wodecoke thyghed
an Egge Tyred
a ffyre Tymbered
Now of fẏsshes
A Sawmon Chyned
a Pyke splatted
an Haddoke sided
a Cheuen fynned
a Sole loyned
a Gurnarde chyned
a Tenche sawced
an Ele trousoned
a Breme splayed
a Barbiƚƚ tuskyd
a Trought gobettid
¶ ẏe shall saẏ thus.
An hert Herbourghith
a Bucke lodgith
an Esquyer lodgith
a Roo beddith
a yoman beddith
an haare in her forme shulderyng or leenyng.
a Cony sittyng.
a Wodecoke beekyng
Here now foloyng shaƚƚ be shewed aƚƚ the Shyreys and the Byshopryches of
the reolme of Englond And ye shaƚƚ vnderstonde that the Shyres be
written before and the bisshopriches of thessame ar writ folowyng next
aft and then afterward ar shewed the Prouynces of this londe.
¶ Kente. Caunturbury. Rouchestre.
¶ Southesex. Chychestre.
¶ Haampshyre. Sutherey. Wynchestre.
¶ Wyldeshyre. Barkeshyre. Salybury.
¶ Somersete shyre. Dorset shyre. Bathe.
¶ Deuenshyre. Cornewayle. Excestur
¶ Essex. Medelsex. London.
¶ Northfolke. Suthefolke. Norwyche.
¶ Cambrygeshyre. Elye.
¶ Laycetre. Huntyngdon. Northampton. Hertford. Bedford.
Bokyngham. Oxynford. Lyncolne. Lyncolne
¶ Gloucetur. Worcetur. Wigorn̄.
¶ Herfordshyre. Herford.
¶ Chesshyre. Shropshyre. ꝑte of Lācashire. Chestre.
¶ Yorkeshire. Stafordshire. Darbishire. Notynghamshyre.
and oder as parte of Lancastreshire. Yorke.
Prouẏnces of England.
Caunturburi. and Yorke. Stafford. Darby Notingham. Northumberlonde.
Durham. Westmerlond. Tendale. Karlile
Here in thys booke folowyng is determyned the lynage of Coote armuris:
and how gentilmen shaƚƚ be knowyn from vngentiƚƚ men. and how bondeage
began first in aungeƚƚ and after succeded in man kynde. as it is shewede
in processe boothe in the childer of Adam and also of Noe. and how Noe
deuyded the worlde in .iij. partis to his .iij. sonnys. Also ther be
shewyd the .ix. colowris in armys figured by the .ix. orderis of
aungelis. and it is shewyd by the forsayd colowris wych ben worthy and
wych ben Royaƚƚ. and of rigaliteis wiche ben noble and wich ben
exellent. And ther ben here the vertuys of chyualry and many other
notable and famowse thyngys to the plesure of noble personys shaƚƚ be
shewyd as the werkys folowyng witteneses who so euer likyth to se thaym
and rede thaym wych were to longe now to rehers. And after theys notable
thyngꝭ aforesayde folowyth the Blasyng of aƚƚ maner armys in latyn
french and Englisħ.
¶ Incipit Liber armorum.
Beyng in worthenes aarmes for to beere by the Royaƚƚ blode in ordynance
all nobuƚƚ and gentyƚƚ men from the hyest degre to the lawyst ī thys
booke shaƚƚ be shewed. and to deseuer Gentilnes from vngentilnes. ¶ In
so moche thatt aƚƚ gentilnes cummys of god of heuyn. at heuyn I wyƚƚ
begyn where were .x. orderis of aungelis and now stonde bot .ix. in
coote armuris of knawlege encrowned fuƚƚ hye with precious stones. where
lucifer with mylionys of aungelis owt of heuyn feƚƚ vnto heƚƚ and odyr
places and ben holdyn ther in bondage. and aƚƚ where creatid in heuyn of
gentiƚƚ nature. A bonde man or a churle wyƚƚ say aƚƚ we be cummyn of
adam. So lucifer with his cumpany may say aƚƚ we be cummyn of heuyn. ¶
Adam the begynnyng of man kynde was as a stokke vnsprayde and
vnfloreshed. and in the braunches is knowlegge wiche is rotun and wiche
is grene.
How Gentilmen shall be knawẏn from churlis & how theẏ first began. And
how Noe deuẏdẏd the world in .iii. partit to his iii sonnẏs.
Now for to deuyde gentilmen from chorlis in haast it shaƚƚ be preued.
Ther was neuer gentilman nor churle ordenyd by kynde bot he had fadre
and modre. Adam and Eue had nother fadre nor modre. and in the sonnys of
Adam and Eue war founde bothe gentilman and churle. By the soonnys of
Adam and Eue Seth Abeƚƚ and Cayn deuyded was the royaƚƚ blode fro the
vngentiƚƚ. A brother to sley his brother ꝯtrary to the law where myght
be more vngentelnes. By that did Cayn become a chorle and aƚƚ his
ofspryng after hym by the cursyng of god and his owne fadre adam ¶ And
Seth was made a gentilman thorow his fadres and moderis blissyng. And of
the ofspryng of Seth Noe come a gentilman by kynde
¶ Noe had .iij. sonnys begetyn by kynde. by the modre .ij. were named
Cham and Sem. and by the fadre the thirde was namyd Iafeth. Yit in theys
.iij. sonnys gentilnes and vngentilnes was founde ¶ In cham vngentilnes
was founde to his owne fadre doon̄ to discuuer his preuytes and laugh
his fadre to scorne ¶ Iafeth was the yongist and repreued his brodre.
Than like a gentilman take mynde of Cham. for his vngentilnes he was
become a chorle: and had the cursyng of god and his fadre Noe. And whan
Noe awoke he sayde to Cham his sonne: knowyst nott thow how hit become
of Cayn Adam soon: and of his churlisħ blode. Aƚƚ the worlde is drownde
saue we .viij. And now of the to begynne vngentilnes and a cause to
destroye vs aƚƚ: vppon the hit shaƚƚ be & so I pray to god that it shaƚƚ
faƚƚ. Now to the I gyue my curse wycked kaytife for eu̇. and I gyue to
the: the north parte of the worlde to drawe thyn habitacion for ther
shaƚƚ it be. where sorow and care colde and myschef as a churle thow
shalt haue. in the thirde parte of the worlde wich shaƚƚ be calde Europe
that is to say the contre of churlys.
¶ Iafeth eū heder my sonne thow shaƚƚ haue my blissing dere ī stede of
Seth Adam son I make the a gentilman to the weste parte of the worlde.
and to the occident ende: where as welth and grace shaƚƚ be. ther thyn
habitacion shaƚƚ be. to take that other therde parte of the worlde which
shaƚƚ be calde asia that is to say the contre of gentilmen.
¶ And Sem my son also a gentilman I the make to multipli abellis blode
that so wykkedli was slayn. the oryente thow shalt take that other
theirde parte of the worlde which shaƚƚ be calde affrica. that is to say
the contre of tempurnes.
¶ Of the ofspryng of the gentilman Iafeth come Habraham Moyses Aron and
the profettys. and also the kyngꝭ of y^e right lyne of mary. of whom
that gentilman Ihesus was borne very god and man: after his manhode Kyng
of the londe of Iude & of Iues gentilman by is modre mary prynce of Cote
armure.
How longe Cote armures wer begunne afore thẏncarnacion of owre lorde
Ihesu crẏst.
Iafeth made first Barget and ther in he made a baƚƚ in token of aƚƚ the
worlde. and afterwarde .ij^m. yere and .xviij. before thyncarnacion of
Criste: Cote armure was made. and figurid at the sege of troye where in
gestys troianorum it teƚƚith thatt the first begynnyng of the lawe of
armys was. the wiche was effugured and begunne before any lawe in the
worlde. bott the lawe of nature. and before the .x. cōmawndementis of
god
¶ And thys lawe of armys was grounded vppon the .ix. orderys of angelis
in heuen encrowned with .ix. dyueris precious stonys of colowris and of
vertuys dyueris. also of them ar figurid the .ix. colouris in armys. as
in nowmbre to begynne the first stone is callid Topasion
¶ Primꝰ lapis
The first stone is calde Topasion signẏfiẏng golde in armẏs.
¶ This stone Topasion is a semy stone. and golde it is calde in armys.
The vertue ther of is: that the gentilman the wiche thys stone in his
cote armure berith a fare messangere in his kyngꝭ batyƚƚ shaƚƚ be. The
wich stone is reẜued in the angelis crowne that was a trwe massanger and
a sure in his kyngꝭ batayƚƚ of heuen whan they faught with Lucifer
¶ Secūdꝰ lapis
The secunde stone is cald Smaragdus a grauelẏ stone signifiẏng vert in
armẏs
¶ The secunde stone is calde Smaragdus a grauell stone. &̄ vert it is
calde in armys. The vertu ther of is: that the gentylman the wich in his
cote armure it berith kene and hardy in his kyngꝭ bateƚƚ shaƚƚ be. the
wiche stone is reserued in tharchangelles crowne that was kene and hardy
in his kyngis bataile of heuen whan thei faught with lucifer
¶ Tercius lapis
¶ And this stone is calde brusk colore ī armẏs
¶ The thirde ston̄ is calde an Ametisce a dusketli ston̄ brusk hit is
calde in armys. The vertu ther of is: that he the wich berith in his
Cotearmur that stone. fortunable of victori ī his kīges batayƚƚ shaƚƚ
be. the wich stone is reserued to the virtutys crowne that was
fortunable and victoriows in his kyngꝭ batail of heuen whan thay faught
with Lucifer
¶ Quartus lapis
¶ And this stone is calde plūbẏ color ī armẏs
The .iiij. stone is calde a Margarete a clowdy stone Plumby hit is calde
in armys. The vertue ther of is. what gentilmā that ī his Cotearmure
that stone berith grete gou̇nawnce of chiualrie in his kyngys batayƚƚ he
shaƚƚ haue. the wich stone is reẜued in the potestatis crowne that was
cheualrius of gou̇naunce in his kyngys batayƚƚ of heuyn whan thay faught
with Lucifer
Quintus lapis
¶ A loẏs is calde sinamer or sanquine ī armẏs
¶ The .v. ston̄ is calde a Loys. a sanquine stone or sinamer hit is
calde in armys. The vertue therof is: the gentilman thatt in his
Cotearmure this stone berith myghtifuƚƚ of power in his kyngys batayƚƚ
shaƚƚ be. the which stone was reserued in dominacionys crowne that was
myghtifuƚƚ of powere in his kyngys bataiƚƚ of heuyn whan thei faught
with Lucifer
Sextus lapis
¶ And thẏs stone is calde gowlẏs in armẏs
¶ The .vi. stone is calde a Ruby a redly stone. gowlys it is calde in
armys. the vertue therof is. the gentylman that ī his Cotearmure that
stone berith hote and fuƚƚ of corage in his kyngys batayƚƚ shaƚƚ be. the
wich stone is reserued in the principatis crowne that was hote brinnyng
as fire in his kyngys batayƚƚ of heuyn whan thay faught with Lucifer
¶ Septimꝰ lapis
¶ A blue stone it is & it is cald asure ī armẏs
The .vij. stone is calde a Saphyre a blew stone Asure hit is calde in
armys. The vertue therof is. the gentilman that in his Cotearmure berith
that stone: wyse and vertues in his werkyng in his kyngꝭ batayƚƚ shaƚƚ
be. the wich is reserued to tronꝰ crowne that was wyse and vertues in
his kyngys batayƚƚ of heuyn whan they faught with Lucifer
Ottauꝰ lapis
¶ This stone is blake and it is called Sabull
¶ The .viij. ston̄ is a Dyamond a blake stone. Sable it is calde in
armys. The vertue therof is. what gentilman that ī his Cotearmure thatt
stone berith: durabuƚƚ & vnfaynt in his kyngys batayƚƚ he shaƚƚ be. The
wich stone was reserued ī the cherubyns crowne that was durable &̄
vnfaynt in his kyngys batayƚƚ of heuyn. whan thay faught with Lucifer
¶ ixꝰ lapis
¶ A shinẏng ston̄ and is calde Siluer ī armẏs
The .ix. stone is calde Carbuncle a shynyng stone. Silu̇ hit is calde in
armys. The vertue therof is: what gentilman y^t in his Cotearmure this
stone berith. fuƚƚ dowghti glorious & shynyng in his kyngys batayƚƚ he
shaƚƚ be The wich stone was reserued in the Serophyns crowne: that was
fuƚƚ doughti gloriꝰ & shinīg ī his kīgꝭ batayƚƚ of heuyn whan thei
faught w^t Lucifer
¶ Of the diu̇se coloreis for the feld of cotearmuris .v. bene worthẏ and
.iiii. bene Roẏall
Ther be .ix. dyu̇se coloris for the felde of Cotearmuris v worthy &
.iiij. Royaƚƚ. The .v. worthy be theys: Golde verte Brusk Plumby &
Synam. And the .iiij. Royaƚƚ be theis: Gowlis Asure Sable & Siluer Bot
now aft blaseris of armys ther be bot .vi. coloris of y^e wich .ij. be
metaƚƚ & iiij. coloris. Golde &̄ Silu̇ for metaƚƚ. vert Goulis Asure &
Sabuƚƚ for coloris. & theys be vsid and no moo.
¶ Of nine preciꝰ stonis .v. be noble & .iiii. of dig
¶ Ther be .ix. precious stonys .v. noble & .iiij. of dignite The .v.
noble stonys be theys Topasion Smaragmat Amatisce Margaret & Aloys. The
.iiij. of dignite be theys Rubi Saphyr Dyamond and Carbuncuƚƚ
¶ Of thorderis of āgelis .v. be ierarch & .iiii. trō
Ther be .ix. orḋys of angelis .v. Ierarchie. & .iiij. Trōly The v.
Ierarchye be theys: Angelis Archangelis virtutes Potestates &̄
dominacoēs The .iiij. Tronli be theys Principatꝰ Trony Cherubyn and
Seraphyn.
¶ v. of the dignites of regalite be noble & .iiii. &ċ
¶ Ther be .ix. dignites of Regalite .v. noble and iiij excellent The .v
noble be theys Gentilmā Squier Knyght Baron and Lorde. And .iiij.
excellēt be theis Erle Mark Duke and Prynce
Nẏne vertues of preciꝰ stonẏs
Nyne vertues of preciꝰ stonys ben ther .v. generaƚƚ and iiij. speciaƚƚ
The v. geṅaƚƚ ben theys A sure messenger Kene & hardy fortunat of
victori Cheualriꝰ of gou̇naunce &̄ myghtifuƚƚ of power The .iiij.
speciaƚƚ be theis: hote of corage wyse & redy & vertues in werkyng
Durable & vnfaynt fuƚƚ doughti & gloriose shynyng.
¶ The .iiii. vertues of cheualrẏ
Fowre vertues of cheualry ben ther: The first is iuste in his beestis.
clennes of his ꝑsone. peti to haue of the poore. to be gracious to his
presoṅ. to be reuerent and faythfuƚƚ to his god The secunde is that he
be wyse ī his bataiƚƚ. prudent ī his fightīg knowyng & hauyng mynde ī
his wittis. The .iij. is y^t he be nott slow ī his werris loke be fore
y^t his q̄riƚƚ be true thanke god euer of his victory & for to haue
mesure ī his sustināce. The iiij is to be strōg &̄ stedfast ī his
gou̇nāce. to hope to haue y^e victory And vode not frome the felde and
not to shame his cote armure. Also that he be not to bostfuƚƚ of his
manhod Loke that he be curtes lowly and gentiƚƚ and with owte rebawdry
in his langage.
Here shall be shewed the .ix. artikelis of gentilnes. v of them ar
amorows and iiii soueraẏn
¶ Ther be .ix. artycles of gentilnes. and of theym .v. bene amorows. and
.iiij. soueren. The .v. amorows gentilneses ben thees Lordeli of
cowntenawnce Treteable in langage Wyse in his answere Perfite in
gouernawnce. and Cherefuƚƚ to faythfulnes. The .iiij souerayn
gentilneses ben theis Fewe othes in sweryng. Boxom to goddis byddyng.
Knowyng his owne birth in beryng. and to drede his souerayn to offende.
¶ Ther be ix. vices contrarẏ to gentilmen
¶ Ther ben .ix. vices contrari to gentilmen of the wiche .v. ben
indetermynable and iiij. determynable The .v. indetermynable ben theys:
oon to be fuƚƚ of slowthe in his werris. an other to be fuƚƚ of boost in
his manhode. the thride to be fuƚƚ of cowardnes to is enemy. the faurth
to be fuƚƚ of lechri ī his body. & the fifthe to be fuƚƚ of drynkyng &̄
dronckunli. Ther be .iiij. determynable: on is to reuoke is own̄
chalange. an other to sley his presoner with his own̄ handis. the thride
to voyde from his soueraygnes baner in the felde. and the fifthe to teƚƚ
his soueraygne fals talys
¶ Ther be .ix. īestimable reioẏngis in armẏs
¶ The .ix. inestimable reioyngꝭ of armys ben theys
First is a gentilman to be made a knyght ī the felde at batiƚƚ ¶ The
secunde is lyuelode of hym to resayue after manhode The .iij. is
cheualry to do by fore his soueren ¶ The .iiij. is ambassatt to be put
in his honde for wisdom. ¶ The .v. is proues of knyghthode done be fore
alioundis ī honor of renowne. ¶ Theys be calde in armys the .v.
autentyke Now folowith the .iiij. endyng stremytallis personaƚƚ ¶ The
first is a poore knyght to be maried to the blode Royaƚƚ ¶ The secunde
is to haue thanke of his souereyn perpetuaƚƚ. ¶ The .iii. is to kepe his
Cote armure vnshamyd in triaƚƚ ¶ And the .iiij. is to kepe aƚƚ poyntis
of is knyghthod as gestys troianorum declarith.
Knaw ẏe that theis ii. orderis wer. first wedlok & then knẏhthode. and
knẏhthode was made before Cote armure was ordened.
¶ Ther was non order bot .ij. wedloke first and knyghthod after. A
knyght was made before ony cote armure. and Olybion was the first knyght
that euer was. Asteriali his fader come bi the right lyne of that
gentilman Iafeth and saw the peple multiplie & had no gouerner And the
cursed peple of Sem wered ayenys them Olibion was the stryngest and the
manfullest man in his tyme And the peple cried on̄ Olibion to be theyr
maister and their gou̇ner A thowsand men wer than multiplied of Iafethis
lyne. Asteriaƚƚ made to his son̄ a garlande abowte his hede of .ix.
diueris preciouse stonys in tokenyng of chyualri to be a gou̇ner of a
.M. men. &̄ vnto thys same day y^e kīgꝭ haue his name ī latē y^t is as
moch to sai y^e gou̇ṅ of .i^m. mē Olibion knelyd to Asteryaƚƚ his fader
and askyd his blissyng. Asteryaƚƚ toke Olibions swerde that was Iafethis
fawlchon̄ that Tubaƚƚ made be fore the floode: and smote flatlyng .ix.
tymys vppon the ryght shuldre of Olibion in tokenyng of the ix. vertuys
of the forsayde precious stonys and gaue him his blissing with a charge
to kepe the .ix. vertuys of charyte now foloyng as ye shaƚƚ here.
¶ Theis be the charges or artikelis that euerẏ knẏght shlude kepe bẏ the
dignẏte of his order & theẏ be ix. v. temꝑall and iiii goostlẏ
Ther be .v. temperaƚƚ u̇tuys & .iiij. gostly u̇tuys of charite the .v.
temꝑaƚƚ vertuys be theys. he shaƚƚ not turne his backe to his enemy for
to flee. The .ij. is that he shaƚƚ truly holde his promyse to his
frende: and also to his foo. The .iij. is he shaƚƚ be free of mete and
drinke to aƚƚ his meny a boute him The .iiij. is he shaƚƚ vpholde
maydonys ryght. The .v. is that he shaƚƚ holde vp wydoys ryght. Theys be
the .iiij. vertuys of charite goostly. The first is: he shaƚƚ honoure
his fader and his moder. The .ij is he shaƚƚ do noon harme to the poore.
The .iij. is he shaƚƚ be mercifuƚƚ. The .iiij. is he shaƚƚ holde with
the sacifice of the grete god of heuyn. And than Asteryaƚƚ did make to
Olibion a targett of Olyfe tree with iij. corneris .ij. a bouen is face
and oon downe to the growndwarde. in tokenyng that thys Olibion̄ was the
cheue of aƚƚ the blode of the .iij. sonnys of Noy By the Olif tree he
vnderstode victery for to wyn̄ By the poynt of his target to the grownde
the cursed brothir Cham By the corner of his target a bouen firtherest
that other brothir Sem. That othir corner next to hym selfe betokenyth
that gentilman Iafeth the blissed brothir of whome god and man come by
right lyne
¶ The maner of knẏghthodis ben .ii. oon with the Swerde An other with
the Bath
Ther be .ij. maner of knyghthodes oon with the swerde and an other with
the bath The bath is the worthest by cause of iiij. Royaltes. Oon is
whan an vnaged prynce is made knyght or be crouned kyng The secunde is
whan a Kyng or an Emperoure is crowned. The thyrde is whan a quene or an
Emperis is crowned. The iiij. is whan a Kyng or an Emperowre cum to
speke with an other of dyuerse londys
Nẏne maner of gentẏlmen ther bene
¶ Ther is a Gentylman of Auncetre and of blode
¶ And ther is a Gentylman of bloode
¶ Ther is a Gentylman of Cootearmur: and theos be .iij Oon of the Kyngys
bage. An other of a lordeship. And the therde is of the kyllyng of a
Saryson̄
¶ And ther is a gentylman vntryaƚƚ
¶ And ther is a gentylman Ypocrafet
¶ And ther is a gentylman Sperytuaƚƚ
¶ Ther is also a gentylman sperituaƚƚ and temperaƚƚ. and aƚƚ theys ben
more playnly declared in thys booke
¶ Gentilmen be calde .iiii. maner of wẏse one of awncetreis and iii of
Cotearmure
Ther be .iiij. diuerse maner of gentilmen. Oon his a gentylman of
awncetreys: wich muste nedis be a gentilman of blode. Ther be .iij.
gentilmen of Cotearmure and not of blode Oon is a gentylman of Cotarmure
of the kynges bagge. that is to say his deuice by an herawd Igouen̄. An
other gentilman of Cotarmure is and not of blode a kyng geuyng a
lordshipp to a yoman vnder his seaƚƚ of patent to hym and to his eyrys
for euer more he may were a Cotarmure of the same lordshipp
The thride his a yoman cristenyd yif he kiƚƚ a gentylman sorsyn he may
were the sarsinys Cotarmure and noo sarsyn a sarsynis cotarmure nethir
cristennys cotarmure bi feghtyng in noo wyse Yit sum men say that a
cristen man ouercomyng a cristen man feghtyng in the list shaƚƚ bere the
cotarmure of him that is ouer comyn. Or if a souereyn kyng make of a
yoman a knyght that same knyght is a gentylman of blode by the royalte
of the kyng and of knyghthood
¶ A gentẏlman spirituall
¶ Ther is a gentylman a churle sone a preste to be made and that is a
spirituaƚƚ gentylman to god and not of blode. Butt if a gentylmannys
sone be made preste he is a gentilman both spirituaƚƚ and temperaƚƚ.
Criste was a gentilman of his moder behalue and bare cotarmure of
aunseturis. The .iiij. Euangelist berith wittenese of Cristis warkys in
the gospeƚƚ with aƚƚ thappostilles. They were Iewys and of gentylmen
come by the right lyne of that worthy ꝯqueroure Iudas machabeus bot that
by succession of tyme the kynrade feƚƚ to pouerty. after the destruccion
of Iudas Machabeus and then they feƚƚ to laboris &̄ ware calde no
gentilmen. and the .iiii. doctoris of holi chirch Seynt Ierom Ambrose
Augustyn and Gregori war gentilmen of blode and of cotarmures
¶ Also the diuisionẏs of cotarmuris be .ix. thatt is to witt .v. perfẏte
and .iiii. vnperfẏte
Ther be .ix. dyuisionis of cotarmures .v. perfite & .iiii. vnperfite.
The .v. perfite be theys. Termynaƚƚ Collateraƚƚ Abstrakte Fixaƚƚ and
Bastard.
¶ Diferens Enbordẏng
¶ Termynaƚƚ is calde in armys aƚƚ the bretheren of right lyne hethir by
fadre or by modre may bere the right heyris cotarmure with a differens
calde Enbordyng
¶ Dẏferans Iemews
¶ Collateraƚƚ is calde in armys the sonnys of the bretheren of the right
heyre beryng the cotarmuris of theyr faderis with a dyfferans Iemews
¶ Diferens molet
¶ Fixaƚƚ in armys is calde the thirde degre by the rightlyne from the
right heyre by line male. thay may bere there faderis cote armure with a
differans molet
Diferans countertreuis
¶ The bastarde of fixaƚƚ shaƚƚ bere his faderis cotarmure counturtreuys.
that is to say what so euer he berith in his felde he shaƚƚ bere in the
colowris dyuerse and no more
How ther be .iiii. cotarmurẏs imperfite and be borẏn wẏth owte diferans
Ther be .iiij. cotarmuris vnperfite: and be borne with owte differance.
The first cotarmure is if a lordshipp a fore sayde be gouen vnder patent
bi the kyng. and if he die with oute heyr his cotarmure is Idon̄.
¶ The secunde is the cotarmure of the kyngꝭ gyfte yif he dye with owte
heyr his cotarmure is done. and yif theys .ij. cotarumuris haue vsshew
forth: the fith degre of theam bering lyne by male be gentilmen of blode
by lawe of armys
¶ The threde cotarmure of the Sarsyn yif the cristyn man dye with owte
vsshew his cotarmure is done. and if he had vsshew forth vnto the fith
degree from him by right lyne of vsshew male he is a gentylman of blode
¶ The fawrith cotarmure of the chefe blode yif he dye with owte ony
vsshew the hole cotarmure is lost than it fallith to be a cotarmure of
thymperfite beryng with a differans
¶ Aƚƚ the bastardis of aƚƚ cotarmuris shaƚƚ bere a fesse Sū caƚƚ hit a
baston̄ of oon of the .iiij. dignites of colouris. excepte the bastarde
of the fixiales and the bastarde of the brethyrne of the cheue blode
where theritaunce is deparded to eu̇ych brothir e like moch theys
bastardis shaƚƚ adde more bagy to his armys or take a way a bagy of
armys
Note here well who shall gẏue cotarmures
¶ Ther shaƚƚ none of the .ix. orduris of regalite bot aƚƚ onli the
soueregne Kyng geue cootarmur. for that is to hym improperid bi lawe of
armys. And yit the kyng shaƚƚ nott make a knyght with owte a cootarmure
by fore.
Eu̇y knyght cheftayn ī the felde mai make a cootarmur knight
In how manẏ places a knẏght maẏ be made
A Knyght is made in .v. dyuerse placis In musturing in londe of werris.
In Semblyng vnder baneris. In listys of the bath And at the sepulcur
¶ A lassed cotarmure is on the moderis parte
¶ A lassed cootarmure is calde the coote of a gentylwoman hauyng
lyuelode weddyd to a man hauyng noo cootarmure. hir sone may were hir
cootarmur with a differance of armys duryng his liue by the curtesy of
law of armys. and his sone shaƚƚ none bere bot so be that the
gentylwoman be heyr or next of blode to that cootarmure. Or ellis beyng
hir byrth of the blode Royaƚƚ and than shaƚƚ hir heyre bere hir
cootarmure
How Gentẏll men be made of Gromis that be nott of cootarmure nether
blode and theẏ be cald vntriall and apocrifate as hit shewith foloẏng
Ther be .ij. dyuerse Gentylmen made of gromys: that be nott gentilmen of
cotearmure nother of blode. Oon is calde in armys a gentylman vntriaƚƚ
that is to say made vp emong relygyous men as priorys Abbottis or
Bysshoppis. That other is called in armys a gentiƚƚ man appocrifate that
is to say made vpp and gouyn to him the name and the lyueray of a
gentylman.
¶ In armẏs be vi diferences that is to saẏ ii. for excellent and iiii.
for nobullẏs
Ther be .vi. Differences in armys .ij. for thexcellent. and .iiij. for
the nobles. Labeƚƚ and Enborduryng for lordis. Iemews Molettys Flowre
delyce and Quyntfoyles for thee nobles.
In blasẏng of armẏs be .ix. quadrattis that is to saẏ .v. quadrate
finiall and iiii. Roẏall
In blasyng of armys ther be .ix. quadrattis for to consider .v. quadrate
finiaƚƚ and .iiij. Royaƚƚ. Fyue quadrate finiaƚƚ be theys. Gereri.
Gerundi. Fretly. Geratly. and Endently.
¶ Gereri is called in armys whan cootarmuris ar .ix. quarteris dyuerse
colowris.
¶ Gerundi is called in armys whan the cootarmure is of .ix. dyuerse
colowris: &̄ a fusitarget with in the cootarmure of whatt colowre that
hit be of
¶ Fretly is calde ī armys whan the cootarmure is counterfesid
¶ Geratly is calde in armys whan the cootarmure is powderd Bot a blaisar
shaƚƚ not say he berith Ermen. Siluer powderd with Ermen Bot he shaƚƚ
say he berith Ermen or ellis in sume armys he muste say demy Ermen: wich
is to sai whitli Ermen
In so moch that ī the fifthe quadrat finiaƚƚ hit is determyned of the
tokenys of armys. or I procede to hit: is shewed whatt maner of tokeny a
gentyƚƚ man may weer.
A gentilman mai not weer tokynys of armys bot of steinīg colowre. that
is to say his cootarmure ynyat or ellis I geratt with preciouse stonys
Gerattyng haue .ix. bagges of cootarmuris. First with croslettis. and of
theym ther be .iiij dyuerse. and tho bene theys Cros fixyly. Cros paty
Cros croslettis. and Cros flory
¶ The secunde bage is flowre delyce.
¶ The threde baage is roslettys
¶ The fowrith baage is prymarose.
¶ The fifthe baage is quynfolis.
¶ The sexthe baage is diaclys
¶ The seuenith baage is chappelettys
¶ The .viij. baage is Molettys.
¶ And the .ix. baage is Cressauntis that is to say halfe the moone.
theys be powderygis of cootarmuris.
¶ The fifthe quadrate is calde Endently of .iij. diu̇se weis that is to
say bebally lentally and fyesly.
¶ Bebally is calde ī armys whan a cotearmure is calde Endentyde of .ij.
dyuerse colowris in the length of the cotearmure
¶ Lentalli is calde in armys whan y^e cootarmure is Endentid with .ij.
dyuerse colowris in the berde of the cootarmure
¶ Fyesly is called in armys .iij. manere weys Fesybagy fesy target and
fesy generaƚƚ.
Fesy bagy is whan tokenys of armys be disseiuered from the cheef of the
cotearmure to the right spleyer in the feelde
¶ Fesy target is whan a scogion̄ or an engislet is made in the mydduƚƚ
of the cootarmure.
¶ Fesy generaƚƚ is calde in armys whan the cootarmure is Endentid with
.ij. dyuerse colouris from the laste poynt of the cootarmure to the
spleyer
The chefe is calde in armys the myddys of the cootarmure of the right
syde.
Quadrat is calde in armys whan the felde is set with sum tokyn of armys.
¶ A quadrant finaƚƚ is called in armys whan the felde is discolourid
with tokenis of armys hauyng no beest in the felde.
A Quadrant Royaƚƚ is calde whan the feelde occupyeth y^e token of a
beest or ony other tokyn set with in the coōtarmure to the nowmbre of
fiue.
¶ The first quadrant is oon tokyn of armys allonli sett and whatt after
his byrthe he beerith.
¶ The secunde quadrant Royaƚƚ is beryng in his cootarmur iij. thyngꝭ
calde the tokenys of armys. that is to say iij. flowredelice in fylcyals
.iij. rosis .iij. chapplettis iij. lebardis .iij. lyonys. and so the
.iiij. quadrat Royaƚƚ is to bere a beest Raunpande: bebaly. lentally.
and fessely.
Here shall be shewed what Cootarmuris restrẏal ben and weer the blaser
shall begẏn to blase.
Thre cootarmuris be ther called restryaƚƚ in armys. Oon is whan a
cootarmure is barri of dyuerse colowris to the poynt. and what colowre
the poynt be of. the poynt is the felde. Ther the blaser shaƚƚ begynne.
¶ The secunde cootarmure restriaƚƚ is calde ī armys whan a cootarmure is
paly of dyuerse colouris to the poynt. & whatt pale medyƚƚ in the poynt
y^t coloure is the felde The blaaser shaƚƚ blase from that colowre to
the next coloure pale.
¶ The threde cootarmure restriaƚƚ is calde in armys whan a cootarmure is
sentry of dyuerse colowris to the poynt and whatt settre mydyƚƚ in the
poynt y^t colowre is the felde. The blaseyr shaƚƚ blase from y^t colowre
to the next colowre of the lefte side of the cootarmure and blase the
colowre sentri.
Merke what sentre Fixal Mangis Gorgis & other diuerse here now folowẏng
be calde ī armẏs
¶ A Sentre in armys is called stakar of tentis.
¶ Fixiaƚƚ be called in armys mylner pykes.
¶ Mangys be called in armys a sleue.
¶ Gorgys be called in armys water bulgees.
¶ Elynellis be calde in armys .iiij. quadrantis truncholis.
¶ Oglys be calde in armys gonestonys.
¶ Tortlettis be calde in armys wasteƚƚ.
¶ Diaclys be called in armys scopprellys.
¶ Myrris be calde in armys merowris or glasses.
¶ Feons be calde in armys brode arow hedys.
¶ Tronkys be calde in armys any bestys hede or neck Ikytt chagikli a
sonder.
¶ Demy is calde in armys halfe a best in the felde.
¶ Countretreuis is calde in armys whan halfe the beest is of oon coloure
and that other halfe of an other coloure
¶ Eny cotarmure that berith a crosse to the poynt: the poynte is the
felde. as Seynt George berith gollis fowre anglettis of Siluer. bot
ayens this rule sum blaseris of armys repungne as hit is shewed in the
boke foloyng.
¶ Theis .iij. termys. of. and. with shaƚƚ not be rehersed in armys bot
onys any of thaym
¶ Ther be diuerse berẏngẏs of feeldẏs
Dyuerse beryngis of feeldis ther be ¶ Oon is beryng hole felde. hit is
clepyd in armys claury
¶ The secūde is berīg too feldis. hit is calde ī armis Coūċli
¶ The threde is beryng too feldis in .iiij. quarteris: hit is calde in
armys quarily
¶ Ther bene .iii. cote armurẏs grẏttẏ
Thre cootarmuris grytty ther bene in armys. Oon is called checky that is
whan the felde is chekerd with diu̇se colouris
¶ The secunde is calde wyndi that is to say whan the felde is made like
wawis of oon coloure or of diuerse colouris
¶ The threde is calde werry whan the felde is made like gobolettys of
dyuerse colowris.
In armẏs be ii. pinẏonẏs. also it shewẏs wat clawrẏ cownterlẏ and
quarterlẏ bene with other
¶ Ther be in armys calde .ij. pynyonys Oon is whan the feeld his a
sawtri. Seynt andrewys crosse may be clauri counterly quarterly. Clawri
is called playn of oon coloure. Cownterly is whan colowris quarterly be
.ij. colowris sett in .ij. quarteris
¶ The secunde pynyon̄ is called cheffrounce that is a couple of sparis.
and that may be claury counterly quarterli gereri and byally.
¶ Gereri is whan .iij. cheffrounce be to gedur or moo.
¶ Byaƚƚ is called whan a barre is be twene .ij. cheffrounce
Here endeth the mooste speciaƚƚ thyngys of the boke of the lynage of
Coote armuris and how gentylmen shaƚƚ be knowyn from vngentylmen. and
now here foloyng begynnyth the boke of blasyng of aƚƚ maṅ armys: ī latyn
french & Englisħ
¶ Explicit prima pars.
Here begẏnnẏth the blasẏng of armẏs
I haue shewyd to yow in thys booke a foore how gentilmē began. and how
the law of armys was first ordant. and how moni colowris ther be in
cootarmuris. and the difference of cootarmuris with mony other thynggis
that here needis not to be rehersed. Now I intende to procede of signys
in armys and of the blasyng of aƚƚ armys. Bot for to reherce aƚƚ the
signys that be borne in armys as Pecok Pye Bacc Dragon Lyon & Dolfyn and
flowris and leeuys it war to longe a tariyng. ner I can not do hit: ther
be so mony. Bot here shaƚƚ shortli be shewyd to blase aƚƚ armys if ye
entende diligentli to youre rulys. And be cause the cros is the moost
worthi signe emong al signys in armys: at the cros I wiƚƚ begynne. in
the wich thys nobuƚƚ and myghti prynce Kyng Arthure hadde grete trust so
that he lefte his armys that he bare of .iij. Dragonys. and ou̇ that an
other sheelde of .iij. crownys. and toke to his armys a crosse of Siluer
in a feelde of verte and on the right side an ymage of owre blessid lady
with hir sone in hir arme. and w^t that signe of the cros he dyd mony
maruelis after. as hit is writyn in the bookis of cronyclis of his dedys
Also I haue red thys signe of the cros to be sende from god to that
blessid man Marcuri as vincencius sayth. in speculo historiali. of the
maruellis deth of Iulian thappostita Emproure. li^o .xv^o. he saythe
thangele brought vn to the foresayd Mercuri aƚƚ armure necessari with a
shelde of asure and a cros fluri with .iiij. rosis of golde. as here ī
this And I fonde neuer that euer any armys waar sende from heuyn bot in
theym was the sygne of the cros. Exceppid in tharmys of the Kyng of
fraunce the wiche armys certanli war sende bi an awngeƚƚ from heuyn that
is to say. in flowris in maner of Swerdis in a felde of asure. as hit
shewis here. The wich certan armys ware geuyn to the forsayd kyng of
fraunce in sygne of euerlastyng trowbuƚƚ and that he and his
successaries aƚƚ way with bataiƚƚ and swereddys shulde be punyshid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
I aske here moo questionis of the crossis signe
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Now I turne agayne to the signe of the cros and aske a question: how
mony crossis be borne in armys. to the wich questtion vnder a certan
nowmbur I dare not answere. for crossis innumerabuƚƚ ar borne now dayli.
bot decendyng to eueri cros the wich a fore tyme I haue seen as fer as I
can I entende to discribe. emong the wich first the playn cros shaƚƚ be
discribed of the with cros moo dowtis be made then of mony odyr
crossies. for as moch as wyse men in blasyng of armys holde for a veri
rule that ye moost begynne to blase at the lowyst poynt of the sheelde.
if the poynt be of oon coloure. and so that coloure thatt is in the
poynt of the sheelde is the felde of the armys
¶ Bot in that rule to remeue a way aƚƚ dowtis ye most merke dyligently:
that. that rule is true with a littyƚƚ addicion. y^t is to witte that in
armys to be blased it is aƚƚ way to begynne at the poynt of the sheelde:
if the poynt be of oon coloure that is true: if the coloure of the poynt
be more copiose or gretter in thos armys. and then with owte dowte ye
shaƚƚ begyn ther. or ellys not ¶ And weer the colowres be equaƚƚ ꝑtid
other on length or ouerwart then euermore ye shaƚƚ begynne to blase
thoos armys in the right side. and in that case ye shaƚƚ haue no
respecte to the poynt.
¶ And iff it be asked how berith Seynt george. it is to be knaw that ye
most say. latine. ¶ Portat vnum scutum de argento cum quadam cruce plana
de rubio. ¶ Gallice. Il port dargent vng cros playn de gowlez. ¶
Anglice. He beris a felde of Siluer with a playn cros of gowles. as here
apperith in theys armys.
And the same maner of wyse ar aƚƚ crossis hauyng a playn cros to be
blased Therfore thay er: y^t say Seynt george beris the felde of gowles
with .iiij. quarteris of Siluer of whome the resonis I lowue not. for by
thoos resonis a playn cros shulde neuer be founde in armys ner welny no
differens in armys.
¶ Off an cros of an equaƚƚ length on eueri parte.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
A Playn cros is founde in armys differyng from the first cros. and hit
is of an equaƚƚ length on eu̇i parte as it apperith here. and theys
armys be harder then the other to blase as hit is opyn. for thendys of
thys cros towchis not the hemmys or the vtter parte of y^e sheelde ī no
parte in wich ye shaƚƚ say that he: that beris theis armys. latine. sic
¶ Ille portat de asuro cum vna cruce plana aurea equalis longitudinis ey
omni parte ¶ Gallice. Il port daser vng cros playn dung longur ꝑ tont. ¶
Anglice. He berith asure with a playn golden cros of equaƚƚ length on
eu̇y parte. And this is the differans in blasyng. that aƚƚ thendys of
thys cros arne of equaƚƚ length the wich mai not be in the playn cros a
fore. for the foote is the lengest parte. and hit be weƚƚ made. And this
differens shaƚƚ appere bettir in a cootarmure: then it doth in a sheeld
& so ther is an euydent differens be twix y^e .ij. crossis aforsaid
¶ Off a playn cros strayte.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther is an oder cros aquaƚƚ straythyr in the myddis then in thenddys
with opyn corneris as here not touchyng the vtterist parte of the
sheelde in any parte ther of. and hit is calde a cros patent. And ye
shaƚƚ say that he the wich beris this cros beris ī this maṅ. ¶ latine
sic. Ille portat vnam crucem argentatam patentem in campo nigro. ¶
Gallice. Il port de sable vng cros patee dargent. ¶ Anglice sic. He
berith Sable a cros paty of Siluer.
¶ Off a cros patent fixibyƚƚ.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
This cros patent is made dyuerse in the footo of the same as hit
apperith here. And then hit is calde a cros patēe fixible. for ī the
erth sych a cros may be pycchit. in the wich cros .iij. of the heyr
partes ar opyn in the corneris and bradder thhan in the myddys. & his
foote is disposid to piche ī the erthe. latine. ¶ Ille portat de rubio
cum vna cruce figitiua de albo ¶ Gallice. Il port de gullis vng cros
patee fiche dargent. ¶ Et anglice. He berith Gullys and a cros paty
fixibiƚƚ of Siluer. And knawe ye that ther be mony crossis the wych may
be maade fixibiƚƚ as hit shaƚƚ be shewd here folowyng in dyuerse.
Off a playn cros cordyd.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Emong odyr crossis oon is founde the wich is calde a corddid cros as
here it is shewed ī this cros the wich is calde a corddid cros: for hit
is made of cordys. the wich certan cros I se bott late: in tharmys of a
nobuƚƚ man: the wich in very deed was summe tyme a crafty man a Roper as
he hym selfe sayd. And ye shaƚƚ say of him that berith theys armys
latine ¶ Ille portat gowlles cum vna cruce plana cordata de argento.
Gallice sic. ¶ Il port de goullez & vng cros playn cordee dargent.
Anglice sic. ¶ He berith gullis and a cros playn cordyd of Syluer.
¶ Off a cros playn ꝑforatid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther is an odyr cros playn the wich meruelusly fro the playn cros of
Saynt george differis. as here apperith. And here it is to be merkyd.
that thoppynyon of sum men: sayng is. that theis armys be chekkerd
armys. and this oppynyon is vtturli to be repreuyd for armys may not be
checkerd bot at the lest in the nombur of .iiij. and in a grettyr nombur
they may wele be made. as afterward shaƚƚ be shewed. Therfor it is to be
said. latine sic. ¶ Ille portat vnam crucem argenteā ꝑforatam in campo
nigro. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port de Sable vng cros dargent ꝑtee.
Anglice. ¶ He berith Sable and a cros perforatid of Siluer.
¶ Off a besantid cros.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Over theis crossis we heue an odyr cros the wiche I sawe late in tharmys
of a certan Ianuens as here it shewis And this is calde a besant cros
for it is made aƚƚ of besanttis. and sych a cros may be made als sone
with lytiƚƚ cakys as with besanttys. for besantys and lytiƚƚ cakys
differ not bot in colore. for besanttis be euer of golden coloure. ne
the coloure of the besant shaƚƚ be expressid in blasyng of armys. for it
nedis not to say a besant of golde for ther be no besantis bot of golde
Therfor it is to be sayd. latine sic. Ille portat vnam crucem talentatam
in campo rubeo. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port de gowlez vng cros besauntee.
Anglice sic. ¶ He berith gowles and a cros besauntid.
¶ Off a cros flurry.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Now folowith an odyr cros flurry. the wich is so called as hit apperith
here. And therfor hit is calde de florishyng cros. for hit has flouris
in eueri ende vpwarde that is to say saue the foote. thys cros flurri
sum tyme is borne in armys fixabuƚƚ. And then it is calde in armys a
cros flurri fixabuƚƚ. for in iij. of his endys he is florishyng and in
the foote pichabuƚƚ or fixabuƚƚ. Therfore it is to be sayde of him that
beris hit. latine. ¶ Portat vnam cuccem auream floridam in campo asoreo.
Et gallice. Il port dasor vng croys flouretee dor. Anglice. ¶ He berith
asure and a cros flurri of golde.
¶ Now here shaƚƚ be shewyd of a cros flurri patent ī armys
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Now folowith a noḋ cros the wich is called a cros flurry patent. as here
it apperith. And hit is calde a cros flurri patent for he hath his endis
opyn and ī y^e myddys of eueri ende apperith an other thryde in the
maner of a flowre as it is opynli shewed in this cros. Therfore it shaƚƚ
be sayd that the berer of theys armys: beris in this wyse as foloth
first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnam crucem floridam patentem de auro in
campo asureo. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port dasor vng patee flouretee dor.
Anglice sic. ¶ He berith asure with a cros patent flurri of golde.
¶ Ye shaƚƚ vnderstand here of a playn wateri cros.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Moore ouer ye shaƚƚ vnderstonde that ther is an othere playn cros the
wich certanly is calde a watery cros. and hit is calde a wateri cros for
hit is made bi the maner of water trowbulled with wynde. as here hit
shewys ī theys armys. Therfor he the wich berith theys armys beris in
this wyse as it shaƚƚ folow first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnam crucem
planam vndosam de argento in campo rubeo. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port de
gowlez vng cros playn vndee dargent. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith gowles and
a playn wateri cros of Syluer.
¶ Also ther is a cros that is calde inueckyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
In armys also ar founde moo crossis the wich ar made of colowris
inuekkyt or indentit as here in thys cros apperith And it is calde a
cros inuekkyt for the cause that hit has .ij. colouris. oon put in to an
other. And of him that beris theys armys ye shaƚƚ say first in latyn
thus. ¶ Portat vnam crucem planam inuectam de coloribus albis & nigris
in campo rubeo. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port de gowlez vng cros playn verre
dargent & sable. Anglice. ¶ He berith gowles and a cros of Siluer and
Sable inuekkyt.
Off an other maner cros that is calde a cros croslet.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Yett folowith an other cros the wich es calde a cros crossit or croslet.
and hit is calde crossit for ī eu̇r ende he is crossit as here apperis.
Bot this cros is not so oft borne in armys by him selfe as other crossis
neuer the lees mony tymys hit is borne ī dimynutiuys that is to say in
littyƚƚ crossis crossit And then tharmys ar powderit with littyƚƚ
crossis cruciatit. And ye shaƚƚ say thus of hym y^t beris theys armys
first in latyn. Ille portat vnam crucem cruciatam de argento in campo
asoreo. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port dasor vng crois croycee dargent.
Anglice sic ¶ He berith asure & a cros croslet of Siluer. And whan such
crossis ar borne and put ī armys as I said afore ī dymynutiuys &̄ w^t
owte any ċtan nombre then thay ar called in french Croslettys.
¶ More ouer ther is a cros masculatit as here it folowis.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Wytt ye weƚƚ yit y^t ther is an other cros the wych is called a cros
masculatit as here it apperis. And this cros is called a cros masculatit
for he is made of masculys of the wich certan masculis ye shaƚƚ se
afterward in the chapitur of fusyllis mascult: and losyngys where this
mater shaƚƚ be moor playnli tretit. And he that beris thys armys beris
as it is shewed here after. first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnam crucem
masculatam de argento in campo asereo. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port dasor
vng cros masculee dargent. Anglice sic. He berith asure and a cros
masculatit of Syluer.
¶ Also ther is a cros masculatit and perforatit as here.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Be it knowe: that thys cros masculatit sum tyme is ꝑforatit. in the
masculys as it is opyn in the persyng he e folowyng. And thus ye most
blase hym. first in latyn in thys wyse. Ille portat vnam crucem
masculatam perforatam de rubeo in scuto argenteo. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il
port dargent vng cros de gullez mascule ꝑsee. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith
Siluer with a cros of gowles masculatit persit.
¶ Ther is a mylneris cros as here it shaƚƚ be shewed.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Here folowis an other cros the wich is calde the cros of a milne for hit
is made to the simylitude of a ċtan īstrument of yrne in mylnys the wich
berith the mylne ston by the wich īstrument: that ston in his cors is
borne equally that he declyne not ouer myche on the right ꝑte ner on the
lefte parte. bot mynisteryng to eueri parte that: that is his equally
and with owte frawde. And thys is geuyn to Iugis to bere in theyr armys:
and to thos that haue Iurisdiction vnder theym. That is to say as the
forsayd īstrumēt is directe: to the mylne stone equalli and with owte
gyle. So thos Iuges ar bondyn to gyffe equalli to eueri man his right.
And it is to be sayd y^t the possessor of theis army beris ī this wyse.
first ī latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnam crucem molēdinarem argenteam in campo
rubeo. Et iam gallice. ¶ Il port gowlez vng cros moleyne dargent.
Anglice. He berith gowlles and a mylneris cros of Syluer.
Now it shaƚƚ be shewed of a cros that is turnyt a gayn.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Certan we haue a cros the wich is calde a cros turnyt agayn. and this
cros is calde retornyt: for the cause y^t thendys of this cros on eueri
side ar retornytt agayn bi the maner of a Rāmys horne. And he that beris
theis armys beris ī this wise first in latyn thus. Portat vnam crucem
auream īu̇sam in scuto asureo. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port dasor vng cros
recercilee dor. Anglice sic. ¶ He beris asure with a cros reuersit of
golde.
¶ Off a cros fforkyd.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Under stande ye that ther be other men the wich beer in theyr armys a
certan forkyd cros as thys is. And hit is called forkyd: for as moch as
that aƚƚ thendys of hit ar clouyn and forkyd. Therfore hit shaƚƚ be sayd
of thos men that berit theys armys in this whise. primo latine. ¶ Portat
vnam crucem furcatam de auro in campo asereo. Gallice. Il port dasor vng
cros dor. Anglice. ¶ He berith asure with a cros forkyd of golde
¶ Off a cros engraylid or engradid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also ther be certayn nobuƚƚ men the wich beer a cros engradyd or
engraylid. as it apperis here folowyng And hit is calde a cros engraylid
for hit is not playne in ony parte of him bot engraylid also weƚƚ ouer
his length as ouer his breed. Neuer the lees this engraylyng is no
propur langage aftir the sight of thys cros: bot rather an endentyng as
truth is Bot it is the comune maner of spekyng in theys armys. Therfore
ye most say as I sayd a fore. And ye shaƚƚ say of him that beris theys
armys in thys wyse. First in latyne thus. Portat vnam crucem ingradatam
de albo in campo rubeo. Et iam Gallice.
¶ Il port de gullys vng cros ingral dargent. Anglice
¶ He beris gowlys and a cros ingrayled of Syluer.
¶ Off a cros cutoff.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
I Fynde yet an othyr cros: the wich is borne mony timys ī tharmys of
nobuƚƚ men. the wich is calde a cros trūcatid. And hit is calde
trunkatid for hit is made of .ij. treys the boys cut a way. as here.
Therfore it is to be sayd that the possessor of theys armys beris in
latine thus. ¶ Portat vnam crucem truncatam de argento in campo rubeo.
Et gallice. Il port de gullez vng cros recopee dargent. Anglice. ¶ He
berith gowles with a cros trunkatid of Siluer.
¶ Off a knotty cros.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Knowe ye yit after theys crossis ther is an other cros the wiche is
calde a knotty cros: the wich ī certan is calde so for hit has in eu̇y
ende certan knottis. as here. And it is to be sayde of hym that beris
theys armys in thys wyse. Primo latine. Ipse portat vnam crucem auream
nodulatam ī scuto asoreo. Et gallice. ¶ Il port dasor vng cros botone
dor. Anglice. ¶ He beris asure with a cros knotty of goolde.
And thys cros is founde other while pycche or figityue ī armys. and then
his foote is figityue as I sayd a fore.
¶ Off a cros flurri knottid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Over thies crossis we haue a certan cros flurri of the wiche it is
spokyn a foore. the wiche cros flurri is founde knotty as here. And that
is as I soyd a foore whan knottys ar founde ī thendys and the anglis of
the sayd cros. And the berer of the sayd armys latine. ¶ Portat vnam
crucem nodulatam floridam aurream in campo de asuro. Et gallice sic ¶ Il
port dasor vng cros floretee botone dor. Anglice. ¶ He berith asure and
a cros flurri knotty of golde.
¶ Off a cros dowbuƚƚ ꝑtitid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
A Cros dowbuƚƚ is founde in the armys of dyuerse nobuƚƚ men the wych
certan cros is calde a dowbuƚƚ ꝑtitid cros. For if it be deuydid or
partid after the long way or the brode way yit ther a bydys on dowbuƚƚ
cros as we may se here. Yit I haue seen many nobuƚƚ men dowttyng of thys
cros moore then of any cros a fore said: the wich neuer the lees aftir
long disputacionis in thoppynion a foresayd restid and concludid.
Therfore he that beris theys armys. latine sic. ¶ Portat vnam crucem
duplicatam argenteam in campo nigro. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port sable vng
cros dowble petie dargent. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith Sable and a cros
dowble pertitid of Siluer.
¶ Off a cros dowble ꝑtitid florishid
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
This cros dowble ꝑtitid is varied sum timys. and then hit is called a
cros dowble partitid florishid. as here. Neuertheles hit is calde a cros
flurri inpropurli as sum men sayen for hit faylith the myddys of that
flowre as a noon hit shaƚƚ folow in the next armys. the wich certan
myddys by no maner of wyse in that cros dowble ꝑtitid may be. as a noon
it shaƚƚ be shewed. Bot he that berith theis armis latine. ¶ Portat vnam
crucem duplam ꝑtitam auream in campo rubeo. Gallice. ¶ Il port de gowlez
vng cros double ꝑtie floretee dor. Anglice. ¶ He berith gowles and a
cros dowble ꝑtitid flurri of golde.
¶ Off a cros tripartitid florishid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Bot as is shewed a fore this cros is calde a cros dowble ꝑtitid
florisħid for ther faylith the myddys of the cros by the wich the cros
florishid is made ꝑfite. as here hit is opyn. the wich certan myddys
putt ther to it shaƚƚ not be called a cros dowble ꝑtitid florished Bot
rathir it shaƚƚ be calde a cros threfolde ꝑtitid flurri. And then it is
weƚƚ blased. for and it be dyuidid after the longnes or after the
brodenes. aƚƚ way oon parte shaƚƚ a byde triꝑtitid in the myddis of the
cros as it is opyn ī tharmys a fore writtyn. And therfore he that berith
theis armis. latine. ¶ Portat vnā crucē triꝑtitā de argē^o ī cāpo de
asuro. Gallice. ¶ Il port daser vng cros trefoys ꝑtee floretee dargent.
Anglice sic. ¶ He berith of asure with a cros triꝑtitid floree of
Siluer.
¶ Off a mylneris cros shadowyd or vmbratid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
A dowte theer is yit of a certayn shadow of a mylnerys cros as it
shewith here folowyng. And knaw ye that it is called a shadow of a cros
for euermore thys shadow is made of blacke coloure. of what sum euer
coloure the felde be of. the shadow is made of blacke. and the bodi of
the same shadow is of y^e same coloure with the felde. ¶ And he that
berith theys armys. latine. Portat vnam crucem vmbratam in campo aureo.
¶ Gallice sic. Il port dor vng cros moleyne vmbre. ¶ Anglice. He berith
of golde with a mylneris cros vmbratid or shadowyd.
¶ Off a cros floree patent vmbratid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Another sampuƚƚ is sene of the vmbracion of a certayn cros. and thys
cros is calde a cros floree vmbratid as apperith here. bot truly spekyng
and propurli it is no cros: bott a shadow of such a cros. and the reson
is. for the bodi of the said shadow is of the same coloure with the
felde. And so the colore that is in the felde shewith by aƚƚ the body of
the sayd shadow. ¶ And thoo that beer thes armys. latine. Portant vnam
crucē floridam patentem vmbratam in campo rubeo ¶ Gallice sic. Il port
de gowlez vng cros patee floritee vmbre ¶ Anglice sic. He berith of
gowles and a cros potent flore vmbratyd.
¶ Off a cros flori patent vmbratit and perforatid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Neuertheles after sum men thys shadoyd cros other wyle is persid
maruelusly as hit folowith here and than hit is calde a cros floori
patent vmbratyd and perforatid for hit accordis with the croos precedyng
exceppid the persyng in the myddys of the sayd shadoo. ¶ And then hit
shaƚƚ be sayd that he the wiche berith this cros. latine. Portat vnā
crucem floridam patentem vmbratam perforatam cum rubio in campo aureo
¶ Et gallice sic Il port dor vng croys patee florotee vmbre & partee de
gowlez.
¶ Anglice He berith of golde a cros patent flurri shadoyd & persyd with
gowles.
Blaseris moost be ware of theis armys vmbratid of the wich: mony rewles
be shewed a fore. Bot for the blasyng of theis certan armys sum ignorant
men of thys crafte take the rule goyng a fore that is to wite of the
colowris transmutid as ye saw a fore Bot ther be certan nobuls and
gentilmen in englonde the wich beere shadoys diuerse in theyr armys as
Lyon Antlop and other. and they that bere theys armis and hit be a lyon
ye shaƚƚ sai in latyn ¶ Portat vnum leonē vmbratam in campo aureo ¶
Gallice. Il port dor et vng leon vmbree. ¶ Anglice. He beerith of golde
and a lyon vmbratid. ¶ And men say that suche ꝑsonys as beer theys
vmbratid armys had there ꝓgenitoris beryng the same not vmbratid bot
hole Bot the possessionis & the patrimonyes descendid to other men. then
the Neuoys or Kynnysmen leuyng in goode hoope and trustyng to haue the
possessionis of their ꝓgenitoris: beer their armys vmbratid. aƚƚ oder
differens a fore said leuīg. for when they haue that patrimony: that
thai trustit oon. soon thay may beer that lion or other beest of the
same coloure the wiche theyr progenytoris bare. and it is bettyr to beer
thos armis vmbratit then hoolly to leeff theyr progenitouris armys.
¶ Yitt here folowis an odir cros hemyt or borderit as apperis
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
A Gret dowte yit remaynys a nendys blaseris of armys ī dyfferens be twix
thys cros fimbriatit or borderit. as here now apperis and the forsayd
cros vmbratit. in so moch that they are mych like. and it apperis in the
first sight that they be bot oon. bot and a man beholde weƚƚ ther is a
gret differens. for the bordir of thys cros is variet as weƚƚ fro the
coloure of the cros as fro the coloure of the felde. and elles is ther
no dowte. Therfore it shaƚƚ be sayde of hym that beris theys armys in
thys wyse first in latyn thus. Portat vnam crucem nigram perforatam
floridam patentem fimbriatam siue borduratam cum argento in campo rubeo.
Gallice sic. ¶ Il port de gullez vng crois flouretee patee percee de
sabuƚƚ bordure dargent. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith goules with a cros
flurri patent persit of Sable borderit w^t Silu̇.
Now folowis an Ermyn cros as it shaƚƚ be shewyd
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
For certan ther is an Ermyn cros. & hitt is a meruelus cros of y^e wich
ther was a disputacion at london by a certan herrowde of Bretan. And it
was determynyt that theys armys may be in non other coloure bot as here
it apperis And thys cros is calde an Ermyn cros. and it shaƚƚ be sayd of
him that beris theys armys in thys wyse as it shaƚƚ folow. first in
latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnam crucem ereminalem. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port
vng croys Eremmee Anglice sic. ¶ He berith a cros ermyn And here ye
moost note that the coloure ī theys armys shaƚƚ not be expressit for
this cros ner theis armis may not be made bot of theys colouris that is
to say allone of blacke and white the wich ar the propur coloris of
theys armys.
Sufficientli is spokyn of crossis afore. now folowis an odir treteys of
dyuerse armys quarteryt as here shaƚƚ be shewyt.
Off armys quarterit sum ar armis quarterit playn Sum quarterit engradit.
Sum quarterit irrasit. Sum quarterit inueckyt. Sum quarterit indentit of
the wich it shaƚƚ be spokyn euerich oon after other. and first of
tharmys playn
Itt shaƚƚ be shewyd first of armys quarterit playn.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Thre maner of wyse armys may be quarterit. The first maner is opyn whan
.ij. dyuerse armys ar borne quarterli as it is opyn and playn in tharmys
of the kyng of Fraunce & of Englond And ye shaƚƚ say of hym y^t beris
theys armys thus as folowys. first ī latyn. Ille portat arma regis
Francie & Anglie qurteriata. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il Port lez armes de
Francee et dangleterre quarteles. Anglice sic. ¶ He beris tharmys of
France & Englonde quarterli. And it shaƚƚ not be tedeus to no man that
Fraunce is put before Englonde ī blasyng. bot the cause is this. for
tharm̄ys of Fraunce in armys be put afore and we haue a gen̄aƚƚ rule y^t
whensumeu̇ in armys be .ij. colouris or moo ī the poynt of the shelde.
then ye shaƚƚ not begyn at the poynt to blase them. bot in the right ꝑte
or side of thos armys. that same coloure ther founde ī the right side of
y^e shelde is not the felde of tharmis. for it mai fortune it is not the
gretist coloure ī tharmys aforsayd bot les or with othir equaƚƚ. and
neu̇ the les ye shaƚƚ begyn to blase ther.
Off armys quartly borne now it shaƚƚ be shewyd.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
The secūde maner of wyse of beryng quarterit armys is when .iiij. diu̇se
armys quartli be borne as here is shewyt And he that beris theys armys:
beris .iiij. diu̇se armys quartli. latine sic. Ille portat quatuor arma
diu̇sa quartiata. Gallice sic.
¶ Il port quarter armes diu̇sez quarteleez. Anglice sic He berith
.iiij. armys diu̇se quartli. And then if it be askyt how theys armys
shulde be blasit. The blaser most begyn ī the heyst corneƚƚ ou̇ the
right side ꝓcedyng to eu̇y armys. tharmys in the right side blasit: ye
most go to the odir side & then to the thirde side & afṫ to the last.
And ye most know that theys armys rehersit afore be playn armys
quarterit.
Ther is an othir man̄ of beryng of armys quarṫit when ij armis quarterit
be borne quart̄li. and it is borne most ī armis of quenys and so bare
that noble quene of Englond quene Anna wyfe to that royaƚƚ prince Kyng
Richard the secunde: the wiche bare tharmes of Englond &̄ of Fraunce and
of themꝑor of Almayn quarṫli & in .xvi. ꝑtes. that is to say in the
right side of the shelde in the first quarter she bare tharmys of
fraunce .iij. floredelucis of golde ī a felde of asure. & ī the secunde
quarṫ .iij Libartis of golde ī a felde of gowles. & ī y^e thirde quarṫ
an Egle splayd w^t .ij. neckis. & ī the .iiij. a blake Lyon rampyng ī a
felde of Silu̇. and so chaungeably she bare theys armys in .xvi.
quarteris the wich seldyn is seen in any armys.
¶ Off armys quarterit and engraylyt now shaƚƚ be shewytt
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Now I shew yow y^t sum time we haue armys quarterit &̄ engraylit. that
is to witt whan eu̇y armys ī his quarṫ is engraylit as here apperis. &
it shaƚƚ be sayd of him y^t beris theis army thus. first ī latyn ¶ Ille
portat de auro & rubio arma quarteriata & ingradata. Et gallice sic. ¶
Il port dor et gowlez quartlee engreylee. Anglice sic ¶ He berith of
golde &̄ gewles quarteriy engraylit. And thei ar calde armys engradit
for they ar made of .ij. colouris the wich graditly ar broght to gedir
oon coloure in to an other coloure
Off armys quaterit and irrasyt now I will speke.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Certan armys ther be quarterit and irrasit as here apperis. the wich
ċtan armys ar called quarterit armys irrasit. for the colouris be rasit
owt as oon coloure ī rasyng ware take away from an othir. And it shaƚƚ
be sayd of him y^t beris theis armys in latyn thus. Portat arma
quarteriata irrasa de albo & nigro. Gallice sic ¶ Il port dargent et
Sable quartlee irrase. Anglice sic. ¶ He beris Siluer and Sable
quarterely irrasyd.
Off armys quarterit inueckyt now here it shaƚƚ be shewyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther be yet fownde armys quarṫli inueckyt. or as sum men say they be
army quarterit of colowris inueckyt as here apperis. the wich for soth
ar calde armis quarterit īueckit or of colowrus inueckyt. for ī them ar
.ij. colouris quarṫli put: y^e toon ī to the othir. & so oon colowre is
īuehit ī to an othir. Therfore it is said of hī y^t beris theis armys ī
this wise. first ī latyn thus Ille portat quarṫiatim de asurio et auro
īuectis Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port quartli verre dasor et dor. Anglice
sic. ¶ He berith quarṫli inueckyt of asure and golde.
Now of armys quarterit indentyt it shaƚƚ here be shewyd.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Qvarterit armys be founde diuerse the wych ar calde indentit as here
apperis: and they are calde indentit for .ij. colowris oon in to an
othir by the maṅ of teth ar indentit: as is opyn ī the shelde. And thus
ye shaƚƚ blase theym first in laty. Portat arma quarteriata īdentata de
rubio et auro. Gallice sic. Il port quartertlee endentlee de gowlez et
dor. Anglice. ¶ He berith quarṫli endentit of gowles and golde.
Off armys partit aftir the long way here shaƚƚ be shewyt.
I intende now to detmyn of armys partit after the longe way the wich
ċtan partyng aft the long way or on length is made many maṅ of wyse. ¶
The first ꝑticion for soth is of .ij colouris in armys after the long
way in the playne man̄
¶ Ther is also a ꝑtyng of armys of .ij. colouris ingradyt.
¶ And also ther is a ꝑtyng of .ij. colowris irrasit.
¶ Also forsoth ther is a partyng of .ij. colowris inueckyt.
¶ And ther is an othir partyng of .ij. colowris endentit.
¶ Ther is also a ꝑtyng of .ij. colowris clowdit or nebulatit.
¶ And more ouer ther is a ꝑtyng of .ij. colowris watery.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Fyrst I shewyd to yow that ther be certan armys partit after the long
way of .ij. colowris in the playn way as here apperis ī theys armys. And
they ar calde ꝑtit armys for they be made of .ij. colouris equalli ꝑtit.
And he that beris theis armys beris thꝰ ī latyn. Ille portat arma
partita plana secundum longum de asorio et albo. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port
dasor et dargent playn ꝑtee. Anglice sic. He berith asure and Syluer
playn ꝑtit.
¶ Off armys partit the long way ingralyt I wiƚƚ shew here
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also ther is ꝑticion of armys engralyt the long way as is said a fore bi
engraylyng of .ij. colouris to gedir as here apperis. And theys armys ar
calde armys engraylyt ꝑtit after the long way of siluer and Sable. And
it shaƚƚ be sayd of him that berith thes armys ī latyn thus. Portat arma
ꝑtita secundum longum īgradata de argento et nigro. Gallice sic ¶ Il
port dargent ingraylee et Sable ꝑtee du long. Anglice sic He berith
Syluer and Sable ingraylyt ꝑtit after the long way.
Here now it shaƚƚ be shewyt of armys partit and irrasit
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
The thrid maner of wise ar founde armys partit of .ij. colowris &
irrasit as here. of the wich it is to be sayd: as afore of quarterit
armys irrasit. And he that beris theys armys: beris in this wyse as
folowys first in latyn thus. Portat arma ꝑtita secundū longum irrasa de
argento et rubio. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port ꝑtee du long dargent et de
gowlez race Anglice sic. ¶ He berith armys partit on length of Siluer
and gowles irrasit.
Off armys ꝑtit the long way and inueckyt now I wiƚƚ speke
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also the fourith maner of wyse: armys partit ar borne after the longe
way of .ij. colouris inueckyt as here apperis And theis armys be calde
inueckyt for the colowris be put oon in to an othir on rounde wyse. And
theys armys differ moch fro tharmys next beyng afore irrasit. Wherfore
it shaƚƚ be sayd of hym the which beris theys armys thus as it shaƚƚ
folow first in latyn thus. Ipse portat arma partita secundum longum de
coloribus albo et rubio inuectis Gallice sic. ¶ Il port partee verre du
long dargent et de gowlez. Anglice sic He berith partit inueckyt on
lengthe of Siluer and gowles.
Off armys partit on the long way & indentyt her̄ it is shewyd
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Sotheli an othir maner of partyt armys ther is the wiche is calde the
fyfthe maner partyt after the long way of .ii. colouris and theys armys
ar called partytt indentytt. for thys cause that .ij. diu̇se colowris ar
put to gethir: that is to say white and blac ar put to geḋ aft the maṅ
of mēnis tethe as it is sayd afore in the quarterit armys indentyt. And
therfore ye shaƚƚ say of hym the wich beris theys armys in thys wyse.
first in latyn thus. Portat arma partita secundum longum de argento et
nigro indentata. Gallice sic. Il port partee endentee du long dargent &
sable Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith armys ꝑtit indentit on length of
Syluer and Sable.
Off armys partyt aft the long way clowdy or nebulatyd.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
In the sext maṅ of wyse ther be armys borne partyt aft the long way
nebulatyt as here it shaƚƚ be shewyd in this scochon. And theys armys be
calde innebulatyd for .ij colowris ar put to gedre by the manere of
clowdys. Therfore the possessor of theys armys beris in thys wyse as it
shaƚƚ be sayd first ī latyn thus. Portat arma partita secundum longum de
argento et asorio innebulata. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port ꝑtie du long
dargent & dasor innevve. Anglice sic. ¶ He beris armys partytt on length
of Siluer and asure innebulatyt.
Off armys ꝑtyt watṫi of Syluer and gowles this scochon is
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
More ouer aft theys armys aforesayd yit ther be borne armys partyt after
the longe way. and they be watteri as here in this scochon it apperith.
and theys armis ar calde watteri: for .ij. colowris ar incariet oon in
to an other by the maner of water trobulde w^t wynde. And ye shaƚƚ say
of him that beris theis armys in thys wyse as folowys: first in latyn. ¶
Portat arma ꝑtyta vndosa secundum longū de argento et rubio. Gallice
sic. ¶ Il port ꝑtiee du long dargent et de gowlez vndee. Et anglice sic.
¶ He berith armys partyt the long way of Syluer and gowles watteri
Now here I begynne to speke of armys partyt ouerwart:
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Here now folowys to se of armys ꝑtyt ouerwart. the wich certan particion
ouerwart is made as mony wyse as is the ꝑtycion on length. that is to
say on the playn way ouerwart. ingraylyt. irrasit. inueckyt. indentit.
innebulatit. and watteri Werfore of theys certayn shaƚƚ be shewyd by
signys. and first I begyne at playn armys ou̇wart. as here it shaƚƚ be
shewyd. And it shaƚƚ be sayd of hym that berithe theys army in thys wyse
first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat arma partita extransu̇so plana de auro &
asorio. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port ꝑtiee transu̇sie dor & dasor. Anglice
sic. He berith golde and asure ꝑtit ou̇wart ¶ Knaw ye that here is no
dowte of that first rule: that is to say that a man shaƚƚ begyn at the
poynt of the shelde to blase for here is as mych coloure of golde as of
asure.
¶ Off armys irrasit ou̇wart now here it shaƚƚ be shewyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Now of a nothir maner of partycion of colouris in armis ou̇warte I wiƚƚ
speke. And it is calde irrasit as here it shaƚƚ appere in this scochion.
of the wich it is to be sayd that the gentyƚƚ man the wich beris theys
armys beris in this maner as folowis. first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat arma
partita extransu̇so irrasa de auro et rubio. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port
partiee transuerse irrase dor et gowlez. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith armys
partyt ouerwart irrasyt of golde and gowles.
Now of armys partyt ou̇wartt ye shaƚƚ haue an exemple.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Armys ther be also īdentyd ou̇wart and partyt. And they be calde
indentyd for theyre colowris as is sayd afore ar put oon in to an othir
bi the maner of mennis tethe. And it shaƚƚ be sayd of him that beris
theys armys in thys wyse. first in latyn thus.
Portat arma ꝑtita extransu̇so īdentata de auro et asorio as afore is
rehersit. Et gallice sic.
Il port ꝑtiee de trauers dor et dasor endentee. Anglice sic ¶ He berith
armys ꝑtyt ou̇warte indentytt of golde and asure
And to reherse moore of ꝑtyt armys ou̇warte it nedisnot for it is
rehersyt sufficientli in the rules next afore ī armys ꝑtyt on lengthe.
Therfore it shaƚƚ not be rehersytt here agayn. quia inutilis est
repeticio vnius ad eiusdem. and that is to say It is an vnꝓfitabuƚƚ
rehersyng of oon thyng to reherse the saame a gayn in the next sentans.
Therfore to speke moore of armys partit and figure theym: other of
ingraylit or irrasit inueckyt indentit nebulatyt and vndatyt: it nedys
not. for they be taght sufficiently ī the long way. ¶ And I beleue it
shaƚƚ be hard to fynde mony moo armys ꝑtyt afṫ the long way or ou̇wart
then ar rehersit a fore Neu̇ the lees if any be founde or sene. in theym
the same rules shaƚƚ be obseruit: as is rehersit a fore. and it is enogh
for aƚƚ armys on that man̄ to be blasit that any gentyƚƚ man berith ꝑtyt.
Off armys the wich ar calde cheiff or an hede I wiƚƚ shewe.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Sotheli certan men wolde: y^t theys armys after rehersitt shulde be
calde armys ꝑtyt. the wich certanli ir rfor y^t: that ther is no verri
ꝑticion of the colouris or any liclenes of dyuision of colouris.
Certanly in armys ꝑtit it is requyrit alway that the ꝑtys of the
colouris be equaƚƚ. and that is not trew in this figure. for the moore
ꝑte by mych is Siluer. Therfore ye shaƚƚ say of him that beris theys
armys thꝰ first in latyn. ¶ Portat de argento et caput scutti de asorio
cū duabus maculis ꝑforatis de auro. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port dargent vng
cheiff dasor et deux molettis ꝑtees dor. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith
Siluer a Cheiff or a Cheftan of asure and ij. molettys ꝑforat of golde.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
¶ And ye shaƚƚ knaw that ī theys armys the rule afore wretyn most be
considerit that is to say: that at the Coon it is to begyn to blase if
that colowre of the Coon be gretter or more copyous coloure in armys as
it is sayd afore And more ouer it is to be merkyt that no armis awe to
be calde ꝑtyt armis bot iff they be made of .ij. colouris onys partit
and no more for armys palit ar not callit: nor awe not to be calde
partyt armys aƚƚ thogh they be made of ij. colouris for thes colowris
not allonli onys bot dyuerse tymys ar partyt as here apperis And theys
armys be calde palit armys for they be made bi the maṅ of palis. And it
shaƚƚ be sayd of hym that beris theys armys ī latyn thus. Portat arma
palata de auro et asorio. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port pale dor et dasor.
Anglice sic. ¶ He berith pale of golde and asure.
Off armys palit vndatit now here it shaƚƚ be shewyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Palyt armys oftyme ar founde vndatyt that is to say watteri as here
apperis. And theys be calde polyt armys vndatyt to the differance of
barrit armys vndatyt. the wich armys barrit may also be vndatyt as after
shaƚƚ be shewyt. And it shaƚƚ be sayd of him that beris theys armys thus
in latyn Portat arma palata vndata vel vndosa de rubio et argēto. Et
gallice sic. ¶ Il port polee vndee de gowlez et dargent. Et anglice sic.
¶ He berith paly vndatyt of gowles and Siluer.
¶ Off armys palit crokyt and sharpe now I wiƚƚ speke.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Loke and beholde how mony maner of wyse thes palit armys be borne
dyuerseli. as it is shewyt in thys boke. and theis armys now shewyt
here: be calde palit crokyt and sharpe. for in theys armys .ij. coloris
paly ar put to gethir: oon in to an othir crokytly and sharpe. Therfore
it shaƚƚ be sayd of hī the wich beris thes armis in thys wyse. first ī
latyn thus. ¶ Portat arma palata tortuosa acuta de nigro et argento.
Gallice sic. ¶ Il port pale daunsete de Sable et dargent. Anglice sic. ¶
He berith pale crokyt and sharpe of Sable and Syluer.
Off armys barrit playn now here it shaƚƚ be shewyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Here ī thys chapyture afore is determynyt of palit armis and in thys
chapyture now folowyng it shaƚƚ be determynyt of barrit armys. for the
wich it shaƚƚ be know that armys may be mony maner of wyse barrit. and
the first maner of wyse is playn barrit. as here apperis. And ye shaƚƚ
know that ther be certan armys barrit playn. and then ye shaƚƚ nott nede
to say ī the blasyng of theys armys: he berith playne armys barrit. Bot
ī aƚƚ othyr disperyng armys barrit: ye most nedys declare the blasyng of
theym howe thoos barrit armys differ from playn. for sū be barrit w^t a
Lyon raumpyng or a grehonde or odir beestis &̄ sū be barrit & powderit
with cros croslettys molettys Scresentis smale briddis or other
difference bot as for theys playn armis afore ye shal say in latyn in
thys wyse. Portat arma barrata de argento & nigro Et gallice sic. ¶ Il
port barre dargent et Sable. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith barri of Siluer
and Sable
¶ Off barrit armys vndatit now I wyƚƚ shew as apperith.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Knaw ye for ċtan that armys barrit othir wile be barrit &̄ vndatit that
is to say wateri. as here it apperith. And they be called barrit vndatit
for they be made of .ij. colouris metyng to gedre by the maner of a
floyng watre as it is opyn afore. And ye shaƚƚ say of hym that beris
theis armys ī this wyse. first ī latyn thus ¶ Portat arma barrata vndata
de nigro et albo Gallice sic. ¶ Il port barri vndee de Sable et dargent.
Anglice sic. ¶ He beris barri vndatit of Sable and Siluer.
¶ Off armys barrit and inueckyt ye shale haue exemple
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Barrit armys inueckyt ar borne of diuerse gentiƚƚ men. as here is
shewyd. And thay ar called inueckyt for in eueri barre .ij. colouris ar
put inueckyt by the maner of a rounde way as is sayd afore. And he y^t
beris this armys beris in thys wyse. first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat arma
barrata de coloribus rubeo et albo inuectis. Et gallice sic.
¶ Il port barri verree de gowlez et dargent. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith
barri inuetkyt of gowles and Siluer. ¶ And I begyn with gowles for that
coloure is the first in the right corneƚƚ.
Off armys barryt crokyt and sharppe as here afṫ is shewit.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Gentill men ther be certanli the wich bere armis barrid crokyt and
sharpe as here it apperith in theys armys. and thay be called armys
barrit for differance of armys the same maṅ of wyse palit: and thay be
called crokyt and sharpe. for as it is sayd a fore .ij colowris ar put
to gethyr crokytli and sharpe. Thefore it shaƚƚ be sayd that the lorde
the wich beris theys armys berith in this wyse. first ī latyn Ille
portat arma barrata tortuosa et acuta de nigro et auro. Et gallice sic ¶
Il port barri dauncetee acute de Sable et dor Anglice sic. ¶ He berith
barris crokyt and sharpe of Sable and golde.
Now it shaƚƚ be shewyd of armys that ar bendly barryt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther be forsothe certan armys bendli barrit. and thei be called bendly
barrit. and for this cause they be calde bendly barrit. for .ij.
colouris ar iunyt to gether in euery barre bendly. as it is opyn here ī
theis armis And therfore it shaƚƚ be sayd of him that beris theis armys:
in this wyse as folowis. first in latyn thus. ¶ Ipse portat arma
bendaria de rubio et auro. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port barre bendee de
gowlez et dor. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith barri bendy of gowles and golde.
¶ Bot neuer the lees ye most dyltgentli attende in the blasyng of sych
armys: as palyt barrit and bendyt. for and they ben not suttelly
consauyt a man sodanly onsweryng may lightly in thoos armys be
dissayuyt. For certanly thoos armys be callede palyt armys in the wich
ar fownde so many palys of oon colowre as ar of an other. And iff the
palys of bothe the colowris ben not equaƚƚ thoos armys be not palyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
¶ In diuerse armys of gentiƚƚ men be fownde .ij. palis of oon colowre.
and .iij. of an other as here in theis armys folowyng it shaƚƚ be
shewed. that is to say ther be .iij. palys of gowles and .ij. of golde
for of the colowre of reede apperith .iij. partes in the shelde and bot
ij. allone of the colowre of golde Therfore the gētiƚƚ man that berith
theis armys: beris ī this wise & thus ye shaƚƚ say of him. first in
latyn thus. Portat duos palos aureos in campo rubeo. Et gallice sic. ¶
Il port de gowllez et deux pales dor. Et anglice sic. He berith gowlys
and .ij. palis of golde.
Here ye shaƚƚ diligently merke armys barrit and lees barrid.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ye most also dilygently attende to the nombre of both too colowris in
armys palyt barrit or lees barrit of the wich lyttyƚƚ barris ye most be
ware when thay be fownde in armys. as here it is shewyd in theys armys.
for sych lynes be called lyttiƚƚ barris to the differance of littiƚƚ
barris. And it shaƚƚ be sayde that the gentiƚƚ man the wich berith theys
armys beris in this thys wyse. first in latyn thus as folowis ¶ Portat
vnam barram et duas barulas de albo in campo rubio Et gallice sic. ¶ Il
port de gowlez vng barree et deux barrelettee dargent. Et anglice sic. ¶
He berith gowles oon barre and .ij. liteƚƚ barris of Syluer.
Now I wyƚƚ speke of armys barrid &̄ liteƚƚ barris florishyt
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Beholde how the forsayd letiƚƚ barris ar othyrwyle made florishingli &
than thei be calde florishyt as here ī thys scochon. And they be calde
florishit: for they be made bi y^e maner of a flowre deluce. And ye
shaƚƚ say of him that is possessor of theys armys ī thys wise as
folowys. first in latyn thus. Portat vnam barram et duas barulas
floridas albas in scuto siue campo blodio. Gallice sic. Il port dasor
vng barriee et deux barrelettes florit dargent. Anglice sic. He berith
asure oon bar and .ij. litiƚƚ barris florishyt of Syluer.
Now I intende to speke of bendys in armys as here.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Other wyle ther is borne in armys a bende as is founde ī dyuerse armys
of certan noble gentilmen as here now itt shaƚƚ beshewyt. And ye moost
knawe that it is calde a bende the wich begynnys at the right corner or
the horne of the shelde: and discendith to y^e lefte side of the same
sheelde: to the differans of fissures or of liteƚƚ stauys of the wich it
shaƚƚ be spokyn after. And of hym that has theys armys ye shaƚƚ say thus
as folowys. first in latyn. ¶ Portat vnam bendam de rubio in campo
aureo. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port dor vng bende de gowlez. Anglice sic. ¶ He
berit h golde &̄ a bende of gowles.
Off liteƚƚ bendys in armys now here is an exempuƚƚ.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Knaw ye how afore it is sayd that certan littyƚƚ barris ar borne ī armys
mony tymys. On the same maner of wise ar borne littiƚƚ bendys as here it
shaƚƚ be shewyt. And they be calde bendyllys to the differans of grete
bendys as it is opyn. And of hym that beris theys thꝰ it shaƚƚ be sayd.
first in latyn as here folowys. Portat vnam bendam & duas bendulas de
auro ī campo blodeo. Et gallice sic. Il port dasor vng bend et deux
bendelettis dor. Anglice sic. He berith asure a bende and .ij. bendils
of golde. And thes bendyls ar othirwyle florishyt as is shewyt in the
figure a fore in barris. And in diu̇se armys they be founde that they be
chenyt. And sum be powderit with molettis. and sum with odir dyfferans
the wich nedys not to be figurit here
¶ Off armys palit and bendyt now here it shaƚƚ be shewyde
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
The best maner of wyse certanly of beryng of dyu̇se armys in oon sheelde
is in theys bendys bering for a man that has a patrimony left by his
fadyr. And other certan londys by his modyr cumyng to him to the wich
londys of his moderis ar appropurt armys of olde tyme for it may hap
that theys armys coom to hir by the way and discent of hir progenyturis.
then may the hayre and hym list bere the hooƚƚ armys of his fadyr in y^e
hooƚƚ sheelde. And ī syche a bende he may bere his moderis armys as here
in the scochon afor apperis. And it shaƚƚ be sayd of him that beris
theys armys in latyn thus. Portat arma palata de argento et rubio cum
vna benda de nigro. Gallice sic. Il port palee dargent et de gowles et
vng bende de sabuƚƚ. Anglice sic. He berith palee of Syluer and gowles
with a bende of sabuƚƚ.
¶ And othyrwyle ī syche a bende ther is founde .iij. molettys or macules
of golde.
Off armys bende fusillyt here now I wiƚƚ exempuƚƚ.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
More ou̇ ther be founde in armys other certan bendys to sū man strange
from theys. and here I wyƚƚ shew to yow a bende the wich is calde a
bende fusillit: as here apperith in this scochon. And it is calde
fusullit for it is made aƚƚ of fusillis of the wich certan fusillis more
shaƚƚ be spokyn afṫward. Bot he the wich has theys armys beris in latyn
thus. Portat vnam bendam fusillatum de auro in campo asorio Gallice sic.
Il port dasor vng bendee fusillee dor. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith asure a
bende fusillit of golde.
¶ And thys bende mony tymys is borne with strangeris and specialli in
Burgon.
Here now it shaƚƚ be spokyn̄ of dyuerse borduris ī armys.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Bordures many and dyu̇se ar founde ī armys and ar borne of many nobuƚƚ
men: of the wich sum be playn. sum īgraylit. sum talentit. sum playn
powderit. sum chekerit. sum gobonettyt. sum inueckyt. of the wiche it
shaƚƚ be spokyn eu̇yche oon after ordir. And first of playne borduris I
wiƚƚ speke as here it apperis. And the bordure is calde playne when it
is made playn of oon colowre aloon. as here in thys scochon. And it
shaƚƚ be sayde of hym that is possessor of theys armys first in latyn
thꝰ ¶ Portat tres rosas rubias in campo argenteo cum vna bordura de
rubio. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port dargent trois rosis de goulez et vng
bordure de gowles. Et anglice sic ¶ He berith Siluer .iij. rosis of
gowles and a bordure of gowles.
Off armys bordurit and ingraylit now here folowys exemple
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Armys with a bordure ingraylit other while ar borne of certan nobuƚƚ men
as here now is shewit in thys scochon. And syche a bordure is calde a
bordure ingraylit for the colowre of hym is put gre by gre in to the
felde of tharmys as it is opyn here. And the possessor of theys armys
beris ī latyn tong thus as folowys. ¶ Portat arma de auro fymbriata siue
bordurata de nigro ingradata cum tribus maculis perforatis de nigro.
Gallice sic. ¶ Il port dor trois mullettis perforatee de Sable vng
borduree ingraylee de Sable. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith golde .iij.
molettis perforatit of Sabuƚƚ and a bordure ingraylit of Sabuƚƚ.
Now of armys borderit and talentit I wiƚƚ shew exemple.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther is borne in armys a certan bordure talentit as here. and it is not
necessari here to expres the colowre of the talentis or besantis: for
thay be euer of golde. And it shaƚƚ be sayd of him that beris thes armis
in thys wyse first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnum signum capitale de rubio
in campo albo borduratum cum rubio talentatim. Gallice sic. Il port
dargent vng cheueron de gowlez borduree de gowlez talentee. Et anglice
sic. ¶ He berith siluer a Cheueron of gowles bordurit with gowles
talentyt.
¶ Off armys bordurit hauyng .ij. Cheuerons of siluer & ċ.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Understonde ye that certan tymys a bordure is borne in armys powderit
dyuerse ways other wyle with molettis with rosis or with littyƚƚ crossis
or with besantis or oder dyu̇se. And it is calde a bordure powderit when
any thyng is ī that bordure: of what sum eu̇ signe it be. as it is sayd
a fore. and theys signys as rosis moletis and other ar not countit for
ċtan nombur: for y^e nombur of that powderyng excedis the nombur of ix
And then y^t bordure is calde powderit as here. And ye shaƚƚ say that
the possessor of theys armys beris in this wyse as folowys. first in
latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnum scutum de rubio cum duobus signis capitalibus
de albo et vna bordura pulu̇isota cum talentis. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il
port de gowlez deux Cheuerons dargent et vng bordure de gowlez powdree
telentee. Anglice sic. He berith gowles .ij. Cheuerons of Syluer and a
bordure powderit with besantis.
¶ Yit ther is an other maner bordure that is calde Cheekert.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
We haue yit an other bordure in armys the wich is calde a bordure
chekkerit. And it is calde a chekkerit bordure for hit is made of .ij.
colowris by the maner of a Chekker as here it apperis. And it shaƚƚ be
sayd of hym the wich beris theys armys in this wyse as folowys. first in
latyn thus. Portat vnam crucem rubiam planam ī campo argenteo cum vna
bordura scaccata de nigro et argento. Et gallice sic. Il port dargent
vng croys playn de gowles borduree chekkee de Sable et dargent. Et
anglice sic. He berith Siluer oon cros playn of gowles a bordure
chekkerit with Sabuƚƚ &̄ Siluer.
Off borduris gobonatit now here is an exempuƚƚ.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Knaw ye more ou̇ that yit by side theys armys the wich I haue spoke of
afore w^t borduris: ther is an other bordure that is calde a bordure
gobonatit. as here it shaƚƚ be shewyt ī thys scooehon next folowyng. And
hit is calde gobonatyt for hit is made of ij. colouris quadratli ioynyt.
y^t is to say of blacke &̄ white. & of hym that beris theys armys ye
shaƚƚ sey in latyn thus as foloyis ¶ Portat de argento & duas bendas de
nigro cū una bordura de nigro et albo gobonata. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il
port dargent deux bendee et vng bordure de sable et dargent Anglice sic.
¶ He berith siluer ij bendys of Sable with a bordure gobonatit of Sable
& siluer
¶ And thys same bordure baare that nobuƚƚ prynce the duke of Gloucestyr
brothyr to that nobuƚƚ weriowre Kyng henri the fifth: the wich royaƚƚ
duke bare in his armys the hooƚƚ armys of Fraunce and of Englond quartly
with a bordure gobonatit of Siluer and sable as is shewyt in diu̇se
placis. And to blase theys armys it nedis not to be rehersit. for it is
suffisciently taght afore in diuerse placis.
¶ Item of borduris had in armys of colowris inueekyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther be yit borduris ī armys of ij. colowris inueckyt. as here in thys
figure apperis. and hit is calde a bordure inueckyt for hit is made of
.ij. colowris to gedyr inueckyt. And ye shaƚƚ say of hym the wich berith
theys armys in latyn thus. Portat arma quarṫiata de rubio et auro cum
vna bordura de argento et nigro simul inuectis. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il
port quartelee de gowlez et dor ouesqꝫ vng bordure verre dargent et de
sable. Anglice sic
¶ He berith quartly gowles and golde with a bordure inuekkyt of siluer
and sable.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Bott ī thes borduris ther is a grete differans emōg men pretendyng theym
exꝑte and wyse in thys sciens as specially it is opyn ī tharmys in olde
tyme of therle of Marche wheḋ they shulde be calde borduris or not. as
here ī thys figure. And certan men say y^t men not puttyng a merueles
differans of blasyng say: that the forsayd Erle of marche the wiche wos
calde Roger Mortememer when that he leuyd bare armys in latyn in thys
wyse to say ¶ Portauit arma palata barrata et contraconata de asorio &
auro cum vno simplici scuto de argento. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port pale
barree girone dasor & dor et vng escu simple dargent. Anglice sic. ¶ He
berith paly barri contrari conyt of asure &̄ golde with a sīple shelde
of silu̇.
¶ And this opynyon afore rehersit in the blasyng plesyt many a man the
wich in no maṅ of whise may be trw. For if thes armys as it is sayd
afore war contrari conatit. then the lawist corner or the coone of
tharmys that is to say the lawyst poynt of the shelde may neu̇ be of oon
colowre as certanly it is of asure.
Over theys thyngys afore rehersit in theys armis it is ċtan that in aƚƚ
armys contrari conyt aƚƚ the conys of what sum eu̇ colowre tharmys be
made they mete to gedyr conally in the middis of the shelde. as in the
next figure of the shelde opynly it shaƚƚ be shewyd. Wher fore as it
apperith to my reson trulier they shal be blasit on this wyse: exceppit
the gretter autorite that the forsoyd Erle of Marche berith thus in
latyn. Portauit arma barrata et caput scuti palatum & angulatum de
asorio & auro cum quodam scuto simplici de argento. Et gallice sic. Il
port barree et vng Chieff palee cunecte dasor & dor et vng escu simple
dargent. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith barri and a Cheeff pale angulatit
of asure and golde with a symple shelde of Silu̇.
Off armys contrari conyt here I wiƚƚ informe yow
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther be yit for sooth diuerse noble men the wich bore armys contrari
conyt. as here in thys scochon apperith. And theys armys be calde
contrari conyt for this cause. for aƚƚ the colouris of theys armys meete
to gedir at oon coone. that is to say at the myddyst poyntt of the
shelde oonly. For eu̇y body triangulit is moore of lengthe then of brede
and naamly conyt vt pꝫ. Therfore the opynyon of thos men the wyche sayd
that the armys afore rehersit: that is to witte of therles armys of
Marche war palyt barrit and contrari conyt is to be repreuyt. for so
mych that the conys of the forsayd armys accorde not the wich of
necessite shulde accorde iff the forsayd opynyon wer trw. And of hym
that beris theys armys ye shaƚƚ say in latyn. Portat arma contraconata
de blodio et albo Et gallice sic. Il port girone dasor et dargent.
Anglice sic. He berith contrari conyt of asure and siluer.
Off pilit armys now here it shaƚƚ be shewyt:
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
For as mych as it is spokyn afore of armys: in the wich the colowris
mete to gedyr in the myddist poynt coonly. Now folowyth of certan armys
in the wich iij. pilis mete to gedyr in oon coone. as here in thys
figure. And it shaƚƚ be sayde of hym the wiche beris theys armys in
latyn in thys wyse. ¶ Portat tres pilas nigras in campo aureo. Gallice
sic. Il port dor trois piles de sable. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith golde
.iij. pilis of sable.
¶ Of ballis in armys here now it shaƚƚ be shewyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Neuer the les ye most consydyr a differans ī theys blasyngys of theys
armys afore: and theys that cum after when ye blase theym in latyn tong.
for other while thys terme pila ī latyn is take for to be a peese of
tymbre to be put vnder the pelor of a bryge: or to syche a like werke as
ī thexempuƚƚ afor And odyr while this terme pila is take for a certan
rounde īstrumēt to play w^t: the wich īstrumēt ẜuys other while to the
hande and then it is calde ī latyn pila manualis as here And other while
it is an instrument for the foote and then it is calde in latyn pila
pedalis a fote bal Therfor it shaƚƚ be sayd of ħym that beris thes armys
in latyn Portat tres pilas argenteas in campo rubio. Et gallice sic. ¶
Il port de gowlez trois pelettit dargent. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith
gowles iij. ballis of Siluer.
Certanli ye most merke that ī this figure of ballis a mā may soon er.
Werfore shortly it is to be knaw that sich ballis may haue aƚƚ colowris
bot the colowre of golde for & thei be of goldyn colouris: they shulde
be calde talentis or besantis the wiche be eu̇ of golden colowre.
Off tortellys or litiƚƚ Cakys in armys.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther be also tortellis y^t be litiƚƚ Cakys the wich be grettir then
ballys & tharmys be truly made as here it is opyn. And he that beris
theys armys beris in this wyse first ī latyn. ¶ Portat tres tortellas
rubias ī campo aureo. Gallice sic. ¶ Il port dor et trois torteulx de
gowlez. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith golde & .iij. Cakys of gowles.
More ouer merke: that as wele ballys in armys as kakis and besantis aƚƚ
way ar hooƚƚ rownde figuris &̄ not ꝑforat
Off fontans or wellis here I wiƚƚ speke.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Neu̇ the les ther be ċtan nobuƚƚ men the wich beer siche rounde figuris:
the wich figuris ar calde fontanys or wellis as here apperis. the wich
fontans eu̇more most be of whyte colowre for the thyng the wich they
represent. For they represent eu̇more the colowre of the water of a weƚƚ
the wich is white And of hym y^t beris thes armys ye most say in latyn
thus. Portat tres fontes ī campo aureo. Gallice sic Il port dor et trois
fonteyns. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith of golde and .iij. wellis.
Off ryngys the wich be other rounde instrumentis I wiƚƚ speke
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
After theis rownde figuris a fore rehersyt ther be ċtan figuris the wich
be ꝑforatit as be ryngys: as here apperis. And it shaƚƚ be sayd of hym
that beris theis armys ī latyn thꝰ. Pertat tres anulos aureos ī campo
negro. Gallice sic Il port de sable et trois anulettis dor. Anglice sic.
He berith Sabuƚƚ and .iij ryngys of golde
¶ Off tractys in armys.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Afore it is sayd of borduris ī armys. now it folowith to se of tractis
or lynys. and first of a symple tract. and they be calde tractis for as
mych as the felde remaynyng of tharmys as wele with ī as with owte. & an
other lyne is drawyn of an other colowre as here: to the maṅ of a
shelde. And it shaƚƚ be sayd of hym that beris thes armys ī latyn.
Portat vnū tractū sīplicem planam aureū ī campo asoreo Gallice sic. ¶ Il
port dasor vng trace playn dor. Anglice sic ¶ He berith asure a playn
tract of golde.
Off a tract ingraylyt oon booth the sydys here is an exemple.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
A tract or a lyne othir while is ingraylyt on booth the partes as here
in thys fygure apperith. And then it shaƚƚ be sayd of hym that beris
theys armys ī thys wyse first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnum tractū ex
vtraque parte īgradatum de aupo ī campo rubio Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port
de gowlez vng trace ingrayle de chestim coste dor. Anglice sic.
He berith gowles wyth a tract ingraylyt on booth the sidys of golde.
¶ Off a tract dowbuƚƚ and florishyt it shaƚƚ be shewyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Thys tract is other wyle dowbuƚƚ as in tharmys of the Kyng of
Scottelonde. as here in this scochon apperis. & the forsayd Kyng of
Scottelond beris ī thys wyse first in latyn thus. Portat duplicem
tractum cum floribus gladioli contrapositis et vno leone rapaci de rubio
in campo aureo. Et gallice sic. Il port dor vng dowble trace floretee
countree et vng leon rampant de gowlez. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith golde a
dowble trace florishyt contrari and a Lyon rampyng of gowles.
Off tractis triplatit and quatriplatit othyrwyle.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also of theys armys afore rehersit I fynde more dyuersite for ther be
certan nobuƚƚ men the wich bere theys tractis triplatit as here in thys
fygure. and sum bere hit quatriplatit as is founde ī diu̇se armis. And
ye shaƚƚ say of him that beris theys armys triplatit ī latyn thus. ¶
Portat tractum triplicatū de albo ī campo aureo. Gallice sic. Il port
dor vng trace triplee dargent. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith golde a trace
triplatit of Siluer.
Off a tract sympuƚƚ of .ij. colowris and inueckyt an exemple
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther be other nobuƚƚ men the wich bere a simpuƚƚ tract of .ij colowris
inueckyt as here now it shaƚƚ be shewyt in thys scochon. And the
possessor of theys armys beris in this wyse as folowis first in latyn.
Portat vnum tractum simplicem de coloribus asorio argenteo inuectis in
scuto aureo. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port dor vng trace simple verre dasor
et dargent Anglice sic. ¶ He berith golde and a tract symple inueckyt of
asure and Siluer.
After tractis now it shaƚƚ be spokyn of fyssuris or stauys.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Afore theys fyssuris it is spokyn of bendys: and their differans. Now it
shaƚƚ be spokyn of fyssuris. the wych ċtan fyssuris or stauys begynne in
the lefte horne of the shelde: &̄ ar drawne to the right parte of the
shelde beneeth to the differance of bendys the wych begynne in the right
horne of the shelde &̄ ar drawne to the lefte side of the shelde
beneeth. and thys way most the fyssure be drawne as here apperis ī thys
fygure. And ye shaƚƚ vndirstonde that theis fissuris differ as mony ways
as the forsayd bendys dyfferyt. bot it nedys not to be rehersyt for it
is playn shewyt afore. Ther be fyssuris or stauys playn. ingradyt.
inueckyt. and fusyllatit. as I sayd afore in the place of bendys. And
theys stauys bastardys ar wont to bere or namli thay shulde bere thaym.
And then thys fyssure is calde a staffe: & ī french it is cald a baston
Bot commynli it is calde a fissure for as mych that he cleuys his
faderis armys in .ij partes for that bastard is clouyn and deuydyt from
the patrimony of his fader. And so sych a bastard is forbedyn to bere
the hooƚƚ armys of his fader for the reuerans of his blode. bot his
faderis armys he may bere with sych a staffe as is sayd afore: in signe
and finaƚƚ declaracion of his bastardy and to the differance of propur
and naturaƚƚ hayre of his fader. And when ye haue any sych a playn
fissure or a staffe ī armys or ingraylit inueckyt or fusillatit: of that
same staffe ye shaƚƚ say as a fore is rehersit in the chapiture of
bendys moore playnli. And the bastarde the wich berith theys armys
possessis in latyn on thys maner as now here folowys. Portat vnam
fissuram siue baculum aureum ī campo asorio. Gallice sic. Il port dasor
et vng fees dor. Anglice sic ¶ He berith asure and a fissure or a staffe
of golde.
Now here I begynne to speke of armys hedyd as it apperis.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther be certan nobuƚƚ men the wich bere armis hedit as here it apperith.
And ye most knaw that theis armys be called hedyt: when the hyer parte
of the shelde that is to say the hede is made of oon coloure or of moo
then of oon. & that parte extendys not to the myddis of the shelde as
aboon is shewyt by the shelde. And knwe ye that in the hedit armys is a
good maṅ of beryng of dyu̇se armys as by fortune sū noble man has mony
londis and grete lordshippys by his modyr for the wych londys of his
moderis he intendys to bere the armys of his modyr. and so he may do for
it is rightwys. Bot he that discendys of a nobuƚƚ fadyr or of a gentiƚƚ
man. by the wych he had any simple patrimony. then sych a nobuƚƚ man:
and he wiƚƚ: may bere the hooƚƚ armys of his moodyr in the lawyr parte
of his shelde. and in sych an hede as I sayd a fore he may and he wiƚƚ
bere the hooƚƚ armys of his fadyr And it shaƚƚ be sayd of hym that beris
theys armys ī thys wyse first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnum signum
capitale de nigro in campo aureo cum vno capite rubio et tribus talentis
ī eodem. Et gallice sic. Il port dor vng cheueron de Sabuƚƚ et vng
Cheeff de gowlez et trois besantis en la mesmes. Anglice sic. ¶ He
berith golde a cheueron of Sabuƚƚ w^t a Cheeff of gowles and .iij.
besantis ther in.
¶ And ther be certan nobuƚƚ ꝑsones the wich beer in the shelde afore
rehersit of golde as is sayd a fore a Cheueron of Sabuƚƚ or of sum odyr
colowre and .iij. rede roosis or whyte or sum other sygnys as crossis
cressantis briddys or flowris and a cheeff sum of Sabuƚƚ sum of other
colowre with the signe of molettis or oder tokynyngꝭ the wich need not
to be rehersit. And then shaƚƚ euerich oon of theym be blasit in his
nombur like as the felde and the signes require: as by fortune sum men
bere thus to say. He berith Sabuƚƚ a Cheueron of golde .iij. rede rosys
of gowles a Cheeff of asure with .iij. molettys perforatit of vert and
thus of aƚƚ other differansys.
Off armys palit with oon quarter of an other coloure.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Certanly ther be sum nobuƚƚ men the wych bere in ther armys oon quarter
of an other colowre dyfferyng from the coloure or the colowris of the
shelde as here. in the wich armis it is to be sayd that the nobuƚƚ man
the wich beris theym berith in this wyse first in latyn. Portat arma
palata de aserio & auro cum vna quarteria eremetica. Et gallice sic. Il
port palee dasor et dor vng quarṫ dermyn. Et anglice sic. He berith paly
asor and golde with oon quarṫ of Ermyn.
¶ And it is to be notit that ye most haue a respebkyt to the colowre of
that pale the wich shulde ascendee to the right horne of the shelde iff
that quarter wer not ther. and ī that colowre ye most eu̇ moore begyn to
blase thoos armys like as the quart were not ther as afor is rehersit.
Now of armys chekkerit here ye shaƚƚ haue an exemple.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
More ouer other whyle we se armys chekkerit as here now it apperith in
thys figure folowyng and they be calde armys chekkerit when they ar made
of .ij. colouris to the maner of a chekker. And theys armys resayue many
differens as in hedys or quarteris ī barris and bendis and other wyles ī
Cheuerons of y^e wich it shaƚƚ be spokyn a noon foloyng. And of hym the
wich possessis theys armys ye shaƚƚ say in latyn thus. Portat arma
scakkata de aserio et auro. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port scakke dasor et
dor. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith Chekker of asure and of golde
Off Cheuerons the wich ī englisħ ar calde cowpuls of sparris
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
We haue sotheli in armys certan signys the wich ar calde Cheuerons in
french. And they be calde in latyn Signa capitalia vel tigna. and in
englisħ a cowpuƚƚ of sparris as here is shewyd ī theys signes: the wich
signes by liklenes first war borne of carpentaries and makeris of
howses. for an howse is neu̇ made ꝑfite tyƚƚ thoos sparris be put a pon
hit: by the maner of an hede. and .ij. syche sparris or cheuerons ionyt
to gedyr make a capitaƚƚ sygne. y^t is to say a cowpuƚƚ of sparris. and
other while .ij. syche be borne ī armys and othyr while .iij. odyr while
.iiij. as it is knawyn. And of him that beris theys armys afore ye shaƚƚ
say thus as folowys first ī latyn. ¶ Portat de rubio et duo signa
capitalia de auro cū tribus talentis. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port de gowz
et deux Cheuėrons dor et trois talenṫ. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith gowles
and .ij. Cheuerons of golde with iij besantis.
Off a Cheurron or a sygne capitaƚƚ engraylyt here is shewyt.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also a Cheueron is othir while engraylyt as here and then it is to be
sayd of hym the wich beris theys armys in latyn in thys wyse. ¶ Portat
vnum signum capitale ingradatum de albo in campo asoreo. Et gallice sic.
¶ Il port dasor vng Cheueron dargent ingraylee. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith
asure and a Cheueron of Syluer engraylyt.
¶ Off dyuerse and meruelus Cheuerons yit I wiƚƚ speke.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
More ouer yit ī theys signys of Cheuerons other while is fownde a dowte
in the blasyng of theym. when thei be made of dyuerse colowris
transmutit as here in this scochon apperith. And of hym the wych beris
thes armys ye shaƚƚ say in latyn. ¶ Portat arma quarteriata de nigro &
argento cum vno signo capitali de dictis coloribus transmutatis. Gallice
sic. Il port quarterlee de sable & dargent & vng Cheueron chaungee lung
de laultre. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith quarterly Sable and Siluer with a
Cheueron of the sayd colowris transmutit.
Off Cheuerons differyng on the longe way.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also theys signes or Cheuerons be differit after the long way in armys
as here in this figure apperith. And then of hym the wich beris theys
armys ye shaƚƚ say in latī. ¶ Portat arma partita secūdū lōgū de
coloribus aureo & rubeo cum vno signo capitali de dictis coloribus
transmutatis. Gallice sic. Il port partie du long de dor & gowlez vng
cheueron chaunge lung de laultre. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith party afṫ the
longe way of .ij colouris golde and goules with a Cheueron of sayd
colowris transmutit.
¶ Off dowtis emong herroddis ī blasyng theys armys suyng
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Emong othyr dowtis: a bowte the blasyng of tharmis here folowyng now
next I haue herde herroddys pretendyng theym selfe veri conȳng in
blasyng of armys meruelusli to dreeme in the blasyng of theys armys. And
sum holde oon opynyon and sum an othyr. neuer the les it is no grete
neede to dowte in the blasyng of theym as to conyng men. Thefore of hym
y^t beris thes armys ye shaƚƚ say ī latyn. Portat duas ꝑtes capitis
scuti de rubio & ṫciam ꝑtem de albo ad modum signi capitalis et tres
rosas de coloribus transmutatis. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port lez deux
ꝑties du chief de gowlez et le troisune dargent ꝑtiez en manere du
cheueron̄ et trois roses lung de laultre. Anglice sic. He berith .ij
partis of the heede of the shelde gowles and the thride ꝑte Siluer by
the maner of a cheueron and .iij. roses of the same colowris transmutit.
Off armys fusyllit in englisħ spyndyllis now I will speke.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther be certan gentylmen and nobuls the wich beere in theyr armys
fusellis: of the nombur of the wich: my lorde of Glaucestur y^t nobuƚƚ
prince vncle to Kyng henri the sext was. For he had in his armys .iij.
fusillis of gowles by the maṅ of a bar in a felde of siluer the wich
ctan armys this nobuƚƚ duke bare by the reson of certan londis belongyng
to the mounte. Bot ye shaƚƚ say of hym that beris theys armys ī this
scochon in latyn thꝰ ¶ Portat de rubio et tres fusulos de argento. Et
gallice sic. Il port de gowlez et trois fusulez dargent. Anglice sic. ¶
He berith gowles and .iij fusules of Siluer. And otherwhyle theys .iij.
fusules or .iiij. be borne by the maner of a paale.
It is to be notit that when .iii fusules or .ij. ar borne or moo to the
nombur of .ix. the wich nombur if thei excede: say euermore that thos
armys be powderit with fusillis or other thyngys and noon othyr wyse. ¶
And so generalli ye most knaw that iff any thyng be borne in armys ouer
the nombur of .ix. then thoos armys what sum euer they be thay ar
powderit.
Off oon fusyƚƚ borne in armys here I wiƚƚ exempuƚƚ.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Other while oon fusyƚƚ is borne allon in armys as here ī thys figure it
apperith. in wich mater I haue herd certan herroddis dowte in theyr
opynyonys. Neu̇ the lees it is ċtan that ye shaƚƚ say of hym the wich
beris theys armys with owte dowte ī latyn thus as folowis. Portat de
rubio cum vno fusulo de auro Et gallice sic. Il port de gowlez vng
fusiƚƚ oor Anglice sic. ¶ He berith gowles and a fusiƚƚ of golde.
Off an fusyƚƚ of dyuerse colowris now here I wiƚƚ speeke.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also theys fusyllis sum tyme ar borne of dyuerse colowris as here in
thys figure it is shewyd. Bot it is a moore dowte how theys armys shulde
be blasit then tharmys afore. bot ye shaƚƚ say ī latyn of hym the wyche
has thes armys in this wyse. Portat arma partita ex transuerso de albo
et nigro cum vno fusulo ex eisdem coloribus transmutatis. Et gallice
sic. Il port partie de trauers dargent et sable et vng fusyƚƚ de mesmes
colours lung de laultre. Et anglice sic He berith armys partit ouerwart
of Siluer & sable with a fusyƚƚ of the saam colowris transmutit.
Off fusyllis by the maner of a bende here I wiƚƚ sūwat say.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
More ouer sych fusyllis ar borne in armys by the maner of a bende. as
here now apperith And then ye shaƚƚ say of hym the wich possessis theys
armys in this wyse first in latyn thus. ¶ Portat vnam bendam fusillatam
de auro in campo rubeo. Et gallice sic Il port de gowlez vng bende
fusyƚƚ dor. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith gowles and a bende fusyllit of
golde.
¶ Off a bar fusyllit in armys here is an exemple.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also ther be borne in armys theys fusyllys in a bar fusyllit as here it
apperith. And then it is to be sayd of hym the wich hath theys armys in
latyn thus. ¶ Portat de rubio cum vna barra fusillata de argento.
Gallice sic. ¶ Il port de gowlez vng barre fusulee dargent. Et anglice
sic. ¶ He berith gowles and a bar fusyllyt of Siluer. And sum men say
that the forsayd armys began of weueris for as mych as weueris vse sich
fusillys made of sponnyn woƚƚ
Knawe ye y^e differans bitwix ffusillis Masculis & Losyngꝭ
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Now here ye shaƚƚ knaw the differans be twix fusillis masculys and
losyngys. Wherfore it is to be knaw that fusyllis ar euer more long also
fusyllis ar strattyr ouerwart in the baly then ar Mascules. And Mascules
ar larger ou̇wartt in the baly: and shorter in the length then be
fusylles. as here ī this scochon it apperith. And it shaƚƚ be sayd of
hym that possessis theys armys in this wyse. first ī latyn. Portat de
rubio & sex masculas de auro. Et gallice sic. Il port de gowles et .vi.
mascules dor: Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith gowles and sex mascules of
golde.
And theys mascules other while ar ꝑforatit as I sayd ofore in the
chapiture of the cros masculatit.
Off an othyr maner of mascules yit here I wiƚƚ speke.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also other while ar borne armys masculatit as here now in this figure
folowyng is shewyt. And ye shaƚƚ vnderstande that thos armys be calde
masculatit in the wich the forsayd mascules begyn most plentuysly in the
right angle of the shelde. and ar endid towarde the lefte ꝑte. the wich
certan armys in u̇y deed ar palit. & ar deuydit ī to .iij. palys yf thei
be subtile consayuyt. And of hym that beris theys armys it shaƚƚ be sayd
ī this wyse first in latyn. Portat arma masculata de argento & asorio.
Et gallice sic Il port dargent et dasor masculee. Et anglice sic. ¶ He
berith of Siluer and asure masculatit.
Off losyngys how and what maner of wyse they be made.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Also losyngye no maner of wyse be made bot ī armys bendit. ner they may
not be made by ther selfe. and they be made aƚƚ way as theys be made
bendit. And ye shaƚƚ haue the moost verey differans by twix the forsayd
masculatit armys and bendid in the picturis of the forsayd armys. And ye
most take thys for a generaƚƚ enformacion and instruccion thatt certanli
losyngꝭ eu̇more stande vpright: that is to say that the heyst poynt or
the heght: eu̇ ascendis to heuen or to a mannys heed. so that the heyst
poynt extendys vttirly to the heed of the shelde. and of the ouerwart
corneris oon extendis vtterly to the right side. and that other corner
extendys to the lefte side of the shelde. and the lawist parte extendys
to the lawist parte of the shelde dyametraliṫ as it is opyn in the
shelde next a fore. And so with owte dowte we haue the differans of the
forsayd signes. that is to wete of Mascules and Losynges. Nota also the
forsayd fusyllis neuer be founde ꝑforatit ner losyngys afore sayd be
neu̇ ꝑforatit.
Now of a signe ī armis y^t is calde a Saltori a maṅ of a cros
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Ther is an other maner of signe in armys: by dyu̇se nobuƚƚ men borne:
the wich is calde a Saltori. and it is made by the maṅ of a cros of
Sayntandrew as here now it apperith. And thys cros is lickynt after
certan men to an instrument made in dyuerse parkys the wich is of a
grete magnytude or largenes: to the comparison of thys signe. And it is
weƚƚ know of nobuƚƚ gentelmen and huntteris that sych saltatories ar
ordant in mony parkys & plaas to take wilde beestys the wich onys their
enteryng: by thatt instrumente may neu̇ goo a gayn. Wherfore in olde
tyme thes signys were geuyn to rich men. and otherwyse calde auaris
Nygonys or keperis the wich men suffir not their tresures ī what maner
of wyse they be getyn: to passe from theym. And of hym the wich
possessis theys armys ye shaƚƚ say in latyn. Portat de asorio et vnum
saltatorium de auro. Et gallice sic. Il port dasor vng saultiere dor. Et
anglice sic. ¶ He berith asure and a Saltory or a sawtri of golde.
Off armys sawtrie engradit here I wiƚƚ exempliƚƚ.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Now here ye most knaw that theys armys Sawtre be other while engradit as
here in thys figure now apperith And then they be calde sawtre engradit
as it is sayd afore in mony placis. as of the cros ingradit of barris
and bendys. And of hym that beris theys armys ye shaƚƚ say in latyn.
Portat vnum saltatorium ingradatum de auro in campo asorio. Et gallice
sic. Il port dasor vng saultier dor engraylee. Et anglice sic. ¶ He
berith asure and a cros sawtre of golde engradit.
Off many crossis sawtre borne in armys ingradyt an exemple
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Other while ther be borne mony crossis sawtre ī armys engradit in oon
shelde. other while .ij. other while .iij. as here. And of hym that
beris theys armys thus it shaƚƚ be sayd in latyn. ¶ Portat vnam barram
planam et tria saltatoria ingradata de auro ī campo rubeo. Et gallice
sic. ¶ Il port de gowlez vng barre playn et trois saultiers engreilez
dor Et anglice sic. He berith gowles oon bar playn and iii. sawtre
crossis engradyt of golde.
Off Crownys in armys borne by the maner of a pale.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
It is diligentli to be markyt that when we say sich a lorde berith in
sych sygnys. How theys .iij. signes ar borne in armys we say not aƚƚ
way. For other while theys .iij. signys ar put in a shelde by the maner
of a pale. And then ther be calde signes palit. as here ī thys figure it
apperith. And of hym that has theys armys ye shaƚƚ say in latyn. Portat
iij. coronas de auro palatas in campo asorio. Et gallice sic. Il port
dasor et trois corones dor paleez. Anglice sic He berith asure and iij
cronys of golde palit.
Off crownys in armys borne barrit here I wiƚƚ informe yow
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
How theys .iij. signes othrr while be borne barrit here now apperith in
thys figure. And then of him that beris theys armys ye shaƚƚ say in
latyn. ¶ Portat tres coronas aureas ī campo asorio. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il
port dasor et trois corones barrez dor. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith
asure & .iij. crounys of golde barritt.
Off .iij. Cronys borne in the Corneris of the shelde.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Certanly theys: iij cronys be borne ī the most comyn way in the corneris
of the shelde as here in thys scochon it apperith And then ye most thus
say that thes .iij signes be borne in the corneris of the shelde. for
that is the most comune & the moost famust maner of beryng of thes .iij
signes or ani maner signes Therfore ye shaƚƚ say that sych a lorde
berith ī latyn in thys wise as here folowys. ¶ Portat de asorio et tres
coronas aureas. non expremendo loca. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port dasor et
trois corones dor. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith asure and .iij crownys of
golde.
¶ Off fisħys borne in armys in dyu̇se wyse here is a dectrine
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
A new dowte yit is founde in armys. for as mych as ther was a certan man
that heght Petrus de rupibus in tyme passit the bisshop of Wyṅchester:
the wich baar ī his armys iij Rochys after hys awne naam in wich armys
it is dowtit. whether it is enogh to say in the blasyng of them: that he
bare sych iij fisħys allone. as here in thys scochon. And certanly I
thynke nay. for the rule goyng a fore. Bot it is thus to be sayd: of the
sayd Petur in latyn. ¶ Portauit tres huiusmodi pisces argenteos natantes
in campo nigro. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port de Sable et trois Rochez
nāyantz dargent. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith Sable and iij Roches
swymmyng of Siluer.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
¶ And then to tharmys of Galfride lucy as here now apperis ī this figure
And ye most say y^t he bare thus in latyn. ¶ Portauit tres lucios aureos
in campo rubeo. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il port de gowlez et trois lucez dor.
Anglice sic. ¶ He berith gowles and iij luces of golde. the wich certan
blasyng with owte declaracion here is enogh. for the sayd fishes ar in
thare propur placis as I sayd in the rule afore.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Bot what shaƚƚ be sayd of thys man then: the wich beris .ij. barbellis
turnyng theyr backys to geder as here apperis. Ye most say in latyn thꝰ
¶ Portat duos barbillos aureos adinuicem ṫga vertentes in scuto asorio
puluerisato cū crucibus cruciatis figitiuis de auro. Et gallice sic. Il
port dasor poudree dez croys crocelez fichez et deux barbulx dors an
dors dor. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith asure powderit with crossis
croslettys pycche and .ij. barbellis of golde backe to backe.
Off armys the wich ar calde frectis here now I wyƚƚ speke.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
A certan nobuƚƚ baron that is to say the lorde awdeley of the Reame of
Englonde baar in his armys a frecte. the wich certan frectis ī mony
armys of dyu̇erse gentiƚƚ men ar founde. other while reede other while
golde. and other whyle blac oderwhile simple and oderwhile dowble
otherwhile tripuƚƚ and other while it is multepliet ou̇ aƚƚ the sheld as
here it apperith. and ye most vndirstande on gret differans by twix
armys bendit and theis armys the wich be made with the forsayd frettys
wherfore it is to be markyt that in bendyt armys the colouris contenyt
equally ar dyuydit. Bot ī thes frectis the felde alwai a bydys hooƚƚ as
here. and this forsayd lorde audeley beris thus in latyn. ¶ Portat arma
frectata de auro in campo rubeo. Et gallice sic. Il por de gowlez vng
frette dor. Anglice sic. ¶ He berith gowles and a frecte of golde.
Off armys hauyng beestis salyentyng or rampyng.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
Beestis in tharmys of dyuerse nobuƚƚ ar borne rampyng as here ī thys
figure folowyng apperith. of the wich ī the boke afore I haue made no
mencion. And of hym that is possessor of theys armys ye shaƚƚ say ī
latyn. ¶ Portat de rubio & vnum leonem de argento. Et gallice sic. ¶ Il
port de gowlez vng Leon saliantz dargent. Et anglice sic. ¶ He berith
gowles & a lion rampyng of siluer. And he is calde a Lion ramppyng for
thys cause. for as mych as the right foote ascendyth to the right horne
of the shelde. and the lefte foote descendyth in to the foote of the
shelde as apperith ī the figure. And this same maṅ is obseruyt in aƚƚ
beestis hauyng .iiij. feete. that is to say in lionys leopardis beeris
doggis with other like to them.
¶ Off armys barrit and of labellis borne in armys.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
First note weƚƚ tharmys of the fadyr as here. and then the differancis
as it shaƚƚ be shewyt. for certan ther be dyu̇se nobuƚƚ men y^e wich
bere labellis in theyr armys as it shaƚƚ be shewyt ī figure after. for
the wich it is to be knawe that sych labellis ar not propurli calde
signes in armys bot dyfferancis of signes. that when it is so: that any
nobuƚƚ man haue mony lefuƚƚ getyn sonnys: then y^e first son the wich is
his faderis ayre: shaƚƚ bere the hooƚƚ armys of his fadyr with sum
lyttiƚƚ differans as here. to whom specialli is geuyn a moon encresyng.
for that first son̄ is in hoope of augmentacion and encressyng of his
patrimony. & thys differans may be sum littiƚƚ molet or a cros croslet
or sych a like differans.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
¶ The secunde broder shaƚƚ bere the hooƚƚ armys of his fader with .iij.
labellis to the differans and in to the signe that he is the thride that
beris thos armys. ¶ Also the thride broder if ther be any shall bere
iiij. labellis ī tokyn that he is the faurith: that berith thos armis of
whom the fader is the first. the ayre is the secunde. and the secunde
broder is y^e thride: that beris thoos armys. And so folowys that the
thride broder shaƚƚ beere .iiij. labellis as here it apperith in thys
figure. And so forthe iff ther be moo brether ye shaƚƚ encree yowre
labellys after the forme afore rehersit.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
¶ And the sunnys of thoos same brether shaƚƚ beere the same labelis. ¶
And ī case that the secunde brother the wich berith iij. labeles haue
.ij sonnys certanly thelder soon of thos .ij. the wich is hayre to his
fadyr shaƚƚ bere the hooƚƚ armys of his fadyr: with also many labelys as
his fadyr did. with a littyƚƚ differans as here it apperith in thys
scochon. ¶ And hys secunde brodyr shaƚƚ bere the hooƚƚ armys of hys
fadyr with the same labellis as his fadyr baare and no moo with a
bordure as here in thys figure next folowyng it shaƚƚ be shewyt. and as
it is rehersit in the chapiture of borduris.
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
¶ And iff ther be the thride brodyr then he shaƚƚ beere hys faderis
armys with the same labellis and a bordure of an other colowre to the
differans of hys brothyr as it shaƚƚ be shewyt ī thys scochon next suyng
[Illustration: Cote Armour]
¶ And the chyldyr of thoos men shaƚƚ beere theyr dyfferans not in theyr
faderis armys, bot in borduris and dyuysionys dyu̇se.
¶ And like as the chylder of the secunde brodyr beryng iij. labellis ar
dyuydyt and dyfferit: by theye signys and theyr borduris. So the chylder
of the thride broder beryng .iiij. labellis: bere the same armys that
theye fader did &̄ also mony labellis. And they ar dyfferit by theyr
signys and theyr borduris as afore is rehersit: and dyu̇se othyr. as
oder while a Lyon raumpyng oon parte reed an othdr blakke.
Now certanly of aƚƚ the signys the wich ar founde ī armys as of flowris
leuys and other merueƚƚys tokenys I can not declare here: ther be so
mony. Bot ye shaƚƚ knaw generally that for aƚƚ tharmys the wich lyghtly
any man has seen ī his days: ye haue rules sufficient as I be leue. to
dyscerne and blase any of theym: and it be so that ye be not in yowre
mynde to hasty or to swyfte in the dyscernyng. Ner ye may not ouerryn
swyftly the forsayd rules. bot dyligently haue theym in yowre mynde. and
be not to fuƚƚ of consaitis. For he that wiƚƚ hunt ij haris ī oon owre:
or oon while oon. an other while an other lightly he losys both.
Therfore take heede to the rules. Iff so be that they be not a generaƚƚ
doctrine: yet shaƚƚ thai profecte for thys sciens gretly.
Merke ye wele theys questionys here now folowyng.
Bot now to a question I wiƚƚ procede. and that is thys Whethyr tharmys
of the grauntyng of a prynce or of other lordys ar better or of sych
dignyte: as armys of a manis propur auctorite take. when that it is
leefuƚƚ to eueri nobuƚƚ man to take to hym armys at his plesure For the
wich question it is to be knaw that .iiij. maner of wyse we haue armys
¶ The first maner of wyse we haue owre awne armis the wiche we beer of
owre fadyr or of owre moodyr or of owre predycesessoris. the wych maner
of beryng is comune and famus in the wych I wiƚƚ not stonde long. for
that maner is best ṗuyt
¶ The secunde maner we haue armys by owre merittys as verey playnly it
apperith by the addicion of tharmys of Fraūce to tharmys of Englonde
getyn by that moost nobuƚƚ man prynce Edward the first getyn sone of
Kyng Edward the thride y^t tyme Kyng of Englond after the takyng of Kyng
Iohn̄ of Fraunce ī the bateƚƚ of Peyters. The wich certan addicion wos
lefuƚƚ and rightwysli doon. and on the saame maner of whyse myght a
poore archeṙ haue take a prynce or sum nobuƚƚ lorde. &̄ so tharmys of
that prysoner: by hym so take rightwisly he may put to hym and to his
hayris.
¶ On the thride maner of whise whe haue armys the wich we beere by the
grauntyng of a prynce or of sum other lordys.
¶ And ye most knaw that thoos armys the wych we haue of the grawntyng of
a prynce or of a lorde resayue no question why that he berith thoos
same. for whi the prynce wyƚƚ not: that sich a question be askyt. whi he
gaue to any man sych an armys as it is playn in the lawe of nature and
Ciuyƚƚ. For that same that pleses ther prynce has the strength of lawe.
bot if any mā bare thoos armys afore. for that thyng the wich is myne
with a rightwys tityƚƚ with owte deseruyng may not be take fro me. ner
the prynce may not do hit rightwysly.
¶ The faurith maner of whise we haue thoos armys the wich we take on
owre awne ꝓpur auctorite. as in theys days opynly we se. how many poore
men by thayr grace fauoure laboure or deseruyngꝭ: ar made nobuls. Sum by
theyr prudens. Sū bi ther māhod. sū bi ther strength. sū bi ther conīg.
sū bi oḋ u̇tuys And of theys men mony by theyr awne autorite haue take
armys to be borne to theym and to ther hayris of whoom it nedys not here
to reherse y^e namys. Neu̇ the lees armys that be so takyn they may
lefully and frely beer. Bot yit they be not of so grete dignyte and
autorite as thoos armys the wich ar grauntyt day by day by the autorite
of a prynce or of a lorde. Yet armys bi a mannys propur auctorite take:
if an other man haue not borne theym afore: be of strength enogh.
¶ And it is the opynyon of moni men that an herrod of armis may gyue
armys. Bot I say if any sych armys be borne by any herrod gyuyn that
thoos armys be of no more auctorite then thoos armys the wich be take by
a mannys awne auctorite.
¶ Explicit.
¶ Here in thys boke afore ar contenyt the bokys of haukyng and huntyng
with other plesuris dyuerse as in the boke apperis and also of
Cootarmuris a nobuƚƚ werke. And here now endyth the boke of blasyng of
armys translatyt and compytyt to gedyr at Seynt albons the yere from
thincarnacion of owre lorde Ihū Crist. M. CCCC. lxxx vi.
¶ Hic finis diu̇soꝝ geṅosis valde vtiliū vt ītuētibꝫ pateb^t
[Illustration: Icon]
¶ Sanctus albanus:
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Page Original Changed to
38 For sum gobbit wiƚƚ be yolow and For sum gobbit wiƚƚ be yolow and
sum geene sum greene
38 she e:genderith the Ry she engenderith the Ry
40 How ẏe maẏ cawse ẏowre hawke to How ẏe maẏ cawse ẏowre hawke to
flẏe withe a cnrrage in the flẏe withe a currage in the
morow morow
42 shaƚƚ make hit to loue meet the shaƚƚ make hir to loue meet the
bettir for loue of the bettir for loue of the
oyntement oyntement
45 a cownde legge a rownde legge
50 and co ther vppon and colde ther vppon
50 like he: abowte the sere &̄ like heres about the sere &̄
thossame thossame
52 same penne shƚƚ frete asonder same penne shaƚƚ frete asonder
52 and then weete the slesħ ther in and then weete the flesħ ther in
53 Whan ye haue ensaymed yowre Whan ye haue ensaymed yowre
hawke: and Rerlaymyd hir hawke: and Reclaymyd hir
54 wan ye haue so coon wan ye haue so doon
55 and is dewarded as I haue sayde and is rewarded as I haue sayde
55 she haue Reiosed hir she haue Reioysed hir
55 Lrene wele oon thyng Lerne wele oon thyng
63 The Croampe commyth to an hawke The Croampe commyth to an hawke
with takyng of colode in hir with takyng of coolde in hir
yowthe yowthe
68 anoyt her meete therin anoȳt her meete therin
68 fede hennys or ehykynnes therwith fede hennys or chykynnes therwith
74 secunde yeue hir epatike with the secunde yeue hir epatike with the
fhesħ of a chycon flesħ of a chycon
74 for furfete of federis that be for surfete of federis that be
yeuen to hawkis yeuen to hawkis
75 she is waked she assayeth to put she is waked she assayeth to put
ouer ot ouer at
75 A medeeẏne for the Entreẏllis A medecẏne for the Entreẏllis
75 the hawke wiƚƚ be very eegre and the hawke wiƚƚ be very eegre and
gleetous of the seekenes glettous of the seekenes
76 For blaẏnis ī haukes monthes cald For blaẏnis ī haukes mouthes cald
frounches frounches
76 Wete hir fleshe in sarsoiƚƚ or Wete hir fleshe in sarfoiƚƚ or
ellis seeth Rafue in water ellis seeth Rafne in water
77 ellis fille the hooƚƚ with a ellis fille the hooƚƚ with a
powdre of arnemelit Ibrent powdre of arnement Ibrent
79 Perchẏth. Ioẏkith. Puttihouer Perchẏth. Ioẏkith. Puttithouer
Proẏnẏth Proẏnẏth
79 She tytith vppon Rumppys She tyrith vppon Rumppys
81 The wodecok is comboroue to sle The wodecok is comborous to sle
84 Nowe ẏe shall vnderstonde if a Nowe ẏe shall vnderstonde if a
man wlll make man will make
87 And theis be of an oder maner And theis be of an oder maner
kynde. for thay flie to Ouerre kynde. for thay flie to Querre
89 declared in the boooke folowyng declared in the booke folowyng
92 Sane that yowre howndes eete Saue that yowre howndes eete
98 And iff yowre houudes chace weeƚƚ And iff yowre houndes chace weeƚƚ
at yowre wiƚƚ at yowre wiƚƚ
101 What is the cause quod the man What is the cause quod the man
naister I the pray maister I the pray
102 Now of the Nomblis nierhe wele Now of the Nomblis merke wele the
the termẏs termẏs
108 To vudo the wẏlde Boore. To vndo the wẏlde Boore.
111 Than bryng it hoom. aud the Than bryng it hoom. and the
skynne with aƚƚ skynne with aƚƚ
117 a Festre of Brweris a Festre of Brewris
123 the oryente thow shat take that the oryente thow shalt take that
other theirde parte of the other theirde parte of the
worlde which shaƚƚ be calde worlde which shaƚƚ be calde
affrica affrica
132 By the Olif tree he vnderstode By the Olif tree he vnderstode
vietery for to wyn̄ victery for to wyn̄
133 Oon is a gentylman of Cotarmure Oon is a gentylman of Cotarmure
of the gynges bagge of the kynges bagge
133 a kyng geuyng a lorshipp to a a kyng geuyng a lordshipp to a
yoman yoman
133 same knyght is a gentyman of same knyght is a gentylman of
blode blode
134 modre may bere the right heyris modre may bere the right heyris
cotamrure cotarmure
138 The fifthe quadrate is calde The fifthe quadrate is calde
Endently of .iij. diuse weis Endently of .iij. diu̇se weis
139 Here shall be shewed what Here shall be shewed what
Cootarmtris restrẏal Cootarmuris restrẏal
152 crucem planom inuectam de crucem planam inuectam de
coloribus albis & nigris coloribus albis & nigris
160 And then hit shaƚƚ be sayd that And then hit shaƚƚ be sayd that
he the the wiche berith this he the wiche berith this cros.
cros.
165 men say they be army quarterit of men say they be army quarterit of
cololowris inueckyt colowris inueckyt
166 Ther is also a ꝑtyng of .ij. Ther is also a ꝑtyng of .ij.
colowris clowdit or nbulatit colowris clowdit or nebulatit
166 calde ptit armys for they be made calde ꝑtit armys for they be made
of .ij. colouris equalli ptit of .ij. colouris equalli ꝑtit
166 He berith asure and Syluer playn He berith asure and Syluer playn
ptit ꝑtit
166 Also ther is pticion of armys Also ther is ꝑticion of armys
engralyt the long way as is engralyt the long way as is
166 Il port dargent ingraylee et Il port dargent ingraylee et
Sable ptee du long Sable ꝑtee du long
167 ere now it shaƚƚ be shewyt of now it shaƚƚ be shewyt of armys
armys partit and irrasit partit and irrasit
167 Il port ꝑtee du long dargent et Il port ꝑtee du long dargent et
de gwlez race de gowlez race
169 Off armys ꝑtyt watėi of Syluer Off armys ꝑtyt watṫi of Syluer
and gowles this scochon is and gowles this scochon is
172 made bi the man of palis made bi the maṅ of palis
174 Il port barre dargent et Sale Il port barre dargent et Sable
178 Il port dor vng bende de gwlez Il port dor vng bende de gowlez
Anglice Anglice
178 He beth golde &̄ a bende of gowles He berith golde &̄ a bende of
gowles
179 bere the booƚƚ armys bere the hooƚƚ armys
180 Protat arma de auro fymbriata Portat arma de auro fymbriata
siue bordurata siue bordurata
182 ther is an other bor- that is ther is an other bordure that is
calde a bordure gobonatit calde a bordure gobonatit
182 it shaƚƚ be shewyt ī thys it shaƚƚ be shewyt ī thys
scooehon neyt folowyng scooehon next folowyng
190 wych begynne in the right borne wych begynne in the right horne
of the shelde of the shelde
195 Off Cheueuerons differyng on the Off Cheuerons differyng on the
longe way longe way
195 Also theys signes or Cheuroens be Also theys signes or Cheuerons be
differit after the long differit after the long
200 to a mannye heed to a mannys heed
200 And so wich owte dowte And so with owte dowte
201 wich onys their enteryng: by wich onys their enteryng: by
tbatt instrumente thatt instrumente
201 How here ye most knaw that theys Now here ye most knaw that theys
armys Sawtre be other armys Sawtre be other
210 And they they be calde sawtre And then they be calde sawtre
engradit engradit
202 it shaƚƚ be sayd in lotyn it shaƚƚ be sayd in latyn
202 signys ar put in a shelde by the signys ar put in a shelde by the
mauer of a pale maner of a pale
202 Il port dasor et et trois corones Il port dasor et trois corones
barrez dor barrez dor
203 pisces argnteos natantes in campo pisces argenteos natantes in
nigro campo nigro
204 the hoke afore I haue made no the boke afore I haue made no
mencion mencion
208 an other while an other lightly an other while an other lightly
be losys both he losys both
208 other rordys ar better or of sych other lordys ar better or of sych
dignyte dignyte
209 sū bi od u̇tuys sū bi oḋ u̇tuys
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Except as noted spelling errors were left uncorrected.
2. Re-indexed footnotes using numbers.
3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
4. Enclosed blackletter font in =equals=.
5. Denoted superscripts by a caret before a single superscript
character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in
curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.
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