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Title: The Master of Game
The Oldest English Book on Hunting
Author: Second Duke of York, Edward
Contributor: Theodore Roosevelt
Editor: William A. Baillie-Grohman
F. Baillie-Grohman
Release Date: August 12, 2013 [EBook #43452]
Language: English
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[Transcribers' notes:
Spelling, hyphenation, punctuation, capitalization, and accentuation
vary throughout the text. They are retained as published; we have not
standardized them.
The oe ligature is rendered: [oe].
Letters with a macron are preceded by an equals sign, both inside of
square brackets, e.g. [=a].
Italics are rendered between underscores, e.g. _italics_.
Underlined text is rendered between equal signs, e.g. =underlined
text=.
Smallcap text is rendered in all caps, e.g. SMALLCAP TEXT.
Superscripts are preceded by the carat character, e.g. ov^r.
Horn notes are rendered:
[**white] denoting a long note, [**black] a short note,
[**white][**white] a note of two long syllables, etc.]
THE MASTER OF GAME
[Illustration: Fox hunting "above ground" with raches or running
hounds. (From MS. f. fr. 616 in the Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris.)]
THE MASTER OF GAME
BY EDWARD, SECOND DUKE OF
YORK: THE OLDEST ENGLISH
BOOK ON HUNTING: EDITED BY
WM. A. AND F. BAILLIE-GROHMAN
WITH A FOREWORD BY THEODORE
ROOSEVELT
[Illustration]
LONDON
CHATTO & WINDUS
MCMIX
_All rights reserved_
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
INTRODUCTION xi
FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION xix
I. THE PROLOGUE 1
II. OF THE HARE AND OF HER NATURE 14
III. OF THE HART AND HIS NATURE 23
IV. OF THE BUCK AND OF HIS NATURE 38
V. OF THE ROE AND OF HIS NATURE 41
VI. OF THE WILD BOAR AND OF HIS NATURE 46
VII. OF THE WOLF AND OF HIS NATURE 54
VIII. OF THE FOX AND OF HIS NATURE 64
IX. OF THE GREY (BADGER) AND OF HIS NATURE 68
X. OF THE (WILD) CAT AND ITS NATURE 70
XI. THE OTTER AND HIS NATURE 72
XII. OF THE MANNER AND HABITS AND CONDITIONS OF HOUNDS 75
XIII. OF SICKNESSES OF HOUNDS AND OF THEIR CORRUPTIONS 85
XIV. OF RUNNING HOUNDS AND OF THEIR NATURE 105
XV. OF GREYHOUNDS AND OF THEIR NATURE 113
XVI. OF ALAUNTES AND OF THEIR NATURE 116
XVII. OF SPANIELS AND OF THEIR NATURE 119
XVIII. OF THE MASTIFF AND OF HIS NATURE 122
XIX. WHAT MANNER AND CONDITION A GOOD HUNTER SHOULD HAVE 123
XX. HOW THE KENNEL FOR THE HOUNDS AND THE COUPLES FOR THE RACHES AND
THE ROPES FOR THE LYMER SHOULD BE MADE 125
XXI. HOW THE HOUNDS SHOULD BE LED OUT TO SCOMBRE 127
XXII. HOW A HUNTER'S HORN SHOULD BE DRIVEN 128
XXIII. HOW A MAN SHOULD LEAD HIS GROOM IN QUEST FOR TO KNOW A HART BY
HIS TRACE 130
XXIV. HOW A MAN SHOULD KNOW A GREAT HART BY THE FUMES 133
XXV. HOW A MAN SHOULD KNOW A GREAT HART BY THE PLACE WHERE HE HATH
FRAYED HIS HEAD 135
XXVI. HOW THE ORDINANCE SHOULD BE MADE FOR THE HART HUNTING BY
STRENGTH AND HOW THE HART SHOULD BE HARBOURED 148
XXVII. HOW A HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST BY THE SIGHT 152
XXVIII. HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST BETWEEN THE PLAINS AND THE
WOOD 154
XXIX. HOW A HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST IN THE COPPICE AND THE YOUNG
WOOD 155
XXX. HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST IN GREAT COVERTS AND STRENGTHS
156
XXXI. HOW A HUNTER SHOULD QUEST IN CLEAR SPIRES AND HIGH WOOD 157
XXXII. HOW A GOOD HUNTER SHALL GO IN QUEST TO HEAR THE HARTS BELLOW
161
XXXIII. HOW THE ASSEMBLY THAT MEN CALL GATHERING SHOULD BE MADE BOTH
WINTER AND SUMMER AFTER THE GUISE OF BEYOND THE SEA 163
XXXIV. HOW THE HART SHOULD BE MOVED WITH THE LYMER AND RUN TO AND
SLAIN WITH STRENGTH 165
XXXV. HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD SEEK AND FIND THE HARE WITH RUNNING HOUNDS
AND SLAY HER WITH STRENGTH 181
XXXVI. OF THE ORDINANCE AND THE MANNER OF HUNTING WHEN THE KING WILL
HUNT IN FORESTS OR IN PARKS FOR THE HART WITH BOWS AND GREYHOUNDS AND
STABLE 188
APPENDIX 201
LIST OF SOME BOOKS CONSULTED AND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN TEXT 268
GLOSSARY 282
INDEX 299
ILLUSTRATIONS
FOX HUNTING "ABOVE GROUND" _Frontispiece_
GASTON PH[OE]BUS SURROUNDED BY HUNTSMEN AND HOUNDS _To face page_ 1
THE HARE AND HER LEVERETS " 14
HOW TO QUEST FOR THE HART IN WOODS " 22
BUCK-HUNTING WITH RUNNING HOUNDS " 38
ROEBUCK-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RUNNING HOUNDS " 44
BADGER-DRAWING " 68
OTTER-HUNTING " 72
HOW THE HOUNDS WERE LED OUT " 86
RACHES OR RUNNING HOUNDS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY " 106
THE SMOOTH AND THE ROUGH-COATED GREYHOUNDS " 114
THE FIVE BREEDS OF HOUNDS DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT " 122
THE KENNEL AND KENNELMEN " 126
THE MASTER TEACHING HIS HUNTSMAN HOW TO QUEST FOR
THE HART WITH THE LIMER OR TRACKHOUND _To face page_ 130
HOW A GREAT HART IS TO BE KNOWN BY HIS "FUMES"
(EXCREMENTS) " 134
HOW THE HUNTER SHOULD VIEW THE HART " 152
HOW TO QUEST FOR THE HART IN COVERTS " 164
HARE-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RUNNING HOUNDS " 182
HARE-DRIVING WITH LOW BELLS " 184
NETTING HARES IN THEIR "MUSES" " 186
THE "UNDOING" OR GRALLOCHING OF THE HART: THE
MASTER INSTRUCTING HIS HUNTERS HOW IT IS DONE " 192
HART-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RACHES " 196
THE "CURÉE" OR REWARDING OF THE HOUNDS" " 198
SHOOTING HARES WITH BLUNT BOLTS " 220
INTRODUCTION
The "Master of Game" is the oldest as well as the most important work
on the chase in the English language that has come down to us from the
Middle Ages.
Written between the years 1406 and 1413 by Edward III.'s grandson
Edward, second Duke of York, our author will be known to every reader
of Shakespeare's "Richard II.," for he is no other than the arch
traitor Duke of Aumarle, previously Earl of Rutland, who, according to
some historians, after having been an accomplice in the murder of his
uncle Gloucester, carried in his own hand on a pole the head of his
brother-in-law. The student of history, on the other hand, cannot
forget that this turbulent Plantagenet was the gallant leader of
England's vanguard at Agincourt, where he was one of the great nobles
who purchased with their lives what was probably the most glorious
victory ever vouchsafed to English arms.
He tells us in his Prologue, in which he dedicates his "litel symple
book" to Henry, eldest son of his cousin Henry IV., "Kyng of Jngelond
and of Fraunce," that he is the Master of Game at the latter's court.
Let it at once be said that the greater part of the book before us is
not the original work of Edward of York, but a careful and almost
literal translation from what is indisputably the most famous hunting
book of all times, _i.e._ Count Gaston de Foix's _Livre de Chasse_,
or, as author and book are often called, _Gaston Ph[oe]bus_, so named
because the author, who was a kinsman of the Plantagenets, and who
reigned over two principalities in southern France and northern Spain,
was renowned for his manly beauty and golden hair. It is he of whom
Froissart has to tell us so much that is quaint and interesting in his
inimitable chronicle. _La Chasse_, as Gaston de Foix tells us in his
preface, was commenced on May 1, 1387, and as he came to his end on a
bear hunt not much more than four years later, it is very likely that
his youthful Plantagenet kinsman, our author, often met him during his
prolonged residence in Aquitaine, of which, later on, he became the
Governor.
Fortunately for us, the enforced leisure which the Duke of York
enjoyed while imprisoned in Pevensey Castle for his traitorous
connection with the plots of his sister to assassinate the King and to
carry off their two young kinsmen, the Mortimers, the elder of whom
was the heir presumptive to the throne, was of sufficient length to
permit him not only to translate _La Chasse_ but to add five original
chapters dealing with English hunting.
These chapters, as well as the numerous interpolations made by the
translator, are all of the first importance to the student of venery,
for they emphasise the changes--as yet but very trifling ones--that
had been introduced into Britain in the three hundred and two score
years that had intervened since the Conquest, when the French language
and French hunting customs became established on English soil. To
enable the reader to see at a glance which parts of the "Master of
Game" are original, these are printed in italics.
The text, of which a modern rendering is here given, is taken from the
best of the existing nineteen MSS. of the "Master of Game," viz. the
Cottonian MS. Vespasian B. XII., in the British Museum, dating from
about 1420. The quaint English of Chaucer's day, with its archaic
contractions, puzzling orthography, and long, obsolete technical terms
in this MS. are not always as easy to read as those who only wish to
get a general insight into the contents of the "Master of Game" might
wish. It was a difficult question to decide to what extent this text
should be modernised. If translated completely into twentieth century
English a great part of the charm and interest of the original would
be lost. For this reason many of the old terms of venery and the
construction of sentences have been retained where possible, so that
the general reader will be able to appreciate the "feeling" of the old
work without being unduly puzzled. In a few cases where, through the
omission of words, the sense was left undetermined, it has been made
clear after carefully consulting other English MSS. and the French
parent work.
It seemed very desirable to elucidate the textual description of
hunting by the reproduction of good contemporary illuminations, but
unfortunately English art had not at that period reached the high
state of perfection which French art had attained. As a matter of
fact, only two of the nineteen English MSS. contain these pictorial
aids, and they are of very inferior artistic merit. The French MSS. of
_La Chasse_, on the other hand, are in several cases exquisitely
illuminated, and MS. f. fr. 616, which is the copy from which our
reproductions--much reduced in size, alas!--are made, is not only the
best of them, but is one of the most precious treasures of the
_Bibliothèque Nationale_ in Paris. These superb miniatures are
unquestionably some of the finest handiwork of French miniaturists at
a period when they occupied the first rank in the world of art.
The editors have added a short Appendix, elucidating ancient hunting
customs and terms of the chase. Ancient terms of venery often baffle
every attempt of the student who is not intimately acquainted with the
French and German literature of hunting. On one occasion I appealed in
vain to Professor Max Müller and to the learned Editor of the Oxford
Dictionary. "I regret to say that I know nothing about these words,"
wrote Dr. Murray; "terms of the chase are among the most difficult of
words, and their investigation demands a great deal of philological
and antiquarian research." There is little doubt that but for this
difficulty the "Master of Game" would long ago have emerged from its
seclusion of almost five hundred years. It is hoped that our notes
will assist the reader to enjoy this hitherto neglected classic of
English sport. Singularly enough, as one is almost ashamed to have to
acknowledge, foreign students, particularly Germans, have paid far
more attention to the "Master of Game" than English students have, and
there are few manuscripts of any importance about which English
writers have made so many mistakes. This is all the more curious
considering the precise information to the contrary so easily
accessible on the shelves of the British Museum. All English writers
with a single exception (Thomas Wright) who have dealt with our book
have attributed it persistently to a wrong man and a wrong period.
This has been going on for more than a century; for it was the
learned, but by no means always accurate, Joseph Strutt who first
thrust upon the world, in his often quoted "Sports and Pastimes of the
English People," certain misleading blunders concerning our work and
its author. Blaine, coming next, adding thereto, was followed little
more than a decade later by "Cecil," author of an equally much quoted
book, "Records of the Chase." In it, when speaking of the "Master of
Game," he says that he has "no doubt that it is the production of
Edmund de Langley," thus ascribing it to the father instead of to the
son. Following "Cecil's" untrustworthy lead, Jesse, Lord Wilton, Vero
Shaw, Dalziel, Wynn, the author of the chapter on old hunting in the
Badminton Library volume on Hunting, and many other writers copied
blindly these mistakes.
Five years ago the present editors published in a large folio volume
the first edition of the "Master of Game" in a limited and expensive
form. It contained side by side with the ancient text a modernised
version, extended biographical accounts of Edward of York and of
Gaston de Foix (both personalities of singular historical and human
interest), a detailed bibliography of the existing mediæval hunting
literature up to the end of the sixteenth century, a glossary, and a
very much longer appendix than it was possible to insert in the
present volume, which, in order to make it conform to the series of
which it forms part, had to be cut down to about one-sixth of the
first edition. A similar fate had to befall the illustrations, which
had to be reduced materially both in number and size. We would
therefore invite the reader whose interest in the subject may possibly
be aroused by the present pages, to glance at the perhaps
formidable-looking pages of the first edition, with its facsimile
photogravure reproductions of the best French and English
illuminations to be found in fifteenth century hunting literature.
In conclusion, I desire to repeat also in this place the expression of
my thanks to the authorities of the British Museum--to Dr. G. F.
Warner and Mr. I. H. Jeayes in particular--to the heads of the
Bodleian Library, the _Bibliothèque Nationale_, the Mazarin and the
Arsenal Libraries in Paris, the Duc d'Aumale's Library at Chantilly,
the _Bibliothèque Royale_ at Brussels, the _Königliche Bibliotheken_
in Munich and Dresden, the _Kaiserliche und Königliche Haus, Hof and
Staats Archiv_, and the _K. and K. Hof Bibliothek_ in Vienna, to Dr.
F. J. Furnivall, Mr. J. E. Harting, Mr. T. Fitzroy Fenwick of
Cheltenham, and to express my indebtedness to the late Sir Henry
Dryden, Bt., of Canons Ashby, for his kind assistance in my research
work.
To one person more than to any other my grateful acknowledgment is
due, namely to Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States,
who, notwithstanding the press of official duties, has found time to
write the interesting _Foreword_. A conscientious historian of his own
great country, as well as one of its keenest sportsmen, President
Roosevelt's qualifications for this kindly office may be described as
those of a modern Master of Game. No more competent writer could have
been selected to introduce to his countrymen a work that illustrates
the spirit which animated our common forbears five centuries ago,
their characteristic devotion to the chase, no less than their
intimate acquaintance with the habits and "nature" of the wild game
they pursued: all attributes worthy of some study by the reading
sportsmen of the twentieth century, who, as I show, have hitherto
neglected the study of English Venery. It was at first intended to
print this _Foreword_ only in the American Edition, but it soon became
evident that this would give to it an advantage which readers in this
country would have some reason to complain of, so it was inserted also
in the English Edition, and from it taken over into the present one.
[Illustration: Signature William A. Baillie-Grohman]
LONDON, _March 3, 1909_.
FOREWORD
TO THE FIRST EDITION
During the century that has just closed Englishmen have stood foremost
in all branches of sport, at least so far as the chase has been
carried on by those who have not followed it as a profession. Here and
there in the world whole populations have remained hunters, to whom
the chase was part of their regular work--delightful and adventurous,
but still work. Such were the American backwoodsmen and their
successors of the great plains and the Rocky Mountains; such were the
South African Boers; and the mountaineers of Tyrol, if not coming
exactly within this class, yet treated the chase both as a sport and a
profession. But disregarding these wild and virile populations, and
considering only the hunter who hunts for the sake of the hunting, it
must be said of the Englishman that he stood pre-eminent throughout
the nineteenth century as a sportsman for sport's sake. Not only was
fox-hunting a national pastime, but in every quarter of the globe
Englishmen predominated among the adventurous spirits who combined the
chase of big game with bold exploration of the unknown. The icy polar
seas, the steaming equatorial forests, the waterless tropical deserts,
the vast plains of wind-rippled grass, the wooded northern wilderness,
the stupendous mountain masses of the Andes and the Himalayas--in
short, all regions, however frowning and desolate, were penetrated by
the restless English in their eager quest for big game. Not content
with the sport afforded by the rifle, whether ahorse or afoot, the
English in India developed the use of the spear and in Ceylon the use
of the knife as the legitimate weapons with which to assail the
dangerous quarry of the jungle and the plain. There were hunters of
other nationalities, of course--Americans, Germans, Frenchmen; but the
English were the most numerous of those whose exploits were best worth
recounting, and there was among them a larger proportion of men gifted
with the power of narration. Naturally under such circumstances a
library of nineteenth century hunting must be mainly one of English
authors.
All this was widely different in the preceding centuries. From the
Middle Ages to the period of the French Revolution hunting was carried
on with keener zest in continental Europe than in England; and the
literature of the chase was far richer in the French, and even in the
German, tongues than in the English.
The Romans, unlike the Greeks, and still more unlike those mighty
hunters of old, the Assyrians, cared little for the chase; but the
white-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed barbarians, who, out of the
wreck of the Roman Empire, carved the States from which sprang modern
Europe, were passionately devoted to hunting. Game of many kinds then
swarmed in the cold, wet forests which covered so large a portion of
Europe. The kings and nobles, and the freemen generally, of the
regions which now make France and Germany, followed not only the wolf,
boar, and stag--the last named the favourite quarry of the hunter of
the Middle Ages--but the bear, the bison--which still lingers in the
Caucasus and in one Lithuanian preserve of the Czar--and the aurochs,
the huge wild ox--the _Urus_ of Cæsar--which has now vanished from the
world. In the Nibelungen Lied, when Siegfried's feats of hunting are
described, it is specified that he slew both the bear and the elk, the
bison and the aurochs. One of the early Burgundian kings was killed
while hunting the bison; and Charlemagne was not only passionately
devoted to the chase of these huge wild cattle, but it is said prized
the prowess shown therein by one of his stalwart daughters.
By the fourteenth century, when the Count of Foix wrote, the aurochs
was practically or entirely extinct, and the bison had retreated
eastwards, where for more than three centuries it held its own in the
gloomy morasses of the plain south-east of the Baltic. In western
Europe the game was then the same in kind that it is now, although all
the larger species were very much more plentiful, the roebuck being
perhaps the only one of the wild animals that has since increased in
numbers. With a few exceptions, such as the Emperor Maximilian, the
kings and great lords of the Middle Ages were not particularly fond of
chamois and ibex hunting; it was reserved for Victor Emmanuel to be
the first sovereign with whom shooting the now almost vanished ibex
was a favourite pastime.
Eager though the early Norman and Plantagenet kings and nobles of
England were in the chase, especially of the red deer, in France and
Germany the passion for the sport was still greater. In the end, on
the Continent the chase became for the upper classes less a pleasure
than an obsession, and it was carried to a fantastic degree. Many of
them followed it with brutal indifference to the rights of the
peasantry and to the utter neglect of all the serious affairs of life.
During the disastrous period of the Thirty Years War, the Elector of
Saxony spent most of his time in slaughtering unheard-of numbers of
red deer; if he had devoted his days and his treasure to the urgent
contemporary problems of statecraft and warcraft he would have ranked
more nearly with Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein, and would have
stood better at the bar of history. Louis XVI. was also devoted to the
chase in its tamer forms, and was shooting at driven game when the
Paris mob swarmed out to take possession of his person. The great
lords, with whom love of hunting had become a disease, not merely made
of game-preserving a grievous burden for the people, but also followed
the chase in ways which made scant demands upon the hardier qualities
either of mind or of body. Such debased sport was contemptible then;
and it is contemptible now. Luxurious and effeminate artificiality,
and the absence of all demands for the hardy virtues, rob any pastime
of all title to regard. Shooting at driven game on occasions when the
day's sport includes elaborate feasts in tents on a store of good
things brought in waggons or on the backs of sumpter mules, while the
sport itself makes no demand upon the prowess of the so-called
sportsman, is but a dismal parody upon the stern hunting life in which
the man trusts to his own keen eye, stout thews, and heart of steel
for success and safety in the wild warfare waged against wild nature.
Neither of the two authors now under consideration comes in this
undesirable class. Both were mighty men with their hands, terrible in
battle, of imposing presence and turbulent spirit. Both were the
patrons of art and letters, and both were cultivated in the learning
of the day. For each of them the chase stood as a hardy and vigorous
pastime of the kind which makes a people great. The one was Count
Gaston de Foix, author of the most famous of mediæval hunting-books, a
mighty lord and mighty hunter, as well as statesman and warrior. The
other was Edward, second Duke of York, who at Agincourt "died
victorious." He translated into English a large portion of Gaston de
Foix's _La Chasse_, adding to it five original chapters. He called his
book "The Master of Game."
Gaston's book is better known as _Gaston Ph[oe]bus_, the nickname of
the author which Froissart has handed down. He treats not only of the
animals of France, but of the ibex, the chamois, and the reindeer,
which he hunted in foreign lands. "The Master of Game" is the oldest
book on hunting in the English language. The original chapters are
particularly interesting because of the light they throw upon English
hunting customs in the time of the Plantagenets. The book has never
hitherto been published. Nineteen ancient manuscript copies are known;
of the three best extant two are on the shelves of the Bloomsbury
treasure house, the other in the Bodleian Library. Like others of the
famous old authors on venery, both the Count of Foix and the Duke of
York show an astonishing familiarity with the habits, nature, and
chase of their quarry. Both men, like others of their kind among their
contemporaries, made of the chase not only an absorbing sport but
almost the sole occupation of their leisure hours. They passed their
days in the forest and were masters of woodcraft. Game abounded, and
not only the chase but the killing of the quarry was a matter of
intense excitement and an exacting test of personal prowess, for the
boar, or the bear, or hart at bay was slain at close quarters with the
spear or long knife.
"The Master of Game" is not only of interest to the sportsman, but
also to the naturalist, because of its quaint accounts of the "nature"
of the various animals; to the philologist because of the old English
hunting terms and the excellent translations of the chapters taken
from the French; and to the lover of art because of the beautiful
illustrations, with all their detail of costume, of hunting
accoutrements, and of ceremonies of "la grande venerie"--which are
here reproduced in facsimile from one of the best extant French
manuscripts of the early fifteenth century. The translator has left
out the chapters on trapping and snaring of wild beasts which were
contained in the original, the hunting with running hounds being the
typical and most esteemed form of the sport. Gaston Ph[oe]bus's _La
Chasse_ was written just over a century before the discovery of
America; "The Master of Game" some fifteen or twenty years later. The
former has been reprinted many times. Mr. Baillie-Grohman in
reproducing (for the first time) the latter in such beautiful form has
rendered a real service to all lovers of sport, of nature, and of
books--and no one can get the highest enjoyment out of sport unless he
can live over again in the library the keen pleasure he experienced in
the wilderness.
* * * * *
In modern life big-game hunting has assumed many widely varied forms.
There are still remote regions of the earth in which the traveller
must depend upon his prowess as a hunter for his subsistence, and here
and there the foremost settlers of new country still war against the
game as it has been warred against by their like since time primeval.
But over most of the earth such conditions have passed away for ever.
Even in Africa game preserving on a gigantic scale has begun. Such
game preserving may be of two kinds. In one the individual landed
proprietor, or a group of such individuals, erect and maintain a
private game preserve, the game being their property just as much as
domestic animals. Such preserves often fill a useful purpose, and if
managed intelligently and with a sense of public spirit and due
regard for the interests and feelings of others, may do much good,
even in the most democratic community. But wherever the population is
sufficiently advanced in intelligence and character, a far preferable
and more democratic way of preserving the game is by a system of
public preserves, of protected nurseries and breeding-grounds, while
the laws define the conditions under which all alike may shoot the
game and the restrictions under which all alike must enjoy the
privilege. It is in this way that the wild creatures of the forest and
the mountain can best and most permanently be preserved. Even in the
United States the enactment and observance of such laws has brought
about a marked increase in the game of certain localities, as, for
instance, New England, during the past thirty years; while in the
Yellowstone Park the elk, deer, antelope, and mountain sheep, and,
strangest of all, the bear, are not merely preserved in all their wild
freedom, but, by living unmolested, have grown to show a confidence in
man and a tameness in his presence such as elsewhere can be found only
in regions where he has been hitherto unknown.
The chase is the best of all national pastimes, and this none the less
because, like every other pastime, it is a mere source of weakness if
carried on in an unhealthy manner, or to an excessive degree, or under
over-artificial conditions. Every vigorous game, from football to
polo, if allowed to become more than a game, and if serious work is
sacrificed to its enjoyment, is of course noxious. From the days when
Trajan in his letters to Pliny spoke with such hearty contempt of the
Greek over-devotion to athletics, every keen thinker has realised that
vigorous sports are only good in their proper place. But in their
proper place they are very good indeed. The conditions of modern life
are highly artificial, and too often tend to a softening of fibre,
physical and moral. It is a good thing for a man to be forced to show
self-reliance, resourcefulness in emergency, willingness to endure
fatigue and hunger, and at need to face risk. Hunting is praiseworthy
very much in proportion as it tends to develop these qualities. Mr.
Baillie-Grohman, to whom most English-speaking lovers of sport owe
their chief knowledge of the feats in bygone time of the great hunters
of continental Europe, has himself followed in its most manly forms
this, the manliest of sports. He has hunted the bear, the wapiti, and
the mountain ram in the wildest regions of the Rockies, and, also by
fair stalking, the chamois and the red deer in the Alps. Whoever
habitually follows mountain game in such fashion must necessarily
develop qualities which it is a good thing for any nation to see
brought out in its sons. Such sport is as far removed as possible from
that in which the main object is to make huge bags at small cost of
effort, and with the maximum of ease, no good quality save
marksmanship being required. Laying stress upon the mere quantity of
game killed, and the publication of the record of slaughter, are sure
signs of unhealthy decadence in sportsmanship. As far as possible the
true hunter, the true lover of big game and of life in the wilderness,
must be ever ready to show his own power to shift for himself. The
greater his dependence upon others for his sport the less he deserves
to take high rank in the brotherhood of rifle, horse, and hound. There
was a very attractive side to the hunting of the great mediæval lords,
carried on with an elaborate equipment and stately ceremonial,
especially as there was an element of danger in coming to close
quarters with the quarry at bay; but after all, no form of hunting has
ever surpassed in attractiveness the life of the wilderness wanderer
of our own time--the man who with simple equipment, and trusting to
his own qualities of head, heart, and hand, has penetrated to the
uttermost regions of the earth, and single-handed slain alike the
wariest and the grimmest of the creatures of the waste.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
_February 15, 1904_.
[Illustration: _GASTON PH[OE]BUS_ SURROUNDED BY HUNTSMEN AND HOUNDS
(From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
THE MASTER OF GAME
CHAPTER I
THE PROLOGUE
_To the honour and reverence of you my right worshipful and dread Lord
Henry by the grace of God eldest son and heir unto the high excellent
and Christian Prince Henry IV. by the aforesaid grace King of England
and of France, Prince of Wales, Duke of Guienne of Lancaster and of
Cornwall, and Earl of Chester._
_I your own in every humble wise have me ventured to make this little
simple book which I recommend and submit to your noble and wise
correction, which book if it pleaseth your aforesaid Lordship shall be
named and called MASTER OF GAME. And for this cause: for the matter
that this book treateth of what in every season of the year is most
durable, and to my thinking to every gentle heart most disportful of
all games, that is to say hunting. For though it be that hawking with
gentle hounds and hawks for the heron and the river be noble and
commendable, it lasteth seldom at the most more than half a year. For
though men find from May unto Lammas_ (August 1st) _game enough to
hawk at, no one will find hawks to hawk with.[1] But as of hunting
there is no season of all the year, that game may not be found in
every good country, also hounds ready to chase it. And since this book
shall be all of hunting, which is so noble a game, and lasting through
all the year of divers beasts that grow according to the season for
the gladdening of man, I think I may well call it MASTER OF GAME._
_And though it be so my dear Lord, that many could better have meddled
with this matter and also more ably than I, yet there be two things
that have principally emboldened and caused me to take this work in
hand. The first is trust of your noble correction, to which as before
is said, I submit this little and simple book. The second is that
though I be unworthy, I am Master of this Game with that noble prince
your Father our all dear sovereign and liege Lord aforesaid. And as I
would not that his hunters nor yours that now be or that should come
hereafter did not know the perfection of this art, I shall leave for
these this simple memorial, for as Chaucer saith in his prologue of
"The 25[2] Good Women": "By writing have men mind of things passed,
for writing is the key of all good remembrance."_
[1] As the hawks would be mewing and unfit to fly.
[2] The Shirley MS. in the British Museum has "XV."
And first I will begin by describing the nature of the hare,[3]
secondly of the nature of the hart, thirdly of the buck and of his
nature, fourthly of the roe and of his nature, fifthly of the wild
boar and of his nature, sixthly of the wolf and of his nature,
seventhly of the fox and of his nature, eighthly of the badger and of
his nature, ninthly of the cat and of his nature, tenthly of the
marten and his nature, eleventhly of the otter and of his nature. Now
have I rehearsed how I will in this little book describe the nature of
these aforesaid beasts of venery and of chace, and therefore will I
name the hounds the which I will describe hereafter, both of their
nature and conditions. And first I will begin with raches (running
hounds)[4] and their nature, and then greyhounds and their nature, and
then alaunts and their nature, and then spaniels and their nature, and
then mastiffs that men call curs and their nature, and then of small
curs that come to be terriers and their nature, and then I shall
devise and tell the sicknesses of hounds and their diseases. And
furthermore I will describe what qualities and manners a good hunter
should have, and of what parts he should be, and after that I will
describe the manner and shape of the kennel, and how it should be
environed and arrayed. Also I will describe of what fashion a hunter's
horn should be driven, and how the couplings should be made for the
raches and of what length. Furthermore I will prove by sundry reasons
in this little prologue, that the life of no man that useth gentle
game and disport be less displeasable unto God than the life of a
perfect and skilful hunter, or from which more good cometh. The first
reason is that hunting causeth a man to eschew the seven deadly sins.
Secondly men are better when riding, more just and more understanding,
and more alert and more at ease and more undertaking, and better
knowing of all countries and all passages; in short and long all good
customs and manners cometh thereof, and the health of man and of his
soul. For he that fleeth the seven deadly sins as we believe, he shall
be saved, therefore a good hunter shall be saved, and in this world
have joy enough and of gladness and of solace, so that he keep himself
from two things. One is that he leave not the knowledge nor the
service of God, from whom all good cometh, for his hunting. The second
that he lose not the service of his master for his hunting, nor his
own duties which might profit him most. Now shall I prove how a hunter
may not fall into any of the seven deadly sins. When a man is idle and
reckless without work, and be not occupied in doing some thing, he
abides in his bed or in his chamber, a thing which draweth men to
imaginations of fleshly lust and pleasure. For such men have no wish
but always to abide in one place, and think in pride, or in avarice,
or in wrath, or in sloth, or in gluttony, or in lechery, or in envy.
For the imagination of men rather turns to evil than to good, for the
three enemies which mankind hath, are the devil, the world and the
flesh, and this is proved enough.
[3] Gaston de Foix has a different sequence, putting the hart first
and the hare sixth, and having four animals more, namely, the
reindeer, the chamois (including ibex), the bear and the rabbit, while
the "Master of Game" has one animal, the Marten, of which Gaston de
Foix does not speak.
[4] Gaston de Foix follows a different sequence, commencing with
alaunts, then greyhounds, raches, spaniels, and says "fifthly I will
speak of all kinds of mongrel dogs, such as come from mastiffs and
alaunts, from greyhounds and running hounds, and other such."
Nevertheless there be many other reasons which are too long to tell,
and also every man that hath good reason knoweth well that idleness is
the foundation of all evil imaginations. Now shall I prove how
imagination is lord and master of all works, good or evil, that man's
body or his limbs do. You know well, good or evil works small or great
never were done but that beforehand they were imagined or thought of.
Now shall you prove how imagination is the mistress of all deeds, for
imagination biddeth a man do good or evil works, whichever it be, as
before is said. And if a man notwithstanding that he were wise should
imagine always that he were a fool, or that he hath other sickness, it
would be so, for since he would think steadfastly that he were a fool,
he would do foolish deeds as his imagination would command, and he
would believe it steadfastly. Wherefore methinks I have proved enough
of imagination, notwithstanding that there be many other reasons the
which I leave to avoid long writing. Every man that hath good sense
knoweth well that this is the truth.
Now I will prove how a good hunter may not be idle, and in dreaming
may not have any evil imaginations nor afterwards any evil works. For
the day before he goes out to his office, the night before he shall
lay him down in his bed, and shall not think but for to sleep, and do
his office well and busily, as a good hunter should. And he shall have
nothing to do, but think about all that which he has been ordered to
do. And he is not idle, for he has enough to do to think about rising
early and to do his office without thinking of sins or of evil deeds.
And early in the dawning of the day he must be up for to go unto his
quest, _that in English is called searching_, well and busily, for as
I shall say more explicitly hereafter, when I shall speak of how men
shall quest and search to harbour the hart. And in so doing he shall
not be idle, for he is always busy. And when he shall come again to
the assembly or meet, then he hath most to do, for he must order his
finders and relays for to move the hart, and uncouple his hounds. With
that he cannot be idle, for he need think of nothing but to do his
office, and when he hath uncoupled, yet is he less idle, and he should
think less of any sins, for he hath enough to do to ride _or to foot
it well_ with his hounds and to be always near them and to hue or rout
well, and blow well, and to look whereafter he hunteth, and which
hounds are _vanchasers and parfiters_,[5] and redress and bring his
hounds on the right line again when they are at fault[6] or hunting
rascal.[7] And when the hart is dead or what other chase he was
hunting, then is he less idle, for he hath enough to do to think how
to undo the hart in his manner and to raise that which appertaineth[8]
to him, and well to do his curée.[9] And he should look how many of
his hounds are missing of those that he brought to the wood in the
morning, and he should search for them, and couple them up. And when
he has come home, should he less think to do evil, for he hath enough
to do to think of his supper, and to ease himself and his horse, and
to sleep, and to take his rest, for he is weary, and to dry himself of
the dew or peradventure of the rain. And therefore I say that all the
time of the hunter is without idleness and without evil thoughts, and
without evil works of sin, for as I have said idleness is the
foundation of all vices and sins. And the hunter may not be idle if he
would fill his office aright, and also he can have no other thoughts,
for he has enough to do to think and imagine of his office, the which
is no little charge, for whoso will do it well and busily, especially
if they love hounds and their office.
[5] The hounds that came in the first relay (van) and those in the
subsequent relays. See Appendix: Relays.
[6] Diverted or off the line.
[7] Chasing small or lean deer. See Appendix: Hart.
[8] To take those parts of the deer which fell to him by custom.
[9] Curée: The ceremony of giving the hounds their reward on the skin
of the animal they have chased. See Appendix: Curée.
Wherefore I say that such an hunter is not idle, he can have no evil
thoughts, nor can he do evil works, wherefore he must go into
paradise.[10] For by many other reasons which are too long to write
can I prove these things, but it sufficeth that every man that hath
good sense knoweth well that I speak the real truth.
[10] Gaston de Foix in the French parent work puts it even more
forcefully; he says: "tout droit en paradis." See Lavallée's ed. 1854.
Now shall I prove how hunters live in this world more joyfully than
any other men. For when the hunter riseth in the morning, and he sees
a sweet and fair morn and clear weather and bright, and he heareth
the song of the small birds, the which sing so sweetly with great
melody and full of love, each in it's own language in the best wise
that it can according that it learneth of it's own kind. And when the
sun is arisen, he shall see fresh dew upon the small twigs and
grasses, and the sun by his virtue shall make them shine. And that is
great joy and liking to the hunter's heart. After when he shall go to
his quest or searching, he shall see or meet anon with the hart
without great seeking, and shall harbour[11] him well and readily
within a little compass. It is great joy and liking to the hunter. And
after when he shall come to the assembly or gathering, and he shall
report before the Lord and his company that which he hath seen with
his eyes, or by scantilon (measure) of the trace (slot) which he ought
always of right to take, or by the fumes[12] (excrements) that he
shall put in his horn or in his lap. And every man shall say: Lo, here
is a great hart and a deer of high meating or pasturing; go we and
move him; the which things I shall declare hereafter, then can one say
that the hunter has great joy. When he beginneth to hunt and he hath
hunted but a little and he shall hear or see the hart start before him
and shall well know that it is the right one, and his hounds that
shall this day be finders, shall come to the lair (bed), or to the
fues (track), and shall there be uncoupled without any be left
coupled, and they shall all run well and hunt, then hath the hunter
great joy and great pleasure. Afterwards he leapeth on horseback, _if
he be of that estate, and else on foot_ with great haste to follow his
hounds. And in case peradventure the hounds shall have gone far from
where he uncoupled, he seeketh some advantage to get in front of his
hounds. And then shall he see the hart pass before him, and shall
holloa and rout mightily, and he shall see which hound come in the
van-chase, and in the middle, and which are parfitours,[13] according
to the order in which they shall come. And when all the hounds have
passed before him then shall he ride after them and shall rout and
blow as loud as he may with great joy and great pleasure, and I assure
you he thinketh of no other sin or of no other evil. And when the hart
be overcome and shall be at bay he shall have pleasure. And after,
when the hart is spayed[14] and dead, he undoeth him and maketh his
curée and enquireth or rewardeth his hounds, and so he shall have
great pleasure, and when he cometh home he cometh joyfully, for his
lord hath given him to drink of his good wine at the curée, and when
he has come home he shall doff his clothes and his shoes and his hose,
and he shall wash his thighs and his legs, and peradventure all his
body. And in the meanwhile he shall order well his supper, with
_wortes_ (roots) _and of the neck_ of the hart and of other good
meats, and good wine _or ale_. And when he hath well eaten and drunk
he shall be glad and well, and well at his ease. And then shall he
take the air in the evening of the night, for the great heat that he
hath had. And then he shall go and drink and lie in his bed in fair
fresh clothes, and shall sleep well and steadfastly all the night
without any evil thoughts of any sins, wherefore I say that hunters go
into Paradise when they die, and live in this world more joyfully than
any other men. Yet I will prove to you how hunters live longer than
any other men, for as Hippocras the doctor telleth: "full repletion of
meat slayeth more men than any sword or knife." They eat and drink
less than any other men of this world, for in the morning at the
assembly they eat a little, and if they eat well at supper, they will
by the morning have corrected their nature, for then they have eaten
but little, and their nature will not be prevented from doing her
digestion, whereby no wicked humours or superfluities may be
engendered. And always, when a man is sick, men diet him and give him
to drink water made of sugar and tysane and of such things for two or
three days to put down evil humours and his superfluities, and also
make him void (purge). But for a hunter one need not do so, for he may
have no repletion on account of the little meat, and by the travail
that he hath. And, supposing that which can not be, and that he were
full of wicked humours, yet men know well that the best way to
terminate sickness that can be is to sweat. And when the hunters do
their office on horseback or on foot they sweat often, then if they
have any evil in them, it must (come) away in the sweating; so that he
keep from cold after the heat. Therefore it seemeth to me I have
proved enough. Leeches ordain for a sick man little meat and sweating
for the terminating and healing of all things. And since hunters eat
little and sweat always, they should live long and in health. Men
desire in this world to live long in health and in joy, and after
death the health of the soul. And hunters have all these things.
Therefore be ye all hunters and ye shall do as wise men. Wherefore I
counsel to all manner of folk of what estate or condition that they
be, that they love hounds and hunting and the pleasure of hunting
beasts of one kind or another, or hawking. For to be idle and to have
no pleasure in either hounds or hawks is no good token. _For as saith
in his book Ph[oe]bus the Earl of Foix that noble hunter_, he saw
never a good man that had not pleasure in some of these things, were
he ever so great and rich. For if he had need to go to war he would
not know what war is, for he would not be accustomed to travail, and
so another man would have to do that which he should. For men say in
old saws: "The lord is worth what his lands are worth."[15] _And also
he saith in the aforesaid book_, that he never saw a man that loved
the work and pleasure of hounds and hawks, that had not many good
qualities in him; for that comes to him of great nobleness and
gentleness of heart of whatever estate the man may be, whether he be a
great lord, or a little one, or a poor man or a rich one.
[11] Trace the deer to its lair.
[12] See Appendix: Excrements.
[13] See Appendix: Relays.
[14] Despatched with a sword or knife. See Appendix: Spay.
[15] Gaston de Foix says: "Tant vaut seigneur tant vaut sa gent et sa
terre," p. 9.
CHAPTER II
OF THE HARE AND OF HER NATURE
The hare is a common beast enough, and therefore I need not tell of
her making, for there be few men that have not seen some of them. They
live on corn, and on weeds growing on waste land, on leaves, on herbs,
on the bark of trees, on grapes and on many other fruits. The hare is
a good little beast, and much good sport and liking is the hunting of
her, more than that of any other beast that _any man knoweth_, if
he[16] were not so little. And that for five reasons: the one is, for
her hunting lasteth all the year as with running hounds without any
sparing, and this is not with all the other beasts. And also men may
hunt at her both in the morning and in the evening. In the eventide,
when they be relieved,[17] and in the morning, when they sit in form.
And of all other beasts it is not so, for if it rain in the morning
your journey is lost, and of the hare it is not so. That other
[reason] is to seek the hare; it is a well fair thing, especially who
so hunteth her rightfully, for hounds must need find her by mastery
and quest point by point, and undo all that she hath done all the
night of her walking, and of her pasture unto the time that they start
her. And it is a fair thing when the hounds are good and can well find
her. And the hare shall go sometimes from her sitting to her pasture
half a mile or more, specially in open country. And when she is
started it is a fair thing. And then it is a fair thing to slay her
with strength of hounds, for she runneth long and gynnously
(cunningly). A hare shall last well four miles or more or less, if she
be an old male hare. And therefore the hunting of the hare is good,
for it lasteth all the year, as I have said. And the seeking is a well
fair thing, and the chasing of the hare is a well fair thing, and the
slaying of him with strength (of hounds) is a fair thing, for it
requireth great mastery on account of her cunning. When a hare ariseth
out of her form to go to her pasture or return again to her seat, she
commonly goes by one way, and as she goes she will not suffer any twig
or grass to touch her, for she will sooner break it with her teeth and
make her way. Sometime she sitteth a mile or more from her pasturing,
and sometimes near her pasture. But when she sitteth near it, yet she
may have been the amount of half a mile or more from there where she
hath pastured, and then she ruseth again from her pasture. And whether
she go to sit near or far from her pasture she goes so gynnously
(cunningly) and wilily that there is no man in this world that would
say that any hound could unravel that which she has done, or that
could find her. For she will go a bow shot or more by one way, and
ruse again by another, and then she shall take her way by another
side, and the same she shall do ten, twelve, or twenty times, from
thence she will come into some hedge or strength (thicket), and shall
make semblance to abide there, and then will make cross roads ten or
twelve times, and will make her ruses, and thence she will take some
false path, and shall go thence a great way, and such semblance she
will make many times before she goeth to her seat.
[16] The hare was frequently spoken of in two genders in the same
sentence, for it was an old belief that the hare was at one time male,
and at another female. See Appendix: Hare.
[17] Means here: when the hare has arisen from her form to go to her
feeding. Fr. _relever_. G. de F. explains, p. 42: _un lievre se
reliève pour aler à son vianders_. Relief, which denoted the act of
arising and going to feed, became afterwards the term for the feeding
itself. "A hare hath greater scent and is more eagerly hunted when she
relieves on green corn" (_Comp. Sportsman_, p. 86). It possibly was
used later to denote the excrements of a hare; thus Blome (1686) p.
92, says: "A huntsman may judge by the relief and feed of the hare
what she is."
[Illustration: THE HARE AND HER LEVERETS (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib.
Nat._, Paris)]
The hare cannot be judged, either by the foot or by her fumes
(excrements), for she always crotieth[18] in one manner, except when
she goeth in her love that hunters call ryding time, for then she
crotieth her fumes more burnt (drier) and smaller, especially the
male. The hare liveth no long time, for with great pain may she pass
the second[19] year, though she be not hunted or slain. She hath bad
sight[20] and great fear to run[21] on account of the great dryness of
her sinews. She windeth far men when they seek her. When hounds grede
of her (seek) and quest her she flieth away for the fear that she hath
of the hounds. Sometimes men find her sitting in her form, and
sometimes she is bitten (taken) by hounds in her form before she
starts. They that abide in the form till they be found are commonly
stout hares, and well running. The hare that runneth with right
standing ears is but little afraid, and is strong, and yet when she
holdeth one ear upright and the other laid low on her ryge (back), she
feareth but little the hounds. An hare that crumps her tail upon her
rump when she starteth out of her form as a coney (does) it is a token
that she is strong and well running. The hare runneth in many diverse
manners, for some run all they are able a whole two miles or three,
and after run and ruse again and then stop still when they can no
more, and let themselves be bitten (by the hounds), although she may
not have been seen all the day. And sometimes she letteth herself be
bitten the first time that she starteth, for she has no more might
(strength). And some run a little while and then abide and squat, and
that they do oft. And then they take their flight as long as they can
run ere they are dead. And some be that abide till they are bitten in
their form, especially when they be young that have not passed half a
year. Men know by the outer side of the hare's leg if she has not
passed a year.[22] And so men should know of a hound, of a fox, and of
a wolf, by a little bone that they have in a bone which is next the
sinews, where there is a little pit (cavity).
[18] Casting her excrements.
[19] A mistake of the old scribes which occurs also in other MSS.; it
should, of course, read "seventh" year. G. de F. has the correct
version.
[20] G. de F. says: "She hears well but has bad sight," p. 43.
[21] "Fear to run" is a mistake occasioned by the similarity of the
two old French words "pouair," power, and "paour" or fear. In those of
the original French MS. of G. de F. examined by us it is certainly
"power" and not "fear." Lavallée in his introduction says the same
thing. See Appendix: Hare.
[22] See Appendix: Hare.
Sometimes when they are hunted with hounds they run into a hole as a
coney, or into hollow trees, or else they pass a great river. Hounds
do not follow some hares as well as others, for four reasons. Those
hares who be begotten of the kind of a coney, as some be in warrens,
the hounds lust not, nor scenteth them not so well. The other (is)
that the fues (footing) of some hares carry hotter scent than some,
and therefore the hounds scenteth of one more than of the other, as of
roses, some smell better than others, and yet they be all roses. The
other reason is that they steal away ere they be found, and the hounds
follow always forth right. The others run going about and then
abide,[23] wherefore the hounds be often on stynt (at fault). The
other (reason) is according to the country they run in, for if they
run in covert, hounds will scent them better than if they run in plain
(open) country, or in the ways (paths), for in the covert their bodies
touch against the twigs and leaves, because it is a strong (thick)
country. And when they run in plain country or in the fields they
touch nothing, but with the foot, and therefore the hound can not so
well scent the fues of them. And also I say that some country is more
sweet and more loving (to scent) than another. The hare abideth
commonly in one country, and if she hath the fellowship of another or
of her kyndels or leverettes, they be five or six, for no strange hare
will they suffer to dwell in their marches (district), though they be
of their nature (kind),[24] and therefore men say in old saws: "Who so
hunteth the most hares shall find the most." _For Phebus the Earl of
Foix, that good hunter, saith that_ when there be few hares in a
country they should be hunted and slain, so that the hares of other
countries about should come into that march.
[23] G. de F. has: "vonts riotans tournions et demourant," _i.e._ run
rioting, turning and stopping, p. 44.
[24] Both the Vespasian and the Shirley MS. in the British Museum have
the same, but G. de F., p. 45, has, "except those of their nature"
(_fors que celle de leur nature_).
Of hares, some go faster and be stronger than others, as it is of men
and other beasts. Also the pasture and the country where they abide
helpeth much thereto. For when the hare abideth and formeth in a plain
country where there are no bushes, such hares are commonly strongest
and well running. Also when they pasture on two herbs--that one is
called Soepol (wild thyme) and that other be Pulegium (pennyroyal)
they are strong and fast running.
The hares have no season of their love for, as I said, it is called
ryding time, for in every month of the year that it shall not be that
some be not with kindles (young). Nevertheless, commonly their love is
most in the month of January, and in that month they run most fast of
any time of the year, both male and female. And from May unto
September they be most slow, for then they be full of herbs and of
fruits, or they be great and full of kindles, and commonly in that
time they have their kindles. Hares remain in sundry (parts of the)
country, according to the season of the year; sometimes they sit in
the fern, sometimes in the heath, sometimes in the corn, and in
growing weeds, and sometimes in the woods. In April and in May when
the corn is so long that they can hide themselves therein, gladly will
they sit therein. And when men begin to reap the corn they will sit in
the vines and in other strong (thick) heaths, in bushes and in hedges,
and commonly in cover under the wind and in cover from the rain, and
if there be any sun shining they will gladly sit against the beams of
the sun. For a hare of its own kind knoweth the night before what
weather it will be on the next morrow, and therefore she keepeth
herself the best way she may from the evil weather. The hare beareth
her kindles two months,[25] and when they are kindled she licketh her
kindles as a bitch doeth her whelps. Then she runneth a great way
thence, and goeth to seek the male, for if she should abide with her
kindles she would gladly eat them. And if she findeth not the male,
she cometh again to her kindles a great while after and giveth them to
suck, and nourisheth them for the maintainance of 20 days or
thereabouts. A hare beareth commonly 2 kindles, but I have seen some
which have kindled at once sometime 6, sometime 5 or 4 or 2;[26] and
but she find the male within three days from the time she hath
kindled, she will eat her kindles. And when they be in their love they
go together as hounds, save they hold not together as hounds. They
kindle often in small bushes or in little hedges, or they hide in
heath or in briars or in corn or in vines. If you find a hare which
has kindled the same day, and the hounds hunt after her, and if you
come thither the next morrow ye shall find how she has removed her
kindles, and has borne them elsewhere with her teeth, as a bitch doth
her whelps. Men slay hares with greyhounds, and with running hounds by
strength, _as in England, but elsewhere they slay them also_ with
small pockets, and with purse nets, and with small nets, _with hare
pipes_, and with long nets, and with small cords that men cast where
they make their breaking of the small twigs when they go to their
pastures, as I have before said.[27] But, _truly, I trow no good
hunter would slay them so for any good_. When they be in their heat of
love and pass any place where conies be, the most part of them will
follow after her as the hounds follow after a bitch or a brache.
[25] This is incorrect: the hare carries her young thirty days (Brehm,
vol. ii. p. 626; Harting, _Ency. of Sport_, vol. i. p. 504).
[26] Should read "three" (G. de F., p. 47).
[27] See Appendix: Snares.
[Illustration: HOW TO QUEST FOR THE HART IN WOODS (From MS. f. fr.
616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
CHAPTER III
OF THE HART AND HIS NATURE
The hart is a common beast enough and therefore me needeth not to tell
of his making, for there be few folk that have not seen some. The
harts be the lightest (swiftest) beasts and strongest, and of
marvellous great cunning. They are in their love, which men call rut,
about the time of the Holy Rood[28] in September and remain in their
hot love a whole month and ere they be fully out thereof they abide
(in rut) nigh two months. And then they are bold, and run upon men as
a wild boar would do if he were hunted. And they be wonderfully
perilous beasts, for with great pain shall a man recover that is hurt
by a hart, and therefore men say in old saws: "after the boar the
leech and after the hart the bier." For he smiteth as the stroke of
the springole,[29] for he has great strength in the head and the body.
They slay, fight and hurt each other, when they be in rut, that is to
say in their love, and they sing in their language _that in England
hunters call bellowing_ as man that loveth paramour.[30] They slay
hounds and horses and men at that time and turn to the abbay (be at
bay) as a boar does especially when they be weary. And yet have men
seen at the parting of their ligging (as they start from the lair)[31]
that he hath hurt him that followeth after, and also the
greyhounds[32] and furthermore a courser. And yet when they are in
rut, which is to say their love, in a forest where there be few hinds
and many harts or male deer, they slay, hurt and fight with each
other, for each would be master of the hinds. And commonly the
greatest hart and the most strong holdeth the rut and is master
thereof. And when he is well pured and hath been long at rut all the
other harts that he hath chased and flemed away (put to flight) from
the rut then run upon him and slay him, and that is sooth. And in
parks this may be proved, for there is never a season but the greatest
hart will be slain by the others not while he is at the rut, but when
he has withdrawn and is poor of love. In the woods they do not so
often slay each other as they do in the plain country. And also there
are divers ruts in the forest, but in the parks there are none but
that are within the park.[33] After that they be withdrawn from the
hinds they go in herds and in soppes (troops) with the rascal (young
lean deer) and abide in (waste) lands and in heathes more than they do
in woods, for to enjoy the heat of the sun, they be poor and lean for
the travail they have had with the hinds, and for the winter, and the
little meat that they find. After that they leave the rascal and
gather together with two or three or four harts in soppes till the
month of March when they mew (shed) their horns, and commonly some
sooner than others, if they be old deer, and some later if they be
young deer, or that they have had a hard winter, or that they have
been hunted, or that they have been sick, for then they mew their
heads and later come to good points. And when they have mewed their
heads they take to the strong (thick) bushes as privily as they may,
till their heads be grown again, and they come into grease; after that
they seek good country for meating (feeding) of corn, of apples, of
vines, of tender growing trees, of peas, of beans, and other fruits
and grasses whereby they live. And sometimes a great hart hath another
fellow that is called his squire, for he is with him and doth as he
will. And so they will abide all that season if they be not hindered
until the last end of August. And then they begin to look, and to
think and to bolne and to bellow and to stir from the haunt in which
they have (been) all the season, for to go seek the hinds. They
recover their horns and are summed of their tines as many as they
shall have all the year between March when they mewed them to the
middle of June; and then be they recovered of their new hair that _men
call polished_ and their horns be recovered with a soft hair _that
hunters call velvet_ at the beginning, and under that skin and that
hair the horn waxes hard and sharp, and about Mary Magdalene day (July
22) they fray their horns against the trees, and have (rubbed) away
that skin from their horns and then wax they hard and strong, and then
they go to burnish and make them sharp in the colliers places
(charcoal pits) that men make sometimes in the great groves. And if
they can find none they go against the corners of rocks _or to crabbe
tree or to hawthorn or other trees_.[34]
[28] September 14. See Appendix: Hart, Seasons.
[29] An engine of war used for throwing stones.
[30] G. de F., p. 12. "Ainsi que fet un homme bien amoureus" ("As does
a man much in love)."
[31] This word ligging is still in use in Yorkshire, meaning lair, or
bed, or resting-place. In Devonshire it is spelt "layer." Fortescue,
p. 132.
[32] G. de F., p. 12, has "limer" instead of "greyhound."
[33] This passage is confused. In G. de F., p. 12, we find that the
passage runs: "Et aussi il y a ruyt en divers lieux de la forest et on
paix ne peut estre en nul lieu, fors que dedans le part." Lavallée
translates these last five words, "C'est à dire qu'il n'y a de paix
que lorsque les biches sont pleines." In the exceedingly faulty first
edition by Verard, the word "part" is printed "_parc_," as it is in
our MS.
[34] G. de F., p. 14, says the harts go to gravel-pits and bogs to
fray.
They be half in grease or thereabouts by the middle of June when their
head is summed, and they be highest in grease during all August.
Commonly they be calved in May, and the hind beareth her calf nine
months or thereabout as a sow,[35] and sometimes she has three[36]
calves at a calving time. And I say not that they do not calve
sometime sooner and sometime later, much according to causes and
reasons. The calves are calved with hair red and white, which lasteth
them that colour into the end of August, and then they turn red of
hair, as the hart and the hind. And at that time they run so fast that
a hare[37] should have enough to do to overtake him within the shot of
an haronblast (cross-bow). Many men judge the deer of many colours of
hair and especially of three colours. Some be called brown, some dun
and some yellow haired. And also their heads be of divers manners, the
one is called a head well-grown, and the other is called well
affeted,[38] and well affeted is when the head has waxed by ordinance
according to the neck and shape, when the tines be well grown in the
beam by good measure, one near the other, then it is called well
affeted. Well grown is when the head is of great beam and is well
affeted and thick tined, well high and well opened (spread). That
other head is called counterfeit (abnormal) when it is different and
is otherwise turned behind or wayward in other manner than other
common deer be accustomed to bear. That other high head is open, evil
affeted with long tines and few. That other is low and great and well
affeted with small tines. And the first tine that is next the head is
called antler, and the second Royal and the third above, the
Sur-royal, and the tines[39] which be called fourth if they be two,
and if they be three or four or more be called troching. And when
their heads be burnished at the colliers' pits commonly they be always
black, and also commonly when they be burnished at the colliers' pits
they be black on account of the earth which is black of its kind. And
when they are burnished against _rock_ they abide all white, but some
have their heads naturally white and some black. And when they be
about to burnish they smite the ground with their feet and welter like
a horse. And then they burnish their heads, and when they be burnished
which they do all the month of July they abide in that manner till the
feast of the Holy (Cross) in September 14th and then they go to rut as
I have said.
[35] The MS. transcriber's mistake. It should be "cow."
[36] G. de F. has "2 calves" as it should be.
[37] G. de F. has "greyhound," as it should be (p. 15): "Et dès lors
vont ils jà si tost que un levrier a assés à fere de l'ateindre, ainsi
comme un trait d'arcbaleste" ("And from that time they go so quickly
that a greyhound has as much to do to catch him as he would the bolt
from a crossbow)."
[38] Well proportioned. See Appendix: Antler.
[39] Shirley MS. has the addition here: "Which be on top."
_And the first year that they be calved they be called a Calf, the
second year a bullock; and that year they go forth to rut; the third
year a brocket; the fourth year a staggard; the fifth a stag; the
sixth year a hart of ten[40] and then first is he chaseable, for
always before shall he be called but rascal or folly._ Then it is fair
to hunt the hart, for it is a fair thing to seek well a hart, and a
fair thing well to harbour him, and a fair thing to move him, and a
fair thing to hunt him, and a fair thing to retrieve him, and a fair
thing to be at the abbay, whether it be on water or on land. A fair
thing is the curée,[41] and a fair thing to undo him well, and for to
raise the rights. And a well fair thing and good is the devision[42]
and it be a good deer. In so much that considering all things I hold
that it is the fairest hunting, that any man may hunt after. They
crotey their fumes (cast their excrements) in divers manners according
to the time and season and according to the pasture that they find,
now black or dry either in flat forms or engleymed (glutinous) or
pressed, and in many other divers manners the which I shall more
plainly devise when I shall declare how the hunter shall judge, for
sometimes they misjudge by the fumes and so they do by the foot. When
they crotey their fumes flat and not thick, it is in April or in May,
into the middle of June, when they have fed on tender corn, for yet
their fumes be not formed, and also they have not recovered their
grease. But yet have men seen sometimes a great deer and an old and
high in grease, which about mid-season crotey their fumes black and
dry. And therefore by this and many other things many men may be
beguiled by deer, for some goeth better and are better running and fly
better than some, as other beasts do, and some be more cunning and
more wily than others, as it is with men, for some be wiser than
others. And it cometh to them of the good kind of their father and
mother, and of good getting (breeding) and of good nurture and from
being born in good constellations, and in good signs of heaven, and
that (is the case) with men and all other beasts. Men take them with
hounds, with greyhounds and with nets and with cords, and with other
harness,[43] with pits and with shot[44] and with other gins (traps)
and with strength, as I shall say hereafter. _But in England they are
not slain except with hounds or with shot or with strength of running
hounds._
[40] In modern sporting terms, a warrantable deer.
[41] See Appendix: Curée.
[42] Should be: venison.
[43] Harness, appurtenances. See Appendix: Harness.
[44] Means from a cross-bow or long-bow.
An old deer is wonder wise and felle (cunning) for to save his life,
and to keep his advantage when he is hunted and is uncoupled to, as
the lymer moveth him or other hounds findeth him without lymers, and
if he have a deer (with him) that be his fellow he leaveth him to the
hounds, so that he may warrant (save) himself, and let the hounds
enchase after that other deer. And he will abide still, and if he be
alone and the hounds find him, he shall go about his haunt wilily and
wisely and seek the change of other deer, for to make the hounds
envoise,[45] and to look where he may abide. And if he cannot abide he
taketh leave of his haunt and beginneth to fly there where he wots of
other change and then when he has come thither he herdeth among them
and sometimes he goeth away with them. And then he maketh a ruse on
some side, and there he stalleth or squatteth until the hounds be
forth after the other (deer) the which be fresh, and thus he changeth
so that he may abide. And if there be any wise hounds, the which can
bodily enchase him from the change, and he seeth that all can not
avail, then he beginneth to show his wiles and ruseth to and fro. And
all this he doth so that the hounds should not find his fues (tracks)
in intent that he may be freed from them and that he may save himself.
[45] Go off the scent.
Sometimes he fleeth forth with the wind and that for three causes,
for when he fleeth against the wind it runneth into his mouth and
dryeth him and doth him great harm. Therefore he fleeth oft forth with
the wind so that he may always hear the hounds come after him. And
also that the hounds should not scent nor find him, for his tail is in
the wind and not his nose.[46] Also, that when the hounds be nigh him
he may wind them and hye him well from them. _But nevertheless his
nature is for the most part to flee ever on the wind till he be nigh
overcome, or at the last sideways to the wind so that it be aye_
(ever) _in his nostrils._ And when he shall hear that they be far from
him, he hieth him not too fast. And when he is weary, and hot, then he
goeth to yield, and soileth to some great river. And some time he
foils down in the water half a mile or more ere he comes to land on
any side. And that he doeth for two reasons, the one is to make
himself cold, and for to refresh himself of the great heat that he
hath, the other is that the hounds and the hunter may not come after
him nor see his fues in the water, as they do on the land. And if in
the country (there) is no great river he goeth then to the little
(one) and shall beat up the water or foil down the water as he liketh
best for the maintenance (extent) of a mile or more ere he come to
land, and he shall keep himself from touching any of the brinks or
branches but always (keep) in the middle of the water, so that the
hounds should not scent of him. And all that doth he for two reasons
before said.
[46] This should read as G. de F. has it (p. 20): "Et aussi affin que
les chiens ne puissent bien assentir de luy, quar ilz auront la Cueue
au vent et non pas le nez" ("And also that the hounds shall not be
able to wind him, as they will have their tails in the wind and not
their noses").
And when he can find no rivers then he draweth to great stanks[47] and
meres or to great marshes. And he fleeth then mightily and far from
the hounds, that is to say that he hath gone a great way from
them,[48] then he will go into the stank, and will soil therein once
or twice in all the stank and then he will come out again by the same
way that he went in, and then he shall ruse again the same way that he
came (the length of) a bow shot or more, and then he shall ruse out of
the way, for to stall or squatt to rest him, and that he doeth for he
knoweth well that the hounds shall come by the fues into the stank
where he was. And when they should find that he has gone no further
they will seek him no further, for they will well know that they have
been there at other times.
[47] Ponds, pools. See Appendix: Stankes.
[48] G. de F., p. 21: "Et s'il fuit de fort longe aux chiens, c'est à
dire que il les ait bien esloinhés." See Appendix: "Forlonge."
An hart liveth longest of any beast for he may well live an hundred
years[49] and the older he is the fairer he is of body and of head,
and more lecherous, but he is not so swift, nor so light, nor so
mighty. And many men say, but I make no affirmation upon that, when he
is right old he beateth a serpent with his foot till she be wrath, and
then he eateth her and then goeth to drink, and then runneth hither
and thither to the water till the venom be mingled together and make
him cast all his evil humours that he had in his body, and maketh his
flesh come all new.[50] The head of the hart beareth medicine against
the hardness of the sinews and is good to take away all aches,
especially when these come from cold: and so is the marrow. They have
a bone within the heart which hath great medicine, for it comforteth
the heart, _and helpeth for the cardiac_, and many other things which
were too long to write, the which bear medicine and be profitable in
many diverse manners. The hart is more wise in two things than is any
man or other beast, the one is in tasting of herbs, for he hath better
taste and better savour and smelleth the good herbs and leaves and
other pastures and meating the which be profitable to him, better than
any man or beast. The other is that he hath more wit and malice
(cunning) to save himself than any other beast or man, for there is
not such a good hunter in the world that can think of the great malice
and gynnes (tricks or ruses) that a hart can do, and there is no such
good hunter nor such good hounds, but that many times fail to slay the
hart, and that is by his wit and his malice and by his gins.
[49] Most old writers on the natural history of deer repeat this
fable. See Appendix: Hart.
[50] See Appendix: Hart.
As of the hinds some be barren and some bear calves, of those that be
barren their season beginneth when the season of the hart faileth and
lasteth till Lent. And they which bear calves, in the morning when she
shall go to her lair she will not remain with her calf, but she will
hold (keep) him and leave him a great way from her, and smiteth him
with the foot and maketh him to lie down, and there the calf shall
remain always while the hind goeth to feed. And then she shall call
her calf in her language and he shall come to her. And that she doeth
so that if she were hunted her calf might be saved and that he should
not be found near her. The harts have more power to run well from the
entry of May into St. John's tide[51] than any other time, for then
they have put on new flesh and new hair and new heads, for the new
herbs and the new coming out (shoots) of trees and of fruits and be
not too heavy, for as yet they have not recovered their grease,[52]
neither within nor without, nor their heads, wherefore they be much
lighter and swifter. But from St. John's into the month of August they
wax always more heavy. Their skin is right good for to do many things
with when it is well tawed and taken in good season. Harts that be in
great hills, when it cometh to rut, sometimes they come down into the
great forests and heaths and to the launds (uncultivated country) and
there they abide all the winter until the entering of April, and then
they take to their haunts for to let their heads wax, near the towns
and villages in the plains there where they find good feeding in the
new growing lands. And when the grass is high and well waxen they
withdraw into the greatest hills that they can find for the fair
pastures and feeding and fair herbs that be thereupon. And also
because there be no flies nor any other vermin, as there be in the
plain country. And also so doth the cattle which come down from the
hills in winter time, and in the summer time draw to the hills. And
all the time from rutting time into Whitsunday great deer and old will
be found in the plains, but from Whitsunday[53] to rutting time men
shall find but few great deer save upon the hills, if there are any
(hills) near or within four or five miles, and this is truth unless it
be some young deer calved in the plains, but of those that come from
the hills there will be none. _And every day in the heat of the day,
and he be not hindered, from May to September, he goes to soil though
he be not hunted._
[51] Nativity of St. John the Baptist, June 24.
[52] See Appendix: Grease.
[53] This sentence reads somewhat confusedly in our MS., so I have
taken this rendering straight from G. de F., p. 23.
CHAPTER IV
OF THE BUCK AND OF HIS NATURE
A buck is a diverse beast, he hath not his hair as a hart, for he is
more white, and also he hath not such a head. He is less than a hart
and is larger than a roe. A buck's head is palmed with a long palming,
and he beareth more tines than doth a hart. His head cannot be well
described without painting. They have a longer tail than the hart, and
more grease on their haunches than a hart. They are fawned in the
month of June and shortly to say they have the nature of the hart,
save only that the hart goeth sooner to rut and is sooner in his
season again, also in all things of their kind the hart goeth before
the buck. For when the hart hath been fifteen days at rut the buck
scarcely beginneth to be in heat and bellow.
And also men go not to sue him with a lymer, nor do men go to harbour
him as men do to the hart. Nor are his fumes put in judgment as those
of the hart, but men judge him by the foot other head as I shall say
more plainly hereafter.
[Illustration: BUCK-HUNTING WITH RUNNING HOUNDS (From MS. f. fr. 616,
_Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
They crotey their fumes in diverse manners according to the time and
pasture, as doth the hart, but oftener black and dry than otherwise.
When they are hunted they bound again into their coverts and fly not
so long as doth the hart, for sometimes they run upon the hounds.[54]
And they run long and fly ever if they can by the high ways and always
with the change. They let themselves be taken at the water and beat
the brooks as a hart, but not with such great malice as the hart, nor
so gynnously (cunningly) and also they go not to such great rivers as
the hart. They run faster at the beginning than doth the hart. They
bolk (bellow) about when they go to rut, not as a hart doth, but much
lower than the hart, and rattling in the throat. Their nature and that
of the hart do not love (to be) together, for gladly would they not
dwell there where many harts be, nor the harts there where the bucks
be namely together in herds. The buck's flesh is more savoury[55] than
is that of the hart or of the roebuck. The venison of them is right
good if kept and salted as that of the hart. They abide oft in a dry
country and always commonly in herd with other bucks. Their season
lasteth from the month of May into the middle of September. And
commonly they dwell in a high country where there be valleys and small
hills. He is undone as the hart.
[54] They do not make such a long flight as the red deer but by
ringing return to the hounds.
[55] G. de F., p. 29, completes the sense of this sentence by saying
that "the flesh of the buck is more savoury to all hounds than that of
the stag or of the roe, and for this reason it is a bad change to hunt
the stag with hounds which at some other time have eaten buck."
CHAPTER V
OF THE ROE AND OF HIS NATURE
The roebuck is a common beast enough, and therefore I need not to tell
of his making, for there be few men that have not seen some of them.
It is a good little beast and goodly for to hunt to whoso can do it as
I shall devise hereafter, for there be few hunters that can well
devise his nature. They go in their love that is called bokeyng in
October[56], and the bucking of them lasteth but fifteen days or there
about. At the bucking of the roebuck he hath to do but with one female
for all the season, and a male and a female abide together as the
hinds[57] till the time that the female shall have her kids; and then
the female parteth from the male and goeth to kid her kids far from
thence, for the male would slay the young if he could find them. And
when they be big that they can eat by themselves of the herbs and of
the leaves and can run away, then the female cometh again to the male,
and they shall ever be together unless they be slain, and if one hunt
them and part them asunder one from another, they will come together
again as soon as they can and will seek each other until the time that
one of them have found the other. And the cause why the male and the
female be evermore together as no other beast in this world, is that
commonly the female hath two kids at once, one male and the other
female, and because they are kidded together they hold evermore
together. And yet if they were not kidded together of one female, yet
is the nature of them such that they will always hold together as I
have said before. When they withdraw from the bucking, they mew their
heads, for men will find but few roebucks that have passed two years
that have not mewed their heads by All Hallowtide. And after the heads
come again rough as a hart's head, and commonly they burnish their
horns in March. The roebuck hath no season to be hunted, for they bear
no venison[58] but men should leave them the females for their kids
that would be lost unto the time that they have kidded, and that the
kids can feed themselves and live by themselves without their dame. It
is good hunting for it lasteth all the year and they run well, and
longer than does a great hart in high season time. Roebucks cannot be
judged by their fumes, and but little by their track as one can of
harts, for a man cannot know the male from the female by her feet or
by her fumes.
[56] This is wrong; they rut in the beginning of August. See Appendix:
Roe.
[57] A clerical error. G. de F. (p. 36) says, "as do birds," which
makes good sense.
[58] See Appendix: Grease.
They have not a great tail and do not gather venison as I have said,
the greatest grease that they may have within is when the kidneys be
covered all white. When the hounds hunt after the roebuck they turn
again into their haunts and sometimes turn again to the hounds[59].
When they see that they cannot dure[60] (last) they leave the country
and run right long ere they be dead. And they run in and out a long
time and beat the brooks in the same way a hart doth. And if the
roebuck were as fair a beast as the hart, I hold that it were a fairer
hunting than that of the hart, for it lasteth all the year and is good
hunting and requires great mastery, for they run right long and
gynnously (cunningly). Although they mew their heads they do not
reburnish them, nor repair their hair till new grass time. It is a
diverse (peculiar) beast, for it doth nothing after the nature of any
other beast, and he followeth men into their houses, for when he is
hunted and overcome he knoweth never where he goeth. The flesh of the
roebuck is the most wholesome to eat of any other wild beast's flesh,
they live on good herbs and other woods and vines and on briars and
hawthorns[61] with leaves and on all growth of young trees. When the
female has her kids she does all in the manner as I have said of a
hind. When they be in bucking they sing a right foul song, for it
seemeth as if they were bitten by hounds. When they run at their ease
they run ever with leaps, but when they be weary or followed by hounds
they run naturally and sometimes they trot or go apace, and sometimes
they hasten and do not leap, and then men say that the roebuck hath
lost his leaps, and they say amiss, for he ever leaves off leaping
when he is well hasted and also when he is weary.
[59] "They ring about in their own country, and often bound back to
the hounds" would be a better translation.
[60] From the French _durer_, to last.
[61] G. de F. says "acorns."
When he runneth at the beginning, as I have said, he runneth with
leaps and with rugged standing hair and the eres[62] (target) and the
tail cropping up all white.
[62] Middle English _ars_, hinder parts called target of roebuck.
And when he hath run long his hair lyeth sleek down, not standing nor
rugged and his eres (target) does not show so white.
And when he can run no longer he cometh and yieldeth himself to some
small brook, and when he hath long beaten the brook upward or downward
he remaineth in the water under some roots so that there is nothing
out of water save his head.
[Illustration: ROEBUCK-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RUNNING HOUNDS
(From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
And sometimes the hounds and the hunters shall pass above him and
beside him and he will not stir. For although he be a foolish beast he
has many ruses and treasons to help himself. He runneth wondrous fast,
for when he starts from his lair he will go faster than a brace of
good greyhounds. They haunt thick coverts of wood, or thick heathes,
and sometimes in carres (marshes) and commonly in high countries or in
hills and valleys and sometimes in the plains.
The kids are kidded with pomeled[63] (spotted) hair as are the hind
calves. And as a hind's calf of the first year beginneth to put out
his head, in the same wise does he put out his small brokes[64]
(spikes) ere he be a twelvemonth old. He is hardeled[65] but not
undone as a hart, for he has no venison that men should lay in salt.
And sometimes he is given all to the hounds, and sometimes only a
part. They go to their feeding as other beasts do, in the morning and
in the evening, and then they go to their lair. The roebuck remains
commonly in the same country both winter and summer if he be not
grieved or hunted out thereof.
[63] From the old French _pomelé_.
[64] See Appendix: Roe.
[65] See Appendix: Hardel.
CHAPTER VI
OF THE WILD BOAR AND OF HIS NATURE
A wild boar is a common beast enough and therefore it needeth not to
tell of his making, for there be few gentlemen that have not seen some
of them. It is the beast of this world that is strongest armed, and
can sooner slay a man than any other. Neither is there any beast that
he could not slay if they were alone sooner than that other beast
could slay him,[66] be they lion or leopard, unless they should leap
upon his back, so that he could not turn on them with his teeth. And
there is neither lion nor leopard that slayeth a man at one stroke as
a boar doth, for they mostly kill with the raising of their claws and
through biting, but the wild boar slayeth a man with one stroke as
with a knife, and therefore he can slay any other beast sooner than
they could slay him. It is a proud[67] beast and fierce and perilous,
for many times have men seen much harm that he hath done. For some men
have seen him slit a man from knee up to the breast and slay him all
stark dead at one stroke so that he never spake thereafter.
[66] In spite of the boar being such a dangerous animal a wound from
his tusk was not considered so fatal as one from the antlers of a
stag. An old fourteenth-century saying was: "Pour le sanglier faut le
mire, mais pour le cerf convient la bière."
[67] Proud. G. de F., p. 56, _orguilleuse_. G. de F., p. 57, says
after this that he has often himself been thrown to the ground, he
with his courser, by a wild boar and the courser killed ("et moy
meismes a il porté moult de fois à terre moy et mon coursier, et mort
le coursier").
They go in their love to the brimming[68] as sows do about the feast
of St. Andrew[69], and are in their brimming love three weeks, and
when the sows are cool the boar does not leave them[70].
[68] Brimming. From Middle English _brime_, burning heat. It was also
used in the sense of valiant-spirited (Stratmann).
[69] November 30.
[70] G. de F., p. 57, adds: "comme fait l'ours."
He stays with them till the twelfth day after Christmas, and then the
boar leaves the sows and goeth to take his covert, and to seek his
livelihood alone, and thus he stays until the next year when he goeth
again to the sows. They abide not in one place one night as they do in
another, but they find their pasture for (till) all pastures fail them
as hawthorns[71] and other things. Sometimes a great boar has another
with him but this happens but seldom. They farrow[72] in March, and
once in the year they go in their love. And there are few wild sows
that farrow more than once in the year, nevertheless men have seen
them farrow twice in the year.
[71] A badly worded phrase, the meaning of which is not quite clear.
G. de F. has "acorns and beachmast" instead of hawthorns.
[72] Farrow. See Appendix: Wild Boar.
Sometimes they go far to their feeding between night and day, and
return to their covert and den ere it be day. But if the day overtakes
them on the way ere they can get to their covert they will abide in
some little thicket all that day until it be night. They wind a
man[73] as far as any other beast or farther. They live on herbs and
flowers especially in May, which maketh them renew[74] their hair and
their flesh. And some good hunters _of beyond the sea_ say that in
that time they bear medicine on account of the good herbs and the good
flowers that they eat, but thereupon I make no affirmation. They eat
all manner of fruits and all manner of corn, and when these fail them
they root[75] in the ground with the rowel of their snouts which is
right hard; they root deep in the ground till they find the roots of
the ferns and of the spurge and other roots of which they have the
savour (scent) in the earth. And therefore have I said they wind
wonderfully far and marvellously well. And also they eat all the
vermin and carrion and other foul things. They have a hard skin and
strong flesh, especially upon their shoulders which is called the
shield. Their season begins from the Holy Cross day in September[76]
to the feast of St. Andrew[77] for then they go to the brimming of the
sows. For they are in grease when they be withdrawn from the sows. The
sows are in season from the brimming time _which is to say the twelfth
day after Christmas_ till the time when they have farrowed. The boars
turn commonly to bay on leaving their dens for the pride that is in
them, and they run upon some hounds and at men also. But when the boar
is heated, or wrathful, or hurt, then he runneth upon all things that
he sees before him. He dwelleth in the strong wood and the thickest
that he can find and generally runneth in the most covered and
thickest way so that he may not be seen as he trusteth not much in his
running, but only in his defence and in his desperate deeds.[78] He
often stops and turns to bay, and _especially when he is at the
brimming_ and hath a little advantage before the hounds of the first
running, and these will never overtake him unless other new hounds be
uncoupled to him.
[73] G. de F., p. 58, says they wind acorns as well or better than a
bear, but nothing about winding a man. See Appendix: Wild Boar.
[74] From F. _renouveler_.
[75] See Appendix: Wild Boar.
[76] September 14.
[77] November 30.
[78] Despiteful or furious deeds. G. de F., p. 60, says that he only
trusts in his defences and his weapons ("en sa défense et en ses
armes").
He will well run and fly from the sun rising to the going down of the
sun, if he be a young boar of three years old. In the third March
counting that in which he was farrowed, he parteth from his mother and
may well engender at the year's end.[79]
[79] As this is somewhat confused we have followed G. de F.'s text in
the modern rendering.
They have four tusks, two in the jaw above and two in the nether jaw;
of small teeth speak not I, the which are like other boar's teeth. The
two tusks above serve for nothing except to sharpen his two nether
tusks and make them cut well _and men beyond the sea call_ the nether
tusks of the boar his arms or his files, with these they do great
harm, and also they call the tusks above gres[80] (grinders) for they
only serve to make the others sharp as I have said, and when they are
at bay they keep smiting their tusks together to make them sharp and
cut better. When men hunt the boar they commonly go to soil and soil
in the dirt and if they be hurt the soil is their medicine. The boar
that is in his third year or a little more is more perilous and more
swift and doth more harm than an old boar, as a young man more than an
old man. An old boar will be sooner dead than a young one for he is
proud and heavier and deigneth not to fly, and sooner he will run upon
a man than fly, and smiteth great strokes but not so perilously as a
young boar.
[80] From the French _grès_, grinding-stone or grinders.
A boar heareth wonderfully well and clearly, and when he is hunted and
cometh out of the forest or bush or when he is so hunted that he is
compelled to leave the country, he sorely dreads to take to the open
country and to leave the forest,[81] and therefore he puts his head
out of the wood before he puts out his body, then he abideth there and
harkeneth and looketh about and taketh the wind on every side. And if
that time he seeth anything that he thinks might hinder him in the way
he would go, then he turneth again into the wood. Then will he never
more come out though all the horns and all the holloaing of the world
were there. But when he has undertaken the way to go out he will spare
for nothing but will hold his way throughout. When he fleeth he maketh
but few turnings, but when he turneth to bay, and then he runneth upon
the hounds and upon the man. And for no stroke or wound that men do
him will he complain or cry, but when he runneth upon the men he
menaceth, strongly groaning. But while he can defend himself he
defendeth himself without complaint, and when he can no longer defend
himself there be few boars that will not complain or cry out when they
are overcome to the death.[82]
[81] G. de F., p. 60, has "fortress" instead of "forest."
[82] After the word "death" a full stop should occur, for in this MS.
and, singularly enough, also in the Shirley MS. the following words
have been omitted: "They drop their lesses," continuing "as other
swine do."
They drop their lesses (excrements) as other swine do, according to
their pasture being hard or soft.
But men do not take them to the curée nor are they judged as of the
hart or other beasts of venery.
A boar can with great pain live twenty years; he never casts his teeth
nor his tusks nor loses them unless by a stroke.[83] The boar's grease
is good as that of other tame swine, and their flesh also. Some men
say that by the foreleg of a boar one can know how old he is, for he
will have as many small pits in the forelegs as he has years, but of
this I make no affirmation. The sows lead about their pigs with them
till they have farrowed twice and no longer, and then they chase their
first pigs away from them for by that time they be two years old and
three Marches counting the March in which they were farrowed.[84] In
short they are like tame sows, excepting that they farrow but once in
a year and the tame sows farrow twice. When they be wroth they run at
both men and hounds and other beasts as (does) the wild boar and if
they cast down a man they abide longer upon him than doeth a boar, but
she cannot slay a man as soon as a boar for she has not such tusks as
the boar, but sometimes they do much harm by biting. Boars and sows go
to soil gladly when they go to their pasture, all day and when they
return they sharpen their tusks and cut against trees when they rub
themselves on coming from the soil. _What men call a trip of tame
swine is called of wild swine a sounder, that is to say if there be
passed a five or six together._
[83] At this point G. de F., p. 61, adds: "One says of all biting
beasts the trace, and of red beasts foot or view, and one can call
both one or the other the paths or the fues."
[84] See Appendix: Wild Boar.
CHAPTER VII
OF THE WOLF AND OF HIS NATURE
A wolf is a common beast enough and therefore I need not tell of his
make, for there are few men _beyond the sea_, that have not seen some
of them. They are in their love in February with the females and then
be jolly and do in the manner as hounds do, and be in their great heat
of love ten or twelve days, and when the bitch is in greatest heat
then if there are any wolves in the country they all go after her as
hounds do after a bitch when she is jolly. But she will not be lined
by any of the wolves save by one. She doth in such a wise that she
will lead the wolves for about six or eight days without meat or drink
and without sleep for they have so great courage towards her, that
they have no wish to eat nor to drink, and when they be full weary she
lets them rest until the time that they sleep, and then she claweth
him with her foot and waketh him that seemeth to have loved her most,
and who hath most laboured for her love, and then they go a great way
thence and there he lines her. And therefore men say _beyond the seas
in some countries_ when any woman doth amiss, that she is like to the
wolf bitch for she taketh to her the worst and the foulest and the
most wretched and it is truth that the bitch of the wolf taketh to her
the foulest and most wretched, for he hath most laboured and
fasted[85] for her and is most poor, most lean and most wretched. And
this is the cause why men say that the wolf saw never his father and
it is truth sometimes but not always, for it happeneth that when she
has brought the wolf that she loveth most as I have said, and when the
other wolves awaken they follow anon in her track, and if they can
find the wolf and the bitch holding together then will all the other
wolves run upon him and slay him, and all this is truth in this case.
But when in all the country there is but one wolf and one bitch of his
kind then this rule cannot be truth.
[85] G. de F., p. 63, has: "Pource qu'il a plus travaillé et plus
jeuné que n'ont les autres."
And sometimes peradventure the other wolves may be awake so late that
if the wolf is not fast with the bitch or peradventure he hath left
her then he fleeth away from the other wolves, so they slay him not so
in this case the first opinion is not true.
They may get young whelps at the year's end, and then they leave their
father and their mother. And sometimes before they are twelve months
old if so be that their teeth are fully grown after their other small
teeth which they had first, for they teethe twice in the year when
they are whelps. The first teeth they cast when they are half a year
old _and also their hooks_. Then other teeth come to them which they
bear all their life-time and never cast. When these are full grown
again then they leave their father and mother and go on their
adventures, but notwithstanding that they go far they do not bide long
away from each other and if it happens that they meet with their
father and with their mother the which hath nourished them they will
make them joy and great reverence alway. And also I would have you
know that when a bitch and a wolf of her kind hath fellowship together
they generally stay evermore together, and though they sometimes go to
seek their feeding the one far from the other they will be together at
night if they can or at the farthest at the end of three days. And
such wolves in fellowship together get meat for their whelps the
father as well as the mother, save only that the wolf eateth first his
fill and then bears the remnant to his whelps. The bitch does not do
so for she beareth all her meat to her whelps and eateth with them.
And if the wolf is with the whelps when the mother cometh and she
bringeth anything and the wolf has not enough he taketh the feeding
from her and her whelps, and eateth his fill first, and then he
leaveth them the remnant, if there be any, and if there be not any
left they die of hunger, if they will, for he recketh but little so
that his belly be full. And when the mother seeth that, and has been
far to seek her meat she leaveth her meat a great way thence for her
whelps, and then she cometh to see if the wolf is with them, and if he
be there she stayeth till he be gone and then she bringeth them her
meat. But also the wolf is so malicious that when he seeth her come
without food he goeth and windeth her muzzle and if he windeth she
hath brought anything he taketh her by the teeth and biteth her so
that she must show him where she hath left her food. And when the
bitch perceiveth that the wolf doth this when she returneth to her
whelps she keepeth in the covert and doth not show herself if she
perceiveth that the wolf is with them, and if he be there she hideth
herself until the time he hath gone to his prey on account of his
great hunger, and when he is gone she brings her whelps her food for
to eat. And this is truth.
Some men say that she bathes her body and her head so that the wolf
should wind nothing of her feeding when she cometh to them, but of
this I make no affirmation.
There be other heavy wolves of this nature, the which be not so in
fellowship, they do not help the bitch to nourish the whelps but when
a wolf and a bitch are in fellowship and there are no wolves in that
country by very natural smelling he knoweth well that the whelps are
his and therefore he helpeth to nourish them but not well. At the time
that she hath whelps the wolf is fattest in all the year, for he
eateth and taketh all that the bitch and whelps should eat. The bitch
beareth her whelps nine weeks and sometimes three or four days more.
Once in the year they are in their love and are jolly. Some men say
that the bitches bear no whelps while their mother liveth, but thereof
I make no affirmation. The bitches of them have their whelps as other
tame bitches, sometimes more, sometimes less. They have great strength
especially before (fore-quarters), and evil[86] they be and strong,
for sometimes a wolf will slay a cow or a mare and he hath great
strength in his mouth. Sometime he will bear in his mouth a goat or a
sheep or a young hog and not touch the ground (with it), and shall run
so fast with it that unless mastiffs or men on horseback happen to run
before him neither the shepherds nor no other man on foot will ever
overtake him. They live on all manner of flesh and on all carrion and
all kinds of vermin. And they live not long for they live not more
than thirteen or fourteen years. Their biting is evil and venomous on
account of the toads and other vermin that they eat. They go so fast
when they be void (are empty) that men have let run four leashes of
greyhounds, one after the other and they could not overtake him, for
he runs as fast as any beast in the world, and he lasts long running,
for he has a long breath. When he is long hunted with running hounds
he fleeth but little from them, but if the greyhounds or other hounds
press him, he fleeth all the covert[87] as a boar does and commonly he
runs by the high ways. And commonly he goeth to get his livelihood by
night, but sometimes by day, when he is sore ahungered. And there be
some (wolves) that hunt at the hart, at the wild boar and at the
roebuck, and windeth as far as a mastiff, and taketh hounds when they
can. There are some that eat children and men and eat no other flesh
from the time that they be acherned[88] (blooded) by men's flesh, for
they would rather be dead. They are called wer-wolves, for men should
beware of them, and they be so cautious that when they assail a man
they have a holding upon him before the man can see them, and yet if
men see them they will come upon them so gynnously (cunningly) that
with great difficulty a man will escape being taken and slain, for
they can wonder well keep from any harness (arms) that a man beareth.
There are two principal causes why they attack men; one is when they
are old and lose their teeth and their strength, and cannot carry
their prey as they were wont to do, then they mostly go for children,
which are not difficult to take for they need not carry them about but
only eat them. And the child's flesh is more tender than is the skin
or flesh of a beast. The other reason is that when they have been
acharned (blooded) in a country of war, where battles have been, they
eat dead men. Or if men have been hanged or have been hanged so low
that they may reach thereto, or when they fall from the gallows. And
man's flesh is so savoury and so pleasant that when they have taken to
man's flesh they will never eat the flesh of other beasts, though they
should die of hunger. For many men have seen them leave the sheep they
have taken and eat the shepherd. It is a wonderfully wily and gynnous
(cunning) beast, and more false than any other beast to take all
advantage, for he will never fly but a little save when he has need,
for he will always abide in his strength (stronghold), and he hath
good breath, for every day it is needful to him, for every man that
seeth him chaseth him away and crieth after him. When he is hunted he
will fly all day unless he is overset by greyhounds. He will gladly go
to some village or in a brook, he will be little at bay except when he
can go no further. Sometimes wolves go mad and when they bite a man he
will scarcely get well, for their biting is wonderfully venomous on
account of the toads they have eaten as I have said before, and also
on account of their madness. And when they are full or sick they feed
on grasses as a hound does in order to purge themselves. They stay
long without meat for a wolf can well remain without meat six days or
more. And when the wolf's bitch has her whelps commonly she will do no
harm near where she has them, for fear she hath to lose them. And if a
wolf come to a fold of sheep if he may abide any while he will slay
them all before he begins to eat any of them. Men take them _beyond
the sea_ with hounds and greyhounds with nets and with cords, but when
he is taken in nets or cords he cutteth them wonderfully fast with his
teeth unless men get quickly to him to slay him. Also men take them
within pits and with needles[89] and with haussepieds[90] or with
venomous powders that men give them in flesh, and in many other
manners. When the cattle come down from the hills the wolves come down
also to get their livelihood. They follow commonly after men of arms
for the carrion of the beasts or dead horses or other things. They
howl like hounds and if there be but two they will make such a noise
as if there were a route of seven or eight if it is by night, when the
weather is clear and bright, or when there are young wolves that have
not yet passed their first year. When men lay trains to acharne (with
flesh) so as to take them, they will rarely come again to the place
where men have put the flesh, especially old wolves, leastways not the
first time that they should eat. But if they have eaten two or three
times, and they are assured that no one will do them harm, then
sometimes they will abide. But some wolves be so malicious that they
will eat in the night and in the day they will go a great way thence,
two miles or more, especially if they have been aggrieved in that
place, or if they feel that men have made any train with flesh for to
hunt at them. They do not complain (cry out) when men slay them as
hounds do, otherwise they be most like them. When men let run
greyhounds at a wolf he turns to look at them, and when he seeth them
he knoweth which will take him, and then he hasteneth to go while he
can, and if they be greyhounds which dare not take him, the wolf knows
at once, and then he will not hasten at his first going. And if men
let run at him from the side, or before more greyhounds which will
seize him, when the wolf seeth them, and he be full, he voideth both
before and behind all in his running so as to be more light and more
swift. Men cannot nurture a wolf, though he be taken ever so young and
chastised and beaten and held under discipline, for he will always do
harm, if he hath time and place for to do it, he will never be so
tame, but that when men leave him out he will look hither and thither
to see if he may do any harm, or he looks to see if any man will do
him any harm. For he knoweth well and woteth well that he doth evil,
and therefore men ascrieth (cry at) and hunteth and slayeth him. And
yet for all that he may not leave his evil nature.
[86] G. de F., p. 66, has "evil biting."
[87] He keeps to the coverts.
[88] Acherned, from O. Fr. _acharné_, to blood, from _chair_, flesh.
[89] Needles. See Appendix: Snares.
[90] _Aucepis_ (Shirley MS.). G. de F., p. 69: _haussepiez_, a snare
by which they were jerked from the ground by a noose.
Men say that the right fore foot of the wolf is good for medicine for
the evil of the breast and for the botches (sores) which come to swine
under the shoulder.[91] And also the liver of the wolf dried is good
for a man's liver, but thereof I make no affirmation, for I would put
in my book nothing but very truth. The wolf's skin is warm to make
cuffs or pilches (pelisses), but the fur thereof is not fair, and also
it stinketh ever unless it be well tawed.[92]
[91] This should be "jaw." G. de F., p. 70, has _maisselles, i.e._
Mâchoires.
[92] Prepared. Tawing is a process of making hides into
leather--somewhat different from tanning. There were tawers and
tanners.
CHAPTER VIII
OF THE FOX AND OF HIS NATURE
The fox is a common beast and therefore I need not tell of his making
and there be but few gentlemen that have not seen some. He hath many
such conditions as the wolf, for the vixen of the fox bears as long as
the bitch of the wolf bears her whelps, sometimes more sometimes less,
save that the vixen fox whelpeth under the earth deeper than doth the
bitch of the wolf. The vixen of the fox is a saute[93] (in heat) once
in the year. She has a venomous biting like a wolf and their life is
no longer than a wolf's life. With great trouble men can take a fox,
especially the vixen when she is with whelps, for when she is with
whelps and is heavy, she always keeps near her hole, _for sometimes
she whelpeth in a false hole and sometimes in great burrows and
sometimes in hollow trees, and therefore she draweth always near her
burrow_, and if she hears anything anon she goeth therein before the
hounds can get to her. She is a false beast and as malicious as a
wolf.
[93] The term used by Turbervile (p. 188) is "goeth a clicqueting."
The hunting for a fox is fair for the _good cry of_ the hounds[94]
that follow him so nigh and with so good a will. Always they scent of
him, for he flies through the thick wood and also he stinketh
evermore. And he will scarcely leave a covert when he is therein, he
taketh not to the plain (open) country for he trusteth not in his
running neither in his defence, for he is too feeble, and if he does,
it is because he is (forced to) by the strength of men and hounds. And
he will always hold to covert, and if he can only find a briar to
cover himself with, he will cover himself with that. When he sees that
he cannot last, then he goeth to earth the nearest he can find which
he knoweth well and then men may dig him out and take him, if it is
easy digging, but not among the rocks.[95] If greyhounds _give him
many touches and overset him_, his last remedy, if he is in an open
country, will be that he vishiteth gladly (the act of voiding
excrements) so that the greyhounds should leave him for the stink of
the dirt, and also for the fear that he hath.
[94] G. de F., p. 72, says, "because the hounds hunt him closely."
[95] Our MS. only gives this one chapter on the fox, while Gaston
Ph[oe]bus has another: _Comment on doit chassier et prendre le
renard._ In this he gives directions as to earth-stopping, and taking
him in pursenets, and smoking him out with "orpiment and sulphur and
nitre or saltpetre." He says January, February, and March are the best
months for hunting, as the leaf is off the trees and the coverts are
clearer, so that the hounds have more chance of seeing the fox and
hunt him closer. He says that one-third of the hounds should be put in
to draw the covert, and the others in relays should guard the
boundaries and paths, to be slipped as required. Although this is a
Frenchman's account of fox-hunting, we have no reason to believe that
the fox was treated at that period better by English sportsmen, for
until comparatively recent times the fox was accounted vermin, and any
means by which his death could be encompassed were considered
legitimate, his extermination being the chief object in hunting him,
and not the sport. Even as late as the seventeenth century we find
that such treatment was considered justifiable towards a fox, for, as
Macaulay tells us, Oliver St. John told the Long Parliament that
Strafford was to be regarded, not as a stag or a hare, to whom some
law was to be given, but as a fox, who was to be snared by any means,
and knocked on the head without pity (vol. i. p. 149).
A little greyhound is very hardy when (if) he takes a fox by himself,
for men have seen great greyhounds which might well take a hart and a
wild boar and a wolf and would let the fox go. And when the vixen is
assaute, and goeth in her love to seek the dog fox she crieth with a
hoarse voice as a mad hound doth, and also when she calleth her whelps
when she misses any of them, she calleth in the same way. The fox does
not complain (cry) when men slay him, but he defendeth himself with
all his power while he is alive. He liveth on all vermin and all
carrion and on foul worms. His best meat that he most loveth are hens,
capons, duck and young geese and other wild fowls when he can get
them, also butterflies and grasshoppers, milk and butter. They do
great harm in warrens of coneys and of hares which they eat, and take
them so gynnously (cunningly) and with great malice and not by
running. There be some that hunt as a wolf[96] and some that go
nowhere but to villages to seek the prey for their feeding. As I have
said they are so cunning and subtle that neither men nor hounds can
find a remedy to keep themselves from their false turns. Also foxes
commonly dwell in great hedges or in great coverts or in burrows near
some towns or villages for to evermore harm hens and other things as I
have said. The foxes' skins be wonderfully warm to make cuffs and
furs, but they stink evermore if they are not well tawed. The grease
of the fox and the marrow are good for the hardening of sinews. Of the
other manners of the fox and of his cunning I will speak more openly
hereafter. Men take them with hounds, with greyhounds, with hayes and
with purse-nets, but he cutteth them with his teeth, as the male of
the wolf doth but not so soon (quickly).
[96] According to G. de F., p. 74, it should not read that some are
hunted like wolves, but that they themselves hunt like wolves.
CHAPTER IX
OF THE GREY (BADGER) AND OF HIS NATURE
The grey (badger) is a common beast enough and therefore I need not
tell you of his making, for there be few men that have not seen some
of them, and also I shall take no heed to speak much of him, for it is
not a beast that needeth any great mastery to devise of how to hunt
him, or to hunt him with strength, for a grey can fly but a little way
before he is overcome with hounds, or else he goes to bay and then he
is slain anon. His usual dwelling is in the earth in great burrows and
if he comes out he will not walk far thence. He liveth on all vermin
and carrion and all fruits and on all things such as the fox. But he
dare not venture so far by day as the fox, for he cannot flee. He
liveth more by sleeping than by any other thing. Once in the year they
farrow as the fox.[97] When they be hunted they defend themselves long
and mightily and have evil biting and venomous as the fox, and yet
they defend themselves better than the fox. It is the beast of the
world that gathereth most grease within and that is because of the
long sleeping that he sleepeth. And his grease bears medicine as does
that of the fox, _and yet more_, and men say that if a child that hath
never worn shoes is first shod with those made of the skin of the grey
that child will heal a horse of farcy if he should ride upon him, but
thereof I make no affirmation. His flesh is not to eat, neither is
that of the fox nor of the wolf.
[97] G. de F., p. 76, adds: "And they farrow their pigs in their
burrows as does the fox."
[Illustration: BADGER-DRAWING (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._,
Paris)]
CHAPTER X
OF THE (WILD) CAT AND ITS NATURE
The cat is a common beast enough therefore I need not tell of his
making, for there be few men that have not seen some of them.
Nevertheless there be many and diverse kind of cats, after some
masters' opinions, and namely of wild (cats). Especially there be some
cats as big as leopards and some men call them _Guyenne_ loup
cerviers[98] and other cat-wolves, and this is evil said for they are
neither wolves nor cerviers nor cat-wolves. Men might (better) call
them cat-leopards than otherwise, for they draw more to a leopard kind
than to any other beast. They live on such meat as other cats do, save
that they take hens in hedges[99] and goats and sheep, if they find
them alone, for they be as big as a wolf, and almost formed and made
as a leopard, but their tail is not so long. A greyhound alone could
not take one of them to make him abide, for a greyhound could sooner
take and hold fast and more steadfastly a wolf than he could one of
them. For he claws as a leopard and furthermore bites right (hard).
Men hunt them but seldom, but if the hounds find peradventure such a
cat, he would not be long hunted for soon he putteth him to his
defence or he runneth up a tree. And because he flieth not long
therefore shall I speak but little of his hunting, for in hunting him
there is no need of great mastery. They bear their kittens and are in
their love as other cats, save that they have but two kittens at once.
They dwell in hollow trees and there they make their ligging[100] and
their beds of ferns and of grass. The cat helpeth as badly to nourish
his kittens as the wolf doth his whelps. _Of common wild cats I need
not to speak much, for every hunter in England knoweth them, and their
falseness and malice are well known. But one thing I dare well say
that if any beast hath the devil's spirit in him, without doubt it is
the cat, both the wild and the tame._
[98] According to the Shirley MS. this passage runs, "Men calleth him
in Guyene loupeceruyers." See Appendix: Wild Cat.
[99] Shirley MS. has "and egges," instead of "in hedges," which is the
rendering G. de F. gives.
[100] Bed or resting-place. See Appendix.
CHAPTER XI
THE OTTER AND HIS NATURE
An otter is a common beast enough and therefore I need not tell of his
making. She liveth with (on?) fish and dwelleth by rivers and by ponds
and _stanks_ (pools). And sometimes she feedeth on grass of the
meadows and bideth gladly under the roots of trees near the rivers,
and goeth to her feeding as doth other beasts to grass, but only in
the new grass time, and to fish as I have said. They swimmeth in
waters and rivers and sometimes diveth under the water when they will,
and therefore no fish can escape them unless it be too great a one.
They doth great harm specially in ponds and in stanks, for a couple of
otters without more shall well destroy the fish of a great pond or
great stank, and therefore men hunt them. They go in their love at the
time that ferrets do, so they that hold (keep) ferrets in their houses
may well know the time thereof. They bear their whelps as long as the
ferrets and sometimes more and sometimes less. They whelp in holes
under the trees near the rivers. Men hunt at them with hounds by
great mastery, as I say hereafter.[101] And also men take them at
other times in rivers with small cords as men do the fox with nets and
with other gins. She hath an evil biting and venomous and with her
strength defendeth herself mightily from the hounds. And when she is
taken with nets unless men get to her at once she rendeth them with
her teeth and delivereth herself out of them. Longer will I not make
mention of her, nor of her nature, for the hunting at her is the best
that men may see of her, save only that she has the foot of a goose,
for she hath a little skin from one claw to another, and she hath no
heel save that she hath a little lump under the foot, and men speak of
the steps or the marches of the otter as men speak of the trace of the
hart, and his fumes (excrements) tredeles or spraints. The otter
dwelleth but little in one place, for where she goeth the fish be sore
afraid. Sometimes she will swim upwards and downwards seeking the fish
a mile or two unless it be in a stank.
[101] The author of "Master of Game" does not say anything more about
the otter.
[Illustration: OTTER-HUNTING (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._,
Paris)]
_Of the remnant of his nature I refer to Milbourne[102] the king's
otter hunter. As of all other vermin I speak not, that is to say of
martens and pole cats, for no good hunter goeth to the wood with his
hounds intending to hunt for them, nor for the wild cat either.
Nevertheless when men seek in covert for the fox and can find none,
and the hounds happen to find them and then the hunter rejoiceth his
hounds for the exploit of his hounds, and also because it is vermin
that they run to. Of conies I do not speak, for no man hunteth them
unless it be bishhunters_ (fur hunters), _and they hunt them with
ferrets and with long small hayes. Those raches that run to a coney at
any time ought to be rated saying to them loud, "Ware riot, ware," for
no other wild beast in England is called riot save the coney only._
[102] In Priv. Seal 674/6456, Feb. 18, 1410, William Melbourne is
valet of our otterhounds. See Appendix: Otter.
CHAPTER XII
OF THE MANNER AND HABITS AND CONDITIONS OF HOUNDS
After that I have spoken of the nature of beasts of venery and of
chase which men should hunt, now I will tell you of the nature of the
hounds which hunt and take them. And first of their noble conditions
that be so great and marvellous in some hounds that there is no man
can believe it, unless he were a good skilful hunter, and well
knowing, and that he haunted them long, for a hound is a most
reasonable beast, and best knowing of any beast that ever God made.
And yet in some case I neither except man nor other thing, for men
find it in so many stories and (see) so much nobleness in hounds,
always from day to day, that as I have said there is no man that
liveth, but must think it. Nevertheless natures of men and all beasts
go ever more descending and decreasing both of life and of goodness
and of strength and of all other things so wonderfully, _as the Earl
of Foix Phebus sayeth in his book_, that when he seeth the hounds that
be now hunting and thinketh of the hounds that he hath seen in the
time that is passed, and also of the goodness and the truth, which was
sometimes in the lords of this world, and other common men, and seeth
what now is in them at this time, truly he saith that there is no
comparison, and this knoweth well every man that hath any good reason.
But now let God ordain thereof whatever His good will is. But to draw
again to my matter, and tell the nobleness of the hounds, the which
have been, some good tales I shall tell you the which I find in true
writings. First of King Claudoneus[103] of France, the which sent once
after his great court whereof were other kings which held of him land,
among the which was the King Appollo of Lyonnys that brought with him
to the court his wife and a greyhound that he had, that was both good
and fair. The King Claudoneus of France had a seemly young man for his
son, of twenty years of age, and as soon as he saw the Queen of
Lyonnys he loved her and prayed her of (for her) love. The Queen was a
good lady and loved well her lord, forsook him and would him not, and
said (to) him that if he spake to her any more thereof that she would
tell it to the King of France, and to her Lord. And after that the
feast was passed, King Appollo of Lyonnys turned again, he and his
wife to their country. And when they were so turned again, he and his
wife, the King Claudoneus son of France was before him with a great
fellowship of men of arms for to ravish his wife from him. The King
Appollo of Lyonnys that was a wonderful good knight of his hounds
(hands?) notwithstanding that he was unarmed, defended himself and his
wife in the best wise that he could unto the time that he was wounded
to the death, then he withdrew himself and his wife into a tower. And
the King Claudoneus son, the which would not leave the lady, went in
and took the lady, and would have defiled her, and then she said to
him "Ye have slain my lord, and (now) ye would dishonour me, certes I
would sooner be dead," then she drew herself to (from) a window and
leapt into the river of Loire that ran under the tower and anon she
was drowned. And after that within a little while, the King Appollo of
Lyonnys died of his wounds that he had received, and on the same day
he was cast into the river. The greyhound that I have spoke of, the
which was always with the king his master, when his lord was cast in
the river leapt after him into the river, insomuch that with his teeth
he drew his lord out of the river, and made a great pit with his claws
in the best wise that he could, and with his muzzle. And so the
greyhound always kept his lord about half a year in the pit, and kept
his lord from all manner of beasts and fowls. And if any man ask
whereof he lived I say that he lived on carrion and of other feeding
such as he might come to. So it befell that the King Claudoneus of
France rode to see the estate of his realm, and (it) befell that the
king passed there where the greyhound was that kept his lord and
master, and the greyhound arose against him, and began to yelp at him.
The King Claudoneus of France the which was a good man and of good
perception, anon when he saw the greyhound, knew that it was the
greyhound that King Appollo of Lyonnys had brought to his court,
whereof he had great wonder, and he went himself there where the
greyhound was and saw the pit, and then he made some of his men alight
from their horses for to look what was therein, and therein they found
the King Appollo's body all whole. And anon as the King Claudoneus of
France saw him, he knew it was the King Appollo of Lyonnys, whereof he
was right sorry and sore aggrieved, and ordained a cry throughout all
his realm, that whoso would tell him the truth of the deed he would
give him whatsoever that he would ask. Then came a damsel that was in
the tower when the King Appollo of Lyonnys was dead, and thus she said
to the King Claudoneus of France, "Sir," quoth she, "if you will grant
me a boon that I shall ask and assure me to have it, before all your
men, I shall show you him that hath done the deed," and the King swore
to her before his men, and it so befell that the King Claudoneus son
of France was beside his father. "Sir," she said, "here is your son
the which hath done this deed. Now require I you as ye have sworn to
me that ye give him to me, I will no other gift of you." The King
Claudoneus of France turned him then towards his son and said thus:
"Thou cursed harlot, thou hast shamed and shent (disgraced) me and
truly I shall shend (disgrace) you. And though I have no more children
yet shall I not spare." Then he commanded to his men to make a great
fire, and cast his son therein, and he turned him toward the damsel
when the fire was great alight, and thus to her he said: "Damsel, now
take ye him for I deliver him to you, as I promised and assured you."
The damsel durst not come nigh, for by that time he was all burnt.
This ensample have I brought forth for the nobleness of hounds and
also of lords that have been in olden times. But I trow that few lords
be now that would do so even and so open justice. A hound is true to
his lord and his master, and of good love and true.
[103] In G. de F. "Clodoveus," p. 82.
A hound is of great understanding and of great knowledge, a hound hath
great strength and great goodness, a hound is a wise beast and a kind
(one). A hound has a great memory and great smelling,[104] a hound has
great diligence and great might, a hound is of great worthiness and of
great subtlety, a hound is of great lightness and of great
perseverance (?), a hound is of good obedience, for he will learn as a
man all that a man will teach him. A hound is full of good sport;
hounds are so good that there is scarcely a man that would not have of
them, some for one craft, and some for another. Hounds are hardy, for
a hound dare well keep his master's house, and his beasts, and also he
will keep all his master's goods, and he would sooner die than
anything be lost in his keeping. And yet to affirm the nobleness of
hounds, I shall tell you a tale of a greyhound that was Auberie's of
Moundydier, of which men may see the painting in the realm of France
in many places. Aubery was a squire of the king's house of France, and
upon a day that he was going from the court to his own house, and as
he passed by the woods of Bondis, the which is nigh Paris, and led
with him a well good and a fair greyhound that he had brought up. A
man that hated him for great envy without any other reason, who was
called Makarie, ran upon him within the wood and slew him without
warning, for Auberie was not aware of him. And when the greyhound
sought his master and found him he covered him with earth and with
leaves with his claws and his muzzle in the best way that he could.
And when he had been there three days and could no longer abide for
hunger, he turned again to the king's court. There he found Makarie,
who was a great gentleman, who had slain his master, and as soon as
the greyhound perceived Makarie, he ran upon him, and would have
maimed him, unless men had hindered him. The King of France, who was
wise and a man of perception, asked what it was, and men told him the
truth. The greyhound took from the boards what he could, and brought
to his master and put meat in his mouth, and the same wise the
greyhound did three days or four. And then the King made men follow
the greyhound, for to see where he bare the meat that he took in the
court. And then they found Auberie dead and buried. And then the King,
as I have said, made come many of the men of his court, and made them
stroke the greyhound's side, and cherish him and made his men lead him
by the collar towards the house, but he never stirred. And then the
King commanded Makarie to take a small piece of flesh and give it to
the greyhound. And as soon as the greyhound saw Makarie, he left the
flesh, and would have run upon him. And when the King saw that, he had
great suspicions about Makarie, and said (to) him that he must needs
fight against the greyhound. And Makarie began to laugh, but anon the
King made him do the deed, and one of the kinsmen of Auberie saw the
great marvel of the greyhound and said that he would swear upon the
sacrament as is the custom in such a case for the greyhound, and
Makarie swore on the other side, and then they were led into our
Lady's Isle at Paris and there fought the greyhound and Makarie. For
which Makarie had a great two-handed staff, and they fought so that
Makarie was discomfitted, and then the king commanded that the
greyhound the which had Makarie under him should be taken up, and then
the King made enquiry of the truth of Makarie, the which acknowledged
he had slain Aubrey in treason, and therefore he was hanged and drawn.
[104] G. de F., p. 84, says "_sentement_," good sense, feeling, or
sympathy.
The bitches be jolly in their love commonly twice in a year, but they
have no term of their heat, for every time of the year some be jolly.
When they be a twelvemonth old, they become jolly, and be jolly while
they await the hounds without any defence, twelve days or less,[105]
and sometimes fifteen days, according as to whether they be of hot
nature or of cold, the one more than another, or whether some be in
better condition than others. And also men may well help them thereto,
for if they give them much meat they abide longer in their heat than
if they had but little. And also if they were cast in a river twice in
a day they should be sooner out of their jollity. They bear their
whelps nine weeks or more; the whelps be blind when they be whelped
till they be nine days old and then they may well see and lap well
when they be a month old, but they have great need of their dam to the
time that they be two months old, and then they should be well fed
with goat's milk or with cow's milk and crumbs of bread made small and
put therein, especially in the morn and at night. Because that the
night is more cold than the day. And also men should give them crumbs
in flesh-broth, and in this wise men may nourish them till they be
half a year old, and by that time they shall have cast their hooks,
and when they have cast their hooks, they should teach them to eat dry
bread and lap water little by little, for a hound that is nourished
with grease and fat broth when he casts his hooks, and if he hath
always sops or tit-bits, he is a chis[106] (dainty) hound and of evil
ward. And also they be not so well breathed than if they have eaten
always bread and water. When the bitches be lined they lose their
time, and also while they be great with whelps, and also while their
whelps suck. If they are not lined, soon they will lose their time,
for their teats remain great and grow full of wind until the time that
they should have had their whelps. And so that they should not lose
their time men spaye them, save these that men will keep open to bear
whelps. And also a spayed bitch lasteth longer in her goodness than
other two that be not spayed.[107] And if a bitch be with whelps the
which be not of ward let the bitch fast all the whole day, and give
her then with a little grease the juice of a herb men calleth titimal,
the which the apothecaries knoweth well, and she shall cast her
whelps. Nevertheless it is a great peril namely if the whelps be great
and formed within the bitch. The greatest fault of hounds is that they
live not long enough, most commonly they live but twelve years. And
also men should let run no hounds of what condition that they be nor
hunt them until the time that they were a twelve month old and past.
And also they can hunt but nine years at the most.
[105] G. de F., p. 85, "Au moins," at least.
[106] "Chis," or "cheese," hound, probably dainty hound, a chooser,
from "cheosan," Mid. Eng. "choose," to distinguish: also written
"ches," "chees." (Stratmann.)
[107] Lasts longer good, _i.e._ lasts as long as two hounds that have
not been spayed. G. de F. (p. 86) adds: "or at least one and a half."
CHAPTER XIII
OF SICKNESSES OF HOUNDS AND OF THEIR CORRUPTIONS
The hounds have many divers sicknesses and their greatest sickness is
the rage whereof there be nine manners, of the which I shall tell you
a part. The first is called furious madness. The hounds that be mad of
that madness cry and howl with a loud voice, and not in the way that
they were wont to when they were in health. When they escape they go
everywhere biting both men and women and all that they find before
them. And they have a wonderful perilous biting, for if they bite
anything, with great pain it shall escape thereof if they draw blood,
that it shall go mad whatever thing it be. A token for to know at the
beginning, is this, that they eat not so well as they were wont to,
and they bite the other hounds, making them cheer with the tail[108]
first, smelleth[109] upon them and licketh[110] them and then he
bloweth a great blast with his nose, and then he looketh fiercely, and
beholdeth his own sides and maketh semblant that he had flies about
him, and then he crieth. And when men know such tokens men should take
him from the others until the fourth day, for then men may see the
sickness all clearly, or else that he is not mad for some time. Many
men be beguiled in that way. And if any hound be mad of any of the
nine madnesses he shall never be whole. And their madness cannot last
but nine days[111] but they shall never be whole but dead. That other
manner of madness is known by these signs: In the beginning he doth as
I said before, save that they neither bite man nor beast save only the
hounds, as perilous is his biting as the first, and ever more they go
up and down without any abiding. And this madness is called running
madness. And these two madnesses beforesaid taketh the other hounds
that they be with, though they bite them not. That other madness is
called ragemuet (dumb madness) for they neither bite nor run not, eke
they will not eat for their mouth is somewhat gaping as if they were
enosed[112] in their throat, and so they die, within the term
beforesaid without doing any harm. Some men say that it cometh to them
from a worm[113] that they have under the tongue, and ye should find
but few hounds that hath not a worm under the tongue. And many men say
that if that worm was taken from them they would never go mad, but
thereof I make no affirmation. Nevertheless it is good to take it from
them, and men should take it away in this manner. Men should take the
hound when he is past half a year old and hold fast his fore-feet, and
put a staff athwart his mouth so that he should not bite. And after
take the tongue and ye should find the worm under the tongue, then ye
should slit the tongue underneath and put a needle with a thread
betwixt the worm and tongue and cut and draw the worm out with the
thread _or else with a small pin of wood_. And notwithstanding that
men call it a worm it is but a great vein that hounds have under their
tongue. This madness diseaseth not other hounds, neither man nor other
beast. That other madness is called falling, for when they want to
walk straight they fall now on one side and now on the other side, and
so die within the aforesaid term. This madness stretcheth to no other
hound nor man or beast. That other madness is called flank
madness[114], for they be so sore and tucked up by the middle of the
flanks as though they never ate meat, and pant in their flanks with
much pain, and will not eat, but stoop low with the head and always
look downwards, and when they go they take up their feet high and go
rolling _as a drunken man_. This madness stretcheth to no other hound
nor to any other things, and they die as it is said before. The other
madness is called sleeping madness, for they lie always and make
semblant as if they were asleep, and so they die without meat. This
sickness stretcheth to no other thing. That other madness is called
madness of head. Nevertheless all madnesses are of foolishness of the
head and of the heat of the heart, for their head becometh great and
swelleth fast. They eat no meat and so they die in that madness. This
madness stretcheth to no other thing. And certainly I never saw a
hound that had any of all these madnesses that ever might be healed.
Nevertheless many men think sometime that a hound be mad when it is
not so, and therefore the best proof that any man may do, is to draw
him from the other hounds and assaye him three whole days each one
after the other following, if he will eat flesh or any other thing.
And if he will not eat within three days slay him as a mad hound. The
remedies for men or for beasts that be bitten by mad hounds must need
be done a short time after the biting, for if it were past a whole day
it were hard to undertake to heal him of the two first madnesses
whereof I spake at the beginning, for all the others can do no harm,
and the remedy may be of divers manners. Some goeth to the sea, and
that is but a little help, and maketh nine waves of the sea pass over
him that is so bitten. Some take an old cock and pull all the feathers
from above his vent and hangeth him by the legs and by the wings, and
setteth the cock's vent upon the hole of the biting, and stroketh
along the cock by the neck and by the shoulders because that the
cock's vent should suck all the venom of the biting. And so men do
long upon each of the wounds, and if the wounds be too little they
must be made wider with a barber's lancet. And many men say, but
thereof I make no affirmation, that if the hound were mad, that the
cock shall swell and die, and he that was bitten by the hound shall be
healed. If the cock does not die it is a token that the hound is not
mad. There is another help, for men may make sauce of salt, vinegar
and strong garlic pulled and stamped, and nettles together and as hot
as it may be suffered to lay upon the bite. And this is a good
medicine and a true, for it hath been proved, and every day should it
be laid upon the biting twice, as hot as it can be suffered, until the
time when it be whole, or else by nine days. And yet there is another
medicine better than all the other. Take leeks and strong garlic and
chives and rue and nettles and hack them small with a knife, and then
mingle them with olive oil and vinegar, and boil them together, and
then take all the herbs, also as hot as they may be suffered, and lay
them on the wound every day twice, till the wound be healed, or at
least for nine days. But at the beginning that the wound be closed or
garsed[115] (cupped) for to draw out the venom out of the wound
because that it goeth not to the heart. And if a hound is bit by
another mad hound it is a good thing for to hollow it all about the
biting with a hot iron. The hounds have also another sickness that is
called the mange, that cometh to them because that they be melancholy.
There are four manners of mange, that one is called the quick mange
the which pulleth[116] the hounds and breaketh their skins in many
places, and the skin waxeth great and thick, and this is wonderfully
evil to heal, for though the hounds may be whole it cometh to them
again. Commonly to this mange, this is the best ointment that men may
make thereto. Nevertheless many men would put many others thereto,
first take ye six pounds of honey and a quart of verdigris, and that
the honey be first melted and stirred in the bottom with a ladle, and
then let it cool, and let it boil often with as much of oil of nuts as
of the honey and of water, wherein an herb has been boiled that men
call in Latin Cleoborum, and in other language Valerian, the which
make men sneeze, and put all these things together and mingle them
upon the fire, stir them well and let it be cold, and anoint the hound
by the fire or in the sun. And look that he lick not himself, for it
should do him harm. And unless he be whole at the first time anoint
him from eight days (to eight days)[117] until the time that he be
whole, for certainly he shall be whole. And if he will make any more
of that ointment, take of the things aforesaid in the same wise or
more or less as seemeth to you that need is. That other manner (of)
mange is called flying mange[118], for it is not in all the body but
it cometh more commonly about the hounds' ears, and in their legs than
in any other place of the body[119], as the farcy, and this is the
worst to heal, and the best ointment that any man can make for this
manner of mange is this: take quicksilver for as much as ye will make
ointment, as ye have need, and put it in a dish with spittle of three
or four fasting men, and stir it altogether against the bottom of the
dish with a pot-stick, until the time that the quicksilver be quenched
with the water, and then take ye as much verdigris as of the
quicksilver and mingle it with spittle, always stirring with a
pot-stick, as I have said before, until the time that they can be all
mingled together. And after take old swine's grease without salt, a
great piece, and take away the skin above, and put it in the dish that
I spake of, with the things before said, and mingle and stamp it
altogether a long while, then keep it to anoint the hound there where
he hath the mange and in no other place, and certainly he shall be
whole. This ointment is marvellous and good and true not only for this
thing, but also against the canker and fistula and farcy and other
quick evils, the which have been hard to heal in other beasts. That
other is a common mange when the hounds claw themselves with their
feet and snap with their teeth, and it is on all the body of the
hound. And all manners of mange come to hounds from great travel and
from long hunting, as when they be hot they drink of foul water and
unclean, which corrupteth their bodys, and also when they hunt in evil
places of pricklings of thorns, of briers, or peradventure it raineth
upon them, and they be not well tended afterwards. Then cometh the
scab, and also the scab cometh upon them when they abide in their
kennel too long[120] and goeth not hunting. Or else their litter and
couch is uncleanly kept, or else the straw is not removed and their
water not freshened, and shortly the hounds unclean, I hold, and evil
kept _or long waterless_, have commonly this mange. For the cure of
which take ye the root of an herb that groweth upon houses and walls,
the which is called in Latin iroos[121] (iris) and chop it small and
boil it well in water, and then put thereto as much of oil made of
nuts as of water, and when it is well boiled cast out the herb, and
then take of black pitch and of rosin as much of the one as of the
other, well stamped, and cast it in the water and the oil before said,
and stir it well about on the fire with a pot-stick: and then let it
well grow cold, and anoint the hound as before is said. Sometime
cometh to the hounds sickness in their eyes, for there cometh a web
upon them, and growing flesh which cometh into that one side of the
eye, and is called a nail[122], and so they grow blind unless a man
take care thereof. Some men put about their necks a collar of an elm
tree both of leaves and of bark, and seeth that when that shall be dry
the nail shall fall away, but that is but a little help. But the true
help that may be thereto is this, take ye the juice of a herb that men
call Selidoyn (Celandine)[123] powder of ginger and of pepper, and put
all together thrice in the day within the eye, and let him not claw
nor rub it a long while, and that customarily by nine days until the
time that the hound's eyes be whole, and also it is good to put
therein of the Sousse[124] of the which men find enough at the
apothecary's for the same sickness, and if the nail were so hard grown
and so strong that he might not be healed therewith, take a needle and
bow it in the middle that it be crooked, and take well and subtly the
flesh that is upon the eye with the needle and draw it up on high, and
then cut it with a razor, but take good care that the needle touch not
the eye. These things the smiths can do well[125], for as the nail is
drawn out of a horse's eye, right so it must be drawn out of the
hound's eye, _and without fault he shall be whole_. And also another
sickness cometh into the hound's ears the which cometh out of the
rewme (cold) of the head of the hound, for they claw themselves so
much with the hinder feet that they make much foul things come out
thereof, and so out of her ears cometh much foul things, and some time
thereof they become deaf. Therefore they should take wine luke-warm
and with a cloth wash it well, and clean three or four times in the
day, and when it is washed ye should cast therein oil and camomile
milk, warm, three drops, and suffer him not to claw it nor rub it a
great while, and do so continually until the time that he be whole.
Also hounds have another sickness that cometh to them of the rewme,
that is to say, they have the malemort (glanders) in their nostrils as
horses have, wherefore they can smell nothing nor wind, and at the
last some die thereof, and they take it most when they hunt in snow.
For this sickness boil mastic and incense in small powder in fair
water, and of a thing that men call Ostoraces calamynt[126],
brygella[127] of rue[128] and mint and of sage, and hold the hound's
nose upon the pot's mouth wherein these things should boil so that he
may retain within his nostrils the smoke that cometh thereof out of
the pot. And in this wise serve him a long while, three or four times
every day, until the time that he be whole, and this is good also for
a horse when he hath the glanders strongly coming out of the nose.
Also there is another sickness of hounds, the which cometh to them in
their throats and sometime cometh so to men in such wise that they may
not keep down their meat, and so they must cast it out again. In some
time the sickness is so strong on them, that they can keep nothing
down in their bodies and so die. The best medicine is to let them go
wherever they will, and let them eat all that ever they will. For
sometime the contrary things turneth them to good. And give them to
eat flesh right small cut, and put in broth or in goat's milk a
little, and a little because that they may swallow it down without
labour, and give him not too much at once, that they may digest
better. And also buttered eggs doeth them much good. And sometimes the
hounds hurt themselves in their feet, and in their legs, and in their
breast. And when it is in the joints of their feet that be run out of
their places, the best help that there is is to bring them again into
joint, by such men as can well do it, and then lay upon that place
flax wetted in white of egg, and let them rest until the time that
they be whole. And if there be any broken bones men should knit it
again in the best wise, the one bone against that other and bind it
with flax above as I have said, and with four splints well bound
thereto that one against that other, because that the bone should not
unjoin, and men should remove the bands from four days to four days
all whole. And give them to drink the juice of herbs that are called
consolida major[129] and minor[130], and mix it in broth or in her
meat, and that shall make the bones join together. Also many hounds be
lost by the feet, and if some time they be heated take vinegar and
soot that is within the chimney, and wash his feet therewith until the
time that they be whole, and if the soles of the feet be bruised
because, peradventure, they have run in hard country or among stones,
take water, and small salt therein, and therewith wash their feet, the
same day that they have hunted, and if they have hunted in evil
country among thorns and briars that they be hurt in their legs or in
their feet, wash their legs in sheep's tallow well boiled in wine when
it is cold, and rub them well upward against the hair. The best that
men may do to hounds that they lose not their claws is that they
sojourn not too long, for in long sojourning they lose their claws,
and their feet, and therefore they should be led three times in the
week a-hunting, and at the least twice. If they have sojourned too
much, cut ye a little off the end of their claws with pincers ere they
go hunting, so that they may not break their claws in running. Also
when they be at sojourn, men should lead them out every day a mile or
two upon gravel or upon a right hard path by a river side, so that
their feet may be hard. Hounds also sometimes be chilled as horses
when they have run too long, and come hot in some water, or else when
they come to rest in some cold place, then they go all forenoon and
cannot eat, nor cannot walk well, then should men let blood on the
four legs. From the forelegs in the joints within the leg, from the
hinder legs men should let blood in the veins that goeth overthwart
above the hocks on the other side, and in the hinder legs men may well
see clearly the veins that I speak of, and also in the forelegs, thus
he shall be whole. And give him one day sops or some other thing
comfortable till the morrow or other day. The hounds also have a
sickness in the yerde that men calleth the canker, and many be lost
thereby. Men should take such a hound and hold him fast and upright
and bind his mouth and his four legs also, and then men should take
his yerde backward by the ballocks and put him upward, and another man
shall draw the skin well in manner that the yerde may all come out,
and then a man may take away the canker with his fingers, for if it
were taken away with a knife men might cut him. And then men should
wash it with wine, milk warm, and then put therein honey and salt, so
that the sickness shall not come again, and then put again the yerde
within the skin as it was before, and look every week that the
sickness come not again, and take it always out if aught come thereto
until the time that it be whole. And in the same wise a man should do
to a bitch, if such a sickness were taken in her nature. In this
sickness many hounds and bitches die for default of these cures,
whereof all hunters have not full knowledge. Sometimes the hounds have
a great sickness that they may not piss, and be lost thereby and also
when they may not scombre (dung). Then take ye the root of a cabbage
and put it in olive oil, and put it in his fundament so that ye leave
some of the end without, so much that it may be drawn out when it is
needful. And if he may not be whole thereby make him a clyster as men
do to a man, of mallows, of beets, and of mercury, a handful of each,
and of rue and of incense, and that all these things be boiled in
water and put bran within, and let pass all that water through a
strainer, and thereto put two drachms of agarite[131] and of honey and
of olive oil, and all this together put into his anus and he shall
scombre.
[108] Cherish, "wagging their tayles and seeming to cherish them,"
Turbervile, p. 223. See Appendix: Madness.
[109] It should read "smelleth," as it is in Shirley MS. and in G. de
F., p. 87.
[110] The friendly licking of other dogs has often been noticed as an
early symptom of rabies in a pack of hounds.
[111] Du Fouilloux in his _La Venerie_ (published 1561) copied much
from Gaston de Foix's book, but either he or his editors made the
ridiculous mistake of saying nine _months_ instead of _days_.
Turbervile, who translated, or rather cribbed, Du Fouilloux's book,
has copied this absurd mistake, and says a hound may continue thus
nine months, but not past (p. 222).
[112] Means "a bone in their throat." G. de F. (p. 88): "comme si ils
avoient un os en la gueule." In the Shirley MS. "enosed," _i.e._ "_un
os._" See Appendix: Madness.
[113] See Appendix: Worming.
[114] "Lank madness" in Turbervile, p. 223. Tucked up. G. de F. (p.
88): "cousus parmi les flans" ("the flanks drawn in").
[115] In Shirley MS. "ventoused upon or gersed." G. de F.: "ventouses,
que on appelle coupes," hence "cupped and lanced" would be the proper
meaning.
[116] Makes them lose their hair. G. de F. (p. 90), "et si _poile_ le
chien."
[117] "To viii. days" has been omitted.
[118] Some confusion, which is still common, between eczema from
various causes, and true parasitic mange or scabies.
[119] G. de F. (p. 91) adds: "et est vermeille et saute d'un lieu en
autre."
[120] In the Shirley MS. the words are added: "to(o) hye plyte,"
_i.e._ too high condition. G. de F. (p. 91) adds "gresse."
[121] _Ireos_, Eng. Iris. This word is also constantly recurring in
old household books. Aniseed and orris powder were placed among linen
to preserve it from insects. In Edward IV.'s Wardrobe Accounts we read
of bags of fustian stuffed with anneys and ireos.
[122] _Pterygium_, name for the "sickness" in the eyes of hounds which
our MS. describes as a "web coming upon them." It is called
_pterygium_ from its resemblance to an insect's wing; is an
hypertrophy of the conjunctiva or lining membrane of the eye, due to
irritation; it extends from the inner angle to the cornea, which it
may cover: the treatment is excision. The cure for "the nail"
mentioned in our MS. of hanging a collar of elm leaves round the dog
is taken by G. de F. (p. 92) from Roy Modus xliv., where it is given
without the saving clause "Mès cela est bien petit remède."
[123] _Celandine_, _Chalidonium Majus_, from [Greek: chelidôn], a
swallow. The name was derived from the tradition that swallows used it
to open the eyes of their young or to restore their sight. Has a
yellow flower and an acrid, bitter, orange juice. Internally an
irritant poison. Infusions in wine used by Galen and Bioscorides for
jaundice, probably from the colour of the juice and flowers.
Externally the juice was much used for wounds, ulcers, ophthalmic
cases, and for the removal of warts. The Old French name for this
plant was _herbe d'arondelles_ (_hirondelles_).
[124] Shirley MS. has "foussye," G. de F. (p. 92) "de la poudre de la
tutie," oxide of zinc.
[125] Shirley MS. adds: "that be marshals for horses."
[126] _Estoracis calamita_, G. de F., p. 93. Lavallée appends the
note: "_Storax et Styrax calamita._" Storax, a resin resembling
benzoin, was in high esteem from the time of Pliny to the eighteenth
century. It was obtained from the stem of _Styrax_ _officinalis_, a
native of Greece and the Levant. In our MS. four other ingredients
mentioned by G. de F. have been left out, but the Shirley MS. gives
them: "and oyle of Kamamyle and of Mallyor of aushes and of calamynt,"
_i.e._ oil of camomile, melilot (Meliters), rosemary, thymus calamita,
a species of balm. Possibly this is a mint called _Calaminta nepeta_,
a plant formerly much used in medicine as a gentle stimulant and
tonic. Melilot, a genus of clover-like plants of the natural order of
_Leguminose_.
[127] Mildew. G. de F. (p. 93), Nigella, Nielle.
[128] _Rewe_, Mod. Eng. _rue_, Lat. _ruta_. This herb was in great
repute among the ancients, and is still employed in medicine as a
powerful stimulant.
[129] _Consolida major._ Lavallée in his note (p. 94) translates this
_consoude_, which in English is comfrey, Latin _Symphytum_.
[130] _Consolida minor_ (Lavallée: note, _petit consoude_), Mod. Fr.
_Brunelle_. G. de F. p. 94. Eng. Selfheal. Lat. _Prunella vulgaris_.
It was at one time in repute as a febrifuge.
[131] _Agarys_. G. de F. _d'agret_, probably _agrimony_, Lat.
agrimonia. It is bitter and styptic, and was much valued in domestic
medicine; a decoction of it being used as a gargle and the dried
leaves as a kind of tea, and the root as a vermifuge.
[Illustration: HOW THE HOUNDS WERE LED OUT] (From MS. f. fr. 616,
_Bib. Nat._, Paris)
And then take five corns of spurge[132] and stamp them and temper them
with goat's milk or with broth, and put it in the hound's throat to
the amount of a glassful. And if he may not piss take the leaves of
leeks and of a herb that is called marrubium album[133] and of
modirwort[134] and of peritorie[135] and morsus galline[136] and of
nettles and parsley leaves as much of the one as of the other, and
stamp them with swine's grease therewith, and make a plaster thereof,
and make it a little hot, and lay it upon the hound's yerde and along
his belly, and that which is hard to understand ye shall find at the
apothecary's, the which know well all these things. Also to the hounds
cometh sores, that cometh to them under the throat or in other parts
of the body. Then take ye of the mallows and of the onions and of
white lilies,[137] and cut them small with a knife, and put them in a
ladle of iron and mingle these herbs whereof I speak, and lay them
upon the sores, and that shall make them rise, and when they be risen,
slit them with a sharp knife. And when they be so broken, lay upon
them some good drawing salve, and he be whole. Sometimes the hounds
fight and bite each other, and then they shall take sheep's wool
unwashed, and a little olive oil, and wet the wool in the oil, and lay
it upon the hound's wound, and bind it thereupon, and do so three
days, and then after twice each day anoint it with olive oil, and lay
nothing upon it. And he shall lick it with his tongue and heal
himself.[138] If peradventure in the wound come worms as I have seen
some time, every day ye shall pick them out with a stick, and ye shall
put in the wound the juice of leaves of a peach tree mingled with
quicklime until the time that they be whole. Also it happeneth to many
hounds that they smite the forelegs against the hinder wherefore their
thighs dry[139] and be lost thereby, and then if ye see that it last
them longer than three days that they set not their foot to the earth,
then slit ye the thigh along and athwart within the thigh, crosswise
upon the bone, that is upon the turn bone of the knee behind, and then
put thereupon wool wet in olive oil as before is said, for three whole
days. And then after anoint the wound with oil without binding as I
have said, and he shall heal himself with his tongue. Sometimes a
hound is evil astyfled,[140] so that he shall sometime abide half a
year or more ere he be well, _and if he be not so tended he will never
recover_. Then it needeth that ye let him long sojourn until the time
that he be whole, until he is no longer halting, that is that one
thigh be no greater than the other. And if he may not be all whole, do
to him as men do to a horse that is spauled in the shoulder in front,
draw throughout a cord of horsehair[141] and he shall be whole.
Sometimes an evil befalls in the ballock purse,[142] sometimes from
too long hunting or from long journeys, or from rupture,[143] or
sometimes when bitches be jolly, and they may not come to them at
their ease as they would, and that the humours runneth into the
ballocks, and sometimes when they be smitten upon in hunting or in
other places. To this sickness and to all others in that manner, the
best help is for to make a purse of cloth three or four times double,
and take linseed and put it within, and put it in a pot, and let it
mingle with wien, and let them well boil together, and mix it always
with a stick, and when it is well boiled put it within the purse that
I spoke of, as hot as the hound may suffer it, and put his ballocks in
that purse, and bind it with a band betwixt the thighs above the back,
make well fast the ballocks upwards, and leave a hole in the cloth for
to put out the tail and his anus, and another hole before for the
yerde so that he may scombre and piss and renew that thing once or
twice until the time that he be whole. Also it is a well good thing
for a man or for a horse that hath this sickness.[144]
[132] _Euphorbia resinifera_, common spurge, exudes a very acrid milky
juice which dries into a gum resin. Still used for some plasters.
[133] _Marrubium vulgare._ G. de F. _marrabre blanc_, Eng. white
horehound. It enjoyed a great reputation as a stimulating expectorant
employed in asthma, consumption, and other pulmonary affections.
[134] _Leonurus cardiaca._ G. de F. _Artemise_, Eng. Motherwort, Mod.
Fr. _armoise_. A plant allied to the horehound as a vascular stimulant
and diuretic and a general tonic, employed in dropsy, gout,
rheumatism, and uterine disorders.
[135] _Parietaria._ Eng. Wall pellitory. An old domestic remedy. It
was supposed to be astringent and cooling, and used locally for
inflammation, burns, erysipelas, and internally as a diuretic. It
grows on old walls and heaps of rubbish.
[136] _Morsus gallinus._
[137] _Lilies._ The white lilies here mentioned are probably _Lilium
connalium_ (lilies of the valley). In an old book of recipes I find
them mentioned as an antidote to poison. (_Haus und Land Bib._ 1700.)
They have medicinal qualities, purgative and diuretic in effect. Dried
and powdered they become a sternutatory.
[138] In the Shirley MS. there is added: "the hound tongue beareth
medicine and especially to himself." G. de F. has the same (p. 97).
[139] Wither or dry up.
[140] Inflammation of the stifle joint.
[141] _Seton._ G. de F. (p. 98) says: "une ortie et un sedel de
corde." His word _sedel_ came from the Spanish _sedal_. The English
"seton" comes from _seta_, a hair, because hair was originally
employed as the inserted material.
[142] Testicles.
[143] The following words, which are in Shirley MS. and in G. de F.,
are left out: "some tyme for they more foundeth as an hors."
[144] The Shirley MS. has the following ending to this chapter: "And
God forbid that for (a) little labour or cost of this medicine, man
should see his good kind hound perish, that before hath made him so
many comfortable disports at divers times in hunting," which is not
taken from G. de F.
CHAPTER XIV
OF RUNNING HOUNDS AND OF THEIR NATURE
A running hound is a kind of hound there be few men that have not seen
some of them. Nevertheless I shall devise how a running hound shall be
held for good and fair, and also shall I devise of their manners. Of
all hues of running hounds, there are some which be good, and some
which be bad or evil as of greyhounds. But the best hue of running
hounds and most common for to be good, is called brown tan. Also the
goodness of running hounds, and of all other kinds of good hounds,
cometh of true courage and of the good nature of their good father and
of their good mother. And also as touching greyhounds, men may well
help to make them good by teaching as by leading them to the wood and
to fields, and to be always near them, in making of many good curées
when they have done well, and of rating at and beating them when they
have done amiss, for they are beasts, and therefore have they need to
learn that which men will they should do. A running hound should be
well born, and well grown of body, and should have great nostrils and
open, and a long snout, but not small, and great lips and well hanging
down, and great eyes red or black, and a great forehead and great
head, and large ears, well long and well hanging down, broad and near
the head, a great neck, and a great breast and great shoulders, and
great legs and strong, and not too long, and great feet, round and
great claws, and the foot a little low, small flanks and long sides, a
little pintel not long, small hanging ballocks and well trussed
together, a good chine bone and great back, good thighs, and great
hind legs and the hocks straight and not bowed, the tail great and
high, and not cromping up on the back, but straight and a little
cromping upward. Nevertheless I have seen some running hounds with
great hairy tails the which were very good. Running hounds hunt in
divers manners, for some followeth the hart fast at the first, for
they go lightly and fast and when they have run so awhile, they have
hied them so fast that they be relaxed and all breathless, and stop
still and leave the hart when they should chase him. This kind of
running hounds men should find usually in the land of Basco and Spain.
They are right good for the wild boar, but are not good for the hart,
for they be not good to enchase at a long flight, but only for to
press him, for they seek not well, and they run not well nor they hunt
not (well) from a distance, for they be accustomed to hunt close.
[Illustration: RACHES OR RUNNING HOUNDS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY (From
MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat_., Paris)]
And at the beginning they have shown their best. Other manners of
running hounds there are which hunt a good deal more slowly and
heavily, but as they begin, so they hold on all the day. These hounds
force not so soon a hart as the other, but they bring him best by
mastery and strength to his end, for they retrieve and scent the line
better and farther, because they are somewhat slow. They must hunt the
hart from farther off, and therefore they scent the fues better than
the other that goes so hastily without stopping until the time that
they be weary. A bold hound should never complain or howl, unless if
he were out of the rights. And also he should again seek the rights,
for a hart flieth and ruseth. Commonly a bold hound hunteth with the
wind when he seeth his time. He dreads his master and understands him
and does as he bids him. A bold hound should not leave the hart
neither for rain, nor for heat, nor for cold, nor for any evil
weather, but at this time there be few such, and also should he hunt
the hart well by himself without help of man, as if the man were
always with him. _But alas! I know not now any such hounds._ Hounds
there are which be bold and brave; and be called bold for they are
bold and good for the hart, for when the hart comes in danger[145]
they will chase him, but they will not open[146] nor quest while he is
among the change, for dread to envoyse[147] and do amiss, but when
they have dissevered[148] him, then they will open and hunt him and
should overcome the hart well, and perfectly and masterfully
throughout all the change. These hounds be not so good nor so perfect
as be the bold hounds before said _to most men_ for two reasons[149],
that one reason is for they hunt not at men's best pleasure for they
hunt nought but the hart, and the first bold hound hunts all manner of
beasts that his master will uncouple him to. He opens always through
all the changes, and a bold hound for the hart opens not for the hart,
as I have said when the hart is amid the changes. He dreadeth where he
goeth that men see him lest he do amiss or envoise, but men cannot
always see him[150]. Of this kind of hound have I seen many a one.
There be other kinds of hounds which men _beyond the sea call_ hart
hounds, good and restrained hart hounds.[151] They hunt no other beast
but the hart, and therefore they are called hart hounds and bold
hounds, for they be bold and good and wise for the hart; they be
called restrained, because if the hart fall among the change they
should abide still[152] until the hunter come, and when they see their
master they make him welcome, and wag their tails upon him, and will
by-piss the way and the bushes, _but in England men make them not so_.
These be good hounds _of our land_, but not so good as the bold hounds
aforesaid. They be well wise, for they know well that they should not
hunt the change, and they are not so wise as to dissever the hart from
the change, for they abide still and restive. These hounds I hold full
good, for the hunter that knows them may well help them to slay the
hart. None of all these three kinds of hounds hunt at the hart in
rutting time, unless it be the good bold hound,[153] which is the best
of all other hounds. The best sport that men can have is running with
hounds, for if he hunt at hare or at the roe or at buck or at the
hart, or at any other beast without greyhound[154] it is a fair thing,
and pleasant to him that loveth them; the seeking and the finding is
also a fair thing, and a great liking to slay them with strength, and
for to see the wit and the knowledge that God hath given to good
hounds, and for to see good recovering and retrieving, and the mastery
and the subtleties that be in good hounds. For with greyhounds and
with other kinds of hounds whatever they be, the sport lasteth not,
for anon a good greyhound or a good alaunte taketh or faileth a beast,
and so do all manner of hounds save running hounds, the which must
hunt all the day questeying and making great melody in their language
and saying great villainy and chiding the beasts that they chase. And
therefore I prefer them to all other kinds of hounds, for they have
more virtue it seems to me than any other beast. Other kind of hounds
there be the which open and jangle when they are uncoupled, as well
when they be not in her fues (on their line), and when they be in her
fues they questey[155] too much in seeking their chase whatever it be,
and if they learn the habit when they are young and are not chastised
thereof, they will evermore be noisy and wild, and namely when they
seek their chase, for when the chase is found, the hounds cannot
questey too much so that they be in the fues[156]. And to rente and
make hounds there are many remedies. _There be also many kinds of
running hounds, some small and some big, and the small be called
kenets, and these hounds run well to all manner of game, and they
(that) serve for all game men call them harriers.[157] And every hound
that hath that courage will come to be a harrier by nature with little
making. But they need great nature and making in youth, and great
labour to make a hound run boldly to a chase where there is great
change, or other chases._ Hounds which are not perfectly wise take the
change commonly from May until St. John's tide (June 24th), for then
they find the change of hinds. The hinds will not fly far before the
hounds, but they turn about and the hound sees them very often, and
therefore they run to them with a better will, because they keep near
their calves the which cannot fly, therefore they hunt them gladly;
and commonly when the harts go to rut, hounds hunt the change, for the
harts and the hinds be commonly standing in herds together, and so
they find them and run to them sooner than at any other time of the
year. Also the hounds scent worse from May until St. John's time than
in any other time of all the year, for as I shall say the burnt heath
and the burning of fields taketh away the scent from the hounds of the
beasts that they hunt. Also in that time the herbs be best and flowers
in their smelling, each one in their kind, and when the hounds hope to
scent the beast that they hunt, the sweet-smelling of the herbs takes
the scent of the beast from them.
[145] Danger of his being lost to the hounds.
[146] Challenge--_i.e._ the noise the hounds make on finding the scent
of an animal.
[147] Get off the line.
[148] Separated him from the other deer.
[149] From here to the middle of the 13th line on the next page the
text is copied from the Shirley MS., the scribe who wrote the
Vespasian B. XII. MS. having made a mistake in his transcript, copying
on folio 65 the folio 64, which therefore appears twice over, to the
exclusion of the matter here copied from the Shirley MS.
[150] This sentence is difficult to understand without consulting G.
de F. (p. 110), who says: "as the hound does not challenge when the
stag is with change, one does not know where he is going unless one
sees him, and one cannot always see him."
[151] G. de F.: "cerfs baus restifz" is the name which he gives these
hounds.
[152] G. de F. adds: "and remain quite quiet."
[153] "Le chien baud," G. de F., p. 111. See Appendix: Running
Hounds.
[154] The text of the MS. differs from G. de F., who says if one hunts
stags "ou autres bestes en traillant sans limier" (drawing from them
without having first harboured them with a lymer), and does not say
"without greyhounds"; p. 111.
[155] G. de F. has here: "Ils crient trop en quérant leur beste quelle
que soit," p. 111.
[156] "The hounds cannot challenge too loudly when they are on the
line." G. de F.: "Chien ne peut trop crier," p. 112.
[157] From Mid. Eng. _harien_, _harren_, to harry or worry game. See
Appendix: Harrier.
CHAPTER XV
OF GREYHOUNDS AND OF THEIR NATURE
The greyhound is a kind of hound there be few which have not seen
some. Nevertheless for to devise how a greyhound should be held for
good and fair, I shall devise their manner. Of all manner of
greyhounds there be both good and bad, nevertheless the best hue is
red fallow with a black muzzle. The goodness of greyhounds comes of
right courage, and of the good nature of their father and their
mother. And also men may well help to make them good in the
encharning[158] of them with other good greyhounds, and feed them well
with the best that he taketh. The good greyhound should be of middle
size, neither too big nor too little, and then he is good for all
beasts. If he were too big he is nought for small beasts, and if he
were too little he were nought for the great beasts. Nevertheless
whoso can maintain both, it is good that he have both of the great and
of the small, and of the middle size. A greyhound should have a long
head and somewhat large made, resembling the making of a bace[159]
(pike). A good large mouth and good seizers the one against the other,
so that the nether jaw pass not the upper, nor that the upper pass not
the nether. Their eyes are red or black as those of a sparrow hawk,
the ears small and high in the manner of a serpent, the neck great and
long bowed like a swan's neck, his chest great and open, the hair
under his chyn hanging down in the manner of a lion.[160] His
shoulders as a roebuck, the forelegs straight and great enough and not
too high in the legs, the feet straight and round as a cat, great
claws, long head as a cow[161] hanging down.
[158] Encharning, feed with the flesh of game, to blood.
[159] Should be "luce," and G. de F. has "luz," from Lat. _lucius_,
pike, p. 103.
[160] G. de F., p. 104, says: "La harpe bien avalée en guise de lion,"
_harpe_ meaning in this instance "flanks."
[161] "Long head as a cow" is evidently a mistake of translator or
scribe. G. de F. has: "le costé lonc comme une biche et bien avalé"
("the sides long as a hind, and hanging down well").
The bones and the joints of the chine great and hard like the chine of
a hart. And if his chine be a little high it is better than if it were
flat. A little pintel and little ballocks, and well trussed near the
ars, small womb,[162] the hocks straight and not bent as of an ox, a
cat's tail making a ring at the end and not too high, the two bones of
the chine behind broad of a large palm's breadth or more. Also there
are many good greyhounds with long tails right swift. A good greyhound
should go so fast that if he be well slipped he should overtake any
beast, and there where he overtakes it he should seize it where he can
get at it the soonest, _nevertheless he shall last longer if he bite
in front or by the side_.[163] He should be courteous and not too
fierce, following well his master and doing whatever he command him.
He shall be good and kindly _and clean_, glad and joyful and playful,
well willing and goodly to all manner of folks save to the wild beasts
to whom he should be fierce, spiteful and eager.
[162] The following words should be added here, a line having been
omitted by the scribe: "and straight near the back as a lamprey, the
thighs great and straight as a hare." They are in Shirley MS. and G.
de F., p. 104.
[163] In lieu of this original passage G. de F., p. 105, has: "sans
abayer, et sans marchander" ("without baying or bargaining").
[Illustration: THE SMOOTH AND THE ROUGH-COATED GREYHOUNDS (From MS. f.
fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
CHAPTER XVI
OF ALAUNTES AND OF THEIR NATURE
An alaunte is of the manner and nature of hounds. And the good
alauntes be those which men call alauntes gentle. Others there be that
men call alauntes veutreres, others be alauntes of the butcheries.
They that be gentle should be made and shaped as a greyhound, even of
all things save of the head, the which should be great and short. And
though there be alauntes of all hues, the true hue of a good alaunte,
and that which is most common should be white with black spots about
the ears, small eyes and white standing ears and sharp above. Men
should teach alauntes better, and to be of better custom than any
other beasts, for he is better shaped and stronger for to do harm than
any other beast. And also commonly alauntes are stordy[164] (giddy) of
their own nature and have not such good sense as many other hounds
have, for if a man prick[165] a horse the alauntes will run gladly and
bite the horse. Also they run at oxen and sheep, and swine, and at all
other beasts, or at men or at other hounds. For men have seen alauntes
slay their masters. In all manner of ways alauntes are treacherous and
evil understanding, and more foolish and more harebrained than any
other kind of hound. And no one ever saw three well conditioned and
good. For the good alaunte should run as fast as a greyhound, and any
beast that he can catch he should hold with his seizers and not leave
it. For an alaunte of his nature holds faster of his biting than can
three greyhounds the best any man can find. And therefore it is the
best hound to hold and to nyme (seize) all manner of beasts and hold
them fast. And when he is well conditioned and perfect, men hold that
he is good among all other hounds. But men find few that be perfect. A
good alaunte should love his master and follow him, and help him in
all cases, and do what his master commands him. A good alaunte should
go fast and be hardy to take all kinds of beasts without turning, and
hold fast and not leave it, and be well conditioned, and well at his
master's command, and when he is such, men hold, as I have said, that
he is the best hound that can be to take all manner of beasts. That
other kind of alaunte is called veutreres. They are almost shaped as a
greyhound of full shape, they have a great head, great lips and great
ears, and with such men help themselves at _the baiting of the bull_
and at hunting of a wild boar, for it is their nature to hold fast,
but they be (heavy) and foul (ugly) that if they be slain by the wild
boar or by the bull, it is not very great loss. And when they can
overtake a beast they bite it and hold it still, but by themselves
they could never take a beast unless greyhounds were with them to make
the beast tarry. That other kind of alauntes of the butcheries is such
as you may always see in good towns, _that are called great butchers'
hounds_, the which the butchers keep to help them to bring their
beasts that they buy in the country, for if an ox escape from the
butchers that lead him, his hounds would go and take him and hold him
until his master has come, and should help him to bring him again to
the town. They cost little to keep as they eat the foul things in the
butcher's row. Also they keep their master's house, they be good _for
bull baiting_ and for hunting wild boar, whether it be with greyhounds
at the tryst or with running hounds at bay within the covert. For when
a wild boar is within a strong hatte of wood (thicket), perhaps all
day the running hounds will not make him come out. And when men let
such mastiffs run at the boar they take him in the thick spires (wood)
so that any man can slay him, or they make him come out of his
strength, so that he shall not remain long at bay.
[164] G. de F. has "estourdiz," which the "Master of Game" translates
as "stordy" or sturdy, but the modern sense would be hairbrained,
giddy, not sturdy.
[165] Means _chase_ a horse. G. de F. says: "Se on court un cheval,
ils le prennent voulentiers," p. 100.
CHAPTER XVII
OF SPANIELS AND OF THEIR NATURE
Another kind of hound there is that be called hounds for the hawk and
spaniels, for their kind cometh from Spain, notwithstanding that there
are many in other countries. And such hounds have many good customs
and evil. Also a fair hound for the hawk should have a great head, a
great body and be of fair hue, white or tawny, for they be the
fairest, and of such hue they be commonly best. A good spaniel should
not be too rough, but his tail should be rough. The good qualities
that such hounds have are these: they love well their masters and
follow them without losing, although they be in a great crowd of men,
and commonly they go before their master, running and wagging their
tail, and raise or start fowl and wild beasts. But their right craft
is of the partridge and of the quail. It is a good thing to a man that
hath a noble goshawk or a tiercel or a sparrow hawk for partridge, to
have such hounds. And also when they be taught to be couchers,[166]
they be good to take partridges and quail with a net. And also they be
good when they are taught to swim and to be good for the river, and
for fowls when they have dived, but on the other hand they have many
bad qualities like the country that they come from. For a country
draweth to two natures of men, of beasts, and of fowls, and as men
call greyhounds _of Scotland_ and of Britain,[167] so the alauntes and
the hounds for the hawk come out of Spain, and they take after the
nature of the generation of which they come. Hounds for the hawk are
fighters and great barkers if you lead them a hunting among running
hounds, whatever beasts they hunt to they will make them lose the
line, for they will go before now hither now thither, as much when
they are at fault as when they go right, and lead the hounds about and
make them overshoot and fail. Also if you lead greyhounds with you,
and there be a hound for the hawk, that is to say a spaniel, if he see
geese or kine, or horses, or hens, or oxen or other beasts, he will
run anon and begin to bark at them, and because of him all the
greyhounds will run to take the beast through his egging on, for he
will make all the riot and all the harm. The hounds for the hawk have
so many other evil habits that unless I had a goshawk or falcon or
hawks for the river, or sparrow hawk, or the net, I would never have
any, _especially there where I would hunt_.
[166] Setters, from _coucher_, to lie down. G. de F.: "chien couchant"
(p. 113).
[167] Brittany. In Shirley MS. "England" precedes "Scotland." G. de F.
says nothing about Scotland. He says "Bretainhe," meaning Brittany (p.
113).
CHAPTER XVIII
OF THE MASTIFF AND OF HIS NATURE
A mastiff is a manner of hound. The mastiff's nature and his office is
to keep his master's beasts and his master's house, and it is a good
kind of hound, for they keep and defend with all their power all their
master's goods. They be of a churlish nature and ugly shape.
Nevertheless there are some _that come to be berslettis,[168] and also
to bring well and fast and wanlace_ (range) _about_.[169] Sometimes
there be many good, especially for men who hunt for profit of the
household to get flesh. Also of mastiffs and alaunts there be (bred)
many good for the wild boar. Also from mastiffs and hounds for the
hawk (there be bred) hounds that men should not make much mention of,
therefore I will no more speak of them, for there is no great mastery
nor great readiness in the hunting that they do, _for their nature is
not to be tenderly nosed_.
[168] Bercellettis or bercelettes, hounds, most likely shooting dogs,
from _berser_, to shoot, _bercel_, an archer's butt.
[169] _Wanlasour_, one who drives game. Appendix: Wanlace.
[Illustration: THE FIVE BREEDS OF HOUNDS DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT (From
MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat_., Paris)]
CHAPTER XIX
WHAT MANNER AND CONDITION A GOOD HUNTER SHOULD HAVE.
Thou, Sir, whatever you be, great or little, that would teach a man to
be a good hunter, first he must be a child past seven or eight years
of age or little older, and if any man would say that I take a child
in too tender age for to put him to work, I answer that all nature
shortens and descends. For every man knoweth well that a child of
seven years of age is more capable in these times of such things that
he liketh to learn than was a child of twelve years of age (in times
that I have seen). And therefore I put him so young thereto, for a
craft requires all a man's life ere he be perfect thereof. And also
men say that which a man learns in youth he will hold best in his age.
And furthermore from this child many things are required, first that
he love his master, and that his heart and his business be with the
hounds, and he must take[170] him, and beat him when he will not do
what his master commands him, until the time that the child dreads to
fail. And first I shall take and teach him for to take in writing all
the names of the hounds and of the hues of the hounds, until the time
that the child knoweth them both by the hue and by the name. After I
will teach him to make clean every day in the morning the hounds'
kennel of all foul things. After I will learn him to put before them
twice a day fresh water and clean, from a well, in a vessel there
where the hound drinks, or fair running water, in the morning and the
evening. After I will teach him that once in the day he empty the
kennel and make all clean, and renew their straw, and put again fresh
new straw a great deal and right thick. And there where he layeth it
the hounds should lie, and the place where they should lie should be
made of trees a foot high from the earth, and then straw should be
laid thereupon, because the moisture of the earth should not make them
morfounder nor engender other sicknesses by the which they might be
worse for hunting. Also that he be both _at field and at wood
delivered_ (active) _and well eyed and well advised of his speech and
of his terms, and ever glad to learn and that he be no boaster nor
jangler_.
[170] "Take" is probably the scribe's mistake for "tache," teach.
CHAPTER XX
HOW THE KENNEL FOR THE HOUNDS AND THE COUPLES FOR THE RACHES AND THE
ROPES FOR THE LYMER SHOULD BE MADE
The hounds' kennel should be ten fathoms in length and five in
breadth, if there be many hounds. And there should be one door in
front and one behind, and a fair green, where the sun shineth all day
from morning till eve, and that green should be closed about with a
paling or with a wall of earth or of stone of the same length and
breadth as the hounds' kennel is. And the hinder door of the kennel
should always be open so that the hounds may go out to play when they
like, for it is a great liking to the hounds when they may go in and
out at their pleasure, for the mange comes to them later.[171] In the
kennel should be pitched small stones wrapped about with straw of the
hounds' litter, unto the number of six stones, that the hounds might
piss against them. Also a kennel should have a gutter or two whereby
all the piss of the hounds and all the other water may run out that
none remains in the kennel. The kennel should also be in a low house,
and not in a solere (an upper chamber), but there should be a loft
above, so that it might be warmer in winter and cooler in summer, and
always by night and by day I would that some child lie or be in the
kennel with the hounds to keep them from fighting. Also in the kennel
should be a chimney to warm the hounds when they are cold or when they
are wet with rain or from passing and swimming over rivers. And also
he should be taught to spin horse hair to make couples for the hounds,
which should be made of a horse tail or a mare's tail, for they are
best and last longer than if they were of hemp or of wool. And the
length of the hounds' couples between the hounds should be a foot, and
the rope of a limer three fathoms and a half, be he ever so wise a
limer it sufficeth. _The which rope should be made of leather of a
horse skin well tawed._
[171] They are not likely to get the mange so soon.
[Illustration: THE KENNEL AND KENNELMEN (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib.
Nat_., Paris)]
CHAPTER XXI
HOW THE HOUNDS SHOULD BE LED OUT TO SCOMBRE
Also I will teach[172] the child to lead out the hounds to scombre
twice in the day in the morning and in the evening, so that the sun be
up, especially in winter. Then should he let them run and play long in
a fair meadow in the sun, and then comb every hound after the other,
and wipe them with a great wisp of straw, and thus he shall do every
morning. And then shall he lead them into some fair place there where
tender grass grows as corn and other things, that therewith they may
feed them (selves) as it is medicine for them, for sometimes hounds
are sick and with the grass that they eat they void and heal
themselves.
[172] The first four words are omitted in our MS., but they are in the
Shirley MS. and in others, and in G. de F.
CHAPTER XXII
HOW A HUNTER'S HORN SHOULD BE DRIVEN
_There are divers kinds of horns, that is to say bugles, great
Abbot's, hunter's horns, Ruets_ (trumpets), _small Forester's horns
and meaner horns of two kinds. That one kind is waxed with green wax
and greater of sound, and they be best for good hunters, therefore
will I devise how and in what fashion they should be driven. First a
good hunter's horn should be driven of two spans in length, and not
much more nor much less, and not too crooked neither too straight, but
that the flue be three or four fingers uppermore than the head, that
unlearned_[173] _hunters call the great end of the horn. And also that
it be as great and hollow driven as it can for the length, and that it
be shorter on the side of the baldric[174] than at the nether end. And
that the head be as wide as it can be, and always driven smaller and
smaller to the flue, and that it be well waxed thicker or thinner
according as the hunter thinks that it will sound best. And that it be
the length of the horn from the flue to the binding, and also that it
be not too small driven from the binding to the flue, for if it be the
horn will be too mean of sound. As for horns for fewterers[175] and
woodmen, I speak not for every small horn and other mean horn unwaxed
be good enough for them._
[173] Shirley MS.: "lewed," _i.e._ laewed or unlearned (Stratmann).
[174] Baldric, the belt on which the horn was carried.
[175] Fewterer, the man who held the greyhounds in slips or couples.
CHAPTER XXIII
HOW A MAN SHOULD LEAD HIS GROOM IN QUEST FOR TO KNOW A HART BY HIS
TRACE
Then should his groom lead his lymer (tracking hound) in quest after
him in the morning, and teach him to know what difference is between a
hart's trace and a hind's. As _I have said before, this word quest is
a term of hart hunters beyond the sea, and is as much for to say as
when the hunter goeth to find of a hart and to harbour him_. For to
know a great hart's trace from a young, and to know the trace of a
young deer of antler from a hind's, and how many judgments and what
knowledge there be, and for to make more certain thereof, he should
have an old hart's foot and a young hart's and a hind's foot also, and
should put it in hard earth and in soft, and once put it fast in the
earth as though the hart were hunted and another time soft, as if the
hart went a pase (slowly), thereby he may advise him to know the
differences of a hart's feet, and he shall find that there is no deer
so young if he be from a brocket upwards, that his talon (heel) is not
larger and better and hath greater ergots (dew claws) than hath a
hind, and commonly longer traces. Nevertheless there are some hounds
well traced, which have the sole of the foot as a staggard or a small
stag, but the talon and the ergots are not so great nor so large. Also
a great hart and an old one has a better sole to his foot, and a
better talon and better bones and greater and larger than has a young
deer or hind. And so in putting in the earth the hart's foot and the
hind's foot as I have said, he shall know the difference and better
than I can devise. And also the hinds commonly have their traces more
hollow than a staggard or a stag, and more open the cleeves (toes) in
front than a hart of ten, for of the others reck I never. The judgment
is in the talon (when it is great and large; and in the sole of the
foot)[176] when it is great and broad, and the point of the foot
broad. And men have seen a great hart and an old one, the which had
hollow traces, and that cannot matter so that he hath the other signs
before said. For a hollow trace and sharp cleeves betoken no other
thing than that the country the hart hath haunted is a soft country or
hard, and where there be but few stones, or that he has been hunted
but little. And also if a man find such a hart, and men ask him what
hart it is, he may answer that it is a hart chaceable of ten, that
should not be refused. And if he sees an hart's foot that hath these
signs aforesaid the which are great and broad, he may say that it is
an hart that some time had borne ten tines, and if he see that the
aforesaid signs are greater and broader he may say that it is a great
hart and an old (one), and this is all he may say of the hart. Also he
should call the foot of the hart the trace, and of the wild boar also.
_Also the hunters of beyond the sea_ call of an hart and of a boar the
routes and the pace (path) and both is one. Nevertheless pace, they
call their goings where a beast goes in the routes, there where he has
passed, _nevertheless I would not set this in my book, but for as much
as I would English hunters should know some of the terms that hunters
use beyond the sea, but not with intent to call them so in England_.
[176] The words in brackets have been omitted in our MS. but are in
the Shirley MS. and G. de F. p. 129; they have been thus inserted to
complete the sense.
[Illustration: THE MASTER TEACHING HIS HUNTSMAN HOW TO QUEST FOR THE
HART WITH THE LIMER OR TRACKHOUND (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat_.,
Paris)]
CHAPTER XXIV
HOW A MAN SHOULD KNOW A GREAT HART BY THE FUMES[177]
[177] See Appendix: Excrements.
After I shall teach you to know a great hart by the fumes of the hart,
for sometimes they crotey in wreaths, and sometimes flat and sometimes
formed, and sometimes sharp at both ends, and sometimes pressed
together, and sometime in many other manners as I have said before.
When they crotey flat and it be in April or in May or in June if the
croteyes be great and thick it is a token that it is a hart chaceable,
and if he find the fumes wreathed, and it be from the middle of June
to the middle of August in great forms and in great wreaths and well
soft, it is a token that it is a hart chaceable, and if he find the
fumes that are formed and not holding together as it is from the
beginning of July into the end of August, if they are great and black
and long and are not sharp at the ends, and are heavy and dry without
slime, it is a token that it is a hart chaceable. And if the fumes are
faint and light and full of slime, or sharp at both ends, or at one
end, these are the tokens that he is no deer chaceable. But if it be
when they burnish that they crotey their fumes more burnt and more
sharp at the one end, but anon when they have burnished, they crotey
their fumes as before, and for that the fumes be good and great; if
they be slimy it is a token that he has suffered some disease. From
the end of August forward, the fumes are of no judgment for they undo
themselves for the rut.
[Illustration: HOW A GREAT HART IS TO BE KNOWN BY HIS "FUMES"
(EXCREMENTS) (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
CHAPTER XXV
HOW A MAN SHOULD KNOW A GREAT HART BY THE PLACE WHERE HE HATH FRAYED
HIS HEAD
Furthermore ye should know a great hart by the fraying (for if ye find
where the hart hath frayed),[178] and see that the wood is great where
he hath frayed, and he hath not bent it, and the tree is frayed well
high, and he hath frayed the bark away, and broken the branches and
wreathed them a good height, and if the branches are of a good size,
it is a sign that he is a great hart and that he should bear a high
head and well troched, for by the troching[179] he breaketh such high
the boughs that he cannot fold them under him. For if the fraying were
bare and he had frayed the boughs under him, it is no token that it be
a great hart, and especially if the trees where he had frayed were
small. Nevertheless men have seen some great deer fray sometimes to a
little tree, but not commonly, but a young deer shall ever more[180]
fray to a great tree, and therefore should ye look at several
frayings. And if ye see the aforesaid tokens oftener upon the great
trees than upon the small ye may deem him a great hart. And if the
frayings be continually in small trees and low, he is not chaceable
and should be refused. Also ye may know a great hart by his lairs.
When a great hart shall come in the morning from his pasture, he shall
go to his lair and then a great while after he shall rise and go
elsewhere there where he would abide all the day. Then when ye shall
rise and come to the lair there where the hart hath lain and rested,
if ye see it great and broad and well trodden and the grass well
pressed down, and at the rising when he passeth out of his lair, if ye
see that the foot and the knees have well thrust down the earth and
pressed the grass down it is a token that it is a great deer and a
heavy (one). And if at the rising he make no such tokens, because that
he hath been there but a little while, so that his lair be long and
broad ye may deem him a hart chaceable. Also ye may know a great hart
by the bearing of the wood, for when a great hart hath a high head and
a large (one) and goeth through a thick wood, he findeth the young
wood and tender boughs, his head is harder than the wood, then he
breaketh the wood aside and mingleth the boughs one upon the other,
for he beareth them and putteth them otherwise than they were wont to
be by their own kind. And when the glades of the woods are high and
broad then he may deem him a great hart, for if he had not a high head
and wide he could not make his ways high and large. If it happen so
that ye find such glades and have no lymer with you, if ye will know
at what time this glade was made, ye must set your visage in the
middle of this glade, and keep your breath, in the best wise that ye
may, and if ye find that the spider hath made her web in the middle of
them, it is a token that it is of no good time[181] or at the least it
is of the middle (of the noon) of the day before. Nevertheless ye
should fetch your lymer for so ye should know better. Also ye may know
a great hart by the steps _that in England is called trace_. And that
is called stepping,[182] when he steppeth in a place where the grass
is well thick, so that the man may not see therein the form of the
foot, or when he steppeth in other places, where no grass is but dust
or sand and hard country, where fallen leaves or other things hinder
to see the form of the foot. And when the hart steppeth upon the grass
and ye cannot see the stepping with your eyes, then ye shall put your
hand in the form of the foot that hunters call the trace, and if ye
see that the form of the foot be of four fingers of breadth, ye may
judge that it is a great hart by the trace. And if the sole of the
foot be of three fingers' breadth ye may judge him a hart of ten, and
if ye see that he hath well broken the earth and trodden well the
grass, it is a token that it is a great hart and a heavy deer. And if
ye cannot well see it for the hardness of the earth, or for the dust,
then ye must stoop down for to take away the dust and blow it away
from the form of the foot until the time that ye may clearly see the
form that is called the trace. And if ye cannot see it in one place,
ye should follow the trace until the time that ye can well see it at
your ease. And if ye can see none in any place, ye should put your
hand in the form of the foot, for then ye shall find how the earth is
broke with the cleeves of the foot on either side, and then ye can
judge it for a great hart or a hart chaceable, as I have said before
by the treading of the grass; and if leaves or other things be within
the form that ye may not see at your ease, ye should take away the
leaves all softly or the other things with your hands, so that ye undo
not the form of the foot and blow within and do the other things as I
have before said.[183] (After I will tell you how a man shall speak
among good hunters of the office of venery.) First he shall speak but
a little, and boast little, and well (work[184]) and subtlely, and he
must be wise and do his craft busily, for a hunter should not be a
herald of his craft. And if it happen that he be among good hunters
that speaketh of hunting he should speak in this manner. First if men
ask him of pastures he may answer as of harts and for all other deer,
sweet pastures, and of all biting beasts as of wild boar, wolves, and
other biting beasts he may answer, they feed, as I have said before.
And if men speak of the fumes ye shall call fumes of a hart,
_croteying_ of a buck, and of a roebuck in the same wise of a wild
boar and of black beasts and of wolves ye shall call it lesses, and of
hare and of conies ye shall say they crotey, of the fox _wagging_, of
the grey the _wardrobe_, and of other stinking beasts they shall call
it drit, and that of the otter he shall call sprainting as before is
said. And if men asketh of the beasts' feet, of the harts ye shall say
the trace of a hart _and also of a buck_, and that of the wild boar
and of the wolf also they call traces _beyond the sea_. And that of
the stinking beasts that men call vermin, he shall call them steps as
I have said. And if he hath seen a hart with his eyes, there are three
kinds of hues of them, that one is called brown, the other yellow, and
the third dun, and so he may call them as he thinketh that they
beareth all their hues. And if men ask what head beareth the hart he
hath seen, he shall always answer by even and not by odd, _for if he
be forked on the right side, and lack not of his rights[185] beneath,
and on the right[186] side antler and royal and surroyal and not
forked but only the beam, he shall say it is a hart of ten at
default_,[187] for it is always called even of the greater number. And
every buck's tines should be reckoned as soon as a man can hang a
baldric or a leash[188] thereupon and not otherwise. And when a hart
beareth as many tines on the one side as on the other, _he may say if
he be but forked that he is a hart of ten, and if he be troched of
three he is a hart of twelve, if he be troched of four he is a hart of
sixteen, always if it be seen that he hath his rights beneath as
before is said. And if he lack any of his rights beneath he must_
_abate so many on the top, for a hart's head should begin to be
described from the mule[189] upwards, and if he hath more by two on
the one side than on the other, you must take from the one and count
up that other withal, as I shall more clearly speak in a chapter
hereafter in describing a hart's head._ And if it be so that the
hart's trace have other tokens than I have said and he thinks him a
hart chaceable, and men ask what hart it is he may say it is a hart of
ten and no more. And if it seem to him a great hart and men ask what
hart it is, he shall say it is a hart that the last year was of ten
and should not be refused. And if he happen to have well seen him with
his eye or the before said tokens, so that he knoweth fully that it is
as great a hart as a hart may be, if men ask him what hart it is, he
may say it is a great hart and an old deer. And that is the greatest
word that he may say as I have said before. And if men ask him whereby
he knoweth it, he may say for, he hath good bones[190] and a good
talon and a good sole of foot, _for these four[191] things makes the
trace great_, or by fair lairs or the grass or the earth well pressed
or by the high head,[192] or by the fumes or else other tokens as I
have said before. And if he see a hart that hath a well affeted
(fashioned) head after the height and the shape and the tines well
ranged by good measure, the one from the other, and men ask him what
he beareth he may answer that he beareth a great head and fair of
beam, and of all his rights, and well opened; and if a man ask him
what head he beareth, he shall answer that he beareth a fair head by
all tokens and well grown. And if he see a hart that hath a low head
or a high, or a great, or a small, and it be thick set, high and low
and men ask him what head he beareth he may answer he bears a thick
set head after his making, or that he hath low or small or other
manner whatever it be. And if he see a hart that hath a diverse head,
or that antlers grow back or that the head hath double beams or other
diversities than other harts commonly be wont to bear, and men ask
what head he bears, he may answer a diverse head or a counterfeit
(abnormal), for it is counterfeited. And if he see a hart that beareth
a high head that is wide and thin tined with long beams, if men ask
what head he beareth, he shall answer a fair head and wide, and long
beams, but it is not thick set neither well affeted. And if he see a
hart that hath a low and a great and a thick set (head) and men ask
what head he beareth, he may say he beareth a fair head and well
affeted. And if men ask him by the head whereby he knoweth that it is
a great hart and an old, he may answer, that the tokens of the great
hart are by the head, and so the first knowledge is when he hath great
beams all about as if they were set as it were with small stones, and
the mules nigh the head and the antlers, the which are the first
tines, be great and long and close to the mule and well apperyng
(pearled) and the royals which are the second tines, be nigh the
antlers, and of such form, save that they should not be so great; and
all the other tines great and long and well set, and well ranged and
the troching as I have said before, high and great, and all the beams
all along both great and stony, as if they were full of gravel, and
that all along the beams there be small vales that men call gutters,
then he may say that he knows it is a great hart by the head.
[178] The words in brackets are omitted in our MS. but are in the
Shirley MS. and in G. de F. p. 132.
[179] The tines at top. See Appendix: Antler.
[180] Ever more is here a mistake; it should be never more. G. de F.
says: "Mes jeune cerf ne froyera jà en gros arbre" (p. 132). Also in
the Shirley MS.
[181] Not of "good time" means in the old sporting vocabulary an old
track, not a recent one.
[182] G. de F. calls the track of deer on grass "_foulées_," from
which the modern "foil," "stepping on grass," is derived.
[183] A whole line is missing here in our MS. The words in brackets
are taken from the Shirley MS. It runs: "Affter I wal telle yowe a man
howe he shal speke amonge good hunters of y offyce of venerye."
[184] The word "work" has been omitted. "Et bien _ouvrer_ subtilement"
(G. de F. p. 134).
[185] Brow, bay, and tray tines. See Appendix: Antler.
[186] In Shirley MS. it is "left."
[187] Instead of this original passage G. de F. says: "For if he had
on one side ten points and on the other only one, it should be called
summed of twenty" (p. 135).
[188] G. de F. has "spur" instead.
[189] Burr, mule, from the Fr. _meule_.
[190] Dew claws.
[191] According to Shirley MS. and the sense, the "iiii" should be
omitted.
[192] G. de F. (p. 136) says: "Ou belles portées"--portées being the
branches, and twigs broken or bent asunder by the head of the deer,
termed "entry" or "rack" in mod. Eng.--Stuart, vol. ii. 551.
After I will tell you how ye should know a great wild boar, and for to
know how to speak of it among hunters of beyond the sea. And if a man
see a wild boar the which seemeth to him great enough, as men say of
the hart chaceable of ten, he shall say a wild boar of the third year
that is without refusal, and whenever they be not of three years men
call them swine of the sounder, and if he see the great tokens that I
shall rehearse hereafter he may say that he is a great boar. Of the
season and nature of boar and of other beasts, I have spoken here
before. And if men ask him of a boar's feeding, it is properly called
of acorns of oak's bearing, and of beechmast, the other feeding is
called worming and rooting of the roots out of the earth that feed
him. The other kind of feeding is of corn and of other things that
come up out of the land, and of flowers and of other herbs; the other
kind of feeding is when they make great pits, and go to seek the root
of ferns and of spurge within the earth. And if men ask whereby he
knoweth a great boar, he shall answer that he knoweth him by the
traces and by his den, and by the soil (wallowing pool). And if men
ask whereby he knoweth a great boar from a young, and the boar from
the sow, he shall answer that a great boar should have long traces and
the clees round in front, and broad soles of the feet and a good
talon, and long bones, and when he steppeth it goeth into the earth
deep and maketh great holes and large, and long the one from the
other, for commonly a man shall not see the traces of a boar without
seeing also the traces of the bones, and so shall he not of the hart,
for a man shall see many times by the foot, that which he will not see
by the ergots, but so shall he not see of the boar. What I call the
bones of the boar, of the hart I call the ergots, and the cause that a
man shall not know as well by the ergots of the hart as by bones of
the boar is this, for the bones of the boar are nearer the talon than
those of a hart are, and also they are longer, and greater and sharper
in front. And therefore as soon as the form of the traces of his foot
is in the earth, the form of the bones is there also, and commonly a
great boar maketh a longer trace with one of his claws than with the
other in front or behind, and sometimes both. And when a man seeth the
tokens beforesaid greater, he may deem him greater, and the smaller
the trace, the smaller the boar. The sow from the boar ye may know
well, for the sow maketh not so good a talon as a right young boar
doth. And also a sow's claws are longer and sharper in front than a
young boar's. And also her traces are more open in front and
straighter behind, and the sole of the foot is not so large as of a
young boar, and her bones are not so large nor so long, nor so far the
one from the other as those of a young boar, nor go not so deep in the
earth, for they be small, and sharp and short, and nearer the one to
the other, than a young boar's. And these are the tokens by the which
men know a young boar so that he be two year old from all sows, by the
trace, for that say I not of the young boars of sounder. And if men
ask him how he shall know a great boar by his den, he may answer that
if the den of the boar be long and deep and broad, it is a token that
it is a great boar so that the den be newly made and that he hath lain
therein but once. And if the boar's den is deep without litter, and if
the boar lie near the earth it is a token that it is no[193] fat boar.
And if men ask him how he knoweth a great boar by the soil, then may
he answer that commonly when a boar goeth to soil in the coming in or
in the going out, men may know by the trace, and so it may be deemed
as I have said by his wallowing in the soil. Nevertheless some time he
turneth himself from the one side upon the other, and up and down, but
a man shall evermore know the form of his body. Also sometimes when
the boar parteth from the soil, he rubbeth against a tree, and there a
man may know his greatness and his height. And some time he rubs his
snout and his head higher than he is, but a man may well perceive
which is of the chine and which is of the head. For by his lesses,
that is to say what goes from him behind, nor by other judgment a man
cannot know a great boar unless he see him, save that he maketh great
lesses, and that is a token that he hath a great bowel, and that he be
a great boar, and also by the tusks when he is dead, for when the
tusks of a boar be great as of half a cubit or more and be both great
and large of two fingers or more and there be small gutters along both
above and beneath, these be the tokens that he is a great boar and
old, and of a smaller boar the judgment is less. And also when the
tusks be low and worn, by the nether tusks it is a token of a great
boar.
[193] G. de F. (p. 139) says if "le senglier gise près de la terre,
c'est signe qu'il ait bonne venoison," so our MS. is evidently wrong
when it says "it is a token that it is _no_ fat boar."
CHAPTER XXVI
HOW THE ORDINANCE SHOULD BE MADE FOR THE HART HUNTING BY STRENGTH AND
HOW THE HART SHOULD BE HARBOURED
_When the king or my lord the Prince or any of their blood will hunt
for the hart by strength, the Master of the Game must forewarn on the
previous evening the sergeant of the office, and the yeomen berners at
horse, and also the lymerer.[194] And then he must ordain which of
them three shall go for to harbour the hart, and with them the lymerer
for the morrow, and charge the foresters, or if it be in a park, the
parkers to attend to him busily. And all the four must accord where
the meeting shall be on the morrow, and he must charge the sergeant
and one of the two yeomen, if the sergeant be not there, to warn all
the yeomen and grooms of the office to be at the meeting at sunrise.
And that the yeomen berners on foot and the grooms that are called
Chacechiens bring with them the hart hounds and this done ask for the
wine, and let them go after. And he that is charged to harbour the
hart must_ _accord with the forester of the bailie in which they seek
him where they should meet in the grey dawning. Nevertheless it were
good readiness to look if they might see any deer at its meating_
(feeding) _the previous evening to know the more readily where to seek
and harbour him on the morrow. And on the morrow when they meet the
forester that well ought to know of his great deer's haunts, he shall
lead the hunter and the lymerer thither, where he best hopes to see
him or find of him without noise. And if they can see him and they be
in the wind they ought to withdraw from him in the softest manner they
can, for dread of frightening him out of his haunt, and then go
privily till they be under the wind. And as he stereth_ (stalks) _and
paceth forth feeding, they are to draw nigh him as readily and warily
as they can so that the deer find them not. And when he has entered
his covert, and to his ligging, they ought to tarry till they know
that he be entered two skilful bowshots from thence. And then ought
the lymerer by bidding of the hunter to cast round with his lymer the
quarter that the deer is in, if it be in a huge covert, and if it be
in a little covert that the deer is in, set[195] all the covert to
know whether he is gone away or abides there still. And if he abides,_
_then shall the lymerer go there where the hart went in, and take the
scantilon_ (measure) _of the trace for which he should cut off the end
of his rod, and lay it in the talon of the trace, there where he went
in hardest ground, in the bottom thereof, so that the scantilon will
scarcely touch at either end. And that done he should break a bough of
green leaves and lay it there where the hart went in, and cut another
scantilon thereafter to take to the hunter that he may take it to the
lord or to the Master of the Game at the meeting which some men call
Assembly. But on the other side, if it be so that they cannot see him
as before is said, the forester ought to bring him where most defoil
is_ (tracks) _of great male deer within his bailiewick, and there
where the best haunt is, and most likely for a hart. And when the
harbourer and the lymerer be there, the lymer if he crosses the fues
of a deer he will anon challenge it, and then shall the lymerer take
heed to his feet to know by the trace what deer it is that the lymer
findeth, and if he finds thereby that it is no hart he shall take up
his hound and say to him softly, not loud,_ "WARE RASCAL, WARE!" _And
if it be of a hart that the lymer findeth, and that it be new he ought
to sue_ (hunt up) _with as little noise as he can contreongle_
(hunting heel) _to undo all his moving[196] till he find his fumes_
(excrements), _which he ought to put in the great end of his horn, and
stop it with grass to prevent them falling out and reward his hound a
little. And that done come again there where he began to sue and sue
forth the right line till he comes to the entering of the quarter
where he thinks that the hart is in. And always with little noise and
cast round the quarters, if it be in a great covert as I said before.
And also if it be in a little covert, to do of the scantilon and of
all other things right as I have said before. And if he be voided_
(gone) _to another quarter or wood, and there be any other covert near
always to sue forth and cast round quarter by quarter, and wood by
wood till he be readily harboured. And when he is harboured of the
scantilon and of all other things do as before is said, and then draw
fast to the meeting that men call assembly. And it is to be known that
oftentimes a deer is harboured by sight of man's eye, but who should
do it well it behoves him to be a skilful and wise hunter.
Nevertheless to teach hunters the more readily to seek and harbour a
hart according to the country that he is in, I have devised it in
certain chapters as ye may hereafter hear._
[194] The man who leads the hound in leash when harbouring the hart.
[195] To set the covert was for the huntsman or limerer with his hound
on a leash to go round the covert that he had seen the deer enter, and
to look carefully whether he could find any signs of the stag having
left the place. This in more modern parlance is called making his ring
walks.
[196] Moving, moves. See Appendix: Move.
CHAPTER XXVII
HOW A HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST BY THE SIGHT
Afterwards I shall show you how a man should go in quest for the hart
with his lymer or by himself. _This word quest for the hart is a term
of hunters beyond the sea, and means when a man goeth to find a deer
and to harbour him, and it is a fair term and shorter said than our
term of England to my seeming._ And then shall the groom quest in the
country that shall be devised to him the night before, and he shall
rise in the dawning, and then he must go to the meating (pasturing) of
the deer to look if he may see anything to his liking, and leave his
lymer in a certain place where he may not alarm them. And thence he
should go to the newly hewn wood of the forest or other places where
he hopes best to see a hart, and keep always from coming into the wind
of the hart, he should also climb upon a tree so that the hart shall
wind nothing of him, and that he can see him further. And if he sees a
hart standing stably he must look well in what country he shall go to
his lair, and privily repair to some place where he can best see
him and there break a bough for a mark. But he must remain a great
while after, for some time a hart will stall and look about a great
while before he will go to his lair, and specially when a great dew is
falling, or else sometimes he cometh out again to look about, and to
listen and to dry himself, and therefore he should stay long, so as
not to frighten him. Then he should fetch his lymer and cast round _as
it is before said in the chapter of the harbouring of a hart_, and
take care that neither he nor his hounds make but little noise for
dread lest he void.
[Illustration: HOW THE HUNTER SHOULD VIEW THE HART (From MS. f. fr.
616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
CHAPTER XXVIII
HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST BETWEEN THE PLAINS AND THE WOOD
Also a man may go in quest in the fields in corn, in vines, in
gardens, and in other places, where the harts go to their pasture in
the fields out of the wood, and he must go forth right early so that
he may look at the ground and judge well, and if he sees anything that
pleases him he can break boughs and lay his mark and cast round as
before is said.
CHAPTER XXIX
HOW A HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST IN THE COPPICE AND THE YOUNG WOOD
Also a man may go in quest among young wood, and although he has been
in the morning and (seen) nought, nevertheless he should not neglect
to quest with his lymer when it is high day when all the deer have
gone to their lairs, for peradventure the hart will sometimes have
gone into the wood before the hunter and lymer came to quest for him.
CHAPTER XXX
HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD GO IN QUEST IN GREAT COVERTS AND STRENGTHS
Also a hunter may go in quest and put himself and his lymer in the
great thickets by high time of day, as I have said, for it befalleth
sometimes that harts are so malicious, that they pasture within
themselves, that is to say within their covert, and go not out to the
fields nor to the coppices nor to the young wood, especially when they
have heard the hounds run before in the forest once or twice. He must
have affeeted (trained) his lymer in such a manner that he neither
opens nor quests[197] when he hunts in the morning, for he would make
the hart void, and that must be by high noon, as I have said, when all
beasts are in their lairs. And if his lymer find anything he should
hold him short and lead him behind him, and look what deer it is, and
if it be anything that pleases him, then he shall sue with his lymer
till the time that he has brought it into some thicket, and then he
shall break his boughs _and take the scantilon and cast round as is
before said, and then return home again to the assembly that in
England is called a meeting or gathering_.
[197] Should not give tongue.
CHAPTER XXXI
HOW A HUNTER SHOULD QUEST IN CLEAR SPIRES AND HIGH WOOD[198]
[198] In the text of our MS. (the Vespasian) no break occurs here, but
in the table of chapters at the beginning of the MS. the chapter as
here given is enumerated, and this corresponds also with the Shirley
and other MSS.
Also I will tell you how a hunter should go in quest among clear
spires, and among high trees, and specially when it has rained the
night before and in the morning. Eke in the time when the heads of the
harts be tender, commonly they abide among clear spires and in high
woods, for a thick country peradventure would do harm to their heads
which be tender. If he meets rain as I before have said, or when their
heads (are tender, and he meeteth[199]) anything that pleaseth him, he
should not follow it with his lymer, for they remain in such a country
as I have said in that time, that is to say in rain and when their
heads are tender, for he might make the deer void into some other
place of the quests as it is before said. And whoso meets him in the
wood in sight of his eyes, then he must set his lymer in his fues. And
if it be a deer that enter-changeth,[200] that is to say if a deer
puts his hind feet in the trace of the fore-feet without passing on,
it is no good token, but if he sets his hinder feet far from the fore
feet it is a good token, for when a hart entre-marcheth it is a token
that he is a light deer and well running and of great flight, for if
he had a side belly and great flanks he could not entre-marche, but
the contrary would he do.[201] And sometimes when the hart makes a
long stride with the hind foot, commonly they cannot fly well, and
have been little hunted. And if he has of the fumes, he should put
them in his horn with grass, or in his lap[202] with grass, for a man
should not bear them in his hand, for they would all break. And when
he should meet in the fields anything that pleaseth him, he should
draw towards his covert, for to make him draw the sooner to his
stronghold, and when he findeth where he goeth in, then he should
break a bough towards the place where the hart is gone, and take the
scantilon, and follow him no further in the wood. Then he should make
a long turn and cast round about by some ways or by-paths, and if he
sees that he hath not passed out of his turn, he may return again to
the gathering, and make them his report, and if it be so that he pass
there where he would umbicast (cast round) and make his turn, and his
lymer before him, then he should look if it is the same hart he had
umbicast (cast round), and if he cannot well see at his ease, then he
should reconnoitre the country till he can see easily and plainly, but
have a care that his lymer open not, _and if his lymer be
dislave[203]_ (be wild), _let him investigate it with his eye_. And if
he seeth that it is his first hart he should not follow him, but then
he should take another turn and umbicast. He must look that he go not
along the ways, for it is the worst sueing that is: for the lymer
commonly overshoots. But he should go a little way off the paths on
one side or the other, until he (the hart) be within his turn, for
then he is most securely harboured and the search shall be shorter.
But if he see that it be too late to run him with strength, and if he
see that the hart goes but softly pacing towards his stronghold he
need not do all these things. And I pray him where he hath met with
the hart, or harboured him in his stronghold or in coppices or in
other thickets, that he take all his blenches (tricks) and his ruses
before said, to be more secure, and to make a shorter search, if he
hath time to do as I have said. Thus I have rehearsed the readiness
that belongs to the harbouring of the hart. _And now will I devise
where men will best find them in bellowing time. It is known that they
begin to bellow fifteen days before grease time[204] ends, especially
old deer, and also if the end of August and the beginning of September
be wet and rainy._
[199] The scribe who copied the Vespasian MS. omitted the bracketed
words.
[200] See Appendix: Hart.
[201] The explanation of this sentence is that a stag which
entre-marched or sur-marched, or in other words placed the hind foot
on the track or beyond the track made by the front foot, was a thin or
light deer, and therefore not a fat stag, which latter was what the
hunter would be looking for.
[202] Lappet of his coat.
[203] Shirley MS. _Dislavee_--obsolete word meaning going beyond
bounds, immoderate.
[204] _After_ grease time. See Appendix: Grease Time.
CHAPTER XXXII
HOW A GOOD HUNTER SHALL GO IN QUEST TO HEAR THE HARTS BELLOW
Also a good hunter should go before daybreak to hear the harts bellow
which peradventure bellow in the forest in divers parts, and to look
by the bellowing of the harts which seemeth to him the greatest. And
always hearkening nearer and nearer under the wind, in such wise that
when he will begin to sue, that he need nothing but to bring the lymer
to the fues. And anon when he seeth that it is a hart that he findeth,
uncouple the finders, but not too many, and this, for fear of falling
in danger (of losing the right deer), should be done right early as
soon as men can see day-light, for in that time the harts chase the
hinds, and go hither and thither and abide no while in one place as
they do in the right season. And because a man cannot come nigh him
with a lymer, it is good to uncouple the hounds, for the hounds will
get nigh them quicker and the bolder hounds will soon dissever
(separate) the harts from the hinds. The harts bellow in divers
manners, according as they be old or young, and according whether
they be in a country where they have not heard the hounds, or where
they have heard them. Some of them bellow with a full open mouth and
often cast up their heads. And these be those that have heard the
hounds only a little in the season, and that are well heated and
swelled. And sometimes about high noon they bellow as before is said.
The others bellow low and great and stooping with the head, and the
muzzle towards the earth, and that is a token of a great hart, and an
old and a malicious, or that he hath heard the hounds, and therefore
dare not bellow or only a few times in the day, unless if it be in the
dawning. And the other belloweth with his muzzle straight out before
him, bolking and rattling in the throat, and also that is a token of a
great and old hart that is assured and firm in his rut. In short all
the harts that bellow greatest and mightiest by reason should be
greatest and oldest.
CHAPTER XXXIII
HOW THE ASSEMBLY THAT MEN CALL GATHERING SHOULD BE MADE BOTH WINTER
AND SUMMER AFTER THE GUISE OF BEYOND THE SEA
The assembly _that men call gathering_ should be made in this manner:
the night before that the Lord or the Master of the Game will go to
the wood, he must cause to come before him all the hunters and the
helps, the grooms and the pages, and shall assign to each one of them
their quests in a certain place, and separate the one from the other,
and the one should not come into the quest of the other, nor do him
annoyance or hinder him. And every one should quest in his best wise,
in the manner that I have said; and should assign them the place where
the gathering shall be made, at most ease for them all, and the
nearest to their quests. And the place where the gathering shall be
made should be in a fair mead well green, where fair trees grow all
about, the one far from the other, and a clear well or beside some
running brook. And it is called gathering because all the men and the
hounds for hunting gather thither, for all they that go to the quest
should all come again in a certain place that I have spoken of. And
also they that come from home, and all the officers that come from
home should bring thither all that they need, every one in his office,
well and plenteously, and should lay the towels and board clothes all
about upon the green grass, and set divers meats upon a great
platter[205] after the lord's power. And some should eat sitting, and
some standing, and some leaning upon their elbows, some should drink,
some laugh, some jangle, some joke and some play--in short do all
manner of disports of gladness, and when men be set at tables ere they
eat then should come the lymerers and their grooms with their lymers
the which have been questing, and every one shall say his report to
the lord of what they have done and found and lay the fumes before the
lord he that hath any found, and then the Lord or the Master of the
hunting by the counsel of them all shall choose which they will move
and run to and which shall be the greatest hart and the highest deer.
And when they shall have eaten, the lord shall devise where the relays
shall go and other things which I shall say more plainly, and then
shall every man speed him to his place, and all haste them to go to
the finding.
[205] G. de F. (p. 151) says "in great plenty," not "upon a great
platter."
[Illustration: HOW TO QUEST FOR THE HART IN COVERTS (From MS. f. fr.
616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
CHAPTER XXXIV
HOW THE HART SHOULD BE MOVED WITH THE LYMER AND RUN TO AND SLAIN WITH
STRENGTH
_When the hart is harboured as before is said and they before named
come to the meeting that some men call the assembly, and also the
scantilon,[206] and the fumes well liked by the Lord and Master of the
Game, then shall the Master of the Game choose of the sergeants or of
the yeoman at horse, which of them shall be at the finding, or all, or
some. Nevertheless, if the deer be likely to fall among danger it were
good to assign some of the horsemen among the relays to help more
readily the hounds, if they fall upon the stint,[207] and when the
hunters on horseback be assigned then he must assign which of the
yeomen berners on foot shall be finders, and which hounds he shall
have with him to the finding, and the lymerer and the pages to go with
him. And after that to assign the relays by advice of them that know
the country and the flight of the deer._
[206] Measure of the deer's footprint. In old English, a measure
(Stratmann).
[207] Wrong scent, or check.
_And there where most danger is, there set the readiest hunters and
the best footers with the boldest hounds with them. And at every relay
sufficeth two couple of hounds or three at the most. And see that amid
the relays, somewhat toward the hinder-most relay, especially if it be
in danger, that one of the lymerer's pages be there with one of the
lymers. And the more danger_ (there is) _the older and the readier,
and the most tender nosed hound. And when all is ordained then shall
the Lord and the Master of the Game, if he liketh better to be at the
finding than with a relay, shall go thither where the deer is
harboured, and set ready waits about the quarter of the wood that the
deer is in, to see what cometh out, or to see if the deer that is
harboured would start and steal away ere the lymer moved him. And this
done, then should the Lord and Master of the Game bid the lymerer
bring them there where he marked that the hart went in, and when they
be there the lymerer should take away the boughs he laid over the
trace at the harbouring, and set his lymer in the fues, and then shall
the Lord if he can blow, blow three motes, and after him the Master of
the Game, and after the hunters, as they be greatest in office, that
be at the finding, and then the lymerer. And after that if the lymer
sue boldly and lustily the lymerer shall say to him loud; "Ho moy, ho
moy, hole hole hole." And ever take good heed to his feet, and look
well about him. And as oft as he findeth the fues, or if it be in
thick spires,[208] boughs or branches broken, where the deer hath
walked, he should say aloud--"Cy va--cy va--cy va," and rally with his
horn, and always should the yeoman berner the which is ordained to be
finder, follow the lymer and be as nigh him as he might with the
raches that he leadeth for the finding, and if the lymer as he sueth,
overshoot and be out of the fues, the lymerer should always, till his
hounds be fallen in again, speak to him, calling his name, be it
Loyer, or Beaumont, or Latimer or Bemond according to what the hound
is named, and anon as he falls in again and finds the fues or branches
as before is said he shall say loud, "Cy va" as before and rally and
so forth at every time that he findeth thereof, until that the lymer
move him. Nevertheless I have seen when a lymer sueth long and could
not so soon move him as men would, that they have taken up the lymer
and uncoupled one or two hounds, to have him sooner found, but this
truly no skilful hunter ought to do, unless the lymer cannot put it
forth, nor bring it any further, or that the deer be stirring in the
quarter, and hath not waited for the moving of the lymer. Or else that
it be so far advanced in the day, that the sun hath dried up the fues,
and that they have little day enough to run him and hunt him with
strength. But now to come again to the lymer, it is to wit that when
the lymer_ _hath moved him, if the lymerer can see him he shall blow a
mote,[209] and rechace_ (recheat),[210] _and if the deer be soule_
(alone) _the Berners shall uncouple all the finders, and if he be not
alone two hounds sufficeth till he be separated, and if the lymerer
saw him _(not) _at the moving he should go to his lair and look
thereby whether it be a hart or not, and if he see by the lair or by
the fues that it is the same deer, that he hath sued_ (hunted) _and
alone he should rechase without a long mote, for the mote should never
be blown before the rechasing,[211] unless a man seeth that which he
hunteth for. And then the Berner should do as I have said before, and
if he be not alone the Berner should do as above is said, for it is to
wit that the mote before rechasing_ (recheating) _shall never be blown
but when a man seeth what he hunteth for, as I have said. Now
furthermore, when the hart is moved and the finders cast off, then
should the lymerer take up his hounds and follow after, and foot it in
the best wise that he can. And the Berner also and every horseman go
that can go, so that they come not into the fues_ (across the line)
_nor in front of the hounds, and shape_ (their course) _as often as
they can to meet him. And as often as any man see him or meet him, he
should go to the fues and blow a mote and rechace and then holloa to
the hounds to come forth withall, and this done, speed him fast in the
manner that I have said to meet with him again. And the relay that he_
(the hart) _cometh to first should take good heed that he
vauntlay[212] not, if other relays be behind for dread of bending out
from the relay. But he should let the deer pass and go to the fues,
and there blow a mote, and rechace and rally upon the fues. And the
hunter ought to be advised that his hounds catch it _(the scent) _well
in couple, ere he relay, that they run not counter.[213] For that
might make the hounds that come therewith and the hunters to be on a
stynt _(at fault), _and peradventure not recover it all the day after.
And if it so be that the hunter that hath relayed, see that the deer
be likely to fall into danger, that is to say among other deer, and
else it needeth not, he should when he hath relayed stand still in the
fues, and holloa the hounds that come forth therewith and take up the
hindermost, and if it be in a park go stand again with them at his
place, and if it be out of park in a forest or other wood follow after
as well as he is able. And in this wise ought every relay to do till
he come among the back relays. For if they at the back see by the
spreading of the clees_ (claws) _by setting fast and deep his ergots_
(dew claws) _in the earth, and if they see him also cast his
chaule,[214] then they ought to vauntlay for advantage of the hounds,
for so shall they sooner have him at bay, and from then he is but dead
if the hunters serve aright the hounds. Nevertheless men have seen at
the first finding or soon after, deer turn the head_ (to bay), _and
oftenest in rutting time, but I mean not of deer that turneth so to
bay, but I mean of hunted deer when men have seen of them the tokens
said before that he stand at bay. And if it be so that the hounds have
envoised[215] or have overshot, or that they be on a stynt by any
other ways, those hunters on horseback or on foot to whom belongs the
right, first should blow the stynt as I shall devise in a chapter that
shall be of all blowing.[216] And after that he should fall before the
hounds as soon as he can and take them up, and if so be that they have
envoysed two deer of antler[217] they should not be rated badly, but
get in front off them and take them off in the fairest way that men
can. And if they run ought else they should be got in front of and
rated and well lashed. And what hounds they may get up, bring them to
the next rights_ (right line) _if they know where, or else there where
he_ (the hart) _was last seen. And if it be great danger they ought to
blow a mote for the lymer and let him sue till he hath retrieved him
or else till he hath brought him out of danger. And as oft as he
findeth or seeth that he is in the rights the lymerer should say loud,
"Cy va" twice or thrice--and recheat, and so should the hunters as oft
as they lust to blow. And if the lymer overshoot or cannot put it
forth, every hunter that is there ought to go some deal abroad for to
see if he may find the rights by vesteying_ (searching) _thereof. And
whoso may find it before the lymer be fallen in again, he should
recheat in the rights, and blow after that a mote for the lymer and
sue forth as is said before. And if the lymer gave it up, and cannot
and will not do his devoire_ (duty), _then should they blow two motes
for the raches and cast them off there where they were last in the
rights. And if the hunters hear that the hounds run well and put it
lustily forth they should rout and jopey[218] to them lustily and
often and recheat also. And if there be but one hound that undertaketh
it lustily they shall hue and jopey to him, and also recheat. As oft
as they be on a stynt they should blow the stynt and do as before is
said. And if any of the aforesaid hounds retrieve him so that men may
know and hear it by the doubling of their menee,[219] but if they hear
any hunter above them that hath met_ (the deer) _that bloweth the
rights and holloaeth else_ (where) _they should haste them thither
where they thought the hounds retrieved it; or else to meet with the
hounds for to see the fues whether it be the hunted deer or not. And
if it is not he, they should do as above is said when they be on a
stynt, and if it be he every man shall speed him that speed may, and
every relay do as before is said. And if any of the hunters happen
while they be on a stynt to see a hart that he thinketh to be the
hunted deer he ought to blow a mote and recheat and after that blow
two motes for the hounds and stand still before the fues till the
Berner with the hounds do come. And if they suppose that they may not
hear him he should draw to them till they have heard him. And when any
of the Berners or the lymerer hear a man blow for them, they should
answer blowing in this wise in their horn: "trut trut trut," but he
should know readily by the fues after the tokens that have been said
before, whether it be the hunted deer or not. And in the same wise
shall a hunter do that findeth an hart quat_ (couched), _and he
thinketh it to be the hunted deer, and he sees that his fellows and
the hounds be on a stynt, he should well beware that he blow not too
nigh him, lest he start, and go away, before the hounds come.
Nevertheless for to wit whether it be the hunted deer or no, the
tokens have been rehearsed before--and when he hath been so well run
to and enchased and retrieved, and so oft relayed and vauntelayed to,
and that he seeth that_ (neither) _by beating up the rivers nor brooks
nor foiling him down, nor going to soil, nor rusing to and fro upon
himself, which is to say in his own fues, can help him, then turns he
his head and standeth at bay. And then as far as it may be heard every
man draweth thither, and the knowing thereof is that the hunter that
cometh first, and the hunters_ (one) _after the other they holloa all
together, and blow a mote and rechace all at once. And that they never
do but when he is at bay or when bay is made for the hounds, after he
is dead, when they should be rewarded or enquerreyde.[220] And when
the hunters that held the relays be there, or that they be nigh the
bay, they should pull off the couples from the hounds' necks and let
them draw thither. And the hunters should break the bay as often as
they can for two causes; the one lest he _(the stag) _hurt the hounds,
if he stand and rest long in one place; another is that the relays
that stand far can come up with their hounds the while he is alive,
and be at the death. And it is to be known that if any of the hunters
have been at any time while the deer hath been run to out of hearing
of hound and horn, he should have blown the forloyne,[221] unless he
were in a park, for there it should never be blown. And whoso first
heard him so blow should blow again to him the "perfect,"[222] if it
so be that he were in his rights, and else not. For by that shall he
be brought to readiness and comfort who before did not know where the
game or any of his fellows were. And when it so is, that they have
thought that the bay has lasted long enough, then should he whoso be
the most master bid some of the hunters go spay[223] him behind the
shoulder forward to the heart. But the lymerer should let slip the
rope while he_ (the deer) _stood on his feet, and let the lymer go to_
(him), _for by right the lymer should never_ (go) _out of the rope,
though he_ (be let) _slip from ever so far. And when the deer is dead,
and lieth on one side then first it is time to blow the death, for it
should never be blown at hart hunting till the deer be on its side.
And then should the hounds be coupled up and as fast as a man can. One
of the Berners should encorne him, that is to say turn his horns
earthwards and the throat upwards, and slit the skin of the throat all
along the neck, and cut labelles_ (small flaps) _on either side of the
skin, the which shall hang still upon the head, for this belongeth to
an hart slain with strength, and else not. And then should the hunter
flay down the skin as far as he can, and then with a sharp trencher
cut as thick as he can the flesh down to the neck bone, and this done
every man stand abroad and blow the death, and make short bay for to
reward the hounds. And every man_ (shall) _have a small rod in his
hand to hold the hounds that they should the better bay and every man
blow the death that can blow. And as oft as any hunter beginneth to
blow every man shall blow for the death to make the better noise, and
make the hounds better know the horns and the bay, and when they have
bayed a while let the hounds come to eat the flesh, to the hard bone
from in front of the shoulders right to the head, for that is their
reward of right. And then take them off fair and couple them up again.
And then bring to the lymers and serve each by himself, and then
should the Lord if he list or else the Master of the Game, or if he be
absent whoso is greatest of the hunters, blow the prise at coupling
up, and that should be blown only of the aforesaid, and by no others.
Nevertheless it is to wit that if the Lord be not come soon enough to
the bay, while the deer is alive they ought to hold the bay as long as
they can, without rebuking the hounds, to await the Lord, and if the
Lord remains away too long, when the deer is spayed and laid on one
side, before they do ought else, the Master of the Game, or which of
the horsemen that be there at the death, should mount their horses and
every man draw his way blowing the death till one of them hath met
with him, or heard of him, and brought him thither. And if they cannot
meet with him, and that they have word that he is gone home, they
ought to come again, and do, whoso is greatest master, as the Lord
should do, if he were there, and right so should they do to the Master
of the Game in the Lord's absence. Also if the Lord be there all
things should be done of the bay and rewarding as before is said, and
then he should charge whom he list to undo the deer, if the hounds
shall not be enquyrid thereon, for if they should, there needeth no
more but to caboche[224] his head, all the upper jaw still thereon,
and the labelles aforesaid; and then hold him and lay the skin open,
and lay the head at the skin's end right in front of the shoulders.
And when the hounds are thus inquirreide the lymers should have both
the shoulders for their rights, and else they should not have but the
ears and the brain whereof they should be served, the hart's head
lying under their feet. But on the other hand if the lord will have
the deer undone, he that he biddeth as before is said, should undo him
most woodmanly and cleanly that he can and wonder ye not that I say
woodmanly, for it is a point that belongeth to woodmanscraft, though
it be well suiting to an hunter to be able to do it. Nevertheless it
belongeth more to woodmanscraft than to hunters, and therefore as of
the manner he should be undone I pass over lightly, for there is no
woodman nor good hunter in England that cannot do it well enough, and
well better than I can tell them. Nevertheless when so is that the
paunch is taken out clean and whole and the small guts, one of the
groom chacechiens should take the paunch and go to the next water
withal, and slit it, and cast out the filth and wash it clean, that no
filth abide therein. And then bring it again and cut it in small
gobetts in the blood that should be kept in the skin and the lungs
withal, if they be hot and else not, and all the small guts withal,
and bread broken therein according whether the hounds be few or many,
and all this turned and meddled together among the blood till it be
well brewed in the blood, and then look for a small green, and thither
bear all this upon the skin with as much blood as can be saved, and
there lay it, and spread the skin thereupon, the hair side upward, and
lay the head, the visage, forward at the neck end of the skin. And
then the lord shall go take a fair small rod in his hand, the which
one of the yeomen or of the grooms should cut for him, and the Master
of the Game and other, and the sergeants, and each of the yeomen on
horse, and others, and then the Lord should take up the hart's head by
the right side between the surroyal and the fork or troche whichever
it be that he bear, and the Master of the Game, the left side in the
same wise, and hold the head upright that the nose touch the earth.
And then every man that is there, save the berners on foot and the
chacechiens and the lymerers which should be with their hounds and
wait upon them in a fair green where there is a cool shadow, should
stand in front on either side of the head, with rods, that no hound
come about, nor on the sides, but that all stand in front. And when it
is ready the Master of the Game or the sergeant should bid the berners
bring forth their hounds and stand still in front of them a small
quoit's cast from thence, as the bay is ordained. And when they be
there the Master of the Game or sergeant should cry skilfully loud:
"Devour" and then holloa every wight, and every hunter blow the death.
And when the hounds be come and bay the head, the Berners should pull
off the couples as fast as they can. And when the Lord thinketh the
bay hath lasted long enough, the Master of the Game should pull away
the head and anon others should be ready to pull away the skin and let
the hounds come to the reward, and then should the Lord and Master of
the Game, and all the hunters stand around all about the reward, and
blow the death. As oft as any of them begin every man bear him
fellowship till the hounds be well rewarded, and that they have nought
left. And right thus should be done when the hounds should be
enquyrreied of the whole deer. And when there is nought left then
should the Lord, if he wishes, or else the Master of the Game or in
his absence whoso is greatest next him, stroke_ (blow) _in this wise,
that is to say blow four motes and stynt_ (stop) _not_ (for the time
of) _half an Ave Maria and then blow other four motes a little longer
than the first four motes. And thus should no wight stroke, but when
the hart is slain with strength, and when one of the aforesaid hath
thus blown then should the grooms couple up the hounds and draw
homewards fair and soft. And all the rest of the hunters should stroke
in this wise: "Trut, trut, tro-ro-row, tro-ro-row," and four motes all
of one length not too long and not too short. And otherwise should no
hart hunter stroke from thenceforth till they go to bed. And thus
should the Berners on foot and the grooms lead home the hounds and
send in front that the kennel be clean and the trough filled with
clean water, and their couch renewed with fresh straw. And the Master
of the Game and the sergeant and the yeoman at horse should come home
and blow the menee at the hall door or at the cellar door as I shall
devise. First the master, or whoso is greatest next him, shall begin
and blow three motes[225] alone, and at the first mote[226] the
remnant of the aforesaid should blow with him, and beware that none
blow longer than another, and after the three motes even forthwith
they should blow the recoupling as thus: "Trut, trut, trororo rout,"
and that they be advised that from the time they fall in to blow
together, that none of them begin before_ (the) _other nor end after_
(the) _other. And if it be the first hart slain with strength in the
season, or the last, the sergeant and the yeoman shall go on their
office's behalf and ask their fees of the which I report me to the old
statutes and customs of the King's house. And this done the Master of
the Game ought to speak to the officers that all the hunters' suppers
be well ordained, and that they drink not ale, and nothing but wine
that night for the good and great labour they have had for the Lord's
game and disport, and for the exploit and making of the hounds. And
also that they may the more merrily and gladly tell what each of them
hath done all the day and which hounds have best run and boldest._
[208] Shoots, fresh-growing young wood.
[209] A long note.
[210] Recheat, a hunting signal on the horn.
[211] Recheating. See Appendix: Hunting-Music.
[212] Vauntlay, to cast off the relay before the hounds already
hunting have passed. See Appendix: Relays.
[213] Do not hunt heel: _contre_, counter.
[214] Drop his jaw. (?)
[215] Gone off the right line.
[216] This chapter does not exist.
[217] If the hounds have gone away after two stags.
[218] Call to the hounds encouragingly.
[219] Shirley MS.: "doubling of their mouths," from the Fr. _menee_.
See Appendix: Menee.
[220] See Appendix: Curée.
[221] A horn signal denoting that the chase is being followed at a
distance by those who blow. From the Fr. _fortloin_, written forlonge.
See Appendix: Forlonge.
[222] A note sounded only by those who are on the right line.
[223] To kill with a sword or hunting knife. See Appendix: Spay.
[224] Cut off the head close behind the antlers. Shirley MS.:
"Cabache."
[225] Shirley MS. says four notes.
[226] Should read: "at the last moot."
CHAPTER XXXV
HOW AN HUNTER SHOULD SEEK AND FIND THE HARE WITH RUNNING HOUNDS AND
SLAY HER WITH STRENGTH
_Ere I speak how the hare should be hunted, it is to be known that the
hare is king of all venery, for all blowing and the fair terms of
hunting cometh of the seeking and the finding of the hare. For certain
it is the most marvellous beast that is, for ever she fumeth or
croteth and roungeth and beareth tallow and grease. And though men say
that she fumeth inasmuch as she beareth tallow, yet that which cometh
from her is not called fumes but croteys. And she hath teeth above in
the same wise as beneath. It is also to be known that the hare is at
one time male and another time female. When she is female sometimes
she kindles in three degrees, two rough, two smooth and two knots that
afterwards should be kindles, but this happeneth but seldom. Now for
to speak of the hare how he shall be sought and found and chased with
hounds. It is to be known what the first word_ (should be) _that the
hunter should speak to his hounds when he lets them out of the kennel.
When the door is opened he shall say loud: "Ho ho arere,"[227]
because that his hounds will come out too hastily. And when he
uncoupleth his hounds, he shall say to them when he comes into the
field: "Sto mon amy sto atrete," but when he is come forth into the
field he shall blow three motes and uncouple the hounds, then he shall
speak twice to his hounds in this wise, "Hors de couple, avaunt cy
avaunt"[228] and then he shall say thrice "So how" and no more;
afterward he shall say loud "Sa say cy avaunt" and then "Sa cy avaunt,
sa cy avaunt so how," and if he see the hounds draw fast from him and
would fain run, he shall say thus to them here: "How amy--how amy,"
and then shall he say "Swe mon famy swef"[229] for to make them go
softly, and between always blow three motes. And if any of his hounds
find and own to the hare where he hath been, he shall say to them in
this wise: "Oyez a Beaumont le vaillant," or what the hound is called.
And if he seeth that the hare hath been at pasture in green corn or in
any other place and his hounds find of her and that they fall well in
enquest[230]_ (hunt) _and chase it well, then he shall say "La Douce,
la il a este"[231] and therewith "So howe" with a high voice, and if
his hounds chase not well at his pleasure and they grede_ (hunt)
_there where he has not pastured, then shall he say "Illeoqs
illeoqs"[232] in the same place while they seek her. And then he
should cast and look about the field, to see where she hath been and
whether she hath pastured or not, or whether she be in her form, for
she does not like to remain where she hath pastured except in time of
relief. If any hounds scent her, and she hath gone from thence to
another place, he shall say thus to his hounds as loud as he can: "Ha
cy douce cy et venuz arere, so howe."[233] And if he see that she be
gone to the plain or the field or to arable land or into the wood, if
his hounds get well on her scent, then he shall say: "La douce amy, il
ad est illeoqs"[234] and therewith he shall say: "so-how illeoqs, sy
douce cy vayllant"[235] and twice "so-howe," and when he is come there
where he supposeth the hare dwells then shall he say thus: "La douce
la est il venuz" and therewith thrice "so-howe" and no more. And if he
thinks he is sure to find her in any place then he shall say: "La
douce how-here, how-here, how-here, how-here, douce how-here
how-here," and when she is found and started he shall blow a mote and
rechase[236] and holloa as often as he wishes and then say loud:
"Oyez! a Beaumond" or what the hound is named, "le vailaunt oyez,
oyez, oyez, who-bo-lowe," and then "Avaunte assemble, avaunte." And
then should the horsemen keep well to one side and some way to the
front with long rods in their hands to meet with her, and so blowe a
mote and rechace and holloa and set the hounds in the rights if they
see her, and also for to prevent any hound following sheep, or other
beasts, and if they do to ascrie_ (rate) _them sorely and dismount and
take them up and lash them well, saying loud "Ware ware ha ha ware"
and lash them back to their fellows, and if it happens that the hare
be seated in her form in front of the hounds, and that they cannot
find her as soon as they would, then shall he say: "How-sa amy sa sa
acouplere, sa arere, so-how," but not_ (blow) _the stynt too soon. And
if he seeth that his hounds cannot put her up as soon as he would,
then shall he blow the stynt, and say loud: "ho ho ore swef a la
douce, a lui, a lui, so how assamy, assamy, la arere so-howe, venez
acouplere," and thus as oft as the aforesaid case happeneth. And as
oft as any hound catcheth it_ (the scent) _he should hue to him by his
name, and rout him to his fellows as before is said, but not rechace
till the hare be found, or that some man meet it and blow the rights
and holloa, or else that he findeth her pointing or pricking whichever
it be, for both mean the same, but some call it the one and some the
other. And if he find that he can well blow the rights and holloa and
jopey three or four times and cry loud "le voy, le voy," till the
hounds come thither and have well caught it. And_ (when) _she is
retrieved blow and holloa and rout to the hounds as it is said you
should do at the finding, and follow after and foot it who can foot
it. And if it happen when men hunt her and hounds chase her that she
squat anywhere before the hounds, and that any hunter find her
squatting, if the hounds be nigh about, he should blow a mote and
rechace and start her, and then halloa and rout to them as above is
said. And if he find her squat, and the hounds be far from him, then
should he blow as I last said before, and after two motes for the
hounds, and the berners that hear him should answer him thus "trut,
trut, trut" and draw all towards him with the hounds as fast as they
can, saying to their hounds: "so-how, mon amy, so-howe." And when they
be there and the hounds have all come up, they should check them with
one of their rods, and when she is started, blow, holloa and rout as
before is said, and according to what the case requireth, do as before
is said and devised. And when she hath been well chased and well
retrieved, notwithstanding her rusing and squatting and reseating, so
that by strength at last she is bitten by the hounds, whoso is nearest
should start to take her whole from them, and hold her in his one hand
over his head high, and blow the death that men may gather thither,
and when they be come, then should she be stripped, all save the head,
and the gall and the paunch cast away, and the remnant should be laid
on a great staff or on a board, whoso hath it, or on the earth, and
then it should be chopped as small as it can be, so that it hang
together; and when it is so done then should one of the berners take
it up with the head and hold it as high as he is able in his hands,
and then whoso is most master, blow the death, and anon as he
beginneth every man help and holloa. And when the hounds have bayed,
as long as is wished by the aforesaid most master, then should the
berner pull as high as he can every piece from the other and cast to
every hound his reward. And then should the most master blow a mote
and stroke, if so be that he thinks that the hounds have done enough,
and else he should rest awhile, if the hounds be hot, till they be
cooled, and then led to the water to lap. And then if he wish blow
three motes and uncouple and speak and so do as before is said. And if
they will seek a covert for the hare and set greyhounds without, they
should blow and seek and speak in the manner as before is said, save
that if the hounds find anything what so ever it be, he shall rally
and jopey till he has seen it, or that he knows what it is (and if it
be an hare do as above is said),[237] and if it be ought else he shall
blow drawing with his horn and cry loud "So-how mon amy, so-how, sto
arere, so-how, so-howe," and seek forthwith again with three long
motes till the hare be found. Yet nevertheless if they be hart-hunters
that seek a covert for the hare, and their hounds find a fox, whoso
meeteth with him should blow out upon him to warn the fewterers[238]
that there is a thief in the wood. And if they run at the hare and the
hare happen to come out to the greyhounds in front of the raches and
be killed, the fewterer that let run should blow the death and keep it
as whole as he may till the hunters be come, and then should they
reward the hounds as before is said._
[227] "Back there!" from the Fr. _arrière_.
[228] "Out of couples, forward there, forward!" (Precisely the same
instructions are given by the later Twety and Gyfford.)
[229] "Gently, my friend, gently!"
[230] Quest, hunt, seek, also challenge.
[231] "Softly, there he has been!"
[232] "In this place," or "here, here." This passage, which reads
somewhat confusedly in our MS., is clearer in Twety and Gyfford
(_Reliquiæ Antiquæ_, vol. i. p. 149). It reads as follows: "And then
ye shall blowe iij notes, yf yowr hund ne chace not well hym, there
one ther another, as he hath pasturyd hym, ye shall say _'Illeosque,
illeosque, illeosque_,'" meaning that 3 motes should be blown where
the hare has pastured to bring your hounds to the place, _illeosque_
meaning here, in this place.
[233] "Softly there, here she has been, back there." Following this
the Shirley MS. and Twety and Gyfford contain a passage which our MS.
has not got: "And thenne _sa cy, a este sohow_, and afterwards _sa cy
avaunt_."
[234] "Softly, my friend, she has been here."
[235] "Here gently, here valiantly."
[236] To call back the hounds from a wrong scent, the same as
"recheat."
[237] The words in brackets are in the Shirley MS.
[238] Huntsman holding hounds in leash.
[Illustration: HARE-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RUNNING HOUNDS (From
MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
[Illustration: HARE-DRIVING WITH LOW BELLS (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib.
Nat._, Paris)]
[Illustration: NETTING HARES IN THEIR "MUSES" (From MS. f. fr. 616,
_Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
CHAPTER XXXVI
OF THE ORDINANCE AND THE MANNER OF HUNTING WHEN THE KING WILL HUNT IN
FORESTS OR IN PARKS FOR THE HART WITH BOWS AND GREYHOUNDS AND STABLE
_The Master of the Game should be in accordance with the master
forester or parker where it should be that the King should hunt such a
day, and if the tract be wide, the aforesaid forester or parker should
warn the sheriff of the shire where the hunting shall be, for to order
sufficient stable,[239] and carts, also to bring the deer that should
be slain to the place where the curées at huntings have been usually
held. And thence he should warn the hunters and fewterers whither they
should come, and the forester should have men ready there to meet
them, that they go no farther, nor straggle about for fear of
frightening the game, before the King comes. And if the hunting shall
be in a park all men should remain at the park gate, save the stable
that ought to be set ere the King comes, and they should be set by the
foresters or parkers. And early in the morning the Master of the Game
should be at the wood to see that all be ready, and he or his
lieutenant or such hunters that he wishes, ought to set the greyhounds
and who so be teasers[240] to the King or to the Queen, or to their
attendants. As often as any hart cometh out he should when he passes
blow a mote and recheat, and let slip to tease it forth, and if it be
a stag, he should let him pass as I said and rally to warn the
fewterers what is coming out. And to lesser deer should no wight let
run, and if he hath seen the stag, not unless he were commanded.[241]
And then the master forester or parker ought to show him the King's
standing if the King would stand with his bow, and where all the
remnant of the bows would stand. And the yeoman for the King's bows
ought to be there to keep and make the King's standing, and remain
there without noise, till the King comes. And the grooms that keep the
king's dogs and broken greyhounds should be there with him, for they
belong to the yeomen's office, and also the Master of the Game should
be informed by the forester or parker what game the king should find
within the set,[242] and when all this is done, then should the Master
of the Game worthe_ (mount) _upon_ (his) _horse and meet the King and
bring him to his standing and tell him what game is within the set,
and how the greyhounds be set, and also the stable, and also tell him
where it is best for him to stand with his bow or with his greyhounds,
for it is to be known that the attendants of his chamber and of the
queen's should be best placed, and the two fewterers ought to make
fair lodges of green boughs at the tryste to keep the King and Queen
and ladies, and gentlewomen and also the greyhounds from the sun and
bad weather. And when the King is at his standing or at his tryste,
whichever he prefers, and the Master of the Game or his lieutenant
have set the bows and assigned who shall lead the Queen to her tryste,
then he should blow the three long motes for the uncoupling. And the
hart hounds and the harriers that before have been led by some
forester or parker thither where they should uncouple, and all the
hounds that belong to both the mutes_ (packs) _waiting for the Master
of the Game's blowing. Then should the sergeant of the mute of the
hart-hounds, if there be much rascal within the set, make all them of
office, save the yeomen of the horse, hardel[243] their hounds, and in
every hardel two or three couple of hounds at the most suffice. And
then to stand abroad in the woods for relays, and then blow three
motes to the uncoupling. And then should the harrier uncouple his
hounds and blow three motes and seek forth saying loud and long, "hoo
sto ho sto, mon amy, ho sto" and if they draw far from him in any
unruly manner he should speak to them in that case as when he seeketh
for the hare. And as oft as he passes within the set from one quarter
to another, he should blow drawing, and when he is passed the boundary
of the quarter, and entered into a new quarter, he should blow three
motes and seek forth, but if so be, that his hounds enchace anything
as he wishes, and if any hound happen to find of the King's_ (game),
_he should hue to him by his name and say loud: "Oyez a Bemond,
oyez-oyez, assemble, assemble," or what the hound is named, "assemble,
assemble" and jopey and rally. And if it be an hart and any of the
hart hounds meet with it they should blow a mote and rechace and
relay, and go forth therewith all rechacing among. And if it come to
the bows or to greyhounds and be dead, he should blow the death when
he is come thither, and reward his hounds a little, and couple them up
and go again to his place. And if the hart has escaped he should no
longer rechace, but blow drawing and draw in again, and in the best
way that he can, take up his hounds and get in front of them. And
after that the harriers have well run and well made the rascal
void,[244] then should the sergeant and the berners of the hart hounds
blow three motes, the one after the other and uncouple there where
they suppose the best ligging_ (lair) _is for a hart, and seek as
before is said; unless it be the season when the hart's head is
tender, then he shall use some of the aforesaid words of seeking to
the hounds: "Le doulez, mon amy, le doulez, le doules," and if his
hounds find anything do as before is said, and if it be a hart, do as
above is said, as he may know by his fues or by men that meet with
him. And if it be ought else, the berner ought to blow drawing, and
who meeteth with him_ (the hart) _call to them, and the berner should
say "Sto arere so how, so how." And if the lymerer meet withal, or see
by the fues that it is an hart, he should sue thereto till he be dead.
If it go to the greyhounds and if it go to the bows, and be smitten
anon, as he findeth blood he should take up his hounds and lead them
thence and reward them a little, and then if he escape out of the set,
he should reward his hounds, and take them up and go again to the wood
and look if he may meet with anything. And as often as he meeteth and
findeth, or his hounds run on a fresh scent, do as before is said. And
one thing is to be known, that the hart-hounds should never be
uncoupled before any other, unless a hart be readily harboured, and
that he may be sued to and moved with the lymer, or else that they be
uncoupled to a herd of great male deer at the view, namely within a
set in a forest or in a park, there where there is a great change of
rascal. And that is the cause why the other hounds shall be first
uncoupled to make the rascal void, for small deer will sooner leave
their covert than will a great hart, unless it be a hind that hath her
calf in the wood, and hath lately calved. And when the rascal is thus
voided then the hart hounds are uncoupled and they find the great old
wily deer that will not lightly void, and they enchace him well and
lustily and make him void both to bows and to greyhounds, so that they
fully do their duty. And all the while that the hunting lasteth should
the carts go about from place to place for to bring the deer to the
curée. And there should the server[245] of the hall be to arrange the
curées, and to lay the game in a row, all the heads one way--and every
deer's feet to the other's back. The harts should be laid in two or
three rows_ (by themselves) _according to whether there be many or
few, and the rascal in the same way by themselves, and they should
take care that no man come within the curées till the King come, save
the Master of the Game. And when the covert is well hunted and
cleared, then should the Master of the Game come to the King to know
if he would hunt any more. And if the King say yea, then shall the
Master of the Game if the greyhounds or bows or stable need not to be
removed, blow two long motes for the hounds, and forthwith blow
drawing with three long motes that men should stand still, and the
hunters may know that they should come to a new seeking with their
hounds. And when the hounds be come there where they should uncouple
blow three long motes and do and seek and blow, as is before said. And
if the bows and greyhounds and stable should be removed, then should
he blow a mote and stroke, without the mote in the middle, for to draw
men together, and thereby may men know that the king will hunt more
ere he go home. And when men come together, then should the Master of
the Game see to the placing of the King and of the Queen and of the
bows and of the greyhounds and of the stable, as I have said here
before, and the hunters to their seeking, and of all other things do
in the same manner as I have said. And if the king will hunt no more,
then should the Master of his Game, if the King will not blow, blow a
mote and stroke with a mote in the middle and the sergeant or whoso
bloweth next him, and no man else, should blow the first mote but only
the middle, and so every man as oft as he likes to stroke, if they
have obtained that which they hunted for. And the middle mote should
not be blown save by him that bloweth next the master. And thereby may
men know as they hear men stroke homeward whether they have well sped
or not. And this way of stroking should serve in the manner I have
rehearsed for all hunting save when the hart is slain with strength.
And when the mote is blown and stroked, then should the Master of the
Game lead the King to the curée, and show it him, and no man as I have
said above should come within it, but every man_ (keep) _without it.
And then the King shall tell the Master of the Game what deer he would
were_ (given away) _and to whom, and_ (after this) _if the King wishes
to stay he may. Nevertheless he usually goes home when he hath done
this. And then should the Master of the Game begin at one row and so
forth, and tythe all the deer right as they lie, rascal and others,
and deliver it to the proctors of the church that ought to have it.
And then_ (separate) _the deer that the king commandeth him to
deliver, and if any of them that should have part of the deer be not
there he should charge the master forester to send it home, and then
he should deliver a certain_ (part) _of the remnant to the afore said
sewers and to the sergeant of the larder and the remnants should be
given by the Master of the Game, some to the gentlemen of the country
by the information of the forester or parker, as they have been
friendly to the bailie, and the remnant to the officers and hunters as
he liketh best. And it is to be known that every man bow and fewterer
that hath slain anything should mark it that he might challenge his
fee, and have it at the curée, but let him beware that he marks no
lord's mark nor_ (other) _fewterers nor hunters, or he will lose his
fee. And also it is to be known that the fees of all follies belong to
the master of the harriers, if so be that he or his deputy be at the
hunting, and blow three motes and else not, in which case the Master
of the Game can give it to whom he wishes save what the King slayeth
with his bow or the Queen or my lord the prince, or that which they
bid with their own mouth to let run to. And all shall be judged folly
of red deer which is beneath the hart, and of fallow deer which is
beneath the buck, nevertheless if the harrier would challenge the deer
for folly, and it is not folly, if there be a strife with him who
asketh the fee, the Master of the Game shall judge it, and right so
shall he do of all these strifes for fees between bow and bow, and
fewterer and fewterer, and of all other strifes and discords that
belong to hunting. And when all the deer be delivered, and the hunters
and the fewterers of the kennel be assigned to undo the deer that be
delivered for the king's larder, then should the grooms chacechiens of
the hart-hounds gather the paunches and small guts together and do
with them as is advised in the chapter of the hart hunting with
strength, and get them a skin to lie thereover, and do as in the same
chapter described with the greatest and best head_ (antlers) _that
they can find in all the curée. Save the blowing of the prise and the
stroking and the menee, the bay should wait till the curées be done,
and the flesh taken away, and there should the Master of the Game be,
and the sergeant and all the yeomen and grooms of the office. And if
the greyhounds[246] shall be rewarded it should be done right as is
devised in the aforesaid chapter, except that the blowings above
described shall be left out. And also whosoever slew the deer the
yeomen of the office should have the skin that lyeth upon the deer
when the hounds are rewarded. And also it is to know that the harriers
when they have run shall be rewarded with the paunches and guts, but
there is no need to make a long bay with the hart's head to them, for
they are made to run and chase all game that one wishes, and that is
the cause why the master of them has the fees of all deer save the
hart and the buck, unless it be in the certain case before mentioned.
And when the curée is done, and the bay made, then is the time for
every man to draw homeward to his supper and to make himself as merry
as he can. And when the yeomen berners and grooms have led home the
hounds and set them well up and supplied them with water and straw
according to what they need, then should they go to their supper and
drink well and make merry. And of the fees it is to be known that the
man whoever he be, who has smitten a deer while posted at his tree
with a death-stroke so that the deer be got before the sun goes down,
he shall have the skin. And if he be not posted or has gone from his
tree, or has done otherwise than is said, he shall have none. And as
of the fewterers, if they be posted, the first teaser and
receiver[247] that draweth the deer down shall divide the skin.[248]
Nevertheless in other lord's hunting whoso pincheth first and goeth
therewith to the death he shall have the skin. And all the deer's
necks are the hunters, and one shoulder and the chine is his that
undoeth the deer, and the other shoulder is the forester's or the
parker's fee that keepeth the bailie that is hunted. And all the skins
of harts slain with strength of the hart-hounds, belong to the master
of the hart-hounds as his fee, that is to say he that hath the wages
of twelve pence a day for the office. It is to be known that when the
king hunteth in the park or in the forest with bows and greyhounds,
and it happens that any hart be slain with strength of hart-hounds,
all the hart hunters after the King or the Master of his Game have
blown a mote and stroked, all day they should stroke the assise that
belongeth to the hart slain with strength, but not with eight long
motes, but with four short and four long motes, as is in the aforesaid
chapter plainly devised. And all the other hunters should stroke the
common stroking as is above described and said._
[239] Men and hounds stationed at different places, usually on the
boundaries of the district in which the game was to be roused and
hunted, or at convenient passes from whence the hounds could be
slipped at the game.
[240] Teasers, a small hound to tease forth or put up the game.
[241] A difficult sentence to unravel. In the Shirley MS. it runs:
"and yif hit have eseyne nought to ye stagge, but yif he were
avaunced."
[242] "Within the set" means within that quarter of the forest or park
around which are set or stationed the men and hounds, called the
stable.
[243] To tie the couples of hounds together.
[244] Made the smaller deer clear out of the forest.
[245] The beginning of this sentence relating to the "server of the
hall" is not in our MS. but in the Shirley MS.
[246] Shirley MS., "harthounds."
[247] Shirley MS. has "resteynour."
[248] This means that the men in whose charge the teasers and
receivers were placed were given the skin or fee.
[Illustration: THE "UNDOING" OR GRALLOCHING OF THE HART THE MASTER
INSTRUCTING HIS HUNTERS HOW IT IS DONE (From MS. f. fr. 616, _Bib.
Nat._, Paris)]
[Illustration: HART-HUNTING WITH GREYHOUNDS AND RACHES (From MS. f.
fr. 616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
[Illustration: THE "CUREE" OR REWARDING OF THE HOUNDS (From MS. f. fr.
616, _Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
END OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM MS.
VESPASIAN B. XII.
THE FOLLOWING IS THE CONCLUDING PASSAGE OF THE SHIRLEY MANUSCRIPT
(Add. MS. 16, 165) IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM:--
_Now I pray unto every creature that hath heard or read this little
treatise of whatever estate or condition he be that there where there
is too little of good language that of their benignity and grace they
will add more, and there where there is too much superfluity that they
will also abridge it as may seem best by their good and wise
discretion. Not presuming that I had over much knowledge and ability
to put into writing this royal disportful and noble game of hunting so
effectually that it might not be submitted to the correction of all
gentle hunters. And in my simple manner as best I could and as might
be learned of old and many diverse gentle hunters, I did my business
in this rude manner to put the craft and the terms and the exercise of
this said game more in remembrance and openly to the knowledge of all
lords, ladies, gentlemen and women, according to the customs and
manners used in the high noble court of this Realm of England._
FINIS
APPENDIX
ACQUILLEZ, Fr., to take, to hold at bay, to gather. "Et s'il voit que
les chiens heussent acueili le change" (G. de F., p. 156)--"if he sees
that the hounds have taken the change." It also denotes: "owning to
the scent" (Senechal, p. 8; Roy Modus, xxix. v).
Twici says: "Les chevereaus ne sunt mie enchacez ne aquyllees," which
Dryden translates, "the roebuck is not chased nor hunted up," from
_enquiller_ or _aquiller_, O. Fr. a form of _accuellir_, to push, put
in motion, excite. "The word in English which is nearest to it is 'to
imprime,' which was afterwards used for the unharbouring of the hart"
(Twici, p. 26).
In the old English translation of Twici (Vesp. B. XII.) _aquylees_ is
construed "gadered," which is certainly one sense, but not the one
here required (Twici, p. 53).
The "Master of Game" translates _ils accueillent_ in G. de. F., p.
112, by "they run to them" (p. 111. _See also_ Godefroy).
AFFETED, Mid. Eng., _affaiten_; O. Fr. _affaitier_, to trim, to
fashion. A well-affaited or affeted head, a well-fashioned or
good-shaped head. In speaking of stags' antlers, means regularly tined
and well grown.
_Affeted_ also meant trained or tamed, reclaimed, made gentle,
thoroughly manned. _Affaiter_ is still in use in M. Fr., as a term of
falconry.
We find this word employed in this sense in the Vision of Piers
Plowman (1362): "And go affayte the Fawcons, wilde fowles to kill."
And in O. Fr. sporting literature one constantly reads of "Chiens
bien, affaities" (well-broken dogs); "oiseaux bien affaities"
(well-trained hawks). Roy Modus, lxxix.; Bormans, p. 52; _La Chace dou
Cerf_, Jub. 157; T.M. vol. ii. p. 933.
ALAUNTES, _Allaunts_, _Canis Alanus_; Fr. _alans_. Also spelt
_alande_, _alaunt_, _allaundes_, _Aloundys_ (MS. Brit. Mus., Egerton,
1995). _See also_ Twici, p. 56.
A strong, ferocious dog, supposed to have been brought to Western
Europe by a Caucasian tribe called Alains or Alani. This tribe invaded
Gaul in the fourth century, settling there awhile, and then continued
their wanderings and overran Spain. It is from this country that the
best _alans_ were obtained during the Middle Ages, and dogs that are
used for bull-or bear-baiting there are still called _Alanos_. Gaston
de Foix, living on the borders of this country, was in the best
position to obtain such dogs, and to know all about them. His
description, which we have here, tallies exactly with that written in
a Spanish book, _Libro de la Monteria_, on hunting of the fourteenth
century, written by Alphonso XI.
Alauntes were used as war dogs, and it was said that when once they
seized their prey they would not loose their hold.
Cotgrave (Sherwood's App.) says that the mastiff resembles an Alan,
and also Wynn in his book on the "British Mastiff" (p. 45) says that
he is inclined to think that the Alan is the ancient name for mastiff,
and thinks it possible that the Ph[oe]nicians brought this breed to
the British Isles. He cannot have known the description given us of
the Alan by the "Master of Game," nor can he have been acquainted with
the work of Gaston Ph[oe]bus, for he says that the Alan is not
mentioned among any of the earlier dogs of France and Germany. There
is ample evidence that they existed in France from very early days.
Probably they were relics left there by the Alani in their wanderings
through Gaul. About the same period as our MS. we find Alans mentioned
by Chaucer, who in the "Knight's Tale" describes Lycurgus seated on
his throne, around which stand white _Alaunts_ as big as bulls wearing
muzzles and golden collars.
The ancient Gallo-Latin name of _veltrahus_, or _veltris_, which in
the first instance denoted a large greyhound used for the chase of the
bear and wild boar, passed later to a different kind of dog used for
the same purpose. These _veltres_, _viautres_, or _vautres_ were also
known under the name of Alan, and resembled the Great Dane or the
German Boarhound (De Noir., vol. ii. p. 295-7).
ANTLER, O. Fr. _auntilor_, _antoiller_, or _andoiller_, derived from a
Teutonic root; Anglo-Saxon _andwlit_; Frank. _antlutt_ or _antluzze_;
Goth. _andawleiz_; O. Ger. _antliz_; face. Gaston Ph[oe]bus and Roy
Modus and other old French authors almost invariably use _teste_, or
head, when referring to a hart's antlers, but English writers did not
observe time-hallowed terms of venery so rigorously, and our author
frequently uses the jarring and, from every point of view, incorrect
term "horns" when speaking of the hart's attire or head. The substance
of deers' antlers is true bone, the proportion of their constituents
differing but very slightly from ordinary bones. The latter, when in a
healthy condition, consist of about one-third of animal matter or
gelatine, and two-thirds of earthy matter, about six-sevenths of which
is phosphate of lime and one-seventh carbonate of lime, with an
appreciable trace of magnesia. The antlers of deer consist of about
thirty-nine parts of animal matter and sixty-one parts of earthy
matter of the same kind and proportion as is found in common bone.
Later on, a more sportsmanlike regard for terms of venery is
observable, and Turbervile in one of his few original passages
impresses upon his fellow-sportsmen: "Note that when you speake of a
harts hornes, you must terme them the Head and not the Hornes of a
hart. And likewise of a bucke; but a Rowes hornes and a Gotes hornes
are tollerable termes in Venery" (1611, p. 239).
Up to the end of the seventeenth century it was customary when
speaking of a stag's head to refer only to the tines "on top," or the
"croches" or "troches," leaving unconsidered the brow, bez and trez
tines, which were called the stag's "rights," and which every
warrantable hart was supposed as a matter of course to possess. When
referring to the number of tines a head bore, it was invariably the
rule to use only even numbers, and to double the number of tines borne
by the antler which had most. Thus, a stag with three on each top was
a head of "twelve of the less" (or "lasse"); "twelve of the greater"
when he had three and four on top, or, counting the rights, six and
seven tines, or, as a modern Scotch stalker would call it, a
thirteen-pointer. The extreme number of tines a hart was supposed to
bear was thirty-two.
BERCELET, barcelette, bercelette, is a corruption of the O. Fr.
_berseret_, a hunting dog, dim. of _bersier_, a huntsman; in Latin,
_bersarius_, French, _berser_, _bercer_, to hunt especially with the
bow. _Bercel_, _biercel_, meant a butt or target. Italian,
_bersaglio_, an archer's butt, whence _bersagliere_, archer or
sharpshooter (Oxford, and Godefroy Dict.).
Given the above derivation, it may be fairly accepted that _bercelet_
was a dog fitted to accompany a hunter who was going to shoot his
game--a shooting dog. The "Master of Game's" allusion also points to
this. He says some mastiffs (_see_ Mastiff) become "_berslettis_, and
also to bring well and fast a wanlace about." We might translate this
sentence: "There are nevertheless some (mastiffs) that become shooting
dogs, and retrieve well and put up the game quickly" (_see_ Appendix:
Wanlace).
Jesse conceives _bracelettas_ and _bercelettus_ to come from
_brache_, but that can scarcely be so, as we see the two words used
together, as the following quotations will show:
"Parler m'orez d'un buen brachet.
Qens ne rois n'ont tel berseret."
T. M. i. 14404.
When the fair Ysolt is parting from her lover Tristan she asks him to
leave her this same brachet, and says that no huntsman's shooting dog
will be kept with more honour:
"Husdent me lesse, ton brachet.
Ainz berseret à vénéor
N'ert gardeé à tel honor
Comme cist sera."
_Ibid._ i. 2660.
Jesse quotes Blount's "Antient Tenures": "In the 6th of John, Joan,
late wife of John King, held a serjeantry in Stanhow, in the county of
Norfolk, by the service of keeping 'Bracelettum deymerettum of our
Lord the King,'" and Jesse thinks these might have been a bitch pack
of deerhounds, overlooking the fact that it was only in later days
that the words _brache_ and _rache_ were used for bitch hounds. As
_deymerettum_ meant fallow deer, the _bracelettum_ or _bercelettum
deymerettum_ may be taken, I think, to mean those hounds that were
used for buck-shooting (Jesse, ii. 21).
BERNER, bernar; O. Fr. _bernier_, _brenier_, a man who has the charge
of hounds, a huntsman, or, perhaps, would be more accurately described
as a kennelman. The word seems to have been derived from the French
_brenier_ or _bernier_, one who paid his dues to his feudal lord in
bran of which bread was made for the lord's hounds. _Brenage_,
_brennage_, or _bernage_ was the tenure on which land was held by the
payment of bran, and the refuse of all grains, for the feeding of
hounds. Berner in its first sense meant finder of bran, then feeder
of hounds. This word seems to have remained in use in England long
after it had disappeared from the language of French venery. Gaston no
longer uses the word _berner_, but has _valet de chiens_.
BISSHUNTERS, furhunters. Our MS. (p. 74) declares that no one would
hunt conies unless they were bisshunters, that is to say rabbits would
not be hunted for the sake of sport, but only for the sake of their
skins. Bisse, bys, byse was a fur much in vogue at the period of our
MS., as its frequent mention in contemporaneous records testifies.
BLENCHES, trick, deceit; O. N. _blekkja_ (Strat.). Blanch, or blench,
to head back the deer in its flight. Blancher or blencher, a person or
thing placed to turn the deer in a particular direction.
BOCE, from the French _bosse_, O. Fr. _boce_, boss, hump or swelling.
Cotgrave says: "Boss, the first putting out of a Deere's head,
formerly cast, which our woodmen call, if it bee a red Deere's, the
burle, or seale, and, if a fallow Deeres, the button."
BOUGHS, bowes (_brisées_). When the huntsman went to harbour the deer
he broke little branches or twigs to mark the place where he noticed
any signs of a stag. Also, at times during the chase he was instructed
to do the same, placing the twigs pointing towards the direction the
stag had gone, so that if the hounds lost the scent he could bring
them back to his last markings, and put them on the line again. In
harbouring the stag a twig was broken off and placed in front of the
slot with the end pointing in the direction in which the stag was
going; each time the harbourer turned in another direction a twig was
to be broken and placed so as to show which way he took; sometimes the
twig was merely bent and left hanging on the tree, sometimes broken
off and put into the ground (in French this was called making _brisées
hautes_ or _brisées basses_). When making his ring-walks round the
covert the harbourer was told to put a mark to every slot he came
across; the slot of a stag was to be marked by scraping a line behind
the heel, of a hind by making a line in front of the toe. If it was a
fresh footing a branch or twig should be placed as well as the
marking, for a hind one twig, for a stag two. If it be a stale trace
no twig must be placed. Thus, if he returned later, the hunter would
know if any beast had broken from or taken to covert since he
harboured his stag in the morning. When the harbourer went to "move"
the stag with his limer he was to make marks with boughs and branches
so that the berners with their hounds should know which way to go
should they be some distance from the limer (Roy Modus, x. v; xii. r;
xiii. r; Du Fouilloux, 32 r). Blemish is the word used by Turbervile
for _brisées_ (Turbervile, 1611, p. 95, 104, 114).
CHANGE. The change, in the language of stag hunting, was the
substitution of one deer for another in the chase. After the hounds
have started chasing a stag, the hunted animal will often find another
stag or a hind, and pushing it up with its horns or feet will oblige
it to get up and take his place, lying down himself in the spot where
he found the other, and keeping quiet, with his antlers close over his
back, so that the hounds will, if care is not taken, go off in chase
of the substitute. Sometimes a stag will go into a herd of deer and
try to keep with them, trying to shake off his pursuers, and thus give
them the change.
A hound that sticks to the first stag hunted, and refuses to be
satisfied with the scent of another deer, is called a staunch hound,
one who will not take the change, which was considered one of the most
desirable qualities in a staghound. G. de F., in speaking of the
different kinds of running hounds, says that there were some that,
when they came to the change, they would leave off speaking to the
scent, and would run silently until they found the scent of their stag
again (G. de F., p. 109).
CURÉE, Kyrre, Quyrreye, or Quarry. The ceremony of giving the hounds
their reward was thus called because it was originally given to the
hounds on the hide or _cuir_ of the stag.
Twici, the huntsman of Edward II., says that after the stag is taken
the hounds should be rewarded with the neck and bowels and the liver.
("Et il se serra mange sur le quir. E pur ceo est il apelee
quyrreye.") When the hounds receive their reward after a hare-hunt he
calls it the hallow. In the "Boke of St. Albans" we find the quarry
given on the skin, and it is only in the "Master of Game" that it is
expressly stated that a nice piece of grass was to be found on which
the hounds' mess was to be put, and the hide placed over it, hair-side
upwards, the head being left on it and held up by the antlers, and
thus drawn away as the hounds rush up to get their share. According to
Turbervile, in his day the reward was placed _on_ the hide; at least
he does not in his original chapter on the breaking up of the deer
notice any such difference between the French and English customs. In
France, it is as well to expressly state, the _curée_ was always given
on the hide until the seventeenth century, but after that it seems the
hide was placed over it just as described in our text (De Noirmont,
vol. ii., p. 458). Preceding the quarry came the ceremonial breaking
up of the deer. The stag was laid on its back with feet in the air,
slit open, and skinned by one of the chief huntsmen, who took a pride
in doing it according to laws of woodmanscraft. They took a pride in
not turning up their sleeves and performing everything so daintily
that their garments should show no bloodstains; nobles, and princes
themselves, made it a point of honour to be well versed in this art.
After the skinning was done, it was customary to give the huntsman who
was "undoing" the deer a drink of wine; "and he must drinke a good
harty draught: for if he should break up the dear before he drinke the
Venison would stink and putrifie" (Turb., 1611, p. 128).
In the "Master of Game" the limers were rewarded after the other
hounds, but they were never allowed to take their share with the pack.
The bowels or guts were often reserved, and put on a large wooden
fork, and the hounds were allowed to have this as a sort of dessert
after they had finished their portion. They were halloaed to by the
huntsman whilst he held the fork high in the air with cries of _Tally
ho!_ or _Tiel haut!_ or _Lau, lau!_ This tit-bit was then thrown to
them. This was called giving them the _forhu_, from the word
_forthuer_, to whoop or holloa loudly. Probably our term of giving the
hounds the holloa was derived from this. It was done to accustom the
hounds to rally round the huntsman when excited by a similar halloaing
when they were hunting, and had lost the line of the hunted beast.
In some instances the daintiest morsels were reserved for the King or
chief personage, and for this purpose placed on a large wooden fork as
they were taken from the deer. The vein of the heart and the small
fillets attached to the loins (Turbervile says also the haunches, part
of the nombles and sides) should also be kept for the lord, but these
were generally recognised as the perquisites of the huntsmen,
kennelmen, foresters, or parkers.
EXCREMENTS, fumes, fewmets, obs. term for the droppings of deer. From
the Fr. _fumées_. G. de F. says that the droppings of all deer,
including fallow and roe deer, are to be called _fumées_. The "Master
of Game," no doubt following the custom then prevalent in England,
says the droppings of the hart only are to be called fumes, and of
the buck and the roebuck croties. The following names are given to
droppings by--
GASTON DE FOIX AND MASTER OF GAME
Of the hart } Of the hart--Fumes.
" buck } Fumées " buck }
" roebuck } " roebuck } Croteys.
" bear } " wild boar }
" wild boar } Laisses. " black beasts } Lesses.
" wolf } " wolves }
" hare and conies--Crotes. " hare and Conies--Croties.
" fox, badger, and } " fox--The wagging.
stinking beasts } Fiantes. " grey or badger--The Wardrobe.
" otter--Spraintes. " stinking beasts--The Drit.
" otter--Spraintes.
Other forms of this term are: fewmets, fewmishing, crotels,
crotisings, freyn, fuants, billetings, and spraits.
FENCE MONTH. The month so called began, according to Manwood, fifteen
days before and ended fifteen days after midsummer. During this time
great care was taken that no men or stray dogs should be allowed to
wander in the forest, and no swine or cattle were allowed to feed
within the precincts, so that the deer should be absolutely
undisturbed during three or four weeks after the fawning season. He
tells us that because in this month there must be watch and ward kept
with men and weapons for the fence and defence of wild beasts, for
that reason the same is called fence or defence month (Man., p. 76,
ed. 1598).
FEWTE, fuite, fute (M. E.), O. Fr. fuite (_voie de cerf qui fuit_),
track, trace, foot. Gawaine: feute. Will of Palerne (90): foute. Some
beasts were called of the sweet _fute_, and some of the stinking
_fute_. The lists of the beasts which should come under either heading
vary somewhat; some that are placed by the "Boke of St. Albans" under
"Swete fewte" coming under the other category in the MS. Harl., 2340.
IN "BOKE OF ST. ALBANS." IN HARL. MS. 2340, FOL. 50B.
_Beasts of "Swete fewte."_
The Buck, the Doo, the Beere, the The Buke, the Doo, the Ber,
Reynd, the Elke, the Spycard, the the Reyne der, the Elke,
Otre, and the Martwn. the Spycard.
_Beasts of the "Stinking fewte."_
The Roobucke, the Roo, the The Fulmard, the Fechewe,
Fulmard, the Fyches, the Bauw, the Catt, the Gray, the
the Gray, the Fox, the Squirrel, Fox, the Wesyll, the
the Whitecat, the Otyr, the Stot, Marteron, the Squirrel, the
the Pulcatt. Whyterache, the Otyr, the
Stote, the Polcatte.
In Roy Modus the beasts are also divided into _bestes doulces_ and
_bestes puans_. The reasons for doing so are also given (fol. lxii.):
"_Les bestes doulces sont: le cerf, la biche, le dain, le chevreul et
le lièvre. Et sont appelées doulces pour trois causes: La première si
est que d'elles ne vient nulle mauvais senteur; la seconde, elles ont
poil de couleur aimable, lequel est blond ou fauve; la tierce cause,
ce ne sont mie bestes mordans comme les autres cincq, car elles n'ont
nulz dens dessus; et pour ces raisons puent bien estre nommées bestes
doulces._" Under the _bestes puans_ are classed the wild boar, the
wild sow, the wolf, the fox, and the otter.
FEWTERER, the man that lets loose the greyhounds (Blome, p. 27); from
_veltraria_, a dog leader or courser; originally one who led the dogs
called _veltres_, _viautres_ (_see_ Veltres). In Gallo-Latin,
Veltrahus. It has been asserted that the word fewterer is a
corruption of _vautre_ or _viautre_, a boarhound, but although both
evidently owe their origin to the same parent-word, fewterer can
scarcely be derived from _vautre_, a boarhound. It was only in the
Middle Ages in France that the word _vautre_, from originally meaning
a powerful greyhound, was applied to a large boarhound. Fewterers in
England appear invariably as attendants on greyhounds, not boarhounds.
Another derivation has been also given from fewte, foot or track, a
fewterer being, according to this, a huntsman who followed the track
of the beast. But _venator_ was the contemporary designation for a
huntsman, and as far as we can ascertain the fewterer was always
merely a dog-leader.
FORLONGE, forloyng, forlogne, from the Fr. _fort loin_. G. de F. says,
"flies far from the hounds," _i.e._ having well distanced them ("_Fuit
de fort longe aux chiens, c'est a dire que il les ait bien
esloinhes_"). Hounds are said to be hunting the forlonge when the deer
is some way in front of them, or when some of the hounds have got away
with the deer and have outpaced the rest. As our MS. (p. 173) says,
the forlogne should be blown if the stag has run out of hearing of
hound and horn, but it should not be blown in a park. In old French
hunting literature it is an expression one constantly comes across.
Twici, writing almost a hundred years earlier than the Duke of York,
says: "The hart is moved and I do not know where the hart is gone, nor
the gentlefolk, and for this I blow in that manner. What chase do we
call this? We call that chase The chase of the forloyng."
Forloyneth: "When a hound meeteth a chase and goeth away with it far
before the rest then we say he forloyneth" (Turber., ed 1611, p. 245).
FOX. According to the laws of Canute the fox was neither reckoned as a
beast of venery nor of the forest. In Manwood's Forest Laws he is
classed as the third beast of chase (p. 161), as he is also in Twety
and Gyfford, and the "Boke of St. Albans."
Although early records show that the English Kings kept their
foxhounds, we hear nothing of their having participated in this sport,
but they seem to have sent their hounds and huntsmen about the country
to kill foxes, probably as much for the value of the pelt as for
relieving the inhabitants of a thievish neighbour.
In Edward's I.'s Wardrobe Accounts, 1299-1300, appear some interesting
items of payments made to the huntsman for his wages and the keep of
the hounds and his _one horse_ for carrying the nets. These allusions
to nets throw an interesting light on the fox-hunting of those days.
William de Blatherwyke, or, as he is also called, _William de
Foxhunte_, and _William Fox-dog-keeper_, had besides their wages an
allowance made to them for clothes and winter and summer shoes (_see_
Appendix: Hunt Officials). As only one horse was provided, and that to
carry the nets, the huntsman, we must presume, had to hunt on foot,
not such an arduous undertaking when we remember that the country was
so much more thickly wooded than at present, and that every possible
precaution was taken to prevent Reynard's breaking covert.
We see by our text (p. 65) that it was usual to course foxes with
greyhounds, and although the passages referring to this are translated
from G. de F. we know from many old records that this fox-coursing was
as usual in England at this time as in France.
In the earlier days hounds used for the chase of the fox one day,
probably hunted hare, or even buck or stag, on another--such as the
harriers, which, if we can believe Dr. Caius, were entered to any
animal from stag to stoat (_see_ Appendix: Harriers). The first real
pack of foxhounds is said to be the one established by Thomas Fownes,
Esq., of Stepleton, in Dorsetshire (1730). They were purchased at an
immense price by Mr. Bowes, of Yorkshire. A very amusing description
is given in "Cranbourne Chase" of the first day's hunting with them
in their new country. There must have been several packs entered to
fox only about the end of the eighteenth century, for an erstwhile
Master of the Cheshire Foxhounds had in his possession a horn with the
following inscription: "Thomas Boothby Esqre. Tooley Park Leicester.
With this horn he hunted the first pack of foxhounds then in England 5
years: born in 1677 died 1752." This pack, which was purchased by "the
great Mr. Meynell" in 1782, had been hunted both in Hampshire and in
Wiltshire previously by the ancestors of Lord Arundel (Bad. Lib.,
"Hunting," p. 29).
FRAYING-POST, the tree a stag has rubbed his antlers or frayed
against.
By the fraying-post the huntsman used to be able to judge if the stag
he wished to harbour was a warrantable stag or not. The greater the
_fraying-post_ the larger the deer (Stuart, vol. ii. p. 551).
FUES, "not find his fues," not to find his line of flight, his scent;
Gaston says: "Ne puissent deffaire ses esteurses": literally, "cannot
unravel his turnings."
_Fues_, flight, fuite, track. Gaston calls these sometimes _voyes_.
_Voyes_ was written later _Foyes_ (Fouilloux).
FUE. "Se mettre a la fue" (var. _fuie_), (to take flight) (Borman, p.
89).
GLADNESS, glade. The original sense is a smooth, bare place, or
perhaps a bright, clear place in a wood.
GREASE. One of the important technical terms of venery, related to the
fat of game; for in the Middle Ages, when game was hunted to replenish
the larder as much as for sport, it entered largely into the economy
of even the highest households. The fat of the red deer and fallow
deer was called _suet_, occasionally _tallow_. That of the roebuck was
bevy-grease. Between that of the hare, boar, wolf, fox, marten,
otter, badger, and coney no difference was made--it was called grease;
and in one sense this general term was also used for deer: "a deer of
high grease," or "a hart in the pride of grease," were phrases used
for the season of the year when the stag and the buck were fattest
(_see_ Appendix: Seasons of Hunting).
GREASE TIME, not _Grace Time_ or _Grass Time_, as Strutt and others
have it. It did not include the whole season when the hart or buck
could be killed, but meant to indicate the time when they were fat and
fittest for killing. As pointed out already by Dryden (p. 25), the
_Excerpta Historica_ (Lond. 1831) contains an interesting example of
the use of this word. This is a letter written (p. 356) about 1480 by
Thomas Stonor, Steward of the Manor of Thame. He was in Fleet Prison
at the time he writes to his brother in the country concerning some
property of his own in his brother's neighbourhood. "No more to you^e
at thys tyme but ... more ov^r I entende to kepe my gresse tyme in yat
countre, where fore I woll^e yat no man^e huntte tyll^e I have bene
ther."
In the privy-purse expenses of Henry VIII. (1532) is an entry of a
payment for attendance on the king during the last _grece-time_.
Cavendish in his Life of Wolsey says: "My lord continued at Southwell
until the latter end of _grease time_." Both these passages refer to
the month of June. In the laws of Howel the Good, King of Wales, a
fine of 12 kine was imposed on whoever kills a hart in grease time
(_kylleic_) of the kings.
Confusion arose occasionally owing to the similarity of the words as
formerly spelt, grass being sometimes spelt "grysse" (Dryden, p. 25).
Manwood, also, misinterprets Grease time. In the agreement between the
Earl of Winchester and the Baron of Dudley of 1247, in which their
respective rights of hunting in Charnwood Forest and Bradgate Park,
Leicestershire, were defined, and which agreement Shirley has given
(in a translation) in his "English Deer Parks," the time of the fallow
buck season (_tempus pinguedinis_) or grease time or the fat season,
is fixed between the Feast of St. Peter ad Vincula (August 1) and the
Exaltation of Holy Cross (September 6, 14), while the time of the doe
season (_tempus firmationis_) was fixed between the Feast of St.
Martin (November 11) and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin
(February 2).
GREYHOUND, Fr. _levrier_, Lat. _leporarius_. Under this name a whole
group of dogs were included, that were used for the chase of big and
small game. They were swift hounds, hunting chiefly and in most cases
by sight only. For in the Middle Ages the name greyhound, or
_levrier_, denoted such seemingly different dogs as the immense Irish
wolfhound, the Scotch deerhound, and the smaller, smooth-coated,
elegant Italian greyhound. The powerful greyhound used for the chase
of stag, wolf, and wild boar were known in France as _levrier
d'attache_, and the smaller, nervous harehound as _petit levrier pour
lievre_. In our illustrations we can see what are intended to be
portraits of both the larger and the smaller kinds, some being
smooth- and some rough-coated. The bigger hounds were considered
capable of defending their masters against their armed enemies, as is
shown by numerous legends of the Middle Ages, which, although they may
not be strictly historical facts, showed the reputation these dogs
enjoyed in those days (Jesse, p. 19).
Greyhounds were the constant companions of their masters during
journeys and wars, and at home. In the houses they were allowed the
greatest liberty, and seem to have ranged at will in both living- and
bed-rooms; one sees them at the board when their owners are at meals,
at the fireside, and they even accompanied their masters as good
Christians to mass.
No hound seems to belong so peculiarly to the epoch of chivalry as the
greyhound, and indeed one can scarcely picture a knight without one. A
Welsh proverb declared that a gentleman might be known "by his hawk,
his horse, and his greyhound." By a law of Canute, a greyhound was
not to be kept by any person inferior to a gentleman ("Greyhounds," by
a Sportsman, p. 28; and Dalziel, vol. i. p. 25).
_Canis Gallicus_ was the name used by the Gauls for their coursing
dogs, which were most probably greyhounds, and Arian says they were
called _Vertragia_, from a Celtic word denoting swiftness. In
Gallo-Latin the name for a large greyhound was _Veltrahus_ or
_veltris_ (De Noir., ii. 295). They were also called _Veltres
leporarii_ (Blane, p. 46). There is some difference of opinion as to
the derivation of our word greyhound. In the early Anglo-Norman days
they retained their French name of _levrier_, or Latin _leporarius_.
When our MS. was penned the English word _grei_, _gre_, or _grewhound_
was in general use; it is thought by some to be derived from Grew
hound or Greek hound, as they were supposed to have been originally
brought from Greece. Others, again, consider that the name was simply
taken from the prevalent colour of the common greyhound. Jesse gives
the most likely origin of the name. "Originally it was most likely
_grehund_, and meant the noble, great, choice, or prize hound" (Jesse,
ii. 71; and Dalziel, i. 23). Probably the Celtic denomination for a
dog, _grech_ or _greg_, stands in close connection with our word
greyhound (Cupples, p. 230). White seems to have been the favourite
colour, and to say one had _i levrier plus blanc que flors de lis_
(_Heruis de Mes_, 107a, 44; Bangert, p. 172) would be the greatest
tribute to the beauty of one's hound. _Co si sunt deus leveres nurit
en ma meisun, cume cisne sunt blauns_ (Horn, 613 f.).
When Froissart went home from Scotland he is depicted as riding a grey
horse and leading _un blanc levrier_, perhaps one of the four he took
from these isles and presented to the Comte de Foix at Orthéz, whose
names have been preserved to us as Tristan, Hector, Brun, and Rolland
(La Curne de la Palaye).
Greyhounds were used, as has already been mentioned, for all kind of
hunting and every kind of game, in conjunction with limers who
started the game for them. They were let slip as relays to a pack of
running or scenting hounds, and they were used by themselves for
coursing game in an open country, or were placed at the passes where
game was likely to run and were slipped to turn the game back to the
archer or to chase and pull down the wounded deer (_see_ Appendix:
Stables). In our illustrations we see them in the pictures of stag-,
hare-, roe- and boar-hunting, to say nothing of badger-hunting, for
which one would have thought any other dog more suitable.
They seem always to have been held in couples except when following
their master and he not bent upon the chase. The collars to which
these couplings were attached were often wonderful gems of the
goldsmith's and silversmith's art. Such an item appears in the Q. R.
Wardrobe Acc. for 1400 (Wylie, iv. p. 196): "2 collars for greyhounds
(_leverer_) le tissue white and green with letters and silver
turrets." Another one of "soy chekerey vert et noir avec le tret (?
turret) letters and bells of silver gilt."
The ancient doggerel in the Book of St. Albans, "Heded like a snake,
and necked like a drake. Foted like a cat. Tayled like a Rat, Syded
lyke a Teme. Chyned like a Beme" ("Boke of St. Albans," f. iv.), was
preceded by a very similar one written some time previously by Gace de
la Buigne. Of these verses G. de F. gives, twenty-eight years later, a
prose version, which our Master of Game has rendered into English.
HARDEL, hardeyl, to tie couples of hounds together. From the French
word _harder_, which has the same meaning: _Harder les chiens_, and
_harde_, the rope with which they are tied. It is derived from _hart_,
_hard_, _art_, a binder of willow or other pliable wood used for
fastening fagots together (Lit. and God.). The primitive way of tying
hounds together was by passing such a small flexible branch through
the couplings which bent back on itself, both ends being held. "_Les
chiens ... seront enhardez par les couples à genoivres ou à autre
josne bois tors_" (Roy Modus, f. xlvii. recto). In France there used
to be two hardes to each relay and not more than eight hounds in every
harde (D'Yauville). In England there used to be about the same number.
The term was still used in Blome's time (1686), for he writes in his
"Gentleman's Recreation": "The huntsman on foot that hath the charge
of the coupled hounds, and before that must have _hardled_ them, that
is, with a slip, for the purpose ready secured three or four couple
together, that they may not break in from him, to run into the cry of
the Finders" (p. 88).
_Harling_ was a word used in Devonshire, and as it meant tying the
hound together by means of a rope passed through the rings of the
couples, it is undoubtedly a corruption of the word _hardeling_.
"Until comparatively recent times the hounds in Devonshire were taken
to the meet and held in this manner until the time came to lay the
pack on" (Collyns).
_Hardel_, the technical O. E. term for binding together the four legs
of the roebuck, the head having been placed between the two forelegs,
in order to carry him whole into the kitchen.
HARE. Pliny records the fable that hares "are of many and various
sexes." Topsell remarks that "the Hebrews call the hare 'arnebet,' in
the feminine gender," which word gave occasion to an opinion that all
hares were females (pp. 264, 266).
"In the Gwentian code of Welch laws supposed to be of the eleventh
century, the hare is said not to be capable of any legal valuation,
being in one month male and in another female" (Twici, p. 22).
Certainly in many of the older writings on hares the pronouns "her"
and "him" are used indiscriminately in the same sentence. Sir Thomas
Browne in his treatise on vulgar errors asserts from his own
observation that the sex of the hare is changeable, and that the buck
hare will sometimes give birth to young. Up to the end of the
eighteenth century there was a widespread and firm belief in this
fable (Brehm, ii. p. 626). Buffon describes it as one of the animal's
peculiar properties, and from the structure of their parts of
generation he argues that the notion has arisen of hermaphrodite
hares, that the males sometimes bring forth young, and that some are
alternately males and females and perform the functions of either sex.
"Master of Game" (copying G. de F.) states that the hare carries her
young for a period of two months, but in reality the period of
gestation is only thirty days. Harting says that the adult hare will
breed twice or thrice in the year, but Brehm declares they breed as
many as four times, and but seldom five times (Encyclop. of Sport,
vol. ii. p. 504; Brehm, vol. ii. p. 626; G. de F. p. 47).
G. de F. (p. 43) says of a hare, "_Elle oït bien, mais elle voit
mal._" "Master of Game" translates this simply as _She hath evil
sight_; but does not say she hears well. The sense of hearing is most
highly developed in the hare, and every lightly breaking twig or
falling leaf will disturb her. It is said that of old when warreners
wished to prepare hares for the market they filled their ears with
wax, so that, not being continually disturbed by noises, they did not
move about much, and grew sleek and fat (Blome, p. 95). G. de F.'s
assertion that the hare "has evil sight" is also confirmed by Brehm,
who, however, says that they are endowed with a keen sense of smell,
whereas G. de F. says _elle sent pou_.
Attention has already been called to the Duke of York's statement that
"the hare hath great fear to run." This arose probably from the
similarity of the words _peur_ and _pouvoir_ in the MSS., for it
should read "hath great power to run," the principal MSS. which we
have examined showing _pouvoir_. Verard in his first edition of G. de
F. also has the same rendering as the Duke of York, to which Lavallée
draws attention as being one of the many ludicrous mistakes in this
edition (G. de F., xli.).
[Illustration: SHOOTING HARES WITH BLUNT BOLTS (From MS. f. fr. 616,
_Bib. Nat._, Paris)]
Our text calls the hare the most marvellous beast (p. 181), the
reasons given being because she "fumeth or croteth and rowngeth and
beareth tallow and grease." By "rowngeth" (Fr. _ronger_) it was meant
that the hare chewed the cud, as by the ancients it was generally
supposed that the hare was a ruminant. Although this is not the case,
and the hare has not a compound stomach, nevertheless this belief
showed a close observation of nature, for when a hare is seated she
can bring up parts of her food and give it a second mastication.
The hare and rabbit have little or no fat, but what they do possess is
called grease. Twici says: _Il porte gresce_ (pp. 1 and 21).
"She has teeth above in the same wise as beneath" (p. 181) is another
of the peculiarities noticed in our text, which shows that the
difference in dentition that distinguishes the hare from all other
rodents had been remarked. Instead of two incisors in the upper jaw,
the hare has four, having two small rudimentary incisor teeth behind
the two large front ones, and five or six molars in the upper jaw,
with two incisors and five molars in the lower jaw (Brehm, ii. p. 627;
Cornish, "Shooting," ii. p. 153).
It is difficult to know why the hare was considered a "melancholy"
beast, and how this curious reputation was kept up during the whole of
the Middle Ages. It was thought that eating the flesh of the hare
rendered one also subject to melancholy. G. de F. does not mention
this, and altogether his book is comparatively free of such
superstitions, but he says the flesh of the hare should not be given
to the hounds after a day's hunting, as it is indigestible: _quar elle
est fastieuse viande et les fet vomir_ (p. 210). Therefore, when
rewarding the hounds, they should only have the tongue and the
kidneys, with some bread soaked in the blood of the hare.
In our MS., at the end of the chapter on the nature of the hare (p.
22), the Duke of York says that he "trows no good hunter would slee
them so," alluding to pockets, pursenets, and other poaching devices;
and although G. de F. gives six ways of taking the hare, he does not
approve of such methods for the true sportsman, but enters an amusing
protest: "I would that they who take hares thus should have them [the
cords] round their own necks" (p. 171). Snaring hares was never
considered legitimate sport. In hare-hunting proper, the hounds were
taken into the fields to find the hare, as at present; or hare-finders
were sent out early in the morning, and the tufts of grass or plants
where the hare was likely to be seated were beaten, and the hounds
uncoupled only when the hare was started. One of the chief differences
in the sport between then and now was that often, when the hare was
once on foot, greyhounds were also uncoupled, and our Plate, p. 182,
shows greyhounds and running-hounds hunting seemingly happily
together. It must have been rather discouraging for the old-fashioned,
slow scenting-hound to have the hare he has been diligently hunting
suddenly "bitten" in front of him by the swifter greyhound.
Trencher-fed packs also existed as early as the fourteenth century,
and we read in Gace de la Buigne that the small farmers would assemble
together, bringing all told some forty hounds of different breeds and
sizes, immensely enjoying their sport, and accounting for many hares.
HARNESS means in our text "paraphernalia where-with animals can be
caught or taken." It is frequently used in this sense by
Gaston--_Hayes et autres Harnoys_ (p. 126). In Julien's note to this
same sentence occurring in _Le bon Varlet_, he says, _autres harnois,
autres engins, instruments, procédés_.
HARRIER, spelt in early documents with many variations--_eirere_,
_heyreres_, _heyrer_, _hayrers_. A hound which is described in modern
dictionaries as "resembling a foxhound but smaller, used for
hare-hunting" (Murray). This explanation would not have been a correct
one for our harriers of the fourteenth century, for as far as we can
gather they were used to hunt all kinds of game and by no means only
the hare. They were evidently a smaller kind of running hound, for as
our MS. says, there are some small and some large running hounds, "and
the small are called Kenettis (or small dogs--_see_ Kenet), and these
hounds run well to all manner of game and they that serve for all game
men call them heirers" (p. III). And in chapter 36 we see that
_heyrers_ were used to hunt up the deer in the forest, the herthounds
and greyhounds meanwhile being held in leash till a warrantable deer
was on foot, or till "the heyrer have well run and well made the
rascal void" (made the smaller deer clear out of that part of the
forest) (p. 191). Then the herthounds were to be uncoupled where the
most likely "ligging is for an hert, and seek." The herthounds then
put up the wary old stag and hunted him till he came to the tryst
where the King would be with his long bow or cross-bow, or till the
hert was pulled down by them or the greyhounds which had been slipped
at him.
In the chapter on hare-hunting in our MS. the word harrier does not
occur; only hounds, greyhounds, and raches are mentioned. So when
Henry IV. paid for "_La garde de nos chiens appelez hayrers_" (Privy
Seal, 20 Aug. 9th Henry, 1408, No. 5874), or Henry V. for the
"_Custodiam Canum nostrum vocatorum hayreres_" (Rot. Pat. I Henry V.
1413), it was not because they were especially addicted to
hare-hunting, but because they kept these useful hounds to "harry"
game.
In 1407 we find one Hugh Malgrave "_servienti venatori' vocat' hayters
p' c'vo (cervo)_," which we may accept as another proof that their
office was to hunt the stag. The Duke of York also repeatedly says
that "_heirers_" run at all game (see pp. III, 196, 197). In 1423 Hugh
Malgrave still held the "office of the hayrers" by grant from Henry
IV. In the curious legal Latin of the thirteenth century, we find the
word _canes heirettes_, and _heyrettor_ (Wardrobe Accounts, 34 Ed.
I.).
There are a great number of early records which show us that these
hounds were used then for hunting red and fallow deer, sometimes in
conjunction with greyhounds and sometimes without their aid.
Harriers were sometimes taken with buckhounds on hunting expeditions
as well as with greyhounds. In some of the documents harriers are
simply alluded to as _canes currentes_. As they were not a distinct
breed, but were included under the designation "raches," or running
hounds, a separate chapter is not given to them in our text, and
neither Twici nor the Dame of St. Albans mentions these hounds.
Gradually we find the spelling, although presenting still countless
variations, bringing the _a_ more constantly than the _e_; the
"_heirers_" become _hayrers_, _hareres_, _hariers_, and after the
sixteenth century harriers. It is also probable that the word was
originally derived from the Anglo-Saxon _Hergian_, _herian_, to harry,
to disturb, to worry; O. Fr. _harrier_, _herrier_, _herier_, to harry;
F. _hare_ and _harer_, to set a dog on to attack. The harrier, in
fact, was a dog to "hare" the game. Although now obsolete, we find
this word used late in the seventeenth century.
"Let the hounds kill the fox themselves and worry and _hare_ him as
much as they please" (Cox, "Gent. Rec.," p. 110). It is also in the
sixteenth century that one comes across the first allusions to their
use in hunting the hare.
HART. It is not necessary to dwell here at length upon the great
esteem in which the hart was held by all devotees to sport in Europe
during the Middle Ages. It was royal game, and belonged to the Prince
or ruler of the country, and the chase was their prerogative. Few
unconnected with the court were ever able to enjoy the chase of the
stag unless in attendance on or by special licence granted by the
sovereign. Those who had extensive property of their own and had
permission to erect a fence could, of course, keep deer on it, but
this did not enable them to enjoy the sport of real wild deer hunting,
or _La chasse Royale_ as the French called it.
The stag was one of the five beasts of venery, and was, according to
the ancient French regulations, a beast of the sweet foot, although in
the list of beasts of sweet and stinking foot given in the "Boke of
St. Albans" the hart is included in neither category (_see_ Appendix:
Fewte).
One of the first essentials for a huntsman in the Middle Ages was to
learn to know the different _signs_ of a stag (according to German
venery there were seventy-two signs), so as to be able to "judge
well." These signs were those of the _slot_, the _gait_, the
_fraying-post_, the _rack_ or _entry_ (_i.e._ the place where the stag
entered covert), and the _fumes_. By recognising differences in these
signs made by a young stag, a hind, and a warrantable stag, he was
enabled to find out where the latter was harbouring, and by the slot
and gait he could recognise when the chased stag was approaching his
end.
There were many things that the huntsman of old had to learn regarding
the stag before he could be considered as more than an apprentice--for
instance, how to speak of a hart in terms of venery. The terms used
were considered of the greatest importance, even to the manner in
which the colour of the stag was spoken of, brown, yellow, or dun
being the only permissible terms to distinguish the shade of colour.
Special terms are given for every kind of head, or antlers, a stag
might bear.
The huntsman spoke of the stag's _blenches_ and _ruses_ when alluding
to the tricks of a deer when trying to rid himself of the hounds, of
his _doubling_ and _rusing to and fro upon himself_ when he retraced
his steps, of his _beating up the river_ when he swam up-stream, and
of _foiling down_, when he went down-stream, or of _going to soil_
when he stood in water. When the deer lay down he was _quat_, when he
stood still in covert he was _stalling_. When he was tired he "_cast
his chaule" i.e._ drooped his head, a well-known sign when the deer is
done, as was his closed mouth when dead beat.
The hart was _meved_ or moved, when he was started from his
resting-place; he was _quested_ or hunted for, and _sued_ or chased;
his resting-place was called his _ligging_ or _lair_, his scent of
line of flight, his _fues_. He was spoken of as _soule_ or _soile_ (F.
_seule_) if unaccompanied by other deer, and in "_herd with rascal and
folly_" if keeping company with lesser deer.
Besides many other quaint terms of venery the following were the
designations given to the hart according to his age by:--
Twici, "Boke of St. Blome; Cox's
"Master of Game." Albans," Manwood, "Gentleman's
Turbervile. Recreations."
1st yr. A calf. A calf. A hinde-calf or calf.
2nd " A bullock. A brocket. A knobler or knobber.
3rd " A brocket. A spayer, spayard, or A brocket or brocke.
spayd.
4th " A staggart. A staggart or stag. A staggard.
5th " A hart of ten. A hart. A hart.
Until he was a hart of ten our text tells us he was not considered a
chaseable or warrantable deer. By the above one will see that the
"Master of Game" is exceptional in calling a deer of the second year a
bullock, brocket being the usual term.
In old French literature we occasionally find the word _broches_ used
for the tines of a deer's antlers; brochet would be the diminutive,
_i.e._ a small tine, and hence perhaps brocket, a young stag bearing
small tines. Any stag of ten or over if hunted by the king became a
Hart Royal, and if hunted and not taken, but driven out of the forest,
a proclamation was made to warn every one that no person should chase
or kill the said hart, and he was then a "Hart Royal proclaimed"
(Man., p. 180).
All stags not chaseable, such as young or lean stags and hinds, were
classed as folly or rascal.
A young stag accompanying an old one was called his squire (F.
_escuyer_).
Hinds also were called by different names from the first to the third
year, but the "Master of Game" does not give these, nor do any of the
earliest works. Manwood, Blome, and Cox give the following terms:
first year, a calf; second year, a Hearse or brocket's sister; third
year and ever after, a hind. A somewhat similar term was employed in
France to denote a young stag between six months and a year old.
_Haire_, also spelt _her_ (G. de Champgrand Baudrillard), and
_Harpaille_, was the term for a herd of young stags and hinds.
_Hart's Age._--The fable that a stag can live a hundred years which
the "Master of Game" repeats (p. 34) after G. de F. was not of the
latter's invention, but one that had been current for many centuries
before their day.
HORNS.--When the "Master of Game" was written hunting horns were the
curved primitive shape of those made from the horns of animals, and
most of them probably were still made of the horns of cattle, while
those used by the richer gentry and nobles were fashioned from some
rarer animals' trophy, such as the ibex, or carved of ivory, and some
were made of precious metal. But whether of simple horn, ivory, or of
wood, they were decorated with gold or silver ferrules, rings, and
mouthpieces, and some being provided with a stopper, could be
converted into drinking horns. Unfortunately the "Master of Game" does
not tell us the material of which horns should be made. He simply says
how they should "be dryve." They were to be two spans long (1 ft. 6
in.), slightly curved so that both ends were raised from three to four
fingers' breadth above the centre; the larger end or the bell was to
be as wide as possible, and the mouthpiece not too small. It was waxed
thickly or thinly, whichever the huntsman thought produced the best
sound. What effect the wax had can scarcely be judged, but it was
evidently considered an improvement, as it is stated that for
foresters "mene hornes and unwexid" are good enough for them. Besides
the hunter's horn five different kinds of horns are mentioned in our
MS.--the bugle, great abbots, ruets, small foresters, and mean horns.
The bugle was not the trumpet we now understand by that name, but a
simple curved horn, most probably deriving its name from the bugle, as
the wild ox was called; although Dryden says from the German word
_bugel_, a curve or bend. Ruets may have been the name for a much
curved or almost circular horn, from French _rouette_, small wheel.
The mean horns were probably the medium-sized, shrill-sounding horns
made out of wood or bark, known as _ménuels_, _menuiaux_, _moienel_,
_menuier_, &c. (Perc. 27,166 and 27,140).
A good length for a horn is mentioned as being "_une paume et demie_"
(Perceval, 31,750). It is uncertain whether this length and that given
by the "Master of Game" were measured round the inside of the bend or
in a straight line between the two extremities. The famous Borstall
horn, also known as Nigel's horn, is 2 feet 4 inches long on the
convex and 23 inches on the concave bend; the inside measure of the
bell end being 3 inches in diameter. The size of another noted horn,
_i.e._ the Pusey horn, is 2 feet 1/2 inch long, the circumference at
the widest end being 12 inches. The general length of these horns
seems to have been somewhere between 18 inches and 2 feet. The
above-mentioned specimens were horns of tenure, the first being a
hunting-, the second a drinking-horn. The Borstall horn is said to
have been given by Edward the Confessor to one Nigel, in reward for
his killing an immense wild boar, and by this horn he and his
successors for generations held lands of the crown.
The curved horn remained in fashion in England till about the latter
half of the seventeenth century, then a straight one came into use
about 1 ft. 6 in. to 2 ft. long, such as we see depicted in Blome. Of
this shape, but a few inches shorter, is the hunting-horn still in
use in England. The French hunting-horn was used in England in the
eighteenth century, but did not remain long in fashion.
HUNTING CRIES. We can see that the hunting cries and the language used
in speaking to the hounds when hunting in the days of the "Master of
Game" were still those brought into Britain by the Normans, and in
most instances the words can actually still be recognised as French.
There are only a few examples given by him as to the manner a huntsman
should speak to his hounds in the stag-hunting chapters, such as:--
_Ho moy, ho moy, hole, hole, hole_: To encourage the limer when
drawing for a stag (p. 166).
_Cy va, cy va, cy va_: To call the hounds when any signs of the stag
were seen (p. 167).
_Le douce mon amy, le douce_: "Softly, my friend, softly." To the
hounds when they were uncoupled near to where the stag was supposed to
be lying.
_Sto arere, so howe, so howe_: "Hark back," if the hounds were on a
wrong scent.
_Hoo sto, ho sto, mon amy, ho sto_: To harriers drawing for a stag.
_Oyez, à Beaumont, oyez, assemble à Beaumont_: "Hark to Beaumont,
hark, get to him." To the hound of that name who picks up the right
line, and to bring the other hounds to him.
It is in the hare-hunting chapter that we have more of the "fayre
wordis of venery," and here, if the "Master of Game" does not
slavishly copy Twici, yet he employs the same cries, with a slight
difference only in orthography. The "Boke of St. Albans" has also most
of the following:--
_Hoo arere_: "Back there." When the hounds come too hastily out of the
kennel.
_So moun amy atreyt_: Until they come into the field; these two are
not given by Twici, but the following are identical in both books:--
_Hors de couple, avaunt sy avaunt_, and thrice _so howe_: When the
hounds are uncoupled.
_Sa sa cy avaunt, cy sa avaunt, sa cy avaunt (avaunt, sire, avaunt_,
in Twici): Forward, sir, forward.
_Here how, amy, how amy, and Swef, mon amy, swef_: "Gently, my friend,
gently" (_swef_, from Latin _swavis_), when the hounds draw too fast
from the huntsman.
_Oyez, à Beaumont_ (in Twici: _Oyez, a Beaumont le vaillaunt que il
quide trover le coward od la courte cowe_): "Hark to Beaumont the
valiant, who thinks to find the coward with the short tail."
_La douce, la il ad este sohowe_: "Softly, there--here he has been,"
if the place where the hare has pastured is seen.
_Illoeques, illoeques_: "Here, here," if the hounds hunt well on the
line (_see_ Appendix: Illoeques).
_Ha sy toutz, cy est il venuz arere, so howe. Sa cy a este so howe. Sa
cy avaunt_: "Here, he has gone back. Here he has been. Forward there."
When the hare has doubled.
_La douce amy, il est venuz illoeques, sohowe_: "Softly, friend, he is
here." When the hounds hunt well in fields or arable land.
_La douce, amy, la est il venuz (pur lue segere sohow)_: "Softly,
friend, here he has come to seat himself" (Mid. Eng., _sege_--a seat.
Latin, _sedere_).
_La douce, amy, la il est venuz (pur meyndir)_: "Here he has been to
feed" (_meyndir_, from Latin _manducare_, _mandere_).
The bracketed part of the last two cries are given in the MS. of Twety
and Gyff., and the following are only in the "Master of Game":--
_Le valliant oyez, oyez who bo bowe_, and then, _Avaunt, assemble,
assemble, war war, a ha war_, for running riot. _How assamy assamy so
arere so howe bloues acoupler._
On seeing the pricking or footing of the hare: _Le voye, le voye_
("The view, the view").
In France, _Tallyho_, or a very similar sounding word, was employed in
the early days when the huntsman was sure that the right stag had gone
away, whether he only knew it by his slot, &c., or whether he had
viewed him.
It was also a call to bring up the hounds when the stag had gone away,
and at the end of the _curée_, when the huntsman held part of the
entrails of the deer on a large wooden fork, and the hounds bayed it
(which was called the _forhu_), the huntsman called out _Tallyho_.
We only find _Tallyho_ in comparatively recent English hunting
literature and songs--never, so far as I am aware, before the late
seventeenth century, and it does not occur at all constantly until the
eighteenth century. Neither Turbervile nor Blome nor Cox, in their
books on the various chases, mention such a word, though we find
instruction to the huntsman to say "Hark to him," "Hark forward,"
"Hark back," and "To him, to him"; besides the inevitable "So how
sohow." Neither in Twici, "Master of Game," "Boke of St. Albans,"
Chaucer, or Shakespeare can we find an invigorating _Tallyho_. It
would almost appear as if it were a seventeenth century importation
from across the Channel, which is quite possible, for Henry IV. of
France sent in that century three of his best huntsmen, Desprez, de
Beaumont, and de Saint-Ravy, to the Court of King James I. to teach
the royal huntsmen how to hunt the stag in the French way, English
Court hunting having degenerated into coursing of stags within the
park palings.
_Taïaut_ in France was used solely in the chase of red, fallow, or roe
deer.
HUNTING MUSIC. In the "Master of Game," as in all the earliest hunting
literature, much importance is placed on the huntsman's sounding his
horn in the proper manner in order, as Twici says, that "Each man who
is around you, who understands Hunting, can know in which point you
are in your sport by your blowing." The author of "Master of Game" (p.
170) says he will give us "a chapter which is all of blowing," but he
omitted to fulfil this promise, so that we have only such information
as we can gather in his chapters on stag and hare-hunting. The
differences in the signals were occasioned by the length of the sound
or note, and the intervals between each. Twici expresses these notes
in syllables, such as _trout_, _trout_, _trourourout_. The first of
these would be single notes, with an interval between them, blown
probably with a separate breath or wind for each; the latter would be
three notes blown without interval and with a single breath or wind.
The principal sounds on the hunting horn were named as follows:--
A _Moot_ or _Mote_, a single note, which might be sounded long or
short.
A _Recheat_. To recheat, Twici says, "blow in this manner,
_trourourourout, trourourourout, trourourourout_," therefore a
four-syllabled sound succeeded by an interval, blown three times. In
the "Master of Game" we find the recheat preceded or followed by a
moot, the most constantly recurring melody. When the limer has moved
the stag, and the huntsman sees him go away, he was to blow a moot and
recheat. If the stag is moved but not viewed, and the huntsman knows
only by the slot that it is his stag that has gone away, he is to
recheat without the moot, for that was only to be blown when the stag
was seen. When the hounds are at fault and any one finds the slot of
the deer, he should recheat "in the rightes and blow a long moot for
the lymerer," or if he thinks he sees the hunted stag, he should blow
a moot and recheat, and after that blow two moots for the hounds.
The _Forlonge_. A signal that the stag had got away far ahead of the
hounds or that these had distanced some or all of the huntsmen (_see_
Appendix: Forlonge).
The _Perfect_ or _Parfit_. Twici says it began by "a moot and then
_trourourout, trout, trout, trourourout, trourourout, trourourout,
trout, trout, trourourourout_," "and then to commence by another moot
again, and so you ought to blow three times. And to commence by a moot
and to finish by a moot." This was only blown when the hounds were
hunting the right line (_see_ Appendix: Parfet).
The _Prise_. Twici says, blow four moots for the taking of the deer.
According to the "Master of Game," "the prise or coupling up" was to
be blown by the chief personage of the hunt only, after the quarry. It
was only blown when the deer had been slain by strength, or hunted,
and not when shot or coursed. He was to blow four moots, wait a short
interval (half an Ave Maria), and blow another four notes a little
longer than the first four.
The _Menée_. Twici says the _Menée_ should only be blown for the hart,
the boar, the wolf, and the male wolf, but he does not give us any
analysis of this melody. In the "Master of Game" we are told that the
_Menée_ was blown at the hall-door on the return of the huntsmen. The
Master first blew four moots alone, then at the end of the four moots
the others joined him in blowing, and they all continued keeping time
together (_see_ Appendix: Menée).
The _Mort_ or _Death_ was another sound of the horn, but we have no
description of the notes. Perhaps it is synonymous with the _Prise_.
The _Stroke_ must have been another grouping of short and long notes,
but of this we have no record.
Hardouin de Fontaines Guerin wrote a poem on the chase chiefly
concerning the different manners of blowing such as obtained in his
native country the provinces of Anjou and Maine. The poem was
illustrated with fourteen miniatures showing the notes to be blown on
as many different occasions during stag-hunting.
The notes are written in little squares: [**white] denoting a long
note; [**black] a short note; [**white][**white] a note of two long
syllables; [**black][**black] a note of two short syllables;
[**black][**white][**white] a note of one short and two long
syllables; and [**black][**white][**white][**black][**black] a note of
one short, two long, and two short syllables. Of these six notes
combinations were made for all the signals to be blown.
ILLOEQUES, "here in this place," from the L. _illo loco_. Sometimes it
is spelt _illecques_, _iluec_, _illosques_, &c. It is constantly met
with in Anglo-Norman, and the Provence dialects (Botman, pp. 90, 242;
T. M., pp. 31, 93, 142; Roy Modus, lxix.; and in the will of the Duke
of York, Nichols). It has been suggested that it is the origin of the
familiar _yoicks_. In the "Boke of St. Albans" in the verses on
hare-hunting it also occurs.
[Illustration: FROM HARDOUIN DE FONTAINES GUERIN'S WORK, WRITTEN IN
1394]
JOPEYE, synonymous with _jupper_, which, according to Cotgrave, is an
old word signifying "to whoot, showt, crie out alowd." The French word
_juper_, _jupper_, also spelt _joppeir_, had the same meaning, and we
find it employed in the "Chace dou cerf" for a halloa in hunting in a
similar way to _jopeye_ in our text:
"_Et puis juppe ou corne i. lonc mot
Chaucuns en a joie qui l'ot._"
In the sense it is used in our "Master of Game" (p. 185) it means to
halloa to the hounds, to encourage them with the voice.
KENETTES, small hounds. Kenet is a diminutive form of the
Norman-French _kenet_, and the O. F. _chen_, _cienetes_, _chenet_, a
dog: _i veneour a ii cienetes, Ne mie grans mais petitetes, Et plus
blans que n'est flors d'espine_ (Percival, 22,895). Derived from the
Latin _canis_ (_see_ Appendix: Harriers).
LIGGING, a bed, a resting-place, a lair. From O. Eng. _licgan_,
_licgean_, Goth. _ligan_, lie, lie down. The ligging of the hart was
what we now call his lair, spelt also layer. In our MS. it is used for
the dwelling of a wild cat (p. 71).
This old expression is not entirely obsolete, but can be heard still
among the country people of the northern counties of England.
LIMER, lymer; the name given to a scenting-hound which was held in a
liam or leash whilst tracking the game. Limers never were any distinct
breed of hounds, but, of course, some breeds produced better limers
than others (De Noirmont, vol. ii. p. 350).
A dog used as a limer had to be keen on the scent, staunch on the
line, not too fast, and was taught to run mute, for if the exact
whereabouts of any game had to be discovered, it would have been
impossible, if the hound gave tongue or challenged while on the scent.
A likely hound was chosen from the kennel at an early age, G. de F.
says at a year old (p. 157), and from that time accompanied his
master, sleeping in his room, and being taught to obey him. He was
continually taken out by his master with collar and liam and
encouraged to follow the scent of hinds and of stags and other beasts,
and punished should he venture to acknowledge the scent of any animal
he was not being entered to, or should he open on finding or following
the line.
In England as well as on the Continent the huntsman went out in the
early morning to track the game to be hunted to its lair, or den,
before the pack and huntsmen came into the field. Deer, wild boar,
bear and wolves were thus harboured by means of a limer. Twici makes
the apprentice huntsman ask: "Now I wish to know how many of the
beasts are moved by the lymer, and how many of the beasts are found by
braches?--Sir, all those which are chased are moved by a lymer, and
all those which are hunted up (_enquillez_) are found by the braches"
(Twici, p. 12; _see_ Appendix: Acquillez).
Limers were not only employed when a warrantable stag was to be hunted
by hounds, but a huntsman going out with his bow or cross-bow would
have his brachet on a liam and let him hunt up the quarry he wished to
shoot (_see_ Appendix: Bercelet). Also, the day before one of the
large battues for big game, the limers would be taken out to ascertain
what game there was in the district to be driven.
A liam, _lyome_, or _lyame_, was a rope made of silk or leather by
which hounds were led, from O. F. _liamen_, a strap or line, Latin
_ligamen_. This strap was fastened to the collar by a swivel, and both
collar and liams were often very gorgeous. We read of "A lyame of
white silk with collar of white vellat embrawdered with perles, the
swivell of silver." "Dog collors of crymson vellat with VI lyhams of
white leather." "A lieme of grene and white silke." "Three lyames and
colors with tirrett of silver and quilt" (Madden, "Expenses of
Princess Mary").
A hound was said to carry his liam well when he just kept it at proper
tension, not straining it, for that would show that he was of too
eager temperament, and likely to overshoot the line; if he trailed his
liam on the ground, it showed that he was slack or unwilling
(D'Yauville).
As soon as the stag was "moved" the limer's work was over, but only
for the time being; his master led him away, the other hounds were
uncoupled, and the harbourer, mounting his horse and keeping his limer
with him, rode as close to the chase as he could, skirting below the
wind and being careful not to cross the line, but managing to be at
hand in case the stag should run in company or give the hounds the
change. In this case the huntsman had to check the hounds, and wait
for the harbourer and limer to come up and unravel the change, and put
the pack on the right scent once more.
The method of starting the stag with a limer was not done away with in
France until the eighteenth century, although in Normandy a change had
been made previously, and probably in England also. For our author
says that some sportsmen even in his time, when impatient, would
uncouple a few of the hounds in the covert, before the stag had been
properly started by the limer, which practice he, however, was not in
favour of except under the conditions he mentions.
This uncoupling of a few older hounds in covert to start the deer,
coupling them again as soon as the deer was on foot, was later called
_tufting_, and is still customary in Devon and Somerset.
The limer was not rewarded with the other hounds; he received his
reward from the hands of his master before or after the other hounds,
and after he had bayed the head of the stag.
When not quoting or translating the old text the more modern spelling
of _li_mer has been used.
MADNESS. Old Eng. and Mid. Eng. _Woodness_, _wodnesse_, and _wodnyss_;
mad, _wode_. The seven different sorts of madnesses spoken of by the
"Master of Game" are also mentioned in nearly all subsequent works on
old hunting dealing with "sicknesses of hounds." They are the hot
burning madness, running madness, dumb madness, lank madness,
rheumatic madness or slavering madness, falling madness, sleeping
madness.
These are mentioned in Roy Modus, and the cure for rabies, of taking
the afflicted dog to the sea and letting nine waves wash over him, as
well as the cock cure mentioned in our English MS., were both taken by
Gaston from Roy Modus, or both derived them from some common source
(Roy Modus, fol. xlv. r).
The water cure is mentioned also by Albertus Magnus (Alb. Mag., 215, a
27).
It seems likely to have been to try the efficacy of this cure that
King Edward I. sent some of his hounds to Dover to bathe in the sea,
the following account for which is entered in his Wardrobe Accounts:
"To John le Berner, going to Dover to bathe six braches by the King's
order and for staying there for 21 days for his expense 3. 6d" (6
Edward I. Quoted from MS. Philipps, 8676).
The means of recognising rabies by a cock is also mentioned in the
recipe of the eleventh century given by Avicenna (957-1037), and it
appears again in Vincentius Bellovacensis and is also to be found in
Alexander Neckham. Although the manner of using the cock for this
purpose varies, we see by the fact of its being mentioned in different
works preceding our MS. that the cock enjoyed some legendary renown
for at least a couple of centuries before Gaston (Werth, p. 55).
Nowadays only two varieties of rabies are recognised: furious and dumb
rabies. The numerous divisions of the old authors were based on
different stages of the disease and slight variations in the symptoms.
When a dog is attacked with rabies its owner often supposes that the
dog has a bone in its throat, so that a report of this condition is
regarded by veterinary surgeons with suspicion. This corresponds with
the description in our text of dogs, with their mouths "somewhat
gaping, as if they were _enosed_ in their throat."
MASTIFF, from F. _metif_, O. F. _mestif_, M. E. _mastyf_, _mestiv_,
mixed breed, a mongrel dog (Cent. Dict., Murray). Some etymologists
have suggested that the word mastiff was derived from _masethieves_,
as these dogs protected their master's houses and cattle from thieves
(Manwood, p. 113). Others again give _mastinus_, i.e. _maison tenant_,
house-dog, as the origin, but the first derivation given of _mestif_,
mongrel, is the one now generally recognised.
Although it will be quite evident to any one comparing the mastiff
depicted in our Plate, p. 122, with any picture of the British mastiff
that the two are very different types, we must not therefore conclude
that the artist was at fault, but that the French _matin_, which is
what our MS. describes and depicts, was by no means identical with our
present English breed of mastiffs, nor even with the old British
mastiff or bandog. The French _matins_ were generally big, hardy dogs,
somewhat light in the body, with long heads, pointed muzzles,
flattened forehead, and semi-pendant ears; some were rough and others
smooth coated.
_Matins_ were often used for tackling the wild boar when run by other
hounds, so as to save the more valuable ones when the boar turned to
bay.
In this chase, as well as when they were used to protect their
master's flocks against wolves, huge iron spiked collars were fastened
round the dog's neck. These spiked collars were very formidable
affairs; one of very ancient make which I have measures inside nearly
eight inches in diameter, and the forty-eight spikes are an inch long,
the whole weighing without the padlock that fastened it together about
two pounds.
In England the name Mastiff was not in general use till a much later
date, even as late as the end of the eighteenth century, Osbaldiston
in his Dictionary ignoring the term mastiff, and using, like a true
Saxon, the old term bandog (Wynn, p. 72). In the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries the terms were generally synonymous, and it seems
quite possible that the mastiff of the ancient forest laws was not our
bandog, but denoted, as in France, any large house-dog capable of
defending his master and his master's goods, watching his cattle, and,
as frequently necessary, powerful enough to attack the depredatory
wolf or the wild boar. These would in all likelihood be a very mixed
breed, and thoroughly justify the name _mestif_ or mongrel.
Cotgrave in his French-English Dictionary gives the following:--
"_Mastin_, a mastiue or bandog; a great country curre; also a rude,
filthie, currish or cruell fellow."
We find the word _matin_ in France used as a term of opprobrium, or a
name of contempt for any ugly or distorted body or a coarse person:
"_C'es un matin, un vilain matin._" Many interesting facts about the
mastiff have been collected by Jesse in his "History of the British
Dog," but he also makes the mistake of considering that the "Master of
Game" and Turbervile give us the description of the dogs then existing
in England, whereas these descriptions really relate only to French
breeds, although the characteristics may in many cases have tallied
sufficiently; but in others a dire confusion has resulted from blindly
copying from one another.
MENÉE, from Latin _minare_, something which is led, a following. This
word frequently occurs in the mediæval romances, and usually denoted
pursuit, either in battle or in the hunting field (Borman, p. 37).
There are various meanings attached to _menée_:--
1. The line of flight the stag or other game has taken, and _Chacier
la menée_ seems to have meant hunting with horn and hound by scent on
the line of flight, in contradiction to the chase with the bow or
crossbow, which was called _berser_ (_Le Roman des Loherains_, 106, c.
30). In G. de F. (p. 157) it is used in the same sense. The meaning
in which Gaston de Foix uses the word menée is explained by him: _Et
puis se metre après, et chevauchier menée: c'est à dire par où les
chiens et le cerf vont_ (G. de F., pp. 43, 44, 171, 179). See also
_Chace dou Cerf_ and Hard. de Font. Guer. Edit. Pichon.
2. The challenge of the hound when on the line. Page 171, we read that
a hunter should know whether the hounds have retrieved their stag by
the doubling of their menée, _i.e._ the hounds would make more noise
as soon as they found the scent or line of flight of the stag they
were chasing. _Menée_ evidently meant the sound made by the hound when
actually following the scent, not when baying the game. Later the
sense seems to have been widened, and a musical hound was said to have
_la menée belle_ (Salnove, p. 246).
3. A note sounded on a horn (_see_ Appendix: Hunting Music). It was
the signal that the deer was in full flight. It appears to be used in
Twici to signify the horn-signal blown when the hounds are on the
scent of hart, boar or wolf, to press the hounds onwards (Twici, p.
23). This author says one cannot blow the menée for the hare, because
it is at one time female and another male, and to this Dryden in his
notes remarks that Twici is perfectly right in saying a man ought not
to blow the menée for a hare; for as every one knows, it is but a rare
occurrence for a hare to go straight on end like a fox, for they
commonly double and run rings, in which case if the hounds were
pressed, they would over-run the scent and probably lose the hare. But
he does not explain why Twici says if it were always male the menée
could be blown at it as at other beasts, such as the hart, the boar,
and the wolf. Is it that a male hare will occasionally run a long,
straight course of several miles, but that the female runs smaller
rings and more constantly retraces her steps, and therefore the menée
could never be blown at her?
4. Menée was also used in the sense of a signal on a horn.
The "Master of Game" says the _menées_ should be sounded on the return
of the huntsman at the hall or cellar door (p. 179). There was a
curious old custom which occasioned the blowing of the horn in
Westminster Abbey. Two _menées_ were blown at the high altar of the
Abbey on the delivery there of eight fallow deer which Henry III. had
by charter granted as a yearly gift to the Abbot of Westminster and
his successors.
METYNGE, here evidently means meating or feeding. As the "Master of
Game" says: "or pasturing" as if the two words were synonymous, as
_metinge_ also was Mid. Eng. for _measure_, it might have been a deer
of "high measure and pasturing." But anyhow the two were practically
identical, for as Twici says: "Harts which are of good pasture. For
the head grows according to the pasture; good or otherwise." See
below: MEUTE.
MEUTE had several meanings in Old French venery.
1. The "Master of Game" translated G. de F.'s "grant cerf" as a hart
of high feeding or pasture. But he omitted to render the following
passage: "_Et s'il est de bonne meute, allons le laisser courre._" The
"_bonne meute_" is not translated by "high meating." It was an
expression in use to indicate whether the stag was in good company or
not. If a warrantable stag was accompanied by one or two large stags
he was termed "_Un cerf de bonne mute_" (or _meute_), but if hinds and
young stags (rascal) were with him he was designated as a "_cerf de
mauvaise mute_." In Roy Modus we read: "_La première est de savoir
s'il est de bonne mute._"
Perhaps _meute_ when used in this sense was derived from the old
Norman word _moeta_, _m[=a][=e]ta_, from _m[=o]t_, meet, come
together. There was also an Old Eng. word _metta_ or _gemetta,_
companion.
2. Meute was also used in another sense which is translated by the
"Master of Game" as _haunts_, probably the place the deer usually
moves in. G. says: "_Il prendra congé de sa meute_," and the "Master
of Game" has: "he leaves his haunts." If a deer was harboured in a
good country for hunting he was also called "_En belle meute_"
(D'Yauville, voc. _Meute_).
It was in this sense that the "Sénéschal de Normandye" answers the
question of his royal mistress about the stag he himself had harboured
that morning; he tells her the stag was _En belle meute et pays fort_.
3. MEUTE, MUTE, a number of hounds, now called a pack or kennel of
hounds or a cry of hounds.
MEW, _Mue_, to shed, cast, or change. "The hart mews his horns," the
deer casts his head, or sheds his antlers. From the French _muer_, and
the Latin _mutare_, to change, of hawks to moult.
MOVE, MEU, Meue, mewe, meeve, old forms of move. To start a hart
signified to unharbour him, to start him from his lair.
G. de F. says: _Allons le laisser courre_; but the word _meu_ or
_meve_ was also used in Old French in the same way as in English.
Twici says: _Ore vodroi ioe savoir quantez des betes sunt meuz de
lymer, e quanz des bestes sunt trouez des brachez.... Sire, touz ceaus
qe sunt enchaces; sunt meuz de lymer. E tous ceaus enquillez sunt
trovez de brachez._ (Now I would wish to know how many beasts are
moved by a lymer and how many beasts are found by the braches.--Sir,
all those which are chased are moved by a lymer. And all those which
are hunted up are found by braches.) (Line 18; Tristan., i. 4337;
Partonopeus de Blois, 607.)
MUSE, _Meuse_. An opening in a fence through which a hare or other
animal is accustomed to pass. An old proverb says: "'Tis as hard to
find a hare without a muse, as a woman without scuse."
"A hare will pass by the same muses until her death or escape" (Blome,
p. 92).
NUMBLES. M. E. _nombles_, _noumbles_; O. F. _nombles_. The parts of a
deer between the thighs, that is to say, the liver and kidneys and
entrails. Part, and sometimes the whole of the numbles were considered
the right of the huntsman; sometimes the huntsman only got the
kidneys, and the rest was put aside with the tit-bits reserved for the
King or chief personage (Turb., pp. 128-129). Numbles by loss of the
initial letter became umbles (Harrison, vol. i. p. 309), and was
sometimes written humbles, whence came "humble pie," now only
associated with the word humble. Humble pie was a pie made of the
umbles or numbles of the deer, and formerly at hunting feasts was set
before the huntsman and his followers.
OTTER. The Duke of York does not tell us anything of the chase of the
Otter, but merely refers one at the end of the chapter on "The Nature
of the Otter" to Milbourne, the King's Otter-hunter, for more
information and says, "as of all other vermin I speak not" (p. 73).
The Otter was evidently beneath his notice, as being neither regarded
as a beast of venery nor of the chase (Twety and Gyfford, Brit. Mus.
MS. Vesp. B. XII.). But the very fact that the King had an
Otter-hunter shows that it was a beast not altogether despised,
although probably hunted more for the value of its skin and for the
protection of the fish than for the sport.
The Milbourne referred to by the Duke of York can scarcely be any
other than the William Melbourne we find mentioned in Henry IV.'s
reign as "Valet of our Otter-hounds" (Privy Seal, 674/6456, Feb. 18,
1410).
PARFET, _the perfect_. Twici says: _Une autre chasce il y ad qe homme
appele le parfet. Dunkes covient il qe vous corneez en autre
maneree.... E isse chescun homme qest en tour vous, que siet de
venerie puet conustre en quel point vous estes en vostre dedut par
vostre corneer_ (line 111).
From comparing the various places where the word _parfait_ is employed
in connection with hunting, it may be concluded that to hunt the
"_Parfet_" was when the hounds were on the line of the right stag, to
sound the "_Parfet_" was to blow the notes that indicated the hounds
were hunting the right line. Dryden in his notes to Twici suggests
that the chase of the _parfet_ was "in opposition to the chase of the
_Forloyng_," that is, when the pack run well together "jostling in
close array" (Twici, p. 43). But Perfect in the O. F. works seems to
us to invariably be used, as already said, to indicate that the hounds
have not taken the change, but are staunch to the right scent. Jacques
de Brézé says the stag he is hunting joins two great stags, but
although some of the hounds ran silent for awhile, they still
continued staunch to their line, and here he uses the word "_parfait_"
(Sen. de Nor., p. 13).
Modus also uses it in this sense: _Les chiens qui viennent chaçant
après le parfait_ (fol. xix. v). And what is most conclusive is the
sense given to it in our text: "Should blow to him again the parfyt so
that he were in his rightes and ellys nought," _i.e._ the parfyt
should only be blown if the hound was on the right line (p. 174).
PARFYTIERES, the name given in the "Master of Game" to the last relay
of hounds uncoupled during the chase of the stag. First came the
"_vaunt chase_," and then the "_midel_," and then the "_parfytieres_."
They may have been so called from being the last hounds to be
uncoupled, being those that completed or perfected the pack--_i.e._
perfecters, or this relay may have derived its name from being
composed of some of the staunchest hounds from the kennel, those not
likely to follow any but the right line or the _parfyt_. It was
customary in the old days to keep some of the slower and staunchest
hounds in the last relay, and to cast them only when a stag nearing
its end rused and foiled, and sought by every means to shake off his
persecutors (_see_ Appendix: Relays). G. de F. gives the names of the
three relays simply as _La première bataille_, _la seconde_, and _la
tierce_ (p. 175).
POMELED; spotted, from O. F. _pomelé_, spotted like an apple. The
young of the roedeer are born with a reddish brown coat with white
spots, which the "Master of Game" calls _pomeled_. This term was also
frequently used in Ang.-N., O. F., and in the dog-Latin of our ancient
records to describe a flea-bitten or dappled horse. "_His hakenei that
was all pomeli gris_" (Strat.). "_Pommeli liardus, gris pommele, Uno
equo liardo pomele_" (Obs. Ward. Acc. 28, Ed. I.). G. de F. does not
use this word in describing the young of the roedeer, but says they
are born "_eschaquettes_" (p. 40).
RACHES; _ratches_ or _racches_, a dog that hunts by scent. A.-S.
_raecc_, a hound, and O. F. and Ang.-N. _brache_, _brachet_, _bracon_,
_braquet_; Ger. _bracken_. Ang.-Lat., _brachetus_, _bracketus_.
Raches were scenting hounds hunting in a pack, later called "running
hounds," and then simply hounds. Although raches or brachets are
frequently mentioned in the O. F. and Ang.-N. metrical romances, and
in various early documents, we have never found any description of
them, but can only gather what they were from the uses they were put
to. We find that the bracco was used by the early German tribes to
track criminals, therefore they were scenting hounds. There is plenty
of evidence that they were used for stag, wild boar, and buck hunting
during the Middle Ages. They were coupled together and led by a
_berner_ or _bracennier_ or _braconnier. Braconnier_ now means
poacher, but this is only the later meaning; originally braconnier was
the leader of the bracos, or huntsman (Daurel, p. 337; Bangert, p.
173; Dol. 9188).
We gather that these brachets of the early Middle Ages were small
hounds, sometimes entirely white, but generally white with black
markings. Sometimes they were mottled (_bracet mautré_). One
description of a _braces corant_ says this hound was as white as a
nut, with black ears, a black mark on the right flank, and flecked
with black (Blancadin, 1271; Perc. 17,555, 22,585; Tristan M., 1475,
2261; Tyolet, 332).
In the early days in England we find that braches were used to hunt up
such smaller game as was not unharboured or dislodged by the limer.
Twici says: "_Sire, touz ceaus qe sunt enchaces, sunt meuz de lymer. E
tous ceaus enquillez sunt trovez de brachez_" (_see_ Appendix:
Acquillez), _i.e._ All beasts that are enchased are moved by a limer,
and all those that are hunted up are found by braches (Twici, pp. 2,
12). Raches are mentioned in the "Boke of St. Albans" among the
"_Dyvers manere of houndes_," and the apprentice to venery is told he
should speak of "A mute of houndes, a kenell of rachys." He is also
informed that the hart, the buck, and the boar should be started by a
limer, and that all "other bestes that huntyd shall be sought for and
found by Ratches so free." John Hardyng in his Chronicle, speaking of
an inroad into Scotland by Edward IV., in whose reign he was yet
living, said, "And take Kennetes and Ratches with you and seeke oute
all the forest with houndes and hornes as Kynge Edwarde with the long
shanks dide." In the "Squyer of Low degree" we read that the huntsman
came with his bugles "and seven score raches at his rechase."
RESEEYUOUR; the word the most approaching this to be found in any
dictionary is under the head of receiver, M. E. _receyvour_, one who,
or that which receives. The _reseeyuours_ were most likely those
greyhounds who received the game, _i.e._ pulled it down after it had
been chased. We see in our text that _teasers_ and _reseeyuours_ are
mentioned together (p. 198). The former were light, swift greyhounds;
these were probably slipped first; and the latter (Shirley MS. spells
_resteynours_) were the heavy greyhounds slipped last, and capable of
pulling down a big stag. De Noirmont tells us: _Ces derniers étaient
surnommés receveours ou receveurs_ (ii. p. 426, and G. de F., p. 177).
RELAYS. In the early days of venery the whole pack was not allowed to
hunt at the commencement of the chase. After the stag had been started
from his lair by a limer, some hounds were uncoupled and laid on, the
rest being divided off into relays, which were posted in charge of one
or more _berners_ along the probable line of the stag, and were
uncoupled when the hunted stag and the hounds already chasing him had
passed. There were usually three relays, and two to four couples the
usual number in each relay, though the number of couples depended, of
course, on the size of the hunting establishment and the number of
hounds in the kennel. G. de F. calls these relays simply, première,
seconde, and tierce. The "Master of Game" calls the first lot of
hounds uncoupled the "finders" (p. 165), though this seems rather a
misnomer, as the harbourer with his limer (_see_ Limer) found and
started the deer. The _vauntchase_ for the first relay, and the
_midel_ speak for themselves, but we have little clue to the origin of
_parfitieres_ for the third relay. Were they so called because they
perfected or completed the chase, or because they were some of the
staunchest hounds who could be depended upon to follow the _parfit,
i.e._ the right line of the stag or animal hunted? (_see_ Appendix:
Parfet). Old authorities seem to have differed in opinion as to
whether the staunchest and slowest hounds should have been put in the
first cry or in the last (Roy Modus, fol. xvi.; G. de F., p. 178;
Lav., Chasse à Courre, pp. 297-8).
In the "Boke of St. Albans" we read of the _vauntlay_, _relay_, and
_allay_. The first was the name given to hounds if they were uncoupled
and thrown off between the pack and the beast pursued, the relay were
the hounds uncoupled after the hounds already hunting had passed by;
the _allay_ is held:
"Till all the houndes that be behynd be cum therto
Than let thyn houndes all to geder goo
That is called an _allay_."
Instructions concerning when relays should be given always warn the
_berner_ not to let slip the couples till some of the surest hounds
have passed on the scent, and till he be sure that the stag they are
hunting is the right one and not a substitute, _i.e._ one frightened
and put up by the hunted stag. The "Master of Game" is careful also to
say: "Take care that thou _vauntlay_ not" (p. 169).
The discontinuing of relays seemed to have been begun first in
Normandy and probably about the same time in England.
In France the three relays of greyhounds which were used were called
_Levriers d'estric--i.e._ those which were first let slip; _levriers
de flanc_, those that attacked from the side; and _levriers de tête_,
those that bar the passage in front of the game or head it, terms that
correspond with our vauntlay, allay, and relay. In the "Master of
Game's" chapter on the wolf these relays of greyhounds are indicated
(p. 59).
RIOT. The "Master of Game's" statement on p. 74 that no other wild
beast in England is called ryott save the coney only has called forth
many suggestions as to the origin of this name being applied to the
rabbit, and the connection between riot, a noise or brawl, and the
rabbit. The word riot is represented in M. E. and O. F. by _riote_, in
Prov. _riota_, Ital. _riotta_, and in all these languages it had the
same signification, _i.e._ a brawl, a dispute, an uproar, a quarrel
(Skeat).
Diez conjectures the F. _riote_ to stand for _rivote_, and refers to
O. H. G. _riben_, G. _reiben_, to grate, to rub (orig. perhaps to
rive, to rend). From German, _sich an einem reiben_, to mock, to
attack, to provoke one; lit. to rub oneself against one.
Rabbit, which is in O. Dutch robbe, has probably the same origin from
_reiben_.
The etymology and connection, if any, between the two words rabbit and
riot is difficult to determine. It is very probable that the rabbit
was called _riot_ from producing a brawling when the hounds came
across one. The term "running _riot_" may well be derived from a
hunting phrase.
ROE. The error regarding the October rut into which G. de F. and the
Duke of York fell was one to which the naturalists of much later times
subscribed, for it was left to Dr. Ziegler and to Dr. Bischoff, the
Professor of Physiology at Heidelberg, to demonstrate in 1843 the true
history of the gestation of the roe, which for more than a century had
been a hotly disputed problem. On that occasion it was shown with
scientific positiveness that the true rut of the roe takes place about
the end of July or first week in August, and that the ovum does not
reach the uterus for several months, so that the first development of
the embryo does not commence before the middle of December.
RUNNING HOUNDS AND RACHES (F. _chiens courants_). Under this heading
we include all such dogs as hunted by scent in packs, whatever the
game they pursued might be. They appear in the early records of our
kings as _Canes de Mota_, _Canes currentes_, and as _Sousos_ (scenting
hounds) (Close Rolls 7 John; Mag. Rot. 4, John Rot. 10; 4 Henry III.),
and are mentioned specifically as _cervericiis_, _deimericiis_, as
_Heyrectorum_ (harriers) or _canes heirettes_, and foxhounds as
_gupillerettis_ or _wulpericiis_ (Close Rolls, 15 John).
The Anglo-Saxon word _Hundas_, hound, was a general name for any dog;
the dog for the chase in Anglo-Saxon times being distinguished by the
prefix _Ren_, making _ren hund_.
Gradually the word dog superseded the word hound, and the latter was
only retained to designate a "scenting" dog. Dr. Caius, writing to Dr.
Gesner, remarks in his book: "Thus much also understand, that as in
your language _Hunde_ is the common word, so in our naturall tounge
dogge is the universall, but _Hunde_ is perticular and a speciall, for
it signifieth such a dogge onely as serveth to hunt" (Caius, p. 40).
(_See_ Appendix: Raches.) Running hounds was a very literal
translation of the French _chiens courants_, and as the descriptive
chapter given in our text is as literal a rendering from G. de F.
there is no information that helps us to piece together the ancestry
of the modern English hound. We do not know what breed were in the
royal kennels in the reign of Henry IV., but probably some descendants
of those brought to this country by the Normans, about the origin of
which breed nothing seems known.
_Keep of Hounds._ The usual cost of the keep of a hound at the time of
our MS. was a halfpenny a day, of a greyhound three farthings, and of
a limer or bloodhound one penny a day.
However for the royal harthounds an allowance of three farthings a day
was made for each hound (Q. R. Acc. 1407), and we also find
occasionally that only a halfpenny a day was made for the keep of a
greyhound. In Edward I.'s reign a halfpenny a day was the allowance
made for fox- and otter-hounds (14, 15, 31, 32, 34, Edward I. Ward.
Acc.), and sometimes three farthings and sometimes a halfpenny a day
for a greyhound. The Master of Buckhounds was allowed a halfpenny a
day each for his hounds and greyhounds.
In the reign of Richard III. the Master of Harthounds was allowed 3s.
3d. a day "for the mete of forty dogs and twelve greyhounds and
threepence a day for three limers" (Rolls of Parl., vol. v. p. 16).
The "Boke of Curtasye" (fourteenth century, Percy Society, iv. p.
26), gives us information which quite agrees with the payments entered
in the Wardrobe and other accounts of the King's hunting
establishment. And under the head of _De Pistore_ we find the baker is
told to make loaves for the hounds:
"Manchet and chet to make brom bred hard
ffor chaundeler and grehoundes and huntes reward."
Chet, a word not in use since the seventeenth century, meant wheaten
bread of the second quality, made of flour more coarsely sifted than
that used for manchet, which was the finest quality.
Brom bread was oaten bread, and probably was very much the same as a
modern dog biscuit.
One of the ancient feudal rights was that of obtaining bran from the
vassals for the hounds' bread, known as the right of brennage, from
bren, bran.
Although bread was the staple food given to hounds, yet they were also
provided with meat. At the end of a day's hunting they received a
portion of the game killed (_see_ Curée), and if this was not
sufficient or it was not the hunting season game was expressly killed
for them. In a decree from King John to William Pratell and the
Bailiffs of Falke de Breaut of the Isle of Ely, the latter are
commanded to find bread and paste for the hounds as they may require,
"and to let them hunt sometimes in the Bishops chase for the flesh
upon which they are fed" (Close Roll, 17 John). In an extract from the
Wardrobe Accounts of 6 Edward I. we find a payment was made of 40s. by
the King to one Bernard King for his quarry for two years past on
which the King's dogs had been fed (MS. Phillipps, 8676).
We find also that "Pantryes, Chippinges and broken bread" were given
to the hounds, _Chippings_ being frequently mentioned in the royal
accounts as well as meat for the hounds (Liber Niger Domus Ed. IV.;
Collection of Ordinances of the Royal Households; Jesse, ii. 125;
Privy Purse Expenses Henry VIII. 1529-1532).
The cost of the keep of some of the King's hounds were paid for out of
the exchequer, others were paid from the revenues and outgoings of
various counties, and an immense number were kept by subjects who held
land from the crown _by serjeantry_ or _in capite_ of keeping a stated
number of running hounds, greyhounds, and brachets, &c., for the
King's use (Blount's Ancient Tenures, Plac. Chron. 12, 13 Ed. I.;
Issue Roll 25 Henry VI.; Domesday, tom. i. fol. 57 v).
We see by the early records of our kings that a pack of hounds did not
always remain stationary and hunt within easy reach of their kennels,
but were sent from one part of the kingdom to another to hunt where
game was most plentiful or where there was most vermin to be
destroyed. As early as Edward I.'s reign we find conveyances were
sometimes provided for hounds when they went on long journeys. Thomas
de Candore or Candovere and Robert le Sanser (also called Salsar),
huntsmen of the stag and buckhounds (Close Rolls 49 Henry III.; 6, 8
Ed. I.), were paid for a horse-litter for fifty-nine days for the use
of their sixty-six hounds and five limers (Ward. Acc. 14, 15 Ed. I.).
And as late as Henry VIII.'s time the hounds seemed to travel about
considerable distances, as in the Privy Purse expenses of that King
the cart covered with canvas for the use of his hounds is a frequently
recurring item.
SCANTILON, O. F. _eschantillon_, Mid. Eng. _Scantilon_, Mod. Eng.
scantling, mason's rule, a measure; the huntsman is continually told
to take a _scantilon_, that is, a measure, of the slot or footprint of
the deer, so as to be able to show it at the meet, that with this
measure and the examination of the droppings which the huntsman was
also to bring with him the Master of the Game could judge if the man
had harboured a warrantable deer (_see_ Appendix: Slot and Trace).
SEASONS OF HUNTING. In mediæval times the consideration for the
larder played a far more important part in fixing the seasons for
hunting wild beasts than it did in later times, the object being to
kill the game when in the primest condition. Beginning with the--
_Red deer stag_: according to Dryden's Twici, p. 24 (source not
given), the season began at the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June
24), and _ended_ Holyrood Day (September 14). Our text of the "Master
of Game" nowhere expressly states when the stag-hunting begins or
terminates, but as he speaks of how to judge a hart from its fumes in
the month of April and May (p. 30), and further says that harts run
best from the "entry of May into St. John's tide" (p. 35), we might
infer that they were hunted from May on. He also says that the season
for hind-hunting begins when the season of the hart ends and lasteth
till Lent. But as this part of the book was a mere translation from G.
de F. it is no certain guide to the hunting seasons in England. The
Stag-hunting season in France, the _cervaison_, as it was called,
began at the _Sainte Croix de Mai_ (May 3rd) and lasted to _la Sainte
Croix de Septembre_ (Holyrood Day, Sept. 14), the old French saying
being: "_Mi Mai, mi teste, mi Juin, mi graisse; à la Magdeleine
venaison pleine_" (July 22) (Menagier de Paris, ii.). And although the
stag was probably chiefly hunted in England between Midsummer and the
middle of September, when they are in the best condition, and it was
considered the best time to kill them, they were probably hunted from
May on in the early days in England as they were in France. Had this
not been customary we imagine the Duke of York would have inserted one
of his little interpolations in the text he was translating, and
stated that although the season began in May _beyond the sea_, it only
began later in England.
In Twety and Gyfford we read that the "tyme of grece, begynnyth alle
way atte the fest of the Nativyte of Saynt Johan baptist." Later on,
according to Dryden, the season of the stag began two weeks after
Midsummer (July 8).
_Red deer hind_, Holyrood Day (Sept. 14) to Candlemas (Feb. 2) (Twici,
p. 24; Man., p. 181). According to others the hind and the doe season
ends on Twelfth-day or Epiphany (Jan. 6).
_Fallow deer buck._ According to the Forest Laws the season began at
the Nativity of St. John (June 24) and ended on Holyrood Day (Sept.
14). Dryden adds a second date, _i.e._ two weeks after Midsummer, to
the former, but does not quote the source.
_Fallow doe_ was hunted from Holyrood Day (Sept. 14) to Candlemas
(Feb. 2).
_Roe deer buck_ was hunted from Easter to Michaelmas (Sept. 29).
_Roe doe_, Michaelmas to Candlemas.
_Hare._ According to the Forest Laws (Man., 176) the season commenced
Michaelmas (Sept. 29) and ended at Midsummer (June 24); Dryden in his
notes in Twici states that it commenced at Michaelmas and ended at
Candlemas (Feb. 2), while the "Boke of St. Albans" gives the same date
as the first-named in Manwood. According to the "Master of Game" the
hare seems to have enjoyed no close season, as G. de F.'s assertion
that the hunting of the hare "lasteth all the year" is also translated
without comment (p. 14): _Et le peut chassier toute l'année, en
quelque temps que ce soit quar touzjours sa sayson dure_ (G de F., p.
204).
In Twety and Gyfford we also find that "The hare is alway in season to
be chasyd."
In the sixteenth century in France the hare-hunting season was from
the middle of September till the middle of April (Du Fouilloux, p. 51;
De Noir., ii. p. 476). In England the same season seems to have been
observed (Blome, p. 91).
_Wild boar._ According to the Forest Laws (Manwood and Twici), the
boar was hunted from Christmas Day to Candlemas (Feb. 2), but we have
evidence that boar-hunting usually began earlier. The boar was in his
prime condition when acorns, beechmast, and chestnuts were plentiful,
and was considered in season from Michaelmas to St. Martin's Day (Roy
Modus, xxxi.), and by some even from Holyrood Day (Bornam, p. 100;
Part, de Blois, 525).
The huntsmen of King John of England were sent to hunt in the forest
of Cnappe in order to take two or three boars a day in November. King
John's letter giving instructions on this point to one Rowland Bloet
is dated 8th November 1215 (Jesse, ii. 32).
_Wolf._ According to the Forest Laws, in the book already quoted, the
season during which the wolf was hunted began at Christmas and ended
at the Annunciation (March 25), but considering the destruction
wrought by this beast it is far more likely that it was hunted
throughout the year.
_Fox._ According to the Forest Laws the season opened on Christmas Day
and ended on March 25, but nevertheless the fox was hunted early in
the autumn, for we have it on Twety and Gyfford's authority that "the
sesoun of the fox begynneth at the natyvite of owre Lady, and durryth
til the Annunciacion" (Sept. 8 to March 25).
The "Boke of St. Albans" gives the season of the fox and wolf from the
Nativity to the Annunciation of Our Lady and that of the boar from the
Nativity to the Purification of Our Lady. Manwood and other accepted
authorities quote the above as alluding to the Nativity of Christ,
whereas the Nativity of Our Lady, Sept. 8, was intended, thereby
creating some confusion.
According to the Wardrobe Accounts of Edward I. the foxhunting season
began on 1st September (Ward. Acc. Ed. I. 1299-1300).
No doubt one of the reasons why the fox was not hunted earlier in the
year was on account of the fur, which was of course of less use or
value if obtained in summer.
_Otter._ The Forest Laws give the season as from Shrove Tide (Feb. 22)
to Midsummer (June 24), but we find that in King John's reign the
otter was hunted in July (Close Rolls 14 John I.).
_Martin_, _badger_, _and rabbit_ were hunted at all seasons of the
year.
SNARES. No work dealing with the chase of wild animals in mediæval
times would be complete were it to omit all reference to snares,
traps, gins, pitfalls, and other devices to take game other than by
hunting. The "Master of Game" mentions the subject but briefly,
saying, "Truly I trow no good hunter would slay them so for no good,"
but "Gaston Ph[oe]bus" contains seventeen short chapters in which the
author as well as the miniaturist describe the various contrivances
then in use, although the same disdain of these unsportsmanlike
methods is expressed by G. de F. that marks the Duke of York's pages.
In the first edition of the present work will be found descriptions of
the principal snares used in the Middle Ages.
SPANIEL. It is difficult to say at what date these dogs were first
introduced into our country; we only know that by the second half of
the sixteenth century spaniels were a common dog in England. In Dr.
Caius's time the breed was "in full being." He mentions land spaniels,
setters, and water spaniels, besides the small spaniels which were
kept as pet and lap dogs. That the breed was not then a recent
importation we may infer from the fact that, when speaking of the
water spaniel and giving the derivation of the name, Dr. Caius says:
"Not that England wanted suche kinde of dogges (for they are naturally
bred and ingendered in this country). But because they beare the
general and common name of these dogs synce the time when they were
first brought over out of Spaine."
The chapter in the "Master of Game" on this dog, being translated
from G. de F., unfortunately throws no light on the history of the
spaniel in England, although we imagine that, had there been no such
hounds in our island at the time, the Duke would have made some such
remark as he has in other parts of his book of their being a "manner
of" hound as "men have beyond the sea, but not as we have here in
England."
In his time the spaniel had enjoyed popularity in France for some two
centuries, and there was such continual communication between France
and England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that it would
have been indeed strange if this most useful dog for the then
favourite and universal sport of hawking had not been brought to
England long before his time. We may conclude that the "gentle hounds
for the hawk" of which he speaks in his Prologue were not spaniels.
SPAY. The usual meaning of this word (castrating females) given in all
dictionaries is clearly inapplicable on this occasion (p. 174), where
it undoubtedly means killing a stag with a sword, probably derived
from the Italian _spada_. When the velvet was once off the antlers the
stag at bay was usually despatched with the bow, for it was then
dangerous to approach him close enough to do so with the sword. When
achieved by bold hunters, as it occasionally was, it was accounted a
feat of skill and courage.
STABLES. O. F. _establie_, a garrison, a station. Huntsmen and
kennelmen with hounds in leash, whose duty it was to take up a post or
stand assigned to them during the chase, were called stables. We have
_Stabilitiones venationis_ that are mentioned in Domesday (i. fol. 56b
and fol. 252). In Ellis's introduction to Domesday he says:
"_Stabilitio_ meant stalling the deer. To drive the Deer and other
Game from all quarters to the centre of a gradually contracted circle
where they were compelled to stand, was _stabilitio_." Malmesbury,
Scriptores, post Bedam, edit. 1596, p. 44, speaking of the mildness of
Edward the Confessor's temper, says, "_Dum quadam vice venatum isset,
et agrestis quidam Stabulata illa, quibus in casses cervi urgentur,
confudisset, ille sua nobili percitus ira, per Deum, inquit, et matrem
ejus tantundem tibi nocebo, si potero_" (Ellis, i. 112).
We see, however, at a later date from Twici and the "Master of Game"
that the watchers or stables they allude to were stationary--and did
not drive the game as described in above.
These stations of huntsmen and hounds were placed at intervals round
the quarter of the forest to be driven or hunted in with hounds to
move the game, so that the hounds could be slipped at any game
escaping; sometimes they were to make a noise, and thus blench or head
the game back. In French such a chase was called a _Chasse à tître_
(Lav. xxviii.), the word _tître_ meaning net or tape, but in this case
used figuratively. Our "Master of Game" evidently placed these
stations to keep the game within the boundaries so as to force it to
pass the stand of the King. Twici describes these stations of
huntsmen, using the word _establie_. "The bounds are those which are
set up of archers, and of greyhounds (_lefrers et de establie_) and
watchers, and on that account I have blown one moot and recheated on
the hounds. You hunter, do you wish to follow the chase? Yes, if that
beast should be one that is hunted up (_enquillee_), or chased I will
follow it. If so it should happen that the hounds should be gone out
of bounds then I wish to blow a moot and stroke after my hounds to
have them back" (Twici, p. 6).
It was the duty of certain tenants to attend the King's hunts and act
as part of the stable. In Hereford one person went from each house to
the stand or station in the wood at the time of the survey (Gen.
Introduction Domesday, Ellis, i. 195). From Shrewsbury the principal
burgesses who had horses attended the King when he went hunting, and
the sheriff sent thirty-six men on foot to the deer-stand while the
King remained there.
_Stable-stand_ was the place where these _stables_ were posted or
"set," and the word was also used to denote the place where archers
were posted to shoot at driven game. Such stands were raised platforms
in some drive or on some boundary of the forest, sometimes erected
between the branches of a tree, so that the sportsman could be well
hidden. A good woodcut of what was probably intended to represent a
"stand" is in the first edition of Turbervile's "Arte of Venerie,"
representing Queen Elizabeth receiving her huntsman's report.
There is no mention made of raised stands in our text, but with or
without such erections the position taken up by the shooters to await
the game was called his _standing_ or _tryste_, and a bower of
branches was made, to shelter the occupant from sun and rain, as well
as to hide him from the game. Such arbours were called _Berceau_ or
_Berceil_ in Old French, from the word _berser_, to shoot with a bow
and arrow; they were also called _ramiers_ and _folies_, from rames or
branches, and folia, leaves, with which they were made or disguised
(Noir., iii. p. 354).
Manwood tells us that _Stable-stand_ was one of four "manners in which
if a man were found, in the forest, he could be arrested as a poacher
or trespasser," and says: "Stable-stand is where one is found at his
standing ready to shoot at any Deer, or standing close by a tree with
Greyhounds in his leash ready to let slip" (Man., p. 193).
STANKES, or layes; tanks or pools, large meers. Gaston says: _Estancs
et autres mares ou marrhés_ (G. de F., p. 21). Stank house was a
moated house. A ditch or moat filled with water was called a tank.
TACHE, or tecche, Mid. Eng. for a habit, especially a bad habit, vice,
freak, caprice, behaviour, from the O. F. _tache_, a spot, a stain, or
blemish; also a disgrace, a blot on a man's good name. In the older
use it was applied both to good as well as bad qualities, as in our
text.
TAW, to makes hides into leather; tawer, the maker of white leather.
In the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, in the days of the
strict guilds, a sharp line was drawn between tawers and tanners, and
a tawer was not allowed to tan nor a tanner to taw (Wylie, vol. iii.
p. 195). No tawers were allowed to live in the Forest according to the
ancient forest laws.
"If any white Tawer live in a Forest, he shall be removed and pay a
Fine, for they are the common dressers of skins of stolen deer" (Itin.
Lanc. fol. 7, quoted by Manwood, p. 161).
TEAZER, or _teaser_. "A kind of mongrel greyhound whose business is to
drive away the deer before the Greyhounds are slipt," is the
definition given by Blome (p. 96). These dogs were used to hunt up the
game also when the deer was to be shot with the bow. The sportsmen
would be standing at their trysts or stable-stand in some alley or
glade of the wood, and the hounds be put into the covert or park "_to
tease them forth_."
TRACE, slot, or footprint of deer. In O. F. and Ang.-N. literature the
word trace seems to have been used indifferently for the track of the
stag, wild boar, or any game (Borman, notes 147, 236, 237). G. de F.
expressly says that the footprint of the deer should not be called
_trace_ but _voyes_ or _piés_ (view or foot), yet the "Master of Game"
in his rendering says: "Of the hart ye shall say 'trace,'" so
evidently that was the proper sporting term in England at the time.
When slot entirely superseded the word trace amongst sportsmen it is
difficult to determine. Turbervile uses slot, and in the beginning of
the seventeenth century it seems the general term for the footprint of
deer (Man., p. 180; Stuart Glossary, vol. ii.; Blome, p. 76). Slot, it
may be contended, is as old a word as trace, but in Mid. Eng. it was
employed as a general term for a foot-track or marking of any animal.
The trace or slot was one of the signs of a stag, that is the mark by
which an experienced huntsman could recognise the age, size, and sex
of the deer.
The old stag leaves a blunter print with a wider heel than a hind, but
it is difficult to distinguish the slot of a hind from that of a young
stag. Although the latter has invariably a bigger heel and makes
deeper marks with his dewclaws, yet his toes are narrow and pointed,
their edges are sharp, and the distance between his steps is somewhat
unequal, all of which may lead his slotting to be mistaken for the
tracks of a hind. "He has found what he wanted," says Dr. Collyns,
when speaking of the harbourer, "the rounded track, the blunted toe
point, the widespread mark, the fresh slot, in short, of a stag"
("Chase of the Red Deer").
The huntsman of old used to consider that any slot into which four
fingers could be placed with ease belonged to a warrantable stag (some
declared a stag of ten). That would mean that the slot would be about
three inches wide, if not more. I believe two and a half inches is
considered a fair measurement for mark of the heel by Devonshire
stag-hunters, who alone in England concern themselves with the
differences in the slot, as they only chase the wild deer. No such
woodcraft is necessary for the chase of the carted deer, and as long
as the master and huntsman can distinguish the footprint of a deer
from that of any other animal, that is all that is required of them in
this matter. The stepping or gait of a stag is also a sign that was
taken into consideration. The old stag walks more equally, and
generally places the point of his hind feet in the heel of his fore
feet. The gait of a hind is more uncertain; it is said she misprints,
that is sometimes the hind foot will be placed beside the fore foot,
sometimes inside or in front of it. She is not even so regular in her
gait as a young stag, unless she is with fawn, when she will place
her hind feet constantly outside her fore feet. A hind walks with
wide-spreading claws, so does a young stag with his fore feet, but
those of his hind feet will be closed. The larger the print of the
fore feet are in comparison to the hind feet the older the stag.
The underneath edge of the claws round the hollow of the sole was
called the _esponde_ (sponde, edge or border). In older stags they
were blunter and more worn, and in hinds and younger deer sharper,
unless indeed the stag inhabited a damp and mossy country, where the
_esponde_ would not be so much worn down as if he lived on a rocky or
stony ground. (G. de F., 155, 129-145; Lav., p. 246; Stuart, p. 58;
Fortescue, p. 133). And thus did the woodmen of old study the book of
nature, which told them all they wished to know, and found for them
better illustrations than any art could give.
TRYST, in the language of sport, was the place or stand where the
hunter took up his position to await the game he wished to shoot. The
game might be driven to him by hounds, or he might so place himself as
to shoot as the game went to and from their lair to their pasturing
(_see_ Appendix: Stables and Stable-stand). In French it was called
shooting _à l'affut_, from _ad fustem_, near the wood, because the
shooter leant his back to, or hid behind a tree, so that the game
should not see him.
In our MS. we are told that Alaunts are good for hunting the wild boar
whether it be with greyhounds, at the "tryst," or with running hounds
at bay within the covert. The tryst here would be the place where a
man would be stationed to slip the dogs at the wild boar as soon as he
broke covert, or after the huntsman had wounded the boar with a shot
from his long or cross-bow (p. 118).
VELTRES, _velteres_, _veltrai_. A dog used for the chase, a hound.
Probably derived from the Gaelic words _ver_, large or long, and
_traith_, a step or course, _vertragus_ being the name by which
according to Arian, the Gauls designated a swift hound (Blanc, 52).
WANLACE. Winding in the chase (Halliwell). In the sentence in which
this word is used in the chapter on the Mastiff (p. 122) we are told
that some of these dogs "fallen to be berslettis and also to bring
well and fast a wanlace about." Which probably means that some of
these dogs become shooting dogs, and could hunt up the game to the
shooter well and fast by ranging or circling. _Wanlasour_ is an
obsolete name for one who drives game (Strat.).
In Brit. Mus. MS. Lansdowne 285 there is an interesting reference to
setting the forest "with archers or with Greyhounds or with
Wanlassours."
WILD BOAR. These animals were denizens of the British forests from the
most remote ages, and probably were still numerous there at the time
our MS. was penned. For although the Duke of York has only translated
one of the eleven chapters relating to the natural history, chase, or
capture by traps of the wild boar, and does not give us any original
remarks upon the hunting of them, as he has of the stag and the hare,
still it was most likely because he considered these two the royal
sport _par excellence_, and not because there were none to hunt in
England in his day. If the latter had been the case, he would in all
probability have omitted even the chapter he does give us, as he has
done with those written by Gaston de Foix on the deer, the reindeer,
and the ibex and chamois (p. 160).
In some doggerel verses which are prefixed to "Le venery de Twety and
Gyfford" (in Vesp. B. XII.), the wild boar is classed as a beast of
venery. In the a "Boke of St. Albans" the wild boar is also mentioned
as a beast of venery.
When Fitzstephen wrote his description of London in 1174, he says
wild boars as well as other animals frequented the forests surrounding
London, and it would certainly be a long time after this before these
animals could have been extirpated from the wild forests in more
remote parts of the country.
_Sounder_ is the technical term for a herd of wild swine. "How many
herdes be there of bestes of venery? Sire of hertis, or bisses, of
bukkes and of doos. A soundre of wylde swyne. A bevy of Roos" (Twety
and Gyfford). In the French Twici we have also _Soundre dez porcs_.
_Farrow_ (Sub.) was a term for a young pig, in Mid. Eng. _farh_,
_far_, Old Eng. _fearh_ (Strat.). Farrow (verb) was the term used when
sows gave birth to young.
G. de F. says that wild boars can wind acorns as far as a bear can (p.
58), and turning to his chapter on bears, we find that he says that
bears will wind a feeding of acorns six leagues off!
_Routing_ or rooting. A wild boar is said to root when he is feeding
on ferns or roots (Turb., pp. 153, 154).
_Argus_, as our MS. calls the dew-claws of the boar, were in the later
language of venery called the _gards_ (Blome, p. 102). Twety and
Gyfford named the dew-claws of the stag _os_ and of the boar _ergos_.
"How many bestis bere _os_, and how many _ergos?_ The hert berith _os_
above, the boor and the buk berith _ergos_."
_Grease_, as the fat of the boar or sow was called, was supposed to
bear medicinal qualities. "And fayre put the grece whan it is take
away, In the bledder of the boore my chylde I yow pray, For it is a
medecine: for mony maner pyne" ("Boke of St. Albans").
WILD CAT (_Felis Catus_), which at one time was extremely common in
England, was included among the beasts of the chase. It is frequently
mentioned in royal grants giving liberty to enclose forest-land and
licence to hunt therein.
It was probably more for its skin than for diversion that the wild cat
was hunted, as its fur was much used for trimming dresses at one time.
The wild cat is believed to be now extinct, not only in England and
Wales, but in a great part of the South of Scotland. A writer in the
new edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_ (art. "Cat") expresses
the opinion that the wild cat still exists in Wales and in the North
of England, but gives no proof of its recent occurrence there.
Harvie-Brown in his "Vertebrate Fauna of Argyll" (1892) defines the
limit of the range of the wild cat by a line drawn from Oban to
Inverness; northward and westward of this line, he states, the animal
still existed. But there is no doubt that of late years the cessation
of vermin trapping in many parts of Scotland, which has caused a
marked increase in the golden eagle, has had the same effect upon the
wild cat.
The natural history chapter of the wild cat is taken by the Duke of
York from G. de F.; did we not know this, some confusion might have
arisen through the fact being mentioned that there are several kinds
of wild cat, whereas only one was known to the British Isles. G. de F.
says there were wild cats as large as leopards which went by the name
of _loups-serviers_ or _cat wolves_, both of which names he declares
to be misnomers. He evidently refers to the _Felis Lynx_ or _Lynx
vulgaris_, which he properly classes as a "manner of wild cat,"
although some of the ancient writers have classed them as wolves
(Pliny, Lib. viii. cap. 34).
WOLF. For a long time it was a popular delusion that wolves had been
entirely exterminated in England and Wales in the reign of the Saxon
King Edgar (956-957), but Mr. J. E. Harting has by his researches
proved beyond doubt that they existed some centuries later, and did
not entirely disappear until the reign of Henry VII. (1485-1509).
WORMING A DOG. This was supposed to be a preventive to the power of a
mad dog's bite. It was a superstition promulgated in very early times,
and seems to have been believed in until comparatively recent times.
We find it repeated in one book of venery after another, French,
English, and German: in England by our author, Turbervile, Markham,
and others.
Pliny suggests this operation, and he quotes Columna as to the
efficacy of cutting off a dog's tail when he is very young (Pliny,
chap. xli.).
G. de F. and the Duke of York are careful to say that they only give
the remedy for what it is worth, the latter saying: "Thereof make I no
affirmation," and further on: "Notwithstanding that men call it a worm
it is but a great vein that hounds have underneath their tongue" (p.
87).
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GLOSSARY
OF OBSOLETE ENGLISH TERMS AND WORDS OCCURRING IN THE ANCIENT TEXTS OF
"THE MASTER OF GAME" AND IN APPENDIX.
ABAI, ABAY, being at bay, 29, 118
ACHARNETH, ACHARNE, to set on, to eat flesh, 59, 60, 62
ACHAUF, heat, 38, 98
ACQUILLER, ENQUILLER, to rouse animals of the chase with hounds, App.
AFERAUNT, the haunch, 38
AFFETED, fashioned, trained, 27, 141
AFORCE, _par force_, by force, App.
AIGUILLOUNCE, thorny
AKELID, cooled, 186
AKIRE, AKKERNE, acorns, 144
ALAUNTIS, ALAUNTZ, ALOND, allans or allauntes, a large hound, 3, 116-8
ALVELUE, covered with fleece, fat or woolly substance, App.
ANALED, for _avaled_, hanging down, 114
ANCEPS, HAUSSEPIED, a snare which caught the game by the foot and
lifted it into the air, 61
ANCHES, rosemary
APEL, French hunting-note, App.
APERYNG, stoned, the roughness of antlers, 143
APPARAILLE, dressed venison
ARBITTEN, bitten, devoured
ARBLAST, cross-bow, 27
ARECHE, reach, 60
ARERE, _arrière_, behind, back there, 182, App.
AREYN, spider, 137
AREYN, rain, 157
ARRACHER, to tear out; a term used for skinning certain animals, App.
ASAUTE, SAUTE, in heat, 64, 66
ASCRIETHE, ASCRIE, to rate, shout at, to scold, 63, 74, 170
ASSAIEN, try or test, 88
ASSAYE, ESSAY, to try; taking assay, to see by a cut the thickness of
the fat, App.
ASSISE, note on hunting-horn blown at death of stag which has been
hunted by stag-hounds, App.
ASTERTE, escape
ASTIFLED, inflammation in the stifle-joint, 103
ASTRIED, rated, shouted at, 170
ATHREST, thrust or push, 106
ATTE FULLE, when the stag's antlers show a certain number of tines,
App.
ATTIRE, the stag's antlers, App.
AUALED, AVAILED, hanging down, 106, 114
AUERILLE, _Avrille_, April, 30
AUNTELERE, AUNTILLER, AUNCULER, antler, 130, 140
AUNTRED, ventured, 28
AVAUNT, AUAUNT, a hunting cry, "Forward," 182
AVAUNTELLAY, relay of hounds
AVAYL, avail, profit, 13, 31
AVENAUD, approachable
AVENERY, oats
AVISED, aware of, warned, informed, advised, cautious
AVOY, a hunting cry, probably from "Away," App.
BACE, for Luce, a pike
BAFFERS, barkers, 120
BAKE, back
BALISTA, BALESTA, cross-bow, haronsblast, 27
BALOWE, bellow, roaring of a stag
BANDRIKE, BALDRIC, belt to which horn was fastened, 128, 140
BARATEUR, quarreller
BARBOURIS, barbers
BAREYN, barren, 35
BASCO, Basque, Biscay, 106
BATYD, bruised, sore, 98
BATYNG, bating
BAUDES, baubles, trifles, 83
BEAM, the main part of the stag's antlers, 142
BEENDYNG, bending
BEERNERS, BERNERS, attendant on hounds, 148, 165
BEESTALE, BESTAILE, beasts, cattle, 36, 61
BEESTIS, beasts, App.
BELLEN, BELOWYN, BELERVE, BELOWEN, bellow or roar, 160
BELUEZ, velvet, 26
BEME, beam; also trumpet
BENES, beans, 26
BERCEL, a mark to shoot at, App.
BERCELET, BERSLETTIS, BARCELETTE, a shooting-dog used by archers, 122
BERIES, burrows, earth of fox and badger, 67, 68
BERYED, buried
BERYING, bearing, breaking, 136
BESTIS OF THE CHACE, beasts of the chase, usually fallow deer,
roe-deer, fox, martin, 3
BESTIS OF VENERIE, beasts of venery, usually the hart, hare, boar, and
wolf, 3
BEVY, a number of roe-deer together, App.
BEVYGREASE, the fat of the roe-deer, App.
BEWELLIS, BAWAYLLES, BAWELLIS, bowels
BILLETINGS, the excrements of the fox, App.
BISSES, BISES, BISCHES, red-deer hinds
BISSHUNTERS, fur-hunters, 74
BITTE, bitten, taken, 17, 186
BLENCHES, marks, tricks, deceits, 159
BOCHERIE, butchery, 116
BOKEYING, the rut of the roe-deer, 41
BOLN, BOLK, BOLNE, bellow or bark, 39, 162
BOOCHERS HOUNDIS, butchers' dogs, 118
BOOLE, bull, 118
BOONES, bones, stag's foot
BOONYS, bones, 131
BOORDCLOTH, table-cloth, 164
BOORDES, boards
BOORIS, boars, 143
BOOST, boast
BOTCHES, BOOCHES, sores, 63
BOTIRFLIES, butterflies, 66
BOUNTE, bounty, goodness, 79
BOUYES, boughs, App.
BOWIS, BOWES, boughs, 137, 153
BRACH, BRACHE, a scenting-hound; later on it meant bitches
BRACHETUS, a hound for hunting, 22
BRACONIER, the man who held the hounds
BRAYNE, BREYN, brain, 176
BREDE, breadth
BREDE, broad, 138
BREKE, brook, break; also applied to dress a deer
BREMED, burnt, 112
BRENT, burnt, 79
BRERES, briars, 93
BRIGILLA, mildew, 96
BRIMMING, BREMYNG, be in heat, said of boar; the word _breme_,
_bryme_, or _brim_, valiant-spirited, 47
BROACHER, a red-deer stag of second year, App.
BROCARD, a roebuck of the third year and upwards, App.
BROCK, badger, App.
BROKES, BROOCHES, BROACHES, the first head of a red-deer stag, and of
roebuck, 45
BROKET, brocket, young stag, 29
BROKET'S SISTER, hind in the second year, App.
BROND, proud, 46
BUCHE, BYCHES, bitch
BUGLE, buffalo; also horn for sounding hunting signals, App.
BUKKES, BUKES, BUCKES, bucks
BUKMAST, beechmast, App.
BULLOKE, young stag in second year, 29
BURNYSSHEN, burnish, to rub the antlers when the velvet is off, 134
BURR, the lowest part of the stag's antlers
CABOCHE, to cut off the hart's head near the antlers, 176
CALF, CALFE, the young stag in his first year
CAMAMYLE, camomile, 95
CAMPESTRIS, beast of the field or chase--_i.e._ buck, doe, fox,
martin, and roe-deer
CANDLEMAS, February 2
CARAYNES, CARREYNS, KARIN, carrion, carcase, 62, 77
CARDIAC, CARDRYACLE, a disease of the heart, 34
CARRES, marshes, 45
CASE TO, stripping or skinning the hare, App.
CATAPUCIA, spurge (_Euphorbia resinifera_), 101
CATT, CATTE, CATTYS, cat, App.
CAUTELOUS, CAUTELS, cautious, crafty, 45
CETE, a number of badgers
CHACEABLE, chaseable, a hert chaseable, which is now called a
warrantable stag, one fit to be hunted
CHACECHIENS, grooms in attendance on hounds, 148, 177
CHALAUNGE, challenge
CHASE, forest; also used to designate a method of hunting, and also a
hunting-party
CHASSE, a French hunting-note
CHASTISED, trained, 189
CHATER, CHACER (RECHATER, RECHEAT), a horn signal; also to chastise
hounds
CHAUFED, ACHAUFED, heated, in heat, 49, 98
CHAULE, CHAULIS, CHAVEL, jaw, 170
CHAUNGE, change, 31, 108, 111
CHEERE, CHERE, cherish, welcome, 85
CHEVERAUS, roe-deer
CHIBOLLIS, chives, 90
CHILDERMAS, Innocents' Day (December 28)
CHIS, dainty, 83
CHIVAUCHER, CHEVAUCHER, to ride
CHYMER, riding-cloak
CHYMNEYIS, chimney, 98, 126
CLEES, clawes, the "toes" of a deer's foot, 77, 80, 131
CLEEVES, _sur_ or dew cleeves at the back of a deer's fetlock
CLEPED, CLEPYD, called, 59, 140
CLERE SPERES, clear spires, woods, App.
CLICQUETING, vixen fox when in heat, App.
CLISTRE, enema, 100
CODDES, testicles of the hart
COITING STONE, a quoit
COLERS, COLIERS PLACES, collier or charcoal pits, 26
CONCILIDA MAIOR, comfrey (_Symphytum officinale_), 98
CONCILIDA MINOR, prunella, selfheal (_Prunella vulgaris_), 98
CONINGER, CONIGREE, rabbit warren, App.
CONTRE, counter, back, heel
CONTRE, country, 36
CONTROUGLE, CONTREONGLE, hunt counter, hunt heel, 150
CONYNGE, rabbit, 18
COOLWORT, cabbage, 100
COPEIS, COPIS, coppice, 155
CORNER, CORNEER, horn blower
COTES, quoits, 178
COUCH, the resting-place of game; also hound's bed
COUCHERS, setters, 120
COUERTTS, covert, shelter
COUNTERFEET, COUNTFEIT, abnormal, 28, 142
COURSER, CURSAR, CURSER, swift horse
COUTHEN, CONTHEN, COUTH, knew, to be able, ob. could, 2
COWE, cow, also tail, from _queue_
CRIE, cry (of hounds), 65
CROCHES, the upper tines of a deer's horns; called also _troches_
CROISE, cross, 150
CROKES, stomach (of red-deer)
CROKYNG, crooked, curved, 128
CROMMES, crumbs
CRONEN, groan, the roar of the stag
CROSS TO, to dislodge roe-deer by hounds
CROTETHE, voiding excrements, 29
CROTEY, CROTILS, CROTISEN, CROTISINGS, excrements, 16, 29, 30, 133
CUER, COER, heart
CUIR, QUIR, leather, hide
CURÉE, CURE, rewarding the hounds (also KYRRE and GUYRRE), 7, 29, 52,
208
CURRES, CURRYS, curs
CURTAISE, courteous, 115
DAUNGERE, danger, 161
DEDIS, deeds, 49
DEDUT, DEUDIZ, DEDUIZ, _déduit_, pleasure, pursuit, sport
DEFAUTE, DEFAUNT, lack, default, 84, 140
DEFET, DEFFETEN, opening or undoing the boar and removing the entrails
DEFOILE, track, 150
DELYUERE, deliver, active, 124
DEPILED, stripped of hair
DESFAIRE, undoing (brittling) of deer or boar, App.
DESPITOUS, DESPYTOUS, despiteful, furious, 49
DESTERERE, DESTRIER, horse
DETOURNER (LE CERF), to harbour the hart, App.
DEYENG, doing
DEYM, DEYME, DAINE, DINE, fallow-deer
DISLAUE, wild, 159
DISSESE, disease
DOO, doe
DOWN, OR HUSKE, a number of hares, App.
DRAGMES, drachms
DREYNT, drowned
DRIT, DRITT, excrements of animals called "stinking beasts," also mud,
50, 66
DRYEN, dry, 102
DRYUE, driven, 128
DRYVE, made
DUNE, donn, dun
DURE, to last, endure, 43
DYETTE, diet
EARTH, a fox and badger's lodging-place, App.
EDIGHT, done, set in order
EELDE, old age, 123
EENDIS, ends
EEREN, hairs, 44
EERYS, ERES, ears
EGRE, eager, 115
EIRERES, harriers, 190
ELLIS, else, 90
EMELLE, EMEL, female, 41
EMPAUMURE, the croches or top tines of a stag's antlers, App.
ENBROWED, brewed, soaked, 177
ENCHACE, to hunt, 108
ENCHARNYNG, blooding, feeding on flesh, 113
ENCHASEZ, moving deer, &c., with a limer, App.
ENCORNE, to place a dead stag on his back, the antlers on the ground
underneath the shoulders, 174
ENFOURMED, informed
ENGLEYMED, glutinous, 29
ENOSED, a bone in the throat, 87
ENPESHED, prevented, 11
ENQUEST, hunt, 182
ENQUILLER, rousing a buck with hounds, App.
ENQUYRID, ENQUEYRREIDE blooding hounds after death of deer; also
rewarding of hounds, 173
ENSAUMPLE, example, 79
ENTENTE, intent
ENTRYING, entering, beginning of
ENTRYNGIS, entering, beginning of, 35
ENVOISE, ENVOYSE, O.F. _envoisse_, to leave the line, or overshoot the
line of the animal hunted, 31, 108, 170
ERBIS, herbs
ERES OF ROEBUCK, "target," 44
ERGOTS, ARGUS, claws of boar, buck and doe; those of the boar were
sometimes called _gardes_, 130, 144
ERIS, ERES, ARS, anus, hinder parts; ears, occasionally thus spelt,
89, 95, 106, 116
ERTHE, earth
ESCORCHER, ESTORCHER, flaying deer, and other beasts of venery, App.
ESPAULES, shoulders
ESPAYARD, SPAYARD, SPAYER, stag of the third year, App.
ESSEMBLE, assembly, 150
ESTABLIE, stand occupied by sportsmen; also beaters
ESTORACIS CALAMITA, storax, resin, 96
ESYE, easy
ETAWED, tanned
ETYN, ITVN, eat
EUENYNGIS, evening, 11
EUERYCHONE, EVERICHON, each one, every one, 163
EUILLE, EUELL, evil, wicked, bad, 6
EVOISED, at fault, or off the line
EXPEDITE, to maim dogs by cutting off some of their claws
EYNE, EYGH, EYNEN, eye, 116
EYRE, air
FACON, FAUCON, falcon, 121
FADIR, FADERE, father, 105
FADMYS, FADOMS, fathoms, 125
FAROWE, FAREWYN, PHAROWYN, farrow, bringing forth young pig, 47, 48,
68
FARSYN, FARSINE, farcy, 69, 92
FASSON, FASSION, fashion
FAUND, fawned
FAUS, false
FAUSMANCHE, false sleeve
FAUT, fault
FECHEWE, fitchew, polecat
FEELDES, fields, 158
FEERNE, fern
FELAUES, fellows
FELE, many; also sensible, feeling
FELLE, fierce, cruel, treacherous
FELLE, FELE, wise, sensible, feeling; also cunning, 30, 115
FELNESSE, cruelty, fierceness, 71
FEMELLIS, females
FENCEMONTH, the month when deer had their young and were left
undisturbed, App.
FERMYD, firm, 162
FERRE, far, 16
FERRETTIS, ferrets, 72
FERRTEST, farthest
FERS, fierce, 47
FERSLICHE, fiercely, 86
FESAWNT, pheasant
FEUERYERE, February
FEWES, FEWTE, track, trace, foot. Some animals were called of the
sweet foot, others of the stinking foot, 10. _See_ Appendix.
FEWTERER, FEUTRERES, DEWTREES, man who leads greyhounds, 129
FIANTS, also LESSES, excrements of the wild boar, App.
FISTOLES, fistula, 92
FIXEN, vixen, O.G. _fuchsen_, 64
FLAY, FLEAN, FLENE, to skin deer and certain other game, 174
FLAYSSH, flesh, 5
FLUX, dysentery
FOILLYNG, stag going downstream when hunted, 32, 173
FOLIES, FOLY, FOLLY, lesser deer, not hart or buck, 196
FOLTISCH, foolish, 45
FOORME, FORME, FOURME, form of the hare, 14, 17
FORAGLE, strangle, straggle
FORCHE, FOURCHED, forked, said of stag's antlers, 140, 177
FORLOYNE, FORLOGNE, FORLONGE, a note sounded on the horn, to denote
that the quarry or hounds or both had distanced the hunters, 173
FORSTERS, foresters, 148
FORSWONG, M.E. _Forswinger_, bruised, beaten (tucked up), 88
FORT, the thick part of woods
FORUN, forewarn, 148
FOTYDE, footed
FOUAILL, the reward given to the hounds after a boar hunt, consisting
of the bowels cooked over a fire, App.
FOUMART, FAULMART, FOLMERT, polecat
FOWTRERES, FEWTERERS, huntsmen who led greyhounds, slippers
FOXEN, FFIXEN, A.S. _fixen_--_vixen_, a bitch fox, 64
FOYNE, weasel
FRAIED, rubbed, 135
FRAY, frighten, scare, 149
FRAY, to rub off the velvet on stag's antlers, 26, 135
FRAYING-POST, the tree against which it was done
FREYN, excrements of the wild boar, App.
FROOT, FROTID, rub, 53, 94, 95, 146
FUANTS, excrements of the fox, martin, badger, and wolf, App.
FUES, track, line, 18, 31
FUMES, FUMEE, FUMAGEN, FIMESHEN, FEWMETS, FEMEGEN, FEWMISHINGS,
excrements, droppings, particularly of deer, 9, 16, 38, 39, 133
FURKIE, pieces of venison hung on a fork-shaped stick
FURROUR, fur, Fr. _fourrure_, 63
FUTAIE, FUTELAIE, forest, wood of old trees, also plantation of
beech-trees, App.
FYNDERS, finders, hounds to start or find deer, 161, 165
GADERYNGE, GADERYNG, gathering, meet, 156, 163
GADIRE, gather, 43
GAR, to force, to compel, 39
GARDES, the dew-claws of the wild boar
GARSED, cupped, 90
GIN, GYNNE, trap, snare
GIRLE, the roebuck in the second year, App.
GISE, guise, manner of
GLADNESSE, a glade, a clear space, 137
GLAUNDRES, glanders, 96
GLEMYNG, GLEYMING, slime, stickiness, 133
GLOTENY, gluttony
GNAPPE, snap, 92
GOBETTES, small pieces, 81, 177
GOOT, goat
GORGEAUNT, wild boar in his second year
GOTERS, GOOTERE, GOUTIERES, gutters, the small grooves in the antlers
of a stag, 143
GRAUNT SOUR, stag of fifth year
GRAUYLL, gravel, 143
GREASE, GRECE, the fat of certain animals, 25, 27, 49
GREASE-TIME, the season of hart and buck when they were fattest, 160
GREATER, OF THE, term used in counting the tines of a stag's antlers,
App.
GREDE, seek, hunt, 183
GRES, upper tusks of wild boar, grinders, 50
GRESSOPPES, grasshoppers, 66
GRETE, greet, great, 13
GREUE, grieve, harass, injure, 45
GREY, badger, 68
GROVYS, grooves
GUSTUMES, customs, 4
GUTTES, guts
GUYEN, GUEYNE, Guienne
GUYRREIS, quarry (_curée_), 105
GYNNES, GYNES, gins, traps, ruses, wiles, tricks, 35, 73
GYNNOUSLY, by stratagem or ingenuity, 15, 39, 43, 59
HAIES, HAYES, nets, hedges, 74
HALLOW, the reward given to the hounds at the death
HALOWE, halloa, App.
HAMYLONS, the wiles of a fox
HARBOUR, HERBOROWE, HARBOURE, HARBOROW, to track a hart to his lair,
29
HARBOURER, man who harbours the deer, 130, 148
HARDIETHE, herds with
HARDLE, HERDLE, HERDEL, HARLING, HARDEL, fasten or couple hounds
together, also to fasten the four legs of a roebuck together, 45, 190
HARDY, bold, courageous
HARIS, hares, 17
HARNAYS, HERNEIS, harness, appurtenances, arms, &c., 60
HARONSBLAST, a crossbow, from O.F. _Arcbaleste_, 27
HAROWDE, herald, 139
HARTHOUND, HERTHOUND, hound used to chase the stag
HAST, haste
HASTILETTIZ, the dividing of the wild boar into thirty-two pieces
HATT, hath
HATTE, thicket, 118
HAUKES, hawks, 120
HAUKYNG, hawking
HAUNTELERS, antlers, App.
HAUSPEE, HAUSSEPEE, a trap; also a siege engine, 61
HAYTER, harrier, App.
HEARSE, also BROKET'S SISTER, a red-deer hind in her second year, App.
HEDDYD, headed
HEERE, hair, 27
HEGHES, hocks
HEIRERS, harriers, 111
HELE, HELTHE, health
HELYN, heal, 127
HEMULE, HEMUSE, HEYMUSE, roebuck in the third year
HENDIS, red-deer hind, 130
HER, hear
HERBIS, herbs, 14
HERBOROWE. See HARBOUR
HERDLE, to dress a roebuck
HERNEIS, harness. See HARNAYS, also Appendix
HEROUN, heron, 1
HERT, heart; also stag, 23, 34
HERTIS, harts, stags, 130
HIDRE, hinder
HIGHTEN, called, named, 148, 182
HIRE, her, 19
HOGGASTER, wild boar in his third year, App.
HOKKES, HOGHES, HOUGHS, hocks, 99, 114
HOOKES, hooks, first teeth of wolf and dog, 56, 83
HOOT (BE), promised, 79
HOOTE, hot, 32
HOPELAND, HOPOLAND, HOUPPELAND, a long surcoat or gownlike garment
HOPPYN, hoping
HORRED, hairy, 106
HOS, hoarse, 66
HOUE, hoof
HOUGH, HOWFF, HOUFF, a haunt, a resort, used especially for the holt,
or dwelling-place of an otter, App.
HOUNDIS, HUNDES, hounds; also hands, 1
HOUNGER, hunger
HOUNTER, hunter
HOWLYN, howl
HOXTIDE, feast fifteen days after Easter, App.
HUSKE, a number of hares, App.
IBOYLED, boiled
ICLEPID, called, 105, 144
ILEYN, lain, 136
ILLOEQUES, ILLEOQS, here in this place, 183, 234
ILOST, lost
IMAKYD, made, 137
IMEYNGID, mingled, 102
IMPRIME, unharbouring a hart
INGWERE, INQUERE, inquire or seek, 151
IPRESSID, pressed, 136
IREEYNED, rained, 157
IREN, iron, 90
IRENGED, arranged, 142
IRONGED, ranged
IROOS, iris, 93
ISPAIDE, spayed, castrated; also to kill with a sword. See Spay
ISTAMPED, stamped, crushed, 93
ISTERED, stirred, 91
ITAWED, tawed, tanned, 126
ITHREST, thrust, pushe, 136
ITRED, trodden
ITYNDED, tined, 142
IWERYD, worn, 147
IWETED, wetted, moistened, 97
IWRETHEDE, wreathed, 133
JANGELERE, jangler, 124
JANNERE, January
JAWLE, jaw, 50
JENGELETH, jangeleth, said of a noisy hound, 110
JOLLY, a bitch in heat, 54, 58
JOPEY, JUPPEY, to holloa, to cry out, to call, 171, 234
JUGE, JUGGE, judge
JUGGEMENTZ, judgments, 130
JUILL, July
JUIN, June
JUS, juice
JWERYD, worn
KAREYNES, carrion, 48, 58, 68
KELE, cool, 91
KEMBE, comb, 127
KENNETTIS, KENET, a small hunting hound, 111
KEPYN, keeping
KERRE, KIRRE, KYRRE, CURE, CURÉE, QUARRY, reward of hounds. _See_
CURÉE
KEUERE, cover, 65
KEUERED, covered, 80
KITTE, to cut, sharp, 95
KITTYNG, cutting, 50
KNOBBER, stag in second year or broket, App.
KNYFF, knife, 90
KOUNYNGLY, cunningly; also wisely
KUNNE, KEN, to know, to be able, 15
KYDE, roebuck in first year
KYEN, kine, cattle, 120
KYLLEIC, Welsh for grease time
KYNDELETH, bring forth (said of the hare), 181
KYNDELS, young hare, 19
KYNDELY, naturally, M.E. kindely, kendeliche, cundeliche
KYNNINGLY, cunningly
KYTONS, KYTTONS, kittens, 71
LABELLES, small flaps, 174
LADDE, led
LADIL, ladle
LAIES, pools, lakes
LAIR, the resting-place of the various kinds of deer, 10
LAMMAS, LAMMASSE, August 1, 2
LAMMASSE OF PETER APOSTULL, June 29
LAPPE, lap, 158
LASSE, less, smaller
LAUNCET, lancet
LAUNDES, LONDES, wild uncultivated land, 36
LAVEY, unrestrained, wild, 111
LEATHER, the skin of deer and of the wild boar, App.
LECHES, leeches, doctor or surgeon, 12
LEDER, leather, 126
LEFRER, levrier, greyhound
LEFT, last, or live
LEGGES, legs
LEIE, lair
LEIRE, river Loire in France, 77
LEIRES, lair, bed of a stag, 136
LEITH, layeth
LEKES, leeks, 90
LERNYD, learned, taught
LESE, leash, 59
LESETH, loseth, 52
LESS, OF THE, term used in counting the tines, App.
LESSES, Fr. _laissées_, excrements of boar and wolves, 139, 146
LESSHE, LESSE, LESCHE, leash, 140
LESSHES, lesses, inferiors, 189
LESYNG, loosing, 119
LETTE, hindered, 51, 163
LEUERE, leaver, rather, sooner
LEURETTIS, leverets, 19
LEUVE, leave, 31
LEUYS, LEUES, leaves, 138
LEVIR, leaver, rather
LEVRIER, a hare hound
LIAM, LYAM, rope by which the limer was held
LIBARD, leopard, 70
LIFF, life, 31
LIFLODE, LYVELODE, livelihood, 59
LIGGING, LYGGING, lair, resting-place, 24, 71, 149, 191
LIPPIS, lips
LITERE, litter
LOGGES, lodges, 190
LONDE, land, 75
LOUEN, love
LOUPES CORRYNERS (_loup cerviers_), lynx; occasionally it was probably
applied to the wolverine, 70
LOWRE, laugh, 81
LUCE, pike, 113
LYFF, life
LYMER, a tracking hound on a leash, 31, 38, 152, 157, 167-9, 235
LYMMES, limbs
LYMNER, LYMERER, LIMERER, man who leads hounds on a leash, 148, 166,
235
LYMNERE, used both for man and hound, App.
LYNSED, linseed, 104
LYOUN, lion
LYTHIS, LIGHTIS, lungs
LYVEN, LYUEN, live
MAISTIVES, mastif, mastiff
MAISTRIS, masters
MALEMORT, glanders, 96
MALENCOLIOUS, melancholy
MALICE, cunning, 34
MAMEWE, MAMUNESRE, MAMEUE, MAUEWE, mange, 90, 91
MANESSETH, threatening, 51
MANNYS, man's, 151
MARCHES, district, 19
MARIE, marrow
MARRUBIUM ALBUM, white horehound (_Marrubium vulgare_), 101
MARTRYN, martin, 73
MARY MAGDALENE DAY, July 22nd, 26
MASCLE, MASCHE, male, 67
MASTIN, a hound used for boar-hunting, a mongrel
MATERE, matter
MAYNED, maimed, bitten
MAYNTYN, maintain
MAYSTIF, MASTIF, MESTIFIS, MASTOWE, mastiff, 118, 122, App.
MAYSTRE, MAISTRIE, MAISTRICE, MAYSTRY, mastery, skill, 71, 107
MECHE, big, 113
MEDE, meadow, 163
MEDLE, MEDEL, mix, 91
MENE, lesser, small, 128
MENEE, MENNEE, note sounded on a horn; also the baying of a hound
hunting, 171, 179
MENG, MENGE, mingle, 102
MERREIN, the main beam of a stag's antlers, App.
MERVAILE, marvel
MERVEILIOST, most marvellous, 181
MERVEILLOUS, MERUEYLOUS, marvellous
MESTIFIS, mastifs, 118, 122
METIS, meats
METYNG, METYNGIS, meet, meeting, 148
METYNGE, METYNG, feeding or pasture of deer, 9, 25, 34, 152
MEUE, MEW, MEVE, move, start, shed, 26, 42, 166
MEULE, MULE, burr, part of the antler, App.
MEUTE, pack of hounds
MEVETHE, meweth, to mew, casts or sheds. _See_ MEUE
MEWS, house for hawks
MODIR, mother, 105
MODIRWORT, motherwort (_Leonurus cardiaca_), 101
MONYTHE, MONETH, MONETHENYS, month, 27
MOOTE, MOTE, a note or horn signal, App.
MORFOUND, MORFOND, to catch cold, glanders, 124
MORNYNGIS, morning, 7
MORSUS GALLINE, chickweed, 101
MORT, a note sounded on the horn at the death of the hart
MOSEL, MOSELLE, muzzle, 77
MOTE, MOOTE, a note sounded on the horn, 168, 185
MOTYING, MOVING, 150
MOUNTENANCE, MOUNTANCE, extent of, as far as, 21, 101
MOUSTENESSE, moisture, 124
MOW, MOWE, MOWEN, to have power, to be able, 97, 178
MOWSE, burr of an antler
MUE, mew, shed antlers, or feathers, molt. _See_ MEUE
MULE, MEULE, burr of a stag's antler, 141
MUTE, MEUTE, a pack of hounds
MYCHE, the assibulated form of _mukel_, _mikl_, great, much, 41
MYDDES, midst
MYDDIL, middle
MYNDE, memory, 2
MYSIUGEN, misjudge, 29
NAIL, name given to a disease in dogs' eyes, now called Pterygium, 94
NARTHELESS, NATHELESS, nevertheless, 149
NATYUITE, nativity
NEDEL, needle, 61
NEKYS, NEKE, NECKYD, neck, necked, App.
NEMETH, taketh, 75
NEMPE, name, 165
NERES, kidneys
NESCHE, NEYSSH, NESSH, soft, tender, moist, 52, 130, 131
NETHIR, nether, lower
NETTELIS, nettles, 89, 101
NEWLICH, newly, freshly
NOMBLES, NOMBLIS, part of the stag's intestines, App.
NOONE, no more
NOORCHE, NORSHE, NORSSH, nourish, to bring up, to educate, 56, 58, 80
NOOSETHERLIS, NOSETHRELLES, nostrils, 96, 105
NORTURE, bringing up, 30
NOTIS, nuts, 91
NOUGH, nigh
NOYAUNCE, annoyance, 163
NYME, to take, to hold
OKIS, oaks, 144
OLYFF, olive, 90, 102
ONYS, once, 156
OO, OON, one, 17
OPENE, OPYN, open (of hounds to give tongue), 108, 155
OR, ERE, before, 17
ORDEYNE, ordain
ORPED, brave, valiant, 107
OS, the dew-claws of the stag and hind, App.
OSCORBIN (OS CORBIN), a small bone in the stag's body given to the
crows, App.
OSTORACES CALAMYNT, storax or resin, 96
OTYR, OTERE, otter, 72-4
OUERJAWES, upper jaws, 176
OUERSETTE, overcome, 60, 66
OUERWHERTE, athwart, 87
OURSHETTE, overshoot, 159
OUYR, over
OWETH, OWEN, ought
OWRERS, harriers
OYE, eye, 157
OYLE, oil, 102
PAAS, PIZ, chest, 114
PAAS, pace, to walk slowly
PACE, slot, track of stag, 132
PAMED, palmated
PARASCEVE, PARASSEUE, Good Friday
PARFITERS, PARFITORS, PARFITOURS, PARFYTEIROS, the third or last relay
of hounds 7, 10
PARTEL, a part of portion
PARTEYNETH, appertaineth
PARTIE, part
PASE, pace, to step slowly, 130
PEARLS, the excrescences on the stag's antlers, App.
PECE, piece
PEECHTRE, PEOCHETRE, peach-tree, 102
PEL, Fr. _peau_, skin
PERCEL, parsley, 101
PERCHE, the main beam of the stag's antler, App.
PERFITE, PERFEET, PERFIT, perfect; also note sounded on the horn, 174
PERITORIE, wall pellitory (_Parietaria_), 101
PESEN, peas, 26
PESETH, paceth, 149
PEYN, pain
PIERRURES, "pearls" or excrescences on the stag's antlers
PILCHES, pelisse, a coat of skin or fur, 63
PLAYN CONTRE, clear open country, 19, 65
PLAYNES, plains
PLAYSTIRE, plaster
PLECKE, PLEK, PLECK, PLECCA, piece of ground, place, 183
PLEYN, PLEYNETH, complain, lament, 51
PLEYN, PLAYNETH, PLEIGNEN, Fr. _pleigner_, complain, lament
POINTYNG, pointing, track of hare
POLCATTES, polecats, 73
POMELED, mottled, dappled, spotted, 45
POONDE, POON, pond
POORT, parts, behaviour, manners, 4
POPY, puppy
PORCHE. _See_ PERCHE
POUERE, POUER, power, 164
POUTURE, keep, food, used in connection with hounds
POYNTED, painted
PREEF, proof, 88
PREES, press, crowd, 118
PREUYD, proved, 90
PREUYLI, PRIUYLI, privily, 149
PRICE, PRISE, PRIEE, take, capture
PRICKET, PRIKET, the fallow buck in his second year, App.
PRIK, PRICK, to hunt, 116
PRIKHERID CURRIS, rough-coated curs, App.
PRIKKYNG, PRICKING, footprint of hare, App.
PRIME, noon (_hie prime_), midday
PRISE, PRIZE, PRYCE, a horn signal blown in France for the buck, in
England for the hart and buck after the kill, 175
PRIVE, tame
PROCATOURS, proctors, 195
PROFITENESS, perfectness, 2
PULEGRUN, pennyroyal (_Mentha pulegium_), 20
PULLETH, POILETH, take the hair off, Fr. _poiler_, 90
PURSNETTIS, purse-nets, 67
PURUEAUNCE, perseverance, 80
PUTTES, pits
PYCHE, pitch
PYLES, PILES, the skin of the boar, wolf, and smaller animals
PYNSOURS, pincers, 98
QUALES, quails, 119
QUARRY, the reward given to the hounds. _See_ CURÉE, App.
QUAT, couched, lying down, used for deer, 172
QUATTELL, to quat, to squat, to crouch, to lie down, App.
QUESTY, QUEST, to hunt, to give tongue, 110, 130, 155
QUYERE, QUYRRE, QUIR, QUARE, curée, quarry for hounds, reward, App.
QUYK, EUELIS, QUICKEVIL, a disease of hounds
QUYRRCIS, reward given to hounds. _See_ CURÉE, App.
RACCHES, hounds, 3, 74, 167
RAGE, madness
RAGERUNET, RAGEMUET, dumb madness, 86
RASCAILE, RASCAYLE, RASKAILE, lean deer; any deer under ten was
usually called rascal, 7, 25, 150, 193
RAVEYN, prey, rapine, 57, 60
REAL, REALL, a tine (in France, the bay) on the stag's antler
REAME, REAUME, realm, 78
REAR TO, to dislodge a wild boar, App.
REBELLY, rebellious, unruly, 191
RECHASE, recheat, sound a note on the horn, to call back the hounds by
sound of horn, also to put them on the right scent, 168, 178, 191-8,
App.
RECHE, to reck, to care, 57, 131
RECHELESS, reckless
RECOPES, recoupling, 179
REFRAIED, REFREIDE, refrected, chilled, cooled, 47, 99
REIES, nets, App.
RELAIES, relays (of hounds), 165
RELEVED, Fr. _relever_, said of the hare rising from her form to go to
her pasture, 14, 183
RELIE, RELYE, rally, 167
REMEUYE, REMEYID, removed
RENNEN, rained, rains
RENNYNG, RENNETH, running
RENOUET, RENOVEL, Fr. _renouveler_, to renew, 48
RESCEYUED, received
RESEEYUOUR, receiver, a greyhound in front of deer, 198
RESEITYNG, reseating
RESOUNS, RESOUNS, RESONS, reasons, 6
RESTIF, quiet, restive, unwilling to go or to move forward, 109
RESTREYED, restrained, held back, 109
RETREYED, retrieved, 29
REUERE, REVERE, river
REWE, rue, 90
REWE, row, 193
REWLE, rule, 55
REWME, Fr. _rhume_, a cold, 96
REYNE, rain, 21
REYNDERE, reindeer
REYSON, REYSE, raising, raise, 29
RIALLE, RIAL, royal, also tine of stag's antlers, 28, 140
RIDINGTIME, REDENGTIME, bucking time of the hare, 20
RIG, RAGGE, backbone, App.
RIOT, 74, App.
ROCHES, ROKKES, rocks, 26
RODES, rods
ROTELYNG, rattling, 162
ROUNGETH, Fr. _ronger_, chews the cud, 181, App.
ROUSE TO, ROWZE, rouse, to dislodge buck or doe, App.
ROUT, a number of wolves, 62
ROUTES, synonymous with slot, line of deer, 132
ROYAL, a tine, sometimes the trez tine (_see_ RIALLE), 28, 140
RUETTIS, horn or trumpet, 128
RUSYNG, rusing, 31, 45, 173
RUTSOMTIME, RUTSON, RUTTE, rutting time of deer, 24, 109
RYGES, back, haunches, 17
RYGHTES, rights, a stag's rights, three lower tines of antlers; a
hound was in his "rights" when hunting line, 174
RYOT, noise, 121
RYUERE, REUERE, river, 77
SAYNOLFES, SPAYNELS, spaniels, 119
SCANTILONN, measure, 150, 165
SCOMBRE, SCOMBERE (stercoro in MS. Bod. 546), voiding excrements, 100,
127
SCOMFITED, discomfited, 82
SEAT, the form of a hare, 16
SECHE, seek
SECHYNG, SEKYNG, seeking, 110
SEEGH, SEGHE, saw, 13
SEELD, SEELDEN, seldom, 181
SELIDOYN, celandine, 94
SEMBLAUNT, SEMBLANCE, pretence, 16
SEMBLE, assembly or meet, 9
SEMOLY, seemly, 75
SENGLER, wild boar (_Sanglier_)
SENS, incense, 96
SENTYN, scent
SERCHYNG, searching, 6, 29
SERGEAUNTIS, sergeants, 165
SESOUNN, SESOUN, SESON, season, 29
SESOURS, seizers, 114, 117
SETTE, set, place, part of forest round which "stables" or stations of
men and hounds were placed, 149, 189
SEWE, SUE, Fr. _suir_, hunt, pursue, 150, 161
SEWET, suet, fat of deer
SEWRE, swear
SEYN, say, see
SHAP, shape
SHAPON, shaped
SHEELD, shield, shoulder of a boar, 49
SHEELLEN, shall
SHEERDE, cut, wound, 99
SHENT, shamed, disgraced, 79
SIKERLI, securely, 159
SINGULAR, the wild boar when he leaves the sounder, App.
SKIRTIS, SKYRTIS, the skin and tissue surrounding the stomach
SKULK, a number of foxes, App.
SLAWTHE, sloth, 5
SLOUGH, lower part of the heart
SLUG-HOUND, a sleuth-hound, a track hound, App.
SLYKE, slick, sleek or smooth, 44
SMET, SMYTTEN, smitten, 192
SNAWE, snow
SOAR, a buck in his fourth year
SOEPOL, wild thyme (_Thymus serpyllum_), 20
SOILE, SOULE, SOUILLE, wallowing pool, soil or mud; "to soil" means
when a deer or wild boar takes to water or wallows in it, 37, 50, 144
SOIOURNE, SOIOURN, SOIOURNYING, SOJORN, SOJOURN, to remain, 98
SOLERE, upper chamber, 126
SOMEDELE, somewhat
SOMERE, SOMER, summer, 45
SONE, soon
SONNE, SUNNE, sun, 9
SONNE, SOUNE, sound
SOPERE, SOPER, supper, 180
SOPPE, SOPPERS, herd of deer, 25
SORRELL, a buck in his third year
SOTELLY, subtlety, cleverly
SOTIL, SOTILLE, SOTILTE, subtle, clever, 67, 80, 95
SOULE, SOILE, alone, 168
SOUNDER, SOUNDRE, SUNDRE, a herd of wild boars, 53, 143
SOUR, stag of fourth year, the colour of a deer's hide; according to
Roquefort, a herd of swine, App.
SOUSSE, oxide of zinc, 95
SOUZ-REAL, SOUCH-REAL, SUR-RYAL, sur-antler, a tine of the stag's
head, 140, 177, App.
SOWLE, soul, 12
SPAINEL, SPAYNELS, spaniel
SPARHAUKE, sparrowhawk, 114
SPATELL, spittle, 92
SPAY, to kill a deer with a sword 10, 174, 258; to castrate, 84, 258
SPAYARD, SPAYDE, SPAYER, SPYCARD, the stag in his third year, App.
SPAYNEL, spaniel, 119
SPEIES, spires, young wood, 157
SPIRES, SPOYES, stalks, young wood; thick spires means thick wood, 65,
118
SPITOUS, despiteful, 115
SPRAINTES, SPRAYTYNG, excrements of the otter, 73, 139
SPRINGOL, SPRINGALD, SPRINGOLD, SPRINGALL, siege engine to throw
stones or balks of timber, 23
STABLE, STABLYS, Fr. _establie_, a post or station of huntsmen and
hounds, 188
STAGGART, the stag in his fourth year, 29, 131
STALK, to go softly, creep, "Stalk the deer full still" (used by John
Lydgate, about 1430)
STALL, to corner, to bring to bay, to stand still, 153
STANC, STANK, STANGES, STANGKES, Fr. _estanc_, pool, tank, pond, 32,
72
STEPPIS, steps, footprint of deer, 73, 137
STERE, stir, 91
STERT, STIRT, start
STINTE, STYNTE, to stop, to blow a stint--_i.e._ to stop or check the
hounds, a false scent, check, 19, 165
STONE-BOW, Fr. _arc-à-pierre_, a kind of crossbow
STOONYS, stones, 143
STORDY, _estordic_, giddy, 116
STOUPEN, stoop
STRAKE, to blow, 178
STRANGLE, straggle, 188
STRANLING, STRANLYN, squirrel
STRATERE, straighter
STRAUGHT, straight, 128
STRENGE, STRENGTH, stronghold, thick woods, 16, 118, 156
STRENGESTE, strongest
STREPID, to strip
STREYNOUR, strainer
STREYNT, strain, progeny or breed
STRIPID, stripped, term to denote skinning of hare, wild boar, and
wolf, App.
STROKE, STRAKE, or STUKE, to sound a note on a hunting-horn, 52
STRONG, said of woods and coverts, thick, dense, 25
SUE, to seek, to hunt, 161
SUERS, followers
SUET, the fat of the red-deer and fallow-deer
SUETE, sweet, 19
SUGRE, sugar
SURANTLER, a tine, generally the _bay_
SUR-ROYAL, the surroyal tine, 28
SURE BATYD (of hounds' feet), battered, bruised from over running, 98
SUSRIAL, surroyal tine
STYNT, at fault; to stop
SUYTE, suite, following
SWEF, a hunting cry, meaning gently or softly, 182
SWERDE, sword, 11
SWOOR, swore
SWOOT, SWOTE, sweat
SYLVESTRES, beasts of venery--_i.e._ red-deer, hare, boar, and wolf,
App.
SYNNES, sins, 7
SYNOWES, SYNEWES, sinews
SYTHES, times
TACCHES, habits, also spots, markings, 121
TALOUN, talon, heel, 130, 131
TAWED, a kind of tanning, preparation of white leathers, 63
TAWNE, tan, tawny, 105
TAYLYD, tailed
TEASER, TEAZER, TESOURS, a small hound that "teases" forth the game in
coverts, 189
TEG, the fallow doe in her second year
TENT, tended, cared for, 103
TERCELLE, TIERCEL, the male of any species of hawk, 119
TERER, TEERORS, terrier, 4
TERPSE, to poise an arrow for shooting
TERRYERS, terriers, 4
TESTE, head or antlers (_tête_)
TEYNTES, touches, 65
THENDERLEGGIS, hind legs
THENKYNGIS, thinking, 75
THENNES, thence
THIDERE, thither
TOCHES, teeth, 50, 56
TOGADERE, TOGIDRE, together
TOKENYS, tokens, 86
TOSSHES, tusks
TOUNGE, TOONG, tongue
TOURE, tower, 77
TOWAILLES, towels, 164
TOWNGE, TUNGE, tongue
TRACE, track or footprint of an animal, 9, 73, 130, 137
TRAUAILLE, TRAVAYLE, Fr. _travaille_, work, labour, 54, 93
TREDELES, excrements of otter, 73
TRENCHOUR, trencher, 174
TRESTES, tryst, trist, 190
TRESTETH, trusteth, 49
TREU, TREWE, true, faithful
TRIP, a herd of tame swine, 53
TROCHIS, TROCHES, the tines "on top," 28, 135, 140
TRODES, trod
TROWETH, believes or knows
TRUSTRE, tryst, 118
TWIES, TWYES, twice, 82
TWIN, between
TWYGGES, twigs, 22
TYME, season
TYNDES, TYNYS, tines, 132, 142
TYSANE, a medicinal tea, 11
UMBICAST, to cast round, 151
UNDIRNETHE, underneath
UNDOING, dressing of a deer
UNDOON, undone, to cut up
UNNETH, scarcely, 80
UNSICKER, uncertain
UNTHENDE, unsuccessful
UNWAYSSH, unwashed
UNWEXID, unwaxed
UNYOYNE, unjoin, 97
UPREAR TO, finding of the hart buck, and boar with the limer
USYN, use
VANCHASOURS, VANCHASERS, the relay of hounds that comes first, 7, 10
VANNCHACE, the first in the chase, 7, 10
VAUNTELLAY, VAUNTLAY, VNLAY, part of the pack held in reserve, when
uncoupled on the line of the stag before the hounds already hunting
had passed, 169, 172
VEEL, calf, used sometimes for the stag in his first year, App.
VELINE, a horn signal, App.
VELTRAGA, VELTRARIUS, a hound, an alaunt, App.
VENT TO, said of an otter when it comes to surface of water for air;
also to empty, to cast excrements, App.
VENTRERS, ventreres, 116, 117
VENYIN, venom
VERFULL, a glassful, 101
VERREY, truly, true, 75, 105
VERTEGRECE, VERTEGRES, verdigris, 91
VESTEING, investigating, looking, 151
VEUTRERES, VEAUTRE, boarhound
VEYN, vein
VISHITETH, voiding excrements, 66
VMBLIS, umbles
VNDIRTAKYNG, undertaking
VNDYRSTONDYNG, understanding
VNGLES, bugles, 128
VNNANYS, onions, 102
VOIDE, VOYDE, leave, go away, empty, 51, 191
VOIDEN, to purge, 61
VOIS, VOYS, voice, 66
VOYNES, veins, 99
WAGGYNG, excrements of foxes, 139
WAIES, way, track
WALOUYNG, wallowing, 146
WALTRER, welter
WANLACE, put up game, 122
WARAUNT, warrant, save, 31
WARDEROBE, WERDROBE, excrement of badgers, 139
WARE, aware; also war, beware
WAREYN, WAREYNS, warren, 66
WARLY, warily
WAYSSH, wash
WEDIR, weather, 8
WEDIS, weeds
WELEX, grow, 163
WELLE, WOLLE, wool
WELSPEDDE, well sped
WENE, know, to think
WERED, worn
WERKIS, works, 5
WERVOLF, WERWOLFE, a man-eating wolf, 59
WERY, weary, 107
WETE, to wit, to know, 137
WEX, wax, to grow, 56, 85
WEXED, waxed, 128
WEXING, WEXYN, growth, 26
WEYTINGE, waiting
WHEDER, whether
WHITLY, whiter
WIF, wiff, wife, 75
WODE, wood
WODEMANNYS, woodman's, 129
WODMANLY, woodmanly, 176
WOLD, wish or would
WONES, dwellings
WONNED, WOUNED, wont, accustomed, 85
WOODE, wode, mad, 61, 85
WOODNESS, madness, 85
WOOTE, know, 43
WORTH UP, ON HORSE, mount on horseback, 175
WORTES, vegetables, roots, 11
WOXEN, part of verb _wax_, to grow
WREECH, WRECHE, wretched, 55
WRETHIS, wreaths, 133
WROOT, to root, 48, 144
WROOTH, wrath, 49
WRYTENG, writing, 200
WURTHYNES, worthiness
WYLELI, WILILICHE, wilily, 31
WYMMEN, women, 200
WYNDE, wind, scent, smell
WYNDETH, winds, scents, 17
YBREND, burnt, dry, 134
YEDE, went, 150, 166
YEMAN, yeoman, 148, 165
YEUE, give, 110
YFETED, made, well or evil shaped
YFLANKED, a species of madness in hounds, "lank madness," 88
YFORE, therefore
YFOUNDE, found, 164
YGOTE, begotten, bred
YHEWE, hewn, 152
YLAFT, left, 178
YMAKYD, made
YNOWE, YNOW, enough, 1
YONGIS, young
YOULE, howl
YPOCRAS, Hippocras, 11
YPOTICARIES, apothecary, 84, 101
YREST, rested, 136
YTHOWZT, thought of
INDEX
Acquillez, 201
Affeted, 27, 201
Agincourt, xi
Agrimony, 100
Aiguilles or needles, 61
Alauntes, 3, 116-18, 202
Antlers of the hart, 26, 140-3, 203-4
Appollo, King of Lyonnys, 76
Aquitaine, xii
Assembly, 7, 9, 150, 163-4
Auberey of Montdidier, 80
Aumarle, Duke of, xi
Badger, 3, 68-9
Badminton Library, xvi
Baillie-Grohman, xxvi, xxviii
Baiting, 118
Baldric, 128
Beaumont, 167, 182, 184
Bellowing time, 160, 162
Bercelet, 204
Berners, or attendants on hounds, 165-9, 172, 174, 205
Bisshunters, furhunters, 74, 206
Blaine, xvi
Blenches, trick, deceit, 159, 206
Boar, wild--_see_ Wild boar
Boce, hump, 206
Bodleian Library, xvii
Boughs, 206
Brache, 22
Broches, 45
Brocket, 130
Buck, 3, 38-40, 109
Burnish, 28
Burr, 141
Burrows, 68
Butchers' hounds, 118
Caboche, 176
Camomile, 95
Canker, the cure for, 99
Cat, wild--_see_ Wild cat
Cecil's "Records of the Chase," xvi
Celandine, 94
Chacechiens, 148
Change, 31, 111, 207
Chase, 3
Chase, beasts of the, 3
Chaucer, 2
Claudoneus, 76
Coney, 74
_Consolida major_, 98
_Consolida minor_, 98
Contreongle, 150
Cotton MS., British Mus., xii
Couchers (setters), 120
Couples, 126
Curée, 7, 10, 29, 52, 173, 193, 208-209
Dalziel, xvi
D'Aumale, Duc, xvii
Deer tithes, 195
Dryden, Sir Henry, xvii, Appendix
Encorne, 174
Envoiced, 170
Ergots of the hart, 130, 169
Excrements--_see_ Fumes
F. G. DE--_see_ Gaston de Foix
Farrow, giving birth to young pigs, 47, 48, 68
Fees of huntsmen, 198
Fence month, 210
Ferrets, 72
Fewte, track, 210
Fewterer, 129, 211
Finders, 7, 9, 165
Foils, 32
Foix, Gaston de--_see_ Gaston de Foix
Forlonge, a horn signal, 212
Fownes, Thomas, first pack of foxhounds established by, 213
Fox, the, 3, 64-67, 68, 212
Foxhounds, first pack of, 213
Fray, 135
Fraying-post, 214
Froissart, xii
Fues, track, 10, 31, 111, 158, 168, 214
Fuite, track, 210
Fumes, 9, 17, 29, 39, 73, 133, 209-210
Fute, track, 210
Garlic, 89
Gaston de Foix, xii, 12, 20, 202, 203, and App.
Gathering--_see_ Assembly
Gins, 30
Gladness or glade, 214
Grease or fat of game, 25, 30,36, 69, 214
Grease time, 215
Greyhound, the, 3, 24, 30, 45, 59, 62, 65, 70, 110, 113-115, 189, 197,
216-8
Grinders, 50
Guienne, xxi, 3
_Guyenne loup cerviers_, 70
Harbour, 9, 38
Hardel, 45, 218
Hare, 3, 14-22, 109, 181-7, 219-222
Hare pipes, 22
Haronblast, 27
Harness, 30, 60, 222
Harrier, 111, 196, 222-4
Hart, 3, 7, 23-37, 109, 140, 148-151, 165, 191-9, 224-7
Harting, J. E., xvii
Hausse-piez, the, 61
Hawks, 1, 119, 120
Hayes or haia, 67, 74
Henry IV., King of England, xi, 1
Hippocras, 11
Holy Cross, Feast of, 29, 49
Holy Rood, 23
Horn, hunter's, 4, 128, 227
Horse, 69, 95
Hound, 1, 3, 30, 31, 75-84, 85-104, 105-112
Hunter, 4, 8, 123
Hunting cries, 150, 166-180, 181-7, 191, 229;
music, 168, 178, 191-9, 231-4, 244;
seasons, 253
Idleness, the foundation of all evil, 5
_Illocques_, 234
Imagination, 5
Iris, the, 93
Jopeye, to holloa to the hounds, 171, 234
Kenettes, small hounds, 111, 235
Kennel, 4, 125
Kids, 42, 45
Kindles of the hare, 20, 21
King, hunting of the, 188-199
Langley, Edmund of, xvi
Latimer, 167
Lesses, 52
Leverettes or kindles, 20, 21
Ligging, a bed, a lair, 24, 71, 235
Lilies, medicinal qualities of, 102
Limer, a scenting hound, 31, 38, 152, 157, 161, 167-9, 235-7
Limerer, 150
Loup cerviers, 70
Lymer--_see_ Limer
Madness in the hound, 85, 86, 237
Makary slays Auberey of Montdidier, 81
Mallows, 102
Mange in the hound, 90, 91
Marten, 73
_Master of Game_, xi-xix, xxiv, 1, 2, 150, 163, 165, 175, 188
Master of Herthounds, 198
Mastiff, 3, 122, 204, 239-242
Melbourne, William, 73
Menée, the, 240-2
Metynge, or feeding, 242
Meute, 242
Mew, to shed, 243
Milbourne, 73
Moot or mote, 179
_Mort_ or death, the, 197
Mortimers, the, xii
Motherwort, 101
Move, to start a hare, 243
Muse or meuse, 243
Needles, 61
Nets, 30, 67, 73
Numbles, 243
Otter, 3, 72-74, 244
Parfet, the, 174, 244
Parfitters, 7, 10, 245
Parker, 189
Partridge, 119
Pennyroyal, 20
Pevensey, xii
Ph[oe]bus, Gaston, Count de Foix--_see_ Gaston de Foix
Pomeled, spotted, 45, 246
Prise, the, 197
_Pterygium_, 94
Quail, 119
Quarry, 127, 136
Quest, 9, 130, 152, 154, 155, 156, 157, 163
Rabies--_see_ Madness
Raches, scenting-hounds, 3, 74, 246, 250-3
Rascal, 7, 25, 150, 193
Relays, 7
Resceyuour or receiver, 198, 247
Riot, 74, 249
Roebuck, 41-5, 250
Roosevelt, Th., xviii, xix-xxix
Roy Modus, 202, 203, App.
Royals (antlers), 28
Rue, 96
Ruets, 128
Running hounds--_see_ Raches
Rutting, 23, 36, 109, 160, 161
Ryding time, 20
Scantillon, a measure, 9, 253
Scotland, 120
Scombre, 127
Seasons of hunting, 253
Seton, 103
Setters, 120
Seven deadly sins, 4
Shakespeare, xi
Shaw, Vero, xvi
Shirley MS., 200
Snares, 257
Sounder or herd of wild swine, 53
Spain, 119
Spaniel, the, 3, 119-121, 257
Spay, to kill, 10, 174, 258
Spay, to castrate, 84, 258
Spraintes of otter, 73, 139
Springole, 23
Spurge, 48
Squire, a companion of the hart, 26
Stable-stand, 188, 258
Staggard, 29, 131
Stankes, or pools, 33, 72, 260
Stint, 19, 165, 171
"Stinking foot," 211
_Storax_, 96
Strutt's "Sports and Pastimes," xvi
Sur-royal of the hart, 28
"Sweet foot," 211
Tache, 260
Tally Ho, etymology and use of, 209
Talon, 130
Taw, to make hides into leather, 63, 261
Teazer, 198
Terrier, 4
Thyme, wild, 20
Trace, footprint of deer, 9, 137, 141
Troche, 140
Tryst, 118, 263
Twety and Gifford, 201, App.
Twici, William, 201, App.
Tysane, 11
Valerian, 91
Vanchasers, 7, 10
Vauntlay, to cast off, 169, 172
Veltres, 263
Venery, beasts of, 3, 52, App.
Vixen, 64
Wagging, 139
Wall pellitory, 101
Wanlace, 204, 264
Wardrobe, 139
Wer-wolves, 59
Wild boar, 3, 23, 46-53, 264
Wild cat and its nature, 3, 70-71, 144, 265
Wilton, Lord, xvi
Wolf, 3, 54-63, 266
Woodman's craft, 176
Worming a dog, 87
Wright, xv
Wynn, xvi
Yeoman at horse, 165
Yeomen berners on foot, 165
York, Duke of, xi., xii
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
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