The Master of Game: The Oldest English Book on Hunting. Edward of Norwich

1

As the hawks would be mewing and unfit to fly.

2

The Shirley MS. in the British Museum has "XV."

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."

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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).

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.

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.

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."

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.

45

Go off the scent.

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").

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."

49

Most old writers on the natural history of deer repeat this fable. See Appendix: Hart.

50

See Appendix: Hart.

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.

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