THE MASTER OF GAME

CAP. SECUNDUM.—OF THE HARE
AND OF HURE NATURE

THE hare is a common beest J-now,! and perfore
md nedep not to telle of here makyng, for per be
fewe men that ne han seye some of hem. pei
lyuen of corn and wip wedis growyng of londes,®
of leves, of herbis, of berkes of trees of grapes
and of mony opere froytes. The hare is a good
lityl beest, and moch good spoort and lykyng is
the huntyng of hure, more than in eny opere
beest that eny man knowep, 3if he* were not so
litell, And pat for v. resons pat oon is for here
huntynk dureth al pe year, as with rennyng
houndis without eny sparyng, and so is noon of
alle other bestis. And also men may hunte at
here bothe in mornyng and in evenyng,. In the
euentyde whane pei byn releued,* In the morowtyde
whan pei sytte in fourme and of all oper beestis is
not so for 3if it reyne in the mornyng 3our iourne
is lost and of the hare is not so. That opere is
for to seche hure, pe hare is a wel fayre ping
specially who so huntep hure ryghfully,® for
houndes most nede fynde hure by maistry and
good poynt by poynt,° and vndoal pat she hap doo
of alle be nyght, of here walkyng, and of here
pasture, into the tyme pat phei stert hure. And
it is a fayre ping whan pe houndes be good and
kunne wel fynde hure. And an hare shal goo
somtyme from here sittyng to hure pasture half a
myle or more specially in playn contre. And
whan she is stert it is a faire ping,” And pan isa
fayre ping for to slee hure wip streyngth of houndis
for she rennep long and gynnously. An hare
shal dure wel iiii myle or more or lasse and she be
an olde hare mascle. And perfore be huntyng
for pe hare is good for it lastep al pe yere as y
haue saide, and pe sechyng is a wel faire ping, and
pe enchasyng of the hare is a wel faire ping, and

CHAP. 2.—OF THE HARE AND
OF HER NATURE

THE hare is a common beast enough,! and there-
fore 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 hunt-
ing of her, more than that of any other beast that
man knoweth, if he* 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 any other beast. And
also men may hunt at her both in the morning and
in the evening. In the eventide, when they have
arisen to go to their feeding. 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 itis a fair thing.’
And then it is a fair thing to slay her with strength
of hounds, for she runneth strong and 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

1 Six game animals our author declares are ‘“‘ common beasts enough,” and as an instance of the variety of spelling
to be found in one and the same MS. it may be mentioned that on none of the six occasions are these three simple
words spelt alike. Thus: common beest I now ; commoun beest I nowe ; common best ynowe ; comon beest nowe ; commun
best inowe ; comoun beest inow. In G. d. F. there are but two variations—ass¢s commune, and assez commune.

2 A wild untilled or bushy plain, waste land. Littré: from Gothic /and, an open country ; Ital. and Span. Da
aheath. Landes is uncultivated ground witha poor soil in contradistinction to Tviches, which also signifies waste gous
but the soil of which may be good. Diez: from Bret. Jaun, a bushy shrub. Modern lawn comes from laund, which

spelling was still in use in the eighteenth century.

1 7 1 ran slie a > re yas
3 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.

4 Means here: when the hare has arisen from her form to go to her feeding. t
an lievre se relivve pour aler a son vianders. Relief, which denoted the act of arising and going
the term for the feeding itself. ‘‘ A hare hath greater scent and is more eagerly hunted
(Comp. Sportsman, p. 86). It possibly was used later to denote the excrements of a hare ;
“ & huntsman may judge by the relief and feed of the hare what she is.” : ; er

6 The Shirley MS. has “‘ grede,” cry out or challenge, but “ quest” is evidently the right word, a
used in our MS. in a second sense, #.e., to denote the baying of a hound on the scent. ae,

7 G.d.F.adds: “for she will get away peradventure from twenty to thirty greyhounds, for she goeth very

Fr. velever. G. d. F. explains, p. 42:
to feed, became afterwards
1 when she relieves on green corn.”
thus Blome (1686) p. 92, says :
5 G. d. F. added: “asI do,” p. 41.

nough it is also

ast,” p.42.

 

 

 

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