16 THE MASTER OF GAME

noon be but wip inne pe parke. After pat pey be
wip Rawe from pe hyndes pei putte hem in herdes
and in soppes' with pe raskaile,? and abiden in
laundes and in hethe more pan pei do in woodes
for to take pe heete of pe sunne, pei bene poor
and leve for pe trauaille that pei han had wip pe
hendes, and for pe wynter and pe litel mede pat
pei fynden. After pat pe leue the raskaile pei
gadere hem to togydere ii. or iii. or iii. hertes in
a soppe in to pe monethe of Marche pat pei mve®
here hornes, and comonly some rathere pan some
oper, aftere pat pei be old dere, and some lattere
after that thei be yong dere, eiper;pat pei han
had an hard wynter or pat pei haue be hunted, or
that pei haue be seke, and pan pei mwen here
hedes and lattere commep to good poynt. And
whan pei han mewed here heuedes pei taken pe
stronge buskes as prevely as pei may til here
heuedes be woxen a3ene, and pei commen in to
greet ; aftir pei seke good contre of metyng of
corne of apples of vynes of tendere wexyn of trees,
of pesen,* of benes, of opere fruytes and grasses,
wherby pei lyve. And somtyme a greet hert hath
a noper felawe that is called his squiere for he is
withe hym which done as he wil, and pere pei wil
abyde al that sesoun so that pei be notte lette, into
pe laste eende of August, and pan pei bygynne to
loke, and to penk, and to boln, and to belewe,
and to stirre hem from pe haunt in pe whiche pei
have al the sesoun, for to go seke pehyndes. Thei
rekeuere heere hornes and someth here tyndes as
mony as pei shal haue porgh alle the yere, from
March that pei han mwed hem in to the myddel
of June, and pan ben thei rekeuered of here new
here p' men callen polisshed, and her hornes bene
rekeuered with a soft here, pat hunters calle belue3
at the bigynneng and vndir that skynn and pat
here, pe hornes wexen hard and sharpe and aboute
Marie Magdalenes day,’ pei fray here hornes to
pe trees and haven away pat skynn frome here
hornys, and pan wexe pei hard and stronge, and
pan pei go to burnyssh and make hem sharpe into
colers places ® pat men make somtyme in pe greet
graues. And 3if pei mowe non fynde pei goo
a3einst corners of Rokkes or to crabtre or haw-
thorne or oper trees." pei be half in grese or per
aboute pe tyme of myddel of June whan here hede
is ysomed, and pei bene heyest in grece in August
alle the moneth duryng. Comonly pei ben calued
in May and the hynde berep he calf ix monthenys,

After that they have withdrawn from the hinds
they go in herds and in company, with young or
lean stags” and abide in waste lands and on heathes
more than they do in woods for to enjoy the heat
of the sun, they are 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 company till the
month of March when they mew® their horns,
and commonly some sooner than others according
to whether 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 thick
bushes as privily as they may, till their heads are
grown again, and they are in grease, after they
seek good country for 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
with him 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 bellow and to bolne, and to
stir from the haunt in which they have been all
the season, for to seek the hinds. They recover
their horns and are summed of their tines as many
as they will carry all the year between March
when they mewed them to the middle of June;
and then they be recovered of their new hair that
men call polished and their horns be covered with
a soft hair that hunters call velvet at the beginning.
And under that skin and that hair the horn grows
hard and sharp, and about Mary Magdalene
day® they fray their horns against the trees,
and have (rubbed) away that skin from their
horns and then grow they hard and strong, and
then they go to burnish and make them sharp
in the colliers places, that men make sometimes
in the great groves. And if they can find none they
go against the corners of rocks or to crabbe trees
or to hawthorn or other trees.’

They be half in grease or thereabouts by the
middle of June when their head is summed, and
they are highest in grease during all August.
Commonly they are calved in May, and the hind

lates these last five words, “‘c’est 4 dire qu’il n’y a de paix que lorsque les biches sont pleines.”” In the exceedingly

 

OF THE HART AND HIS NATURE 7

or perabout as a sowe,’ and sum tyme hath iti”
calues at oon calvyng tyme, and y say not but pat
pat (sic) pe calue sumtyme rathere, and somtyme
lattere, by myche after pat pe causes and resons be.
The calues byn icallued in an heere rede and
white, and lastep hem pat coloure into pe hende
of August, and pan pei turne a reed of heere as pe
hert and pe hinde, and pat tyme pei rennen so fast
pat an hare* shuld haue ynowe to doon to ouyr-
take hym wip in an haronsblast! shoote. Many
man iugeth pe deere of mony coloure of heere and
specially of 111 colours some ben called broun some
donn and some 3elowe heere, and also here heuedes
ben of diuers maners that oon is cleped an heued
wel growe, that oper is cleped wel yfeted ;° and
wel affetedis, whan pe heued is wexen by ordy-
naunce aftir pe nek and pe shap, whan pe tyndis
bene wel growe in pe beem by good mesure that
oon nye pat oper pan is it cleped wel affeted, wel
ygrowe is whan pe hede is of grete beemes and is wel
affeted and thyk tynede wel hei and wel opned.°
That othere heed is called counterfeet,” It is whan
she differenseth and is oper waies turned be hynde or
awayward in other maner pan other comon deere
bene custumed to bere. That other hie heed is
open euel afeted with longe tyndes, and fewe.
That oper is lowe and grete, and wel feted wip
smale tyndes. And pe first tynde pat is next pe
hede is cleped Aunteler, And pe secound Riall,
and the thred above Susreal, and pe tyndes,®
whiche bene ycleped fourth 3if they be tweyn, and
3if pei be pre or fowyr or moo it is cleped
trochyng. And whan here he nedes bene bur-
nysshed at pe Coliers puttes comonly pei
bene blak alway, and also comonly whan pei bene
burnysshed at the Coliers pei bene blak for pe
erpe whiche is blak of her kynde, and whan pei
bene burnysshed agayn Roche, pan pei abiden al
white, but some han here heedes white of kynde
and some blake and whan pei bene about to
burnysshe hem, pei smyten pe ground wip pe fete,
and waltren hem as an hors. And pan bei
burnysshe here heedes and whan pei be burnysshed
pe which pei doon al pe month of Jvill pei abide
in pat matere in to pe feest of pe holy? in
Septembre,” and pan pei goon to Rutt as I haue
seid, And pe first yere pat pei ben calfed pei ben
called a Calf, pe secounde yeer a bulloke and pat yere
and so forp go to Ruste pe iii yere a broket pe iiii

1 The transcriber’s mistake. It should be “ cow.”
’ G. d. F. has “ greyhound,” as it should be

beareth her calf nine months or thereabout as
a sow,! and sometimes she has three” calves at a
calving time. And I say not that they do not calve
sometime sooner and sometime later for different
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’ should have enough
to do to overtake him within the shot of an arbalast.*
Many men judgeth the deer of many colours of hair
and especially of three colours. Some are called
brown, some dun and some yellow haired. And
also their heads are of divers manners, the one
is called a head well grown, the other is called well
affeted,® and well affeted is when the head is well
grown 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.® That other head is
called counterfeit’ when it is different and is other-
wise 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 the royal and the third above the sur-royal,
and the other tines® are called forked if they be
two, and if they be three or four or more it is called
troching. And when their heads are 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 remain all white, but
some have their heads naturally white and some
black. And when they are about to burnish they
smite the ground with their feet and welter like
a horse and then they burnish their heads. And
when they burnish which they do all the month
of July and abide in that manner till the feast
of the Holy® Cross in September’? and then they
go to rut as I have said.

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 ;

2G. d. F. has “2 calves” as it should be.

(p. 15): “Et dés lors vont ils j& si tost que un levrier a assé¢s

 

 

a fere de l’ateindre, ainsi comme un trait d’arcbaleste ”’ ((
as much to do to catch him as he would the bolt from a crossbow ”’)

&<"Arebaleste4(Gaids by 5) or cr 5
uleste” (G. d. F., p. 15) or crossbow. ® Well proportioned. See Appendix: Antlers.

® A good spread. 7 Abnormal 8 Shi iti
® The word “Cross” omitted; the Shirley and other MSS. ‘eee ne sa ae Pr

faulty first edition by Verard, the word ‘‘ part” is printed “parc,” as it is in our MS. of the “Master of Game.”
See Appendix: Hart.

1 Sop, 7.e., troop. 2 Rascal, i.e., young lean deer.

3 Shed their antlers. See Appendix : Antlers. 4 Peas. 5 July 22.

6 Charcoal pits. 7G. d. F,, p. 14, says the harts go to gravel-pits and bogs to fray.

and from that time they go so quickly that a greyhound has

 

c