OF THE WILD BOAR AND OF HIS NATURE CAPITULUM VI.—OF THE WILDE BOOR AND OF HIS NATURE A WYLDE boor is a common best ynowe, and perfore it nedith not to telle of his makyng, for ther ben fewe gentilmen pat ne han sey somme of hem. It is pe beest of pis world pat is strongest armed and rathest shul slee a man of eny other, neiper ther nys no beest pat he ne shuld slee 3if pei were allon, rather pane pat other beest shuld sle hym,! neiper lyon neiper leoparde but 3if pei wold lepe vpon his bake, where he myte not turne hym ayen with his teth. And ther nys neither lyon ne leoparde that scleeth a man at 00 stroke as pe boor doop, for pei must scle with rasyng of her clees and porgh byteng But pe wilde boor sleep a man at oo stroke as poo it were with a knyffe. And perfore he shuld rather sle eny opere beest pan eny beest shuld slee hym. It is a bronde® beest and a fers and a perelous for many tymes men han seyn moch harm pat he hap do for some men han sey hym slytte a man fro be knee vp to pe brest and slee hym al starke dede at oo stroke pat he neuere speke after They goon in heere loue to pe bremyng *® as sowes don about pe fest of Seynt Andrew * tyde and in here bremyng loue iii wekes and for cause pat pe sowe shal be refrected,® the boor gop not fro hem for, he abidep with hem to pe xii day after Cristmasse, and pan pe boor goop from pe sowes and gop to take his couert and to seche her lyvelode allone, and per abidep in to that opere yere that pei goon a3en to pe sowes. Thei abide not in oon place 00 nyght per as pe be anopere but per as pei fynde her pasture for alle pastures faillen hem as haw- porns * and opir pingges. And some tymea grete boor hath anoper with hym but pat happeth selde. They pharowyn’ in Marche and onys in pe yeere pei gon in hur loue and pere be fewe wilde sowes pat farowen moor pan onys in pe yeere. Nabeless men han seye some farowe ii tymes in pe yeere pei goon wel ferre somtyme in heer fedyng by twix ny3gt and day and goon in to her gouert and her denn or it be day and 3ife some tyme pe day take hem by pe way or pei may come to her * In spite of the boar being such a dangerous from the antlers of a stag. An old fourteenth-cent convient la biére.”’ 2 Proud. G. d. F., p. 56, orguilleuse. G. d. F. p the ground, he with his courser, by a wild boar "th terre moy et mon coursier, et mort le coursier ”) ’ Brimming. From Middle En (Stratmann). * November 30. ° G, d. F. says “acorns, beachmast and other things,” glish brie, burning heat. CHAP. 6.—OF THE WILD BOAR AND OF HIS NATURE A WILD boar is a common beast enough and there- fore 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,’ 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 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 Ihe 18 @ proud? beast and fierce and perilous, for many times beast sooner than they could slay him. 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. They go in their love to the brimming® as sows do about the feast of St. Andrew,‘ and are in their brimming love three weeks, and when the sows are cool the boar does not leave them.° 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 goes again to the sows. They abide not every night in the same place, but go where they can find their pasture till all pasture fails them such as hawthorns® and other things. Sometimes a great boar has another with him but this happens but seldom. They farrow’ 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. 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 they like to stay in some little animal a wound from his tusk was not considered so fatal as one ury saying was: “‘ Pour le sanglier faut le mire, mais pour le cerf 57, Says after this that he has often himself been thrown to and the courser killed (‘et moy meismes a il porté moult de fois a it was also used in the sense of valiant-spirited ° G. d. F., p. 57, adds: ‘‘comme fait l’ours.” 7 Farrow. See Appendix: Wildboar,