These Notes are principally concerned with the numerous variations exhibited in the edition printed by I. R. in 1598. See the Preface.

The references are to the Sections and lines, as numbered.

---

Prologue; lines 2, 6. See Job, v. 7; 2 Thess. iii. 10.

15. The allusion is to Caxton’s Book of the Chess; see the description of it in Ames’ Typographical Antiquities, ed. Dibdin, i. 36, where woodcuts will be found representing the several pieces.

20. iudges. Caxton calls them rooks, as at present, but he describes them as being vicars and legates of the king, i.e. as occupying the position of judges.

yomenne, pawns. In Caxton, we find the division of pawns into eight classes (answering to the eight pawns on each side), in which the king’s rook’s pawn represents the husbandman. The next in order, the king’s knight’s pawn, is the smith; after which, in due order, we find the notary, merchant, physician, taverner, guard (or watchman), and the ribald or dice-player, whose character is not well spoken of. This eight-fold division seems to me to have suggested the well-known formula which divides men into the eight classes of ‘soldier, sailor, tinker, tailor, gentleman, apothecary, ploughboy, thief;’ which is sometimes otherwise varied. The German formula is. ‘Edelmann, Bettelman, Amtmann, Pastor, Kaufmann, Laufmann, Maler, Major;’ also, be it observed, eight-fold. Our soldier, tinker, tailor, apothecary, ploughboy, and thief, may be imagined to correspond, with sufficient exactitude, to Caxton’s guard, smith, merchant, physician, husbandman, and ribald.

27. Remytte, leave. A word is evidently omitted; we must supply to after as, or else substitute to for as. In the Book of Surveying, ch. ix, we find, “I remytte that to menne of lawe;” and again, in ch. xii, “I remytte all those poyntes to menne of lawe.” See also sect. 7, l. 14.

1. 1. For the manner in which I. R. rewrites this section, see the Preface.

2. 5. Chylturne. As to the sense, we find, in the Book of Surveying, c. 37, the following. “Chylturne grounde and flyntye grounde be light groundes and drye, and full of small stones, and chalke grounde is moche of the same nature, and they wyll weare and washe awaye with water.”

6. Meane erthe, earth of ordinary character. Mean is moderate, ordinary. I. R. alters it to ‘maine earth,’ which was probably not intended. After marle, he inserts—“some neither Sand nor Clay, but like a mixture of both, yet neither, which is called a Hassell ground.”

9. I. R. has—“In Sommerset-shiere, Dawset-shiere, and Gloster-shiere.”

Zelcester. The old character ?, which had the force of y at the beginning of a word,[36] was often printed as Z, by confusion. Bishop Percy used to print such ludicrous forms as zow, zour, instead of yow, your. I conclude that Zelcester = Yelcester, i.e. Ilchester. The form occurs again in sect. 27, l. 17.

16. many other places. J. R. says—“in some parte of Hartford-shiere, Sussex, and Cornwall.”

24. aslope] I. R. has a flote, gyue out, i.e. spread out, are too obtuse.

26. I. R. says—“In Cambridge-shiere, Huntington-shiere, Bedford-shiere, and for the most part of Northamton-shiere, theyr Ploughes haue but one hale. In Leister-shiere, Lankishiere, Yorkshiere, Lincolnshiere, and Notingham-shiere, they haue two; for all other Countries [counties] vnnamed, there is none of them but plow with some of these Ploughes before-mentioned.”

3. 1. The parts of a plough are enumerated in Gervase Markham’s Complete Husbandman (1614), which is quoted at length in Rogers’s Hist. of Agriculture and Prices, vol. i. p. 534. It is probable that the plough, as described by Fitzherbert, did not materially differ from that in use in 1614.

The principal parts, according to Markham, are as follows.

(1). ‘The ploughbeam, a large and long piece of timber, which forms an arch for the other parts of the plough.’ It is, says Fitzherbert, the long beam above, which is slightly bent. The plough-sheath, the coulter, and the plough-foot, are all mortised into it, pointing downwards.

(2). ‘The skeath (i.e. sheath), a piece of wood two and a half feet long, eight inches broad, and two inches thick, which is mortised into the beam, and sloping forwards below it.’ Fitzherbert says it is a thin piece of dry oak, fixed both in the plough-beam and the share-beam, and is the chief ‘band,’ i.e. strengthening piece or support, of the whole plough. By ‘thin,’ he must mean that it is thin (2 inches) in proportion to its breadth (8 inches); it is necessary that it should be very strong, as it holds the implement together.

(3). ‘The plough’s principal hale on the left hand, a long bent piece of wood, somewhat strong in the midst, and so slender at the upper end that a man may easily gripe it.’ This is Fitzherbert’s plough-tail (l. 16), which he says is mortised into the sharebeam behind, and pinned to the ploughbeam behind also. The ploughman holds it in his left hand. It is also called the ploughstart; where start means tail, as in red-start.

(4). ‘The plough-head, which is fixed with the skeath and the hale, all at one instant, into two several mortise-holes; a flat piece of timber, about three feet in length, seven inches in breadth, and two and a half in thickness, and having two nicks towards the head of the plough.’ This is the same as what Fitzherbert calls the sharebeam; see the explanation in sect. 2, l. 10.

(5). ‘The plough-spindles, two round pieces of wood which couple the hales [handles] together.’ These are what Fitzherbert calls the rough staves; see l. 35.

(6). ‘The right-hand hale, through which the other end of the spindles run, much more slender than the left-hand hale, because no force is put on it.’ This is Fitzherbert’s plough-stilt; see l. 21.

(7). The plough-rest, a small piece of wood, fixed at one end in the further nick of the plough-head, and on the other end to the right-hand hale.’ ‘In the Middle Ages,’ says Prof. Rogers, ‘it appears that this part was made of iron, and that it was occasionally double.’ We must remember that plough-head means the sharebeam.

(8). ‘The shelboard [i.e. shield-board], a board of more than an inch thick, covering the right side of the plough, and fastened with two strong wooden pins to the skeath and right-hand hale.’

(9). ‘The coulter, a long piece of iron made sharp at one end, passing on one side by a mortise-hole through the beam, and held in place by an iron ring which winds round the beam and strengthens it.’ Fitzherbert’s description is slightly different; see l. 48. The use of the coulter is to make the first incision into the earth; it precedes the share, which follows it and completes its work.

(10). ‘The share. If this be needed for a mixed earth, it is made without a wing, or with a small one only: if, however, it be needed for a deep or stiff clay, it should be made with a large wing or an outer point.’

(11). ‘The plough-foot. This is an iron implement, passed through a mortise-hole, and fastened at the farther end of the beam by a wedge or two, so that the husbandman may at his discretion set it higher or lower; the use being to give the plough earth or to put it from the earth, for the more it is driven downward the more it raises the beam from the ground and makes the irons forsake the earth, and the more it is driven upward, the more it lets down the beam and makes the irons bite the ground.’ Fitzherbert well describes it as ‘a stay to order of what deepness the plough shall go.’ The word ploughfote occurs in Piers Plowman, B. vi. 105; see my notes to that poem, vol. iv. p. 161. This part of the plough was also called a plough-shoe (in Latin, ferripedalis); see Rogers (as above), p. 538. In a modern plough, the plough-foot is generally replaced by small wheels. I may remark that it was placed in front, before the coulter.

If we compare the preceding account with that given by Fitzherbert, we shall see that the two nearly agree. Fitzherbert’s plough-beam, plough-sheath, and plough-tail are Nos. 1, 2, and 3 above; his stilt, rest, and shieldboard are Nos. 6, 7, and 8; his rough staves, plough-foot, share, and coulter, are Nos. 5, 11, 10, and 9. But he has three additional terms, viz. the sharebeam, which is the wooden frame for the share, and is called by Markham the plough-head (No. 4). Secondly, the fen-board, i.e. mud-board, covering the left side of the plough, and fastened to the left of the sheath and the left hale, much as the shield-board is fastened to the right of the sheath and the right hale. Lastly, the plough-ear, defined as ‘three pieces of iron, nailed fast to the right side of the plough-beam,’ for which poor men substituted ‘a crooked piece of wood pinned fast to the plough-beam.’ What was the use of this appendage we are not expressly told; but it seems to have been used for fastening the trace to, for draught; see 4. 34.

Fitzherbert also notices the plough-mal, i.e. plough-mall or plough-mallet (l. 55), which seems to have consisted of a head of hard wood and a ‘pynne,’ or handle, and to have been loosely stuck into the plough-beam by passing the handle through ‘an augurs bore,’ i.e. through a hole bored in the beam by an augur for this especial purpose. This was no real part of the plough, but only a tool conveniently kept at hand. He does not, however, mention the plough-staff (or akerstaff), which was ‘a pole shod with a flat iron, the purpose of which was to clear the mould-board from any stiff earth which might cling to it while the plough was at work’; Rogers, as above, p. 539. This was originally held in the right hand (see my notes to P. Plowman); but I think it likely that, when a second handle, or stilt, came into use, the plough-staff was given up. Wright’s Prov. Glossary gives “mell, mellet, a square piece of wood fitted with a handle, a mallet.”

10. I. R. says of the sharbeame, that “in some Countries it is called the plough-head.” Fitzherbert has already said this, see 2. 10.

12. Oke] Oake or Ashe; I.R.

15. I. R. says of the plough-tayle, that “in many Countries [it is] called the Plough-hale, of which they haue two, but the other is fastened to the rough staues and the shelboard.” The other hale is the plough-stilt.

25. sheldbrede] Shelboard; I. R.

27. fenbrede] Senbred; I. R. This is wrong.

32. to come past] compasse; I. R.

34. roughe] long; I. R.

49. bende, i.e. bent] broad; I. R. This is inappropriate, for it is somewhat narrow, viz. of the breadth of three inches; see line 52.

55. plough-mal] Plough Maule; I. R. As to the parts of a plough, cf. Tusser’s Husbandry, 17. 10, 11; and see above, note to 3. 1.

4. 14. slot-wedges] flote wedges; I. R. I. R. does not seem to have understood it, as he alters slote to flatte in the two lines following.

19. After erthe, I. R. has—“so that it may, as the best experienced Plow-men say, kill a worme, or els it goeth not truly.” Worme is clearly right. He further inserts—“The poynt of your Culture, and the poynt of your Share, must runne both in one leuell, so that they may cutte both in one instant, chiefely if the ground be stiffe and tough; but if it be in a light land, then if the point of your Culture be a little longer it shall be so much the better, and in such light groundes, let your Culture be somwhat sickell-wise bowed, for the finer cutting, but in tough Clay ground it ought to be as straight as may be.”

26. payreth] hurteth; I. R. This is a gloss.

29. practyue] practise; I. R.[37]

33. bende] band. But bende probably means ‘bent piece.’

35. he] you (throughout). This shews that this idiomatic use of he was obsolescent in 1598.

46. coke] Cocke.

58. I. R. adds—“In diuers Countries, as namely in Cambridgshiere, Huntington, Hartford, Bedford, and Northamton, the share is alwayes nayled with certaine nayles vnto the shelboard, to which I am not so well affected, because by that meanes the shelboard can neuer be turnd, or after he is once worne be [sic] for other purpose, whereas in the Northerne partes of this Land, the share being only fastned in his socket to the Plough-head, which may at ease be done with a crooked horne of a Ramme, which being put ouer the poynt of the share, may be knocked fast at ones pleasure, the shelboard being worne at the one end may be taken off, and the other end set forward, which will as sufficiently serue as euer it did before, yeelding to the Plough-man a double profit.”

5. 1. But or he] Before we.

2. geare] implements. A genteel improvement! So again in l. 45.

4. stylkynges, wrethyng-temes] stilting wrethen teames.

6. sleues] cleuisse. pykforke] Pitchforke.

9. fellyes] follies (!). 10. fettred] fettered or tyed.

17. soule] sole.

19. lyn-pinnes] limpins.

23. pikstaues] pickstaues, all which are best of Ashe.

24. hombers] humbers. holmes whyted, tresses] holmes, withed traces.

29. or kyddes, or suche other] faggots, or Kids.

6. 5. I. R. adds—“yet in all Virgils writing the Oxe-plough is most preferred.” There are other unimportant variations here.

17. teddered] teathered.

18. hades] hadds.

24. gere that they shal] harnes and tyer they.

27. hey] hay mingled, which Plough-men call bendfoder.

28. and they haue, &c.] and for shooes for the most part that cost in them is saued, except it be for some long iourney, or in stony wayes for feare of surbayting.

30. lyttell worthe] worth nothing, except for a kennell of noyse-begetting Hounds.

32. ii. s.] tenne shillings.

7. I. R. omits this section altogether.

8. I. R. greatly expands this section, after the following manner.

Chapter 8. ¶ How a man should plough all manner of Lands all times of the yeare.

Now that I haue prescribed the manner to make and temper the most or all the sorts of Ploughs, it shall next seeme expedient for me to show the manner and time of the yeare in which a man ought to Plough, and for the better vnderstanding of the ignorant, I will begin at the beginning of the yeare, and so succeede downe-ward: After the feast of Epiphanie it is time for a Husbandman to goe to Plough, to wit, if your ground be a stiffe and a tough clay, then shall you begin and Plough your Pease-earth, which is, where you had your Wheate, Rye, and Barley, the yeere before: this ground being ploughed, you shall let it so lye, which is called bayting some fiue or sixe dayes, that it may receaue a frost or two, which frost will so lighten and deuide the earth, that when you shall come to harrow it, it will runne to a very good mold, that otherwise it would neuer doe. If your ground be naturally light and sandy, then may you immediatly vpon your ploughing sowe without giuing your ground any bayte at all. When your Pease earth is sowne, and the Spring is creeping on: then if you will follow Virgils famous principles, begin to fallow your ground which must rest that yeare. In the beginning of Lent sow your Barley upon clay grounds, but in hote sandy grounds, if you stay a moneth or more longer it will be much the better. At mid-sommer stirre vp a-new, that is, Plow againe your fallow ground: & before the rising of the North-starre, which is eleuen dayes before the Æquinoctial Autumnal, or the thirteenth of September, then sow your Wheate and Rye, and these be the seasons and the graynes to sow, except Oates, which is alwayes to be vsed in like manner as Barley is. If you haue any ley ground to fallow or breake vp for to sowe Oates vpon, then let that be the first thing you take in hand, that the grasse and the mosse may be rot in it, and let your Plough runne a deepe square furrow, and in all manner of ploughing, see that your eye, your hand, and your foote agree, and be alwaies ready one to serue another, and to turne vp so much mold and to lay it flatte that it reare not an edge: for if it stand vp vpon an edge, the grasse and mosse can neuer kindly rotte, which being vsed as it should, is an excellent manuring.

If you sowe Winter-corne, as eyther Wheate or Rye vpon swarth ground, looke how much Corne toucheth the mosse, so much will be drowned and cannot spring, the mosse in his owne nature dooth keepe so much wette in it selfe. In some Countries, if a man plow deepe, hee shal plough past the good ground, and so haue little Corne, but that Country in my iudgement is not fitte for tyllage, but rather thereto to reare and breede Cattell, as Oxen, Kine, or Sheepe, or els they must goe beate their lands with Mattocks, as they doo in many places of Cornwall, and in some places of Deuonshiere. The manner of plowing land is in three formes: eyther they be great Lands, as with high ridges and deepe furrowes, as in all the North parts of this Land, and in some sotherne parts also, or els flatte and plaine, without ridge or furrow, as in most parts of Cambridge-shiere: or els in little Lands, no Land containing aboue two or three furrowes, as in Midlesex, Essex, and Hartfordshiere.

For the first, it is needfull, where the grounde is stife, tough, and binding, beeing alwaies capable of much wette, that if the Lands did not lie hie, not onely would the fatnesse choake the Corne ere it could come foorth, but also the colde soaking wette, would confound the vigor and strengthe of the seede. For the second, that is good where the ground is somewhat light, and giuen to barrennesse: so that what forcst [read forct] vertue soeuer you thrust into the ground, either by manure or otherwise, the Land lying flatte and plaine, shall still retaine it, not suffering it as els it would to wash away with euery shower. For the last, that is, where the grounde is both barren, cold, and stiffe: if there you plough in large Lands, the wether and season will so binde it together, that the seede shall burst, but not finde any passage to sproute. Againe, such ground is subiect to much weede, besides, if your lands should be any greater, you should neuer possibly come to weede them, eyther as they would or they should be done.

9. I. R. alters this section, noting—“Neuer sowe Pease or Beanes on a light, hote sand ground, for that will neuer beare them, but for the Beane, the extreamest and the stiffest ground is the best. If it bee lesse stiffe, then the mingled ware[38] is best, as Pease and Beanes well sorted. If it bee neither stiffe nor light, then cleane Pease is the best, for they wil prosper most kindliest.”

13. I. R. adds—“Pease are an excellent seede, and inrich ground as much as the light manuring: which is the reason, that in many places of Lincoln-shiere, and els where, sowing their inam Wheate where theyr Pease grew, they haue the finest Corne.”

10. 1–9. Varied by I. R.

13. kedlokes] Kellocks (but elsewhere Kedlocks).

41. I. R. adds—“because the freshnes of the molde is to the seede very comfortable.”

11. 11. wonders] wonderous (which is the later form). The whole of this section is re-written, merely to alter the language. Fitzherbert speaks again of ‘the seed of discretion’ in the Book of Surveying, c. 39.

12. 8. strykes in other places] two Northerne strikes. And as the measure Northward is greater, so are their Akers larger.

13. quarter] quarter, or halfe a seame.

31. Christmasse] Christmas, as for the most part Northward, or generally vpon fat clay grounds.

13. 7. landes] land and the balke.

18. sprot-barleye] sport-Barley. So also in l. 19.

28. lyke pecke-whete] like to an eare of Wheate.

40. I. R. adds—“but how so euer the season of the yeare is, that Barley naturally of it selfe is a withered, deepe, yellow Corne, that yeldeth much bran, & but litle flower. Barley for the most part chiefly in clay grounds would be sown vnder furrow, that is, a cast or two about the Land, then ploughed, then sowne agayne, and so harrowed.”

14. 15. I. R. adds—“These are for the most barranest Heath or forrest ground that may be, as in Darbishiere, where they call them Skeyggs, and not Oates.”

After section 14, I. R. introduces section 34, to bring all the kinds of sowing together.

15. This is section 17 in the edition of 1598.

7. moche] bigge (which is a gloss). So also in l. 24.

8. shotes] flores. But this can hardly be right. See below.

11. slote] slope. But this can hardly be right. It is clear that the right word is slote, with the sense of ‘cross-bar,’ the bulls being the thicker bars of the harrow.

13. withe] withy.

24. sloted and tinded] floted and tyned.

27. about Ryppon] in Notinghamshire and more Northward.

28. bulder-stones] bolder-stones. Also spelt bulder-stones in the Book on Surveying, c. 40.

41. hombers] humbers. withed] writhed.

42. tresses] traces (in both places).

50. after a shoure, &c.] with great roles of wood, which Virgill much commends, and doubtless is very good after a shower of raine, to make the ground euen to mow. And note that the dryer your Lands be when you clot them, the sooner wil your clots break, and the more mold you shall haue.

16. 3. for whete, &c.] on which fallowes the next yeare following, you shall sow your Rye, Wheat and Barly.

24. stere] stirre (which is a later form).

35. I. R. adds—“To fallow withall, sixe Oxen, or sixe Horses are no more then sufficient.”

17. 29. I. R. adds—“Also let not your heapes stand too long ere they be spread, for if they doo, the goodnesse of your manure, chiefely if it take a shower of raine, will runne into the ground where the heape stands, and the rest when it is spread will little profit.”

29–35. I. R. makes a new section of this, headed “Chapter 20. Of the diuers kindes of Manure, and which is the best.” It is as follows.

There be diuers sorts of Manures, and first of those that bee worst, as Swines dunge, which Manure breedeth and bringeth vp thistles; the scourings of Hay-barnes or Corne barnes, which bringeth vp sundry weedes and quirks [quicks?]; and rotten Chaffe, which diuers vse, but brings little good. The shoueling of highwayes and streetes is very good, chiefely for Barley. Horse-dunge is reasonable. The dunge of all maner of Cattel that chew the cudde is most excellent. Doues dunge for colde ground is best of all, but it must be spred very thinne. For grounds that are giuen to riue and chap, ashes is excellent, for they will binde and knit together. Also for such grounds it is most singular to burne the stubble on the ground, which is worth tenne manurings: for it fatneth (saith Virgill) the soyle, and yeeldeth a secrete force of nourishment vnto the seede. Also, euery euill is tryed out by the fire, and the vnprofitable moisture is forced to sweat out, it giueth a vent and passage for the iuyce that quickeneth the Corne, and it closeth the gaping vaines and holes of the earth, through which, eyther extreame moysture, extreame heate, or wind, would blast the Corne. Also in Cheshiere, Lankishiere, and other Countreys, they vse for manure a kinde of blewe Marble-like earth, which they call Marle. This is for those Countries an excellent manure, and though it be exceeding chargeable, yet through good neighbour-hood it quiteth the cost: for if you manure your groundes once in seauen or twelue yeares, it is sufficient, and look how many yeares he beareth Corne, so many yeares he will beare grasse, and that plenty. Straw layd to rot in the Winter, is good dung.

30. sholynges; i.e. shovellings. Note “the shoueling of highwayes” in the extract given just above.

18. 3. flyte] shift (which is a gloss). So also in l. 28.

10. kelles begonne] kells be gone. This shews that the reading begonne in the original is a misprint for be gone.

17. appeyreth them sore] abateth them much.

23. goynge vppon] treading or going upon with their feete.

31. appeyre] abate or diminish.

33. for] from. This shews that the old idiomatic use of for (= against) was obsolescent in 1598.

19. 5. charte] Cart. And perhaps we should read carte in the text; the meaning of charte is, of course, cart.

8. Here I. R. inserts—“And for this purpose of carrying, I take the Horse-Cart to be best, because they be most nimble, and goe with best speede; & if the Horses be good, they will not at any time loose company with his neighbours.”

20. 3. cocledrake] Cockell, Drake. And such should be the reading; for see ll. 13, 17.

4. darnolde] Darnell. gouldes] Golds. haudoddes] Hadods.

6. roughe] tough.

23. sterte] stalke (a gloss).

32. is] are. Fitzherbert makes is agree with one.

47. dee-nettles] Dee, Nettels (wrongly).

21. 15. in the reane] away. I. R. omits the rest, down to wyddre.

22. 10. at-after none] in the after-noone. But at-after is an old form, signifying much the same as after. See Glossary.

12. beytynge] resting. At the end of the section, I. R. adds—“For this stirring foure horses are sufficient.”

23. 8. wyddrynge] withering (the later form).

11. chowe] chewe.

16. swathe] swaithe.

17. mane] man (!). The sense is, I suppose, a ridge of grass, which is likened to a horse’s mane.

20. moldywarpe-hilles] Mole-hills. styckes] sticks and stones.

In the Book on Surveying, c. 25, we are told that the best way to spread mouldy-warpe hilles] is by bush-harrowing.

24. 3. beyked] keyked (which I suspect to be nonsense). In line 12, beykyng is altered to baking.

15. hasell and withee] Hassell or Withy.

19. and let his warke] wherby he shall hinder his worke.

21. and] if (a gloss of an obsolescent conjunction). So again in sect 25, 1. 16.

25. 7. ouer] vpper. See the Glossary.

22. crofote] Crow-foote.

27. After wyll, I. R. inserts “as they say.”

32. twon] twined (the weak form).

26. 5. I. R. alters this so as to give a different sense—“when it is mowne, it will be so fast bound that no man can gather it so cleane but there wil be great losse.” This is contradictory, and probably he missed the word not.

27. 17. I. R. omits the phrase—“about Zelcestre and Martok.”

28. 13. And whan the barley, &c.] and when the Barley is lead away, the Land must be raked with a great Rake with yron teeth, made fast about a mans necke with a string, and so drawne vp and downe the Lande, or els much Barley wil be lost. If Barley or Oates be layd through winde or ill weather, then it must needes be shorne, els not. The binding of barley in sheaues is very profitable, yet many that haue great crops will not attend so great trouble, but as soone as it is mowne make it in cocks like hay, and so carry it home: yet must they haue good respect vnto it, for if it bee full of weede and greeues (sic, for greenes), then must it lye till they be withered, or els it will burne in the mow.

29. 2. sickles] steeles. After staffe-hokes, I. R. adds—“and some mow downe with Sythes.”

4. on repes] in reaps.

11. codde] codds. This is a better reading.

30. 7. to pervse] peruse. This early use of peruse in the sense of go through, lit. use up thoroughly, should be noted. It occurs again in the Book of Surveying, capp. 19, 24; see note to 33. 7.

18. As to the fall of the tenth part of the angels, see my notes to P. Plowman.

21. After truely, I. R. adds—“but how eyther of the sayings hold with vnconscionable impropriations, adiudge the learned, let me imagine.”

31. 3. halfe-throne] halfe-theame (sic).

32. 5. reke] Reeke, stack, or houell.

6. scaffolde] houell; and in 11. 9, 11.

7. hedged for] hedged or paled from.

11. shepe or catel] Sheep, Cattel, Horse, Carts, Wains, or Ploughs.

33. 3. meane] reasonable.

4. ebbe] shallow.

6. reane] raine of balke.

33. 7. So also in the Book of Surveying, c. 24. “And if it so be, than take thy ploughe, and begyn to plowe a forowe in the myddes of the syde of the land, and cast it downe as yf thou shulde falowe it, and so pervse both sydes tyl the rygge be cast down, and than take thy plough agayn, and begyn to plowe where thou dyddest plowe fyrste, and rygge all the remeynant upwarde, and so shalt thou bothe cast thy landes, and rigge them, and all at one plowyng. And this wyl make the lande to lye rounde, the whyche is good bothe for corne and grasse.”

34. This is Chapter 15 in I. R.’s edition. After rye (l. 2), I. R. adds—“chiefely, if your ground be rich, clayie, and cold, but if it be dry and hote, then may you stay the latter season, as till the latter end of October.”

6. After falowe, I. R. adds—“and plow it vnder without harrowing.”

8. After yere, I. R. adds—“as in other places euery third yeere, for the one haue four fieldes, the other three.”

23. whyte wheate] Oygrane Wheate. So in l. 31 below, he has “Oygrane or white Wheate.”

25. anis] anns; so also in l. 29, and again in ll. 33, 36, 40, 42; we should rather have expected the spelling auns.

33. and wyll make white breed] it yeeldeth the finest flower of all. These three sorts of Wheat must euer bee sowne eyther on the Pease stubble, or on a fallow ground that is not very proud or rich, for too rich ground for these Wheats wil make them mildewe and not prosper.

35. After whyte wheate, I. R. adds—“but they are deceaued.”

38. rudeste] ruddiest. This is clearly the right sense.

43. flyntered] flintred. At the end of the section I. R. adds a long piece, as follows.

Lastly, there is another Wheat, which is called hole-straw Wheat; it hath the largest eare of al Wheats, the boldest Corne, and yeeldeth the most, the finest, though not the whitest floure; it is foure-square, and hath short anns; the straw is not hollow, but hath a strong pith throughout, by reason wherof in his growth no weather whatsoeuer can beare him downe, but still he will stand and prosper; his straw yeeldeth as good thatch as Reeds, a singular profit for a Husbandman: and it is an excellent fewell to bake or brew with, euen as good as Gorsse or Whins: Onely Cattell will not eate it, nor is it good for litter; this of all Wheats is the best: these last named are to be sowne on the fallow ground, and the better the ground is, the better they will prosper.

When you sowe your Rye choose a dry season, for small wet killeth Rye. Rie, as the old husbands say, will drowne in the Hopper, that is, if in the Hopper hee catch a shower, his vigor is slaine. Wherfore the drier his mold, is the better, which is the cause that the hote, dry, and light sand is onely for Rye most excellent: his mold must harrow small like a Garden-bed, for the smallest clot hindereth his comming vp; his sprout is so small and tender.

Here I. R. inserts a whole chapter, as follows.

Chapter 16.
¶ How to make barraine ground bring foorth good Corne.

If thy ground be barraine and hard, yeelding nothing but ill Hay of insuing profit, then shal it be necessary for thee to vse these secrets in Art which is most auaileable. And first for thy Pease, Beanes, Barley, and Oates, if thou sowest any of them: sowe them vpon the eight day of April, which is the Equinoctiall vernall,[39] when Libra[40] draweth the houres of the day and night to an euen and iust proportion, and what Corne is so sowne prospereth greatly: but if thou wilt be assured that no Corne thou sowest shall faile, then take Salt-peeter and mingle with thy Corne, and sow it, and thy labor shall neuer be frustrate. For want of it, take the black dreggs of Oyle, and wette thy seede ere thou sow it, and it shall vndoubtedly spring vp. If thou hast none of these, then take Pigions dunge, and mingle it with thy seede in thy hopper, and sow it: though it be not so good as the other, yet is the profitable vertue wonderfull.

35. 7. Kente] Kent, and Hartfordshiere.

8. gise] vse. Gise = guise, way, manner, plan. I. R. has “great safety for sheding the Corne,” retaining here the old use of for.

12. I. R. adds—For your seede, if you will be aduised by me, you shall change it alway once in two or three yeare. For to sow continually one seede bred in one soyle it will decay & grow ill: and in your exchange draw it alwayes from the harder soyle, and being brought into a better, it must the rather prosper.

36. 3. reed] reeded. This form is wrong, like our use of wonted for wont (= won-ed).

At the end of this section, I. R. closes his First Booke.

37. 6. Here I. R. inserts—Of Sheepe there be two sorts, that is, blacke and white, but the white is the best, for the Wooll they beare there bee of diuers Staples: some long and hairie, as those bredde in barren cold Countries, and that is the worst; some hard, short, and curld, as those bred in woody grounds, and that is better: some long, thicke, soft, and curled, and that is the best of all: and they be bredde vpon fine heathes, where they haue short, dry, and sweet foode. The profit of wooll the world can witnesse, and yeerely your Ewes will bring forth Lambes, which is an other commoditie; and lastly, in some Countries, as in Suffolke, Essex, and Kent, with many other, they milke their Ewes, a gaine equall to the rest. Therfore when you chuse sheepe, elect them big-boand and well-woolld, their colours beeing white. For Virgill faines, that Cynthia, the Goddess of Chastitie, in whose thoughts could neuer enter impuritie, was enamored of Endimion onely through hys flocke of white sheepe. When therfore you haue got a flock of white sheepe, then you must chuse Rams to equall them, for preseruing the breede: your Ram would bee white also, and ouer and beside you must looke in his mouth, and if the roofe thereof be blacke, then is hee not good: for either hee will then get blacke Lambes, or at least staine theyr fleeces with a duskie colour. The greater the homes of your Ram is, the worse; for the pollard is the chiefest Ram.

14. blyssomme or ryde] blossome and arride.

16. at the Exaltation of the holye crosse] in September.

32. I. R. adds—Wherfore be carefull to keepe thy sheepe well, both with hay in Winter as well as with grasse in Sommer. Also in the Winter such Sheepe as thou intendest to fatte and sell, let them either haue straw or fleakes to lie vpon, for the cold earth will both disease them and hinder their feeding.

38. 3. trouse] brouse. See these words in the glossary.

6, 7. The sense is—and if she (the ewe) will not stand sideways beside the lamb; i.e. in such a position that the lamb can approach her side. There is an evident misprint in l. 7, where the original has ewe for lambe. I. R. tries to make sense by turning all into call; thus—“and if she wil not stand side-long, call the Ewe and giue her a little hay.” This is an evident attempt at making sense by falsifying the grammar of the text; for Fitzherbert does not say “and give her,” but “than gyue her,” i.e. then give her. Consequently all that precedes the word than belongs to the clause containing the supposition.

39. 9. After theym, I. R. inserts—Yet Virgill aduiseth you in such a case to haue a leather full of sharp poynted nayles, which being put about the musell of the Lambe, if it offer to sucke, it will so pricke the dugges of the Ewe that she will not suffer it, but by that meanes weane it perforce: and by the same deuise you may weane all maner of Cattell whatsoeuer. See Virg. Georg. iii. 399.

40. 14. steke] shutt (which is a gloss).

24. go belte, grese, i.e. go and belt them, and grease them. As to belting, see the next section. I. R. very stupidly alters the phrase to goe melt grease, though he has to retain the word belt below.

41. 18. It is hard to make an old dog stoop; i.e. it is hard to make him submit to being taught. This occurs in Heywood’s Proverbs, 1562 (Hazlitt). In the most insipid way, I. R. alters to stoupe into for Sheepe, spoiling the whole saying.

43. To medle terre is to mix tar. I. R. alters medle in the rubric to melt, and then substitutes mingled for medled in l. 1. This is very clumsy.

44. In the rubric, I. R. alters brome to browne, which is certainly wrong; see the context.

7. gelly] Ielly. Yet the spelling with g is well enough.

8. pysse] pisse or lye. See lye in the glossary.

14. or of faldynge, &c.] or a folding of some such soft cloth or wooll. It is clear that I. R. did not know the word faldynge, or he would not thus have altered the text.

17. sheydes] sheeds; i.e. partings; see sect. 42, l. 4.

24. for] from (as in other places). For = against, to prevent.

45. 4. fyled] filled. This is wrong; fyled means fouled, defiled.

46. 3. rather] sooner. I. R. adds—There be diuers waters for this purpose, as water made of Sandiuer and burnt Allom, or the iuyce of Housleeke strained and mingled with Rose-water; or the braines of an hatched, as thus: Take a linnen cloth, and burne it vpon the head of a hatchet, then blow away the ashes, and there wilbe on the hatchets head a kind of oyle, that taken and put in a sheepes eye, is most excellent.

47. 3. clese] clawes.

9. clese] clea. Clea is claw; clese = cleas, claws.

15. pece of fleshe] peece of fleame (i.e. phlegm).

48. 12. I. R. adds—to the great hinderance of the sale.

49. 1. pockes] Pox (the modern spelling).

9. I. R. adds—but if you cannot wash them, then let them blood in the roofes of the mouth, and after they haue left bleeding, giue them a supping of milke and Saffron mingled together.

51. 6. murtheryng or ouer-pressyng] smoothering or oppressing. And certainly smothering seems the right word.

10. I. R. adds—Wash your sheepe in running Riuers, for standing Ponds are ill.

52. 4. tarboxe] Tarbox, or bronne salue. Here bronne is a misprint for broune; and broune is a mistake for brome. See note to sect. 44 above.

54. 14. After shepe, I. R. inserts—salt marshes onely excepted.

22. kelles vppon the grasse] kels vpon the grasse like to Spinners webs. (A spinner is a spider.)

31. white snailes] white finells (not clearly printed).

55. 2. stryndes] strings (badly). So also in l. 4.

16. lyttel quikens] a little quicknes (absurdly). flokes] flocks. But flukes are meant.

Here I. R. inserts a chapter on goats, as follows.

Chapter 20.
¶ Of Goates and their profit or vse.

Thus hauing sufficiently debated touching the choosing, cherishing, and curing of sheep, I thinke it good a little to speake of Goates and their vse: a kinde of Cattell which albe heere in England we estimate not to his worth, yet in other places they be of highest valuation: and the excellent poet Virgill in his Countrey muse, draweth them and sheepe to march in one euen equipage. Thus comparing them, the Goate (saith he) yeeldeth in milke three times the quantity a sheepe doth, theyr young ones are more plentifull, for they will haue two or three, and sometimes more, and their beards yearely being shorne and spunne, haue made an excellent during stuffe, which for the continuance, hath made Marriners desirous onely to weare it in their garments, so that though their beards cannot in quantity and fineness be equall with the fleece of the sheepe, yet ioyning their milke and their young ones to their beards, there is no wonderfull difference.

Their manner of keeping, both wintering and sommering, is in the Poets rules the same that the Sheepe hath, onely theyr foulding and feed excepted: for the foulding they are not needfull, and for their feede, Woods are the best, or the toppes of Mountaines: bushie and thorny grounds vnprofitable for any other vse, for the feede of Goates is most excellent. They will obserue custome much better than Sheepe, for beeing but once or twice vsed there-vnto, they will duely euery morning and euening come home, to pay theyr due debt or tribute to the milke-paile. Theyr milk is excellent, and a great restoratiue, principally for a consumption, of what nature soeuer. The fourth howre after the Sun rise, is the best time for Goates to drinke in. For the weaning of young Kidds from their Dams, vse the meanes that you doo with Ewes and Lambes.

Of all Goates that are, Virgil most commends the Cinyphian Goates, bred by the Towne Cinyps, as Cattell of wondrous great commoditie: their disprofit is onely amongst young springs or plants, for they wil crop any young thing that groweth, and hinder the springing thereof, also they wil pill away the barke of Trees, to the spoyle of the trees: yet no more then fallow Deare, or redde Deare will, wherfore where the one is suffered, the other may be tollerated. Cf. Virg. Georg. iii. 306–317.

56. 4. and fools] foales, and pigs.

7. kye] Kine. And so in l. 2 above.

9. After wel I. R. inserts—let thy Cowe be beetle-browed, and sterne of looke, her head and necke big, and from her throate hanging downe to her shanks a large and long dew-lappe; let her sides be proportionlesse and great, and euery part of her, euen her very foote, so bigge as bigge may be. Let her eares be large and hairie, and her taile long, euen to the grounde, and bushie: if she be spotted with white, or shrewd or wicked with her horne, it is an error, but no fault, for it shewes mettle and goodnes; in generall, the more bull-like a Cow is, the better she is. Let thy Cowe be foure yeeres old ere she take the Bull, and at tenne yeeres sell her off, for then is her best caluing-time past. And thus much for thy Kine whose profit must goe to thy paile.

17. I. R. adds—because he is hyde-bound, which is a foule infirmitie.

57. 1. kye] fatte Kine.

2. fore-croppe] fore-crops.

4. hucbone] huckle-bone. nache] natch.

5. I. R. inserts a after cowe; this is an improvement.

58. 20. husbandes] antient Husbandmen. That is, I. R. repudiates the notion as erroneous.

32. I. R. adds—then giue him in a horne to drinke, olde Ale, Saffron, Treakle, and Diascordion, boyled together.

34. by goddes leue] as writeth Chyron, Phillyrides, and Melampus. A singular variation.

59. 11. feitergrasse] Fetter-grasse.

60. 1. dewbolne] dew-boulne. Bolne = bollen, swollen.

14. I. R. adds—and then with a little Tarre and fresh Butter to cure the wound.

61. 4. ronne on water] runne and water. The substitution is needless; to run on water means to run with water.

15. and this, &c.] to chafe him [i.e. to warm him]: and this cure is failelesse, so God be pleased.

62. Rubric. The turne] Of the turne, otherwise called the sturdy.

3. for] of (this use of for being obsolescent).

18. for perysshynge, i.e. to avoid piercing. Perish for pierce occurs in the various readings to P. Plowman, B. xvii. 189, and Wycliffe, Job xl. 19.

24. I. R. inserts—and anoynt it eyther with fresh butter or clarified Hoggs greace.

65. 3. Starkely] stakely (a misprint). Starkly is stiffly.

5. I. R. adds—yet if a poore man shall haue such a beast & cannot spare his worke: if he will euery morning or euening bathe his legs with Lynseede Oyle: it shall make him indure his worke, and keepe the beast from any great paine or swelling.

Here I. R. inserts two chapters, as follows.

Chapter 31.

¶ A soueraigne vnguent to cure the scabbe, itch, botches, or any surfeite whatsoeuer that commeth of heat or pouerty: or by mischance: taken from a most authentique Authour.

Take a good quantitie of the blacke dregges of Oyle, foure penny-worth of Quicksiluer wel killed,[41] as much Brimstone, Pitch, Wax, and Hoggs-grease as will make it thicke like an oyntment: boyle these together, and with it annoynt the beast that is vnsound, and this will vndoubtedly cure him, and that in very short season, if he be diligently tended.

Chapter 32.
¶ Another most excellent receite, to cure all manner of wounds, impostumes, vlcers, or Fistulaes.

Take the iuyce of the Onion called Scilla, take Hellybor, and Bitumen Iudaicum, mingle these together, and incorporate them in manner of a plaister. The Macedonians and Gelonians to this receit adde the opening of a vaine in the sole of the foote of a beast, and then to giue him to drinke milke and horses blood mingled together, which cureth all inward impostumes, surfeits or poysons, and to the outward griefe to apply the plaister, which was neuer knowne to be frustrate.

66. 27. I. R. has—and it is better to weane thy Calues at grasse then at hard meate, if they went to grasse before.

68. Here I. R. introduces a long flourish about the nobleness of horses, instancing the fabulous brood born to Neptune and Ceres (who transformed herself into a mare), the transformation of Saturn into a horse, and the like.

22. I. R. has—and that shall yee knowe by diuers signes, as by her riding of other Horses, by her flinging about the fieldes, or lastly by her priuie part, for that will twirle open, and shut againe, many times in an houre.

37. lx.] fortie (by misreading lx. as xl.).

63–79. I. R. varies this, and has—put to your white Mares a daple-gray Horse, so shall he gette all daples; to your bright bay mares a blacke bay horse, and so shall you gette all broune bayes; and to your blacke Mares, a blacke Horse, so he haue white feet, white ratch, and white feather; so shall he gette well-marked blacke Colts. But for the Carte it much matters not for colours, but for knowledge sake know that the broune bay, the daple-gray, the bright bay, and the white lyard, are the best colours; all other colours haue defects and are imperfect: of markes one white foote, a white starre, a white snyp, or a white rache is good: and an Ostrige feather in any place where the horse cannot see it, is the best of all the markes that can be for a horse. And thus much for horses or mares to be chosen or vsed.

70. 3. and hygh grasse] and much fogge.

8. flasshes] and flagges.

9. bunnes] bands (wrongly).

32. aftermath] after-croppe.

33. gyrre, &c.] gyre, and to scoure so much that hee wil hardly endure to labour.

39. horse] horses. But horse is the true old plural form, the sb. being neuter; A.S. hors, pl. hors. Nevertheless, Fitzherbert himself has horses in the line following.

42. put] strike and hurte.

73. 1. rase or a ball] starre. A ball is a streak; hence the mod. E. bald, M.E. ball-ed. See bald in my Etym. Dict.

74. 2. to be styffe-docked] a stiffe docke or stearne of his taile.

77. 3. syde-tailed; syde means ‘long.’

78. 2. cressed] crested. And probably cressed is a mere misprint.

5. holowe-foted] hollow-hooued.

79. 7. chowynge] chewing.

80. I. R. expands this chapter and the succeeding chapters so much that it would take up too much space to print all his additions. He gives recipes for the cure of the various diseases, and inserts chapters ‘Of the head-ach or meagrum,’ ‘Of the staggers,’ and ‘Of the Vines.’[42] I can only undertake to give here a few notes to illustrate Fitzherbert’s text.

83. I. R. has—The mourning of the tongue most commonly called the Canker.

86, 87. I. R. considers these two diseases together, and discourses of them at length, saying that he has ‘cured many very sore spent.’

88. I. R. explains ‘Strangulion’ as appearing ‘in a swelling impostume as bigge as a mans fist, iust betweene a horses chaules.’

89–113. I. R. omits nearly all these sections, excepting 91 (which agrees with his ‘Chapter 42. Of the Vines’) and sect. 109 (which is his Chapter 54).

109. I. R. has the rubric—‘Of enterfayring’; and says—‘Enterfairing is a griefe that commeth sometimes by ill shooing, and sometimes naturally, when a Horse trots so narrow that he hewes [knocks] one legge vpon another.’ It is what we now call ‘over-stepping.’ The derivation is from the French form of Lat. inter-ferire; and it is from this term in farriery that we have taken the mod. E. interfere.

116. I. R. omits this section.

118. I. R. introduces here ‘Chapter 55. How to make the pouder of honey and lime.’

119. 2, 6. The French lines are in doggerel rime, and the English translations seem also to be meant for verse, such as it is. The omission of the words or iourneye (in l. 8) would improve the scansion.

8. or nyght, i.e. ere night. Altered by I. R. to out-right.

120. 4. tame] lame (!); an ominous mistake, for which the compositor should have the credit.

121. 4. We may feel sure that this sayinge was originally in verse. Perhaps it ran thus:

“He that hath sheep, and swyne, and hyue,

Slepe he, wake he, he maye thryue.”

Or we might write been (Chaucer’s plural of bee), riming with theen, the usual M. E. word for ‘thrive.’

9. Hogges. As to the exact sense of this word, see the note on it in the ‘Corrections and Additions’ to the larger edition of my Etymological Dictionary.

122. 38. sclatte] slate.

124. Here I. R. begins his third book, relating to timber and distillations.

12. Midsummer-moon is an old phrase; it occurs in the second line of the prologue to the Plowman’s Tale, which is inserted in some editions of Chaucer, though really written by the anonymous author of the Plowman’s Crede.

33. muldes a spade-graffe depe] mould with a spade a foot deepe.

35. peruse] doo still.

39. I. R. adds—or els beeing drowned, not to prosper.

125. 4. fyue fote brod, &c.] fiue foote broad, then it would be set with three chesses or rowes one aboue another, but of what depth or breadth soeuer, it would be double sette, &c.

5. hedge] dead hedge.

126. 2. ellore] Elder (the later form).

6. edderynge] wood; see the glossary. So, in l. 7, I. R. translates eddered by bounde; and again in l. 16, he alters edderinges to byndings.

9. trouse] brouse (as above); see 38. 3.

127. 4. the more halue] more then halfe. But the more halfe, i.e. the greater part, is right enough, and the older phrase. In l. 23, it is left unaltered.

8. in processe] vnwares.

15. slaue] stand (clearly not the right word). In l. 32, I. R. has the spelling sleaue. So also in sect. 133, I. 6.

128. 21. I. R. omits and bolneth; in l. 29, he alters bolne to rise.

129. 10. to leuse] so looseneth.

11. gete] got. But gete is the old form of the pp.; A.S. geten.

130. 4. casses] Kasses. I. R. omits or wydes.

5. slauynges] sleanings (sic). The form popeler reminds me that I have heard the large poplar-tree at ‘Hyde-park Corner’ in Cambridge called ‘the popular tree.’ See l. 23.

12, 16. osyerde wethy] Asiere Withy.

131. 7. kydde] kid or faggot.

9, 16. brenne] burne.

14. to peruse them] persist.

132. 4. I. R. omits ‘and also the yues.’

5. bowe] hewe. But bowe refers to the bending of it before it is cut; the bent piece is called the byghte in the next line. I. R. alters byghte to bough.

18. brede] breadth (which is the later form).

21. xvi.] one and twenty (by misreading xvi. as xxi.).

133. 1. gyse] vse of men.

6. slaue] sleaue; and in l. 16.

10. hym] the seller.

11. an] one (which is the meaning intended).

14. ouer] vpper.

134. 7. garches] garthes. In ed. 1534, it is plainly garches; but confusion between c and t is extremely common, as they were written nearly alike.

18. a greatte] by great. The two phrases have different senses; a greate means ‘in the lump,’ without cutting or dressing the trees, as appears from the next line. But by great means ‘by wholesale’; which contradicts l. 1.

136. 6. graffe] graft (throughout; which is the later form).

10. I. R. omits the narower kyrfe, and; to avoid the word kyrfe.

137. 10. pyrre-stocke] Peare-tree stocke.

14. I. R. says—a Crab-tree stocke is good, but the Apple-tree stocke it-selfe is much better.

138. 1. lanses] branches.

10. nothynge] any thing.

26. marley] marle.

29. cleauynge] place clouen.

30. for chynynge of the claye] for feare the clay through drines should cleaue or riue.

33. clayenge] cleauing (which is clearly wrong).

36. I. R. adds—And three grafts are enough for any stock whatsoeuer, and sooner they will couer the head then foure, fiue, or sixe.

139. 6. tenaunte] tennant.

9. ponch] punch.

10. stop] scope. one syde] other side.

19. clyppe] slip.

20. After growe, I. R. adds—and to fence it close about with some thick-set hedge.

After this section I. R. inserts ‘Chapter 17. Howe to graft by leafe, causing all manner of fruit to grow vpon one tree.’ His method is to insert what we should now call a slip, with a stalk and leaf growing from it.

140. 2. scyences] syens. In fact, scyences (= scions-es) is a double plural, and was probably a provincial term, like nesteses or nesses for nests. So also fairies-es is a country name for fairies, which some lexicographers, not understanding, actually write and print as Pharisees!

6. he wyll] you will. This alteration is made wherever the phrase occurs.

8. lyke] like or prosper in any wise.

Here I. R. inserts a large portion of his own (or perhaps copied from other sources) without any hint that it is not in his original. The insertion extends from p. 103 to p. 143, and contains the following chapters.

Chapter 19. Of gardening or planting.

Chapter 20. Of distillation, what it is.

Chapter 21. Of Beanes and the distillation thereof.

Chapter 22. Of Cherries and their distillation.

Chapter 23. Of Walnuts and their distillation.

Chapter 24. Of small Nuts and their distillation.

Chapter 25. Of Honny and the distillation thereof.

Chapter 26. Of Apples and their distillation.

Chapter 27. Of Peaches and their distillation.

Chapter 28. Of Mallowes and their distillation.

Chapter 29. Of Grapes and their distillation.

Chapter 30. Of Quinces and their distillation.

Chapter 31. The distillation of Cardus [sic] benedictus, or the blessed thistle.

Chapter 32. The distillation of Angellica.

Chapter 33. The distillation of Cammomile.

Chapter 34. The distillation of Germander.

Chapters 35–40. The distillation of Eyebright, Hopps, wood Lilly, Balme, Strawberries, and Cinamon.

Chapter 41. Of Nutmegs and their vse.

Chapters 42–44. Of Mace, Pepper, and Cloues.

Chapter 45. An excellent Balme to take away any blemish vppon the skinne.

Chapter 46. A receite to cure any wound or hurt.

Chapter 47. An approved receite for the gowte.

With this Chapter he closes ‘the third booke of Husbandry.’

The fourth book has an introductory chapter, not in Fitzherbert, subdivided into sections with the following headings. The office of a Steward of a houshold. For prouiding of victuals. The Steward and Garniter.[43] The Steward and Miller. The Steward and Baker. The Pantry. The Butler. The Seller.[44] The Ewrie.[45] Of the Cooke. Of the Scullery. Of the Vsher of the Hall. Of the Yeoman of the Wardrop [Wardrobe]. The Slaughter-man. The Cater [caterer]. The Clarke of the Kitchin.

After this, I. R. condescends to return to his original.

141. 36. sherde] breach (which is a gloss).

49. tyne] shut (a gloss). traile] tale (probably a misprint).

59. put it] blot them.

72. loked uppon] attended vnto.

142. This is a most singular section, since it presupposes that a gentleman’s servant would be able to recognise the rhythm of an English hexameter. As an early experiment in hexameters, it is very curious. In the original, it is printed as prose, but each line ends with a full stop, and the next begins with a capital letter. I have therefore printed it as verse. It is, however, of a rather rude character; horne boget hardly comes up to our idea of a dactyl, nor and shoes to that of a spondee. For the reader’s assistance, I may remark that the dactyls are as follows: Purse dagger, -chef shoyng-, horne boget, -ter sadel-, hatte with thy, Bowe arrowes, stringe and thy, Penne paper, -waxe pommes, bokes thou re-, -ble nedle, leste that thy, -gel gyue thy, se he be, Make mery, synge and thou, hede to thy, gere that thou. The rest are spondees.

I. R., not perceiving the law of rhythm, makes wild work of it. He calls it “An excellent rude Lesson in rude ryme.” He divides the lines rightly, and leaves the first three verses untouched. But the rest assume the following fearful forms.

Penne, paper, incke, parchment, redde waxe, punisse (sic),

and bookes doe thou remember,

Penknife, combe, thymble, needle, thred, and poynt,

least that by chaunce thy garth breake.

Bodkin, knyfe, rubber, giue thy horse meate,

See he be shodde well, make merry, sing if thou can,

And take heede to thy needments, that thou loose none.

I think we may fairly put these down as being the worst verses extant in the English language; though this is saying a good deal.

143. 7. The saying doubtless represents a rude couplet in verse. The dative case wyfe (governed by of) was formerly spelt wyue, and rimed with thryue.

144. Salomon, Solomon. But where to find, in his writings, this remarkable sentence, I do not know.

After this section I. R. inserts a quantity of additional matter, which he tells us (at p. 174) is drawn from his ‘owne experience in byrds and foules.’ The additional chapters treat of choice of cocks, hens for brood, number of eggs to each hen, chickens, diseases of poultry (especially of the pip), choice of poultry, how to fat poultry, how to make capons, where to keep poultry, how to choose, keep, and fatten geese, how to keep ducks, peacocks, ‘ginny or turkie-cocks,’ pigeons, pheasants, turtles, partridges, and swans; after which digression he returns to his text. I may remark that he considers it essential that a hen should sit upon an odd number of eggs, say 19, and that matters should be so arranged as to provide for the hatching of chickens ‘in the increase of the Moone.’ The leaves of a bay-tree, ‘or els some Bents or Grasse,’ will preserve eggs ‘from the hurt of thunder.’ Chickens ought not ‘to be breathed vpon by any Snake, Toade, or other venomous thing’; if they are, you must quickly burn amongst them some ‘Galbanum, or womans hayre.’ Those that have the pip should be dieted on Hearbgrace [rue] or garlic. Geese ‘are more watchfull then Doggs.’ ‘You must vse in the time of brooding, to lay vnder your egges [of geese] the rootes of Nettles, to the end the Gosling may escape stinging of Nettles, which otherwise many times killeth them.’ If geese are to have fat livers, feed them on dry figs mingled with water. Ducks chiefly delight in acorns. If you praise a peacock, ‘he will presently sette vp his taile.’ A turkey-cock ‘is very highly esteemed of, both for his rarenesse and greatnes of body;’ and we are told that he changes the colour of the wrinkled skin about his head at pleasure, either to white, red, blue, yellow, ‘or what other colour els hee list; which thing maketh him seeme wonderfull st[r]ange to them that behold it.’ ... ‘Their greatest diseases is the Pip and the Squecke.’ As to pigeons, ‘I haue knowne some that haue builded their Doue-houses vpon high pillars ouer the midst of some Pond or great water, both because they delight much in water, and also to keepe them the safer from vermine.’ Swans ‘will, when they waxe olde, declare the time of their own death to be neere approching, by a sweete and lamentable note which they then sing.’

145. 15. I. R. has—‘Wherefore it is conuenient (I say) that they loue each other as effectually as loue can in the best sence comprehend: and this worke especiallie, a woman is bound both by law and nature to performe.’ Why so?

146. I. R. omits ll. 2–7; he was certainly a Protestant.

8. redy. This is the old word for dressed, as might be shewn by many examples. It may suffice to say that I. R. explains araye theym in l. 11 by make them ready.

10. socle] suckle. I. R. omits sye vp thy mylke, which he probably did not understand.

13. I. R. omits and take thy parte with theym; and, for serue thy swyne (l. 20) he puts looke to the seruing of thy Swine. Customs were probably changing.

31. the gleyd] Kites. And fullymartes is omitted.

35. After eate, I. R. adds—in Sallets, or otherwise.

42. hecheled] heckled.

43. wrapped] warped.

51. ripeled, i.e. rippled; I. R. has repled. In l. 41 above, I. R. has repealed; yet this is, I suppose, the same word.

53. loken] Locken. It means locked or tightly closed up; for lock was once a strong verb.

57. pulled] culled (which is an ingenious alteration and perhaps right).

104. The Knight of the Tour-Landry is the book here referred to, and was one of the books printed by Caxton. The edition printed by the Early English Text Society, and edited by T. Wright, is so easily accessible that it is needless to say more here than that Fitzherbert’s description of it is perfectly correct.

147. 12. rendit] tendit. This correction may be right, but I am not sure of it. The Leonine (or riming) verses quoted cannot be of any great antiquity, and it is quite possible that rendit is intended as a Low-Latin translation of the French rend, pr. s. of rendre. The true Latin word is, of course reddit; which, however, gives no rime. Fitzherbert’s translation is intended to be in verse.

148. 3. brynke] brim. “Better spare at brim than at bottom”; Hazlitt’s Proverbs. And see note to Tusser, 10. 35.

12. tedure] teathure (not a good spelling.)

15. lees] ground. flytte] shift.

17. tyed] stakt.

26. putteth hym in the pynfolde] impoundes him.

38. ren ryot] runne.

43. it is meruayle] gracious were the stars of thy natiuitie (a fine phrase!).

150, 151, 152, 153. I. R. omits these four sections.

153. 3. This quotation, from Dionysii Catonis Disticha, iii. 7, appears also in P. Plowman, B. xii. 23.

28. I do not know where to find this quotation.

155. 10. behouable] behoouefull (which is a better form).

156. In the rubric, I. R. has—‘what riches are’; but in l. 1, he has—‘It is now requisite to know what riches is.’ Already riches was becoming a plural substantive. It may be remarked that I. R. omits the Latin forms of all the quotations.

157. 19. duetie] debt (which is what is meant). So also in ll. 22, 24.

160. 2. After declare, I. R. inserts—and euery booke of Common prayer dooth containe them. A pertinent remark.

161. 3. I. R. omits the reference to the Athanasian Creed, and says we must ‘beleeue stedfastly the Catholick fayth.’

25. I. R. omits from The fulfyllynge to the end of the section. For a description of the seven works of mercy, see Spenser, F. Q. 1. 10. 36.

163. 3. I. R. has—and hast a stedfast fayth in Christ. He has almost wholly rewritten this section, and says we are bound ‘to come to common prayer;’ and omits the quotation from St. Ambrose.

164. 7. It is remarkable that the author should refer us to the 3rd chapter of Proverbs instead of the 15th. Our forefathers seem to have had no idea either of giving a correct reference or of verifying one.

10. Qui a is printed, in Fitzherbert, as Quia, in one word. The correction being obvious, I have made it.

18. Isodorus] Osorius. Why this alteration is made, I cannot tell. In l. 29 of the next section, I. R. has Isidore, and in l. 37, Isidorus.

165. 39. Hampole] Hanapole (wrongly). Richard Rolle, of Hampole, was the author of the Pricke of Conscience, edited by Dr. Morris for the Philological Society, and of numerous other works, including some Religious Treatises edited by Mr. Perry for the Early English Text Society.

47. I. R. omits this line; he probably did not like the word oratory.

52. The first book of Samuel was formerly called the first book of Kings.

166. I. R. rewrites this section, and avoids any reference to Latin or to the Ave Maria.

167. 19, 20. I. R. gives the Latin lines, and his own translation, as follows.

The ghostly enemy doth not stay

Till tempted persons doe obey:

For yeelding, hee a Lyon is,

Gainestood, a flie: his pray doth misse.

His syntax is as bad as his translation.

34. steke] shutte.

35. styfly] manfully. We have here an idea which is frequently met with in our literature. It may suffice to refer to Grosseteste’s Chastel d’Amour, the sermon called Soules Warde printed in Dr. Morris’s Specimens of English, part i., the extract from the Ayenbite of Inwyt printed in Morris and Skeat’s Specimens, part ii., the Tower of Truth and Castle of Caro described in Piers the Plowman, &c. We are also reminded of Bunyan’s Holy War.

168. 31. Here again Fitzherbert gives us the wrong reference to the Proverbs, viz. to Chap. xiv. instead of Chap. xix. His reading Veneratur dominus] is extraordinary.

169. 11. vnable to be foughten agaynst] inuinsible.

13, 14. slecketh] slacketh. slake] quench.

35. I. R. copies Fitzherbert’s reference to Chap. 35; but read 34.

172. 14. conuerted] conuarted (a peculiar pronunciation).

21. This quotation from St. Augustine appears also in Piers Plowman, B. v. 291.

50. This last paragraph is called by I. R. ‘Fitzherberts protestation;’ yet he actually alters his author’s words, substituting ‘the holy scriptures’ for ‘al holy churche,’ with various other smaller ‘corrections.’

To crown his effrontery, he gives the address of ‘The Authour to his Booke’ in the following extraordinary (amended) form!

Goe grosse fram’d image of a holy saint,

present my loue, though rude my pensill paint;

If any blame thee for deformitie,

say Nature calld thee, and not Oratorie;

If on thy browes be starres of ignorance,

say Fortunes pype did neuer teach thee dance.

Wish them amend which best can iudge thine ill,

so shall both thou and I bee happy still.