THE WOLF. 187 
England,” 1480 :—“‘ In this lond beeth mo kyn than 
oxen, more pasture than corne, more grass than seed. 
There is grete plente of samon, of lampreyes, of eles, 
and of other see fisch : of egles, of cranes, of pekokes, 
of corlewes, of sparhaukes, of goshaukes, and of 
gentil faucouns, and of Wolfes, and of wel shrewed 
mys. There beeth attercoppes, blood-soukers, and 
enettes that dooth noon harm,” &c.* Some trans- 
lators and later copyists have here and there 
singularly perverted the original meaning of this 
passage by blunders and mistranslations. Amongst 
these may be mentioned the author or authors of 
“The Book of Howth,” a small folio in vellum of 
the sixteenth century, written in different hands, 
and preserved amongst the Carew MSS. (vol. dexxiii.), 
in the Lambeth Library.t 
* Some little interest attaches to this passage from the curious 
assemblage of animals named in it. At the period referred to “cranes” 
seem to have become common enough in Ireland: “in tanta vero 
numerositate se grues ingerunt, ut wiro in grege centum, et circiter hune 
numerum frequenter imvenias” (“'Topog. Hibern.,’ ed. Dimock, v. 46), 
By “ pekokes” (pavonibus), it would seem the capercaillie is intended, 
**pavones silvestres hic abundant,” says Giraldus (tom. cit. p. 47). 
** Coturnicibus” should be rendered ‘ quails,” not ‘‘curlews.” (‘ Item 
coturnicus hic plurimi,” Girald. v. 47). ‘“ Muwres nocentissimos” are not 
necessarily shrew-mice, which are insectivorous. In all probability 
that destructive little animal, the long-tailed field-mouse (Mus sylvaticus) 
is referred to. By reading “ araneos”’ (shrews) for ‘‘ araneas”’ (spiders) 
some confusion is accounted for. ‘ Attercoppes” is the translation of 
araneas. Jamieson, in his “ Scottish Dictionary,” gives “ Atter-cap,” 
“ Attircop,” spider, with two variants-—Northumberland, “ Attercop,” 
and Cumberland, “ Attercob,’’ a cobweb. A. S. atter coppe, from 
atter, venenum, and copp, calix; receiving its denomination partly from 
its form, and partly from its character; g. a cup of venom. By 
““bloodsuckers,”’ of course, leeches are meant: for “enettes”’ lacertas 
we may read “ euettes” or “ evettes”—+.e., efts, that do no harm. 
+ Cf. Brewer and Bullen, Calendar Carew MSS., ‘The Book of 
Howth,” p. 31. 
