xiv Introduction. 



the proces of the Cessyons, Warrants, Superseders, wyth al 

 that longyth to ony justice, &c." It is not pretended that 

 this was our author's work ; but he improved upon it, as he 

 did also upon the Natura Brevium. In his preface to La 

 Novel Natura Brevium (Berthelet, 1534), he says that the 

 original book was written by a learned man, whom he does 

 not name : and that it was esteemed as a fundamental book 

 for understanding the law. In the course of its translations, 

 and of the alteration of the laws, many things had been 

 retained which were unnecessary, and much desirable matter 

 was omitted. This was what induced him to compose the 

 new one. 



Upon this I have to remark, that it is incredible that 

 Berthelet should mention a work which he knew to be by Sir 

 Anthony Fitzherbert in one line, and in the next should 

 proceed to speak of " Master Fitzherbarde " without a word 

 of warning that he was speaking of a different person. The 

 obvious inference is that the author of the Book on Survey- 

 ing was, in his belief, the same person as the " A. F. K." who 

 wrote "the boke longyng to a Justice of the peace." As it is, 

 he takes no trouble about the matter ; for he could hardly 

 foresee that any difficulty would thence arise. It is remark- 

 able how frequently writers just stop short of being explicit, 

 because they think that, at the moment of writing, a- fact is 

 too notorious to be worth mentioning. 



Here the direct external evidence ceases. We now come 

 to consider the internal evidence, which is interesting enough. 



In the first place, the author of the Book of Husbandry 

 was also the author of the Book of Surveying, as he tells us 

 explicitly in his prologue to the latter book. But whoever 

 wrote the Book of Surveying must have been a considerable 

 lawyer. It is of a far more learned and technical character 

 than the Book on Husbandry, and abounds with quotations 



