INTRODUCTION xv 



dating ancient hunting customs and terms of the 

 chase. Ancient terms of venery often baffle every 

 attempt of the student who is not intimately ac- 

 quainted with the French and German literature of 

 hunting. On one occasion I appealed in vain to Pro- 

 fessor Max Muller and to the learned Editor of the 

 Oxford Dictionary. " I regret to say that I know 

 nothing about these words," wrote Dr. Murray ; 

 "terms of the chase are among the most difficult 

 of words, and their investigation demands a great 

 deal of philological and antiquarian research." 

 There is little doubt that but for this difficulty 

 the "Master of Game" would long ago have 

 emerged from its seclusion of almost five hundred 

 years. It is hoped that our notes will assist the 

 reader to enjoy this hitherto neglected classic of 

 English sport. Singularly enough, as one is 

 almost ashamed to have to acknowledge, foreign 

 students, particularly Germans, have paid far 

 more attention to the " Master of Game " than 

 English students have, and there are few manu- 

 scripts of any importance about which English 

 writers have made so many mistakes. This is all 

 the more curious considering the precise informa- 

 tion to the contrary so easily accessible on the 

 shelves of the British Museum. All English 

 writers with a single exception (Thomas Wright) 

 who have dealt with our book have attributed it 

 persistently to a wrong man and a wrong period. 



b 



