THE PROLOGUE 3 



passed, for writing is the key of all good remem- 

 brance" 



And first I will begin by describing the nature 

 of the hare, 1 secondly of the nature of the hart, 

 thirdly of the buck and of his nature, fourthly of 

 the roe and of his nature, fifthly of the wild boar 

 and of his nature, sixthly of the wolf and of his 

 nature, seventhly of the fox and of his nature, 

 eighthly of the badger and of his nature, ninthly 

 of the cat and of his nature, tenthly of the marten 

 and his nature, eleventhly of the otter and of his 

 nature. Now have I rehearsed how I will in this 

 little book describe the nature of these aforesaid 

 beasts of venery and of chace, and therefore will 

 I name the hounds the which I will describe here- 

 after, both of their nature and conditions. And 

 first I will begin with raches (running hounds) 2 

 and their nature, and then greyhounds and their 

 nature, and then alaunts and their nature, and 

 then spaniels and their nature, and then mastiffs 

 that men call curs and their nature, and then of 



1 Gaston de Foix has a different sequence, putting the hart 

 first and the hare sixth, and having four animals more, namely, 

 the reindeer, the chamois (including ibex), the bear and the 

 rabbit, while the "Master of Game" has one animal, the 

 Marten, of which Gaston de Foix does not speak. 



2 Gaston de Foix follows a different sequence, commencing 

 with alaunts, then greyhounds, raches, spaniels, and says 

 "fifthly I will speak of all kinds of mongrel dogs, such as 

 come from mastiffs and alaunts, from greyhounds and running 

 hounds, and other such." 



