THE HART AND HIS NATURE 27 



They be half in grease or thereabouts by the 

 middle of June when their head is summed, and 

 they be highest in grease during all August. 

 Commonly they be calved in May, and the hind 

 beareth her calf nine months or thereabout as a 

 sow, 1 and sometimes she has three 2 calves at a 

 calving time. And I say not that they do not 

 calve sometime sooner and sometime later, much 

 according to causes and reasons. The calves are 

 calved with hair red and white, which lasteth them 

 that colour into the end of August, and then they 

 turn red of hair, as the hart and the hind. And 

 at that time they run so fast that a hare 3 should 

 have enough to do to overtake him within the 

 shot of an haronblast (cross-bow). Many men 

 judge the deer of many colours of hair and 

 especially of three colours. Some be called 

 brown, some dun and some yellow haired. And 

 also their heads be of divers manners, the one is 

 called a head well-grown, and the other is called 

 well affeted, 4 and well affeted is when the head 

 has waxed by ordinance according to the neck and 



1 The MS. transcriber's mistake. It should be "cow." 



2 G. de F. has "2 calves" as it should be. 



3 G. de F. has "greyhound," as it should be (p. 15) : "Et 

 dès lors vont ils jà si tost que un lévrier a assés à fere de 

 l'ateindre, ainsi comme un trait d'arcbaleste " (" And from that 

 time they go so quickly that a greyhound has as much to do 

 to catch him as he would the bolt from a crossbow)." 



4 Well proportioned. See Appendix : Antler. 



