MEDIEVAL HISTORY OF PHEASANTS. 27 



by which it appears that the Abbot of Amesbury obtained a 

 licence to kill hares and pheasants in the first years of the 

 reign of King Henry the First, which commenced on the 

 second of August, 1100; and Daniell, in his "Rural Sports," 

 quotes "Echard's History of England" to the effect that in 

 the year 1299 (the twenty-seventh of Edward I.) the price 

 of a pheasant was fourpence, a couple of woodcocks three- 

 halfpence, a mallard three-halipence, and a plover one 

 penny. 



" To ihese notices," writes the Eev. James Davies in the 

 Saturday Review, " might have been added another which 

 seems to set the pheasant at a higher premium — to wit, 

 that in 1170 Thomas a Becket, on the day of his martyrdom, 

 dined on a pheasant, and enjoyed it, as it would seem from 

 the remark of one of his monks, that ' he dined more heartily 

 and cheerfully that day than usual/ " 



Those who are interested in the subject will find a most 

 interesting seiies of extracts respecting the medieval history 

 of this bird in Mr. Harting's " Ornithology of Shakespeare," 

 from which we quote the following: 



" L eland, in his account of the feast given at the inthronisa- 

 tion of George Novell, Archbishop of York, in the reign of 

 Edward IV., tells us that, amongst other good things, two 

 hundred ' f esauntes ' were provided for the guests. 



"In the 'Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York,' 

 under date ' the xiiij"' day of Novembre,' the following entry 

 occurs : 



" ' Itm. The same day to Eichard Mylner of 

 Byndfeld for bringing a present of f esauntes 

 cokkes to the Queen to Westminster vs.' 



" In the ' Household Book ' of Henry Percy, fifth Earl 

 of Northumberland, which was commenced in 1512, the 

 pheasant is thus referred to : 



" ' Item, Fesattntes to be hade for my Lordes own Mees at 

 PrincipaU Feestes and to be at xijd. a pece.' 



