THE WOLF. 187 



England," 1480 : — " In this londbeetli mo kyn than 

 oxen, more pasture than corne, more grass than seed. 

 There is grete plente of samon, of lampreyes, of eles, 

 and of other see fisch : of egles, of cranes, of pekokes, 

 of corlewes, of sparhaukes, of goshaukes, and of 

 gentil faucouns, and of Wolfes, and of wel shrewed 

 mys. There beeth attercoppes, blood-soukers, and 

 enettes that dooth noon harm," &c* Some trans- 

 lators and later copyists have here and there 

 singularly perverted the original meaning of this 

 passage by blunders and mistranslations. Amongst 

 these may be mentioned the author or authors of 

 " The Book of Howth," a small folio in vellum of 

 the sixteenth century, written in different hands, 

 and preserved amongst the Carew MSS. (vol. dcxxiii.), 

 in the Lambeth Library, t 



* Some little interest attaches to this passage from the curious 

 assemblage of animals named in it. At the period referred to " cranes" 

 seem to have become common enough in Ireland: "in tarda vcro 

 numerositate se grues ingerunt, ut uno in grege centum, et circiter hunc 

 numerum frequenter invenias" (" Topog. Hibcrn.," ed. Dimock, v. 46). 

 By " pekokes" (pavouibus), it would seem the capercaillie is intended, 

 " pavones silvestres hie abundant," says Giraldus (torn. cit. p. 47). 

 " Coturnicibus" should be rendered "quails," not "curlews." ("Item 

 cotumicushicplurimi," Girald. v. 47). '• Mures nocentissimos" are not 

 necessarily shrew-mice, which are insectivorous. In all probability 

 that destructive little animal, th e long-tailed fiold-mouse (Mus sylvaticus) 

 is referred to. By reading " araneos " (shrews) for " araneas" (spiders) * 

 some confusion is accounted for. " Attercoppes" is the translation of 

 araneas. Jamieson, in his " Scottish Dictionary," gives " Atter-cap," 

 "Attircop," spider, with two variants — Northumberland, " Attercop," 

 and Cumberland, "Attercob," a cobweb. A. S. atter coppe, from 

 atter, venenum, andcopp, calix; receiving its denomination partly from 

 its form, and partly from its character ; q. a cup of venom. By 

 " bloodsuckers," of course, leeches are meant : for " enettes " lacertas 

 we may read " euettes" or " evettes" — i.e., efts, that do no harm. 



f Of. Brewer and Bullen, Calendar Carew MSS., "The Book of 

 Howth," p. 31. 



