lo Authorjhip. 



edition of the Book of St. Albans, and fupplied a full-blown 

 biography of the authorefs, giving particulars of her birth and 

 education, the occupations of her youthful days, and a moft impofing 

 pedigree. Let us quote Haflewood's own words: "Julyans, or 

 Juliana, Barnes, otherwife Berners, who has been generally defignated 

 as the authorefs of the prefent volume, is fuppofed to have been 

 born, towards the latter end of the fourteenth century, at Roding- 

 Berners, in the county of Effex. The received report is that fhe 

 was the daughter of Sir James Berners, whofe fon was created 

 Baron Berners, temp. Henry IV., and that fhe once held the 

 fituation of Priorefs of Sopwell Nunnery, in Hertfordfhire." He 

 then attributes to her the authorfhip of all four works in the Book 

 of St. Albans. The difficulty of accounting for a lady fo placed 

 writing upon fuch fubjedls, is cleverly, if not fatisfaflorily fettled 

 by affuming that fhe paffed her teens at court, partaking of the 

 amufements of the field, and writing for her own ufe a common- 

 place book on various fubjecfts. Then retiring through difappoint- 

 ment (doubtlefs a love affair) to a cloifler, her rank raifed her to 

 the pofition of priorefs. There in her feclufion, writing amidfl the 

 folitude of lifllefs hours and vain regrets, fhe verfified the gene- 

 ral rules of fport from her own pleafant recolle(5lion, and from the 

 diaries of her youthful happinefs, which fortunately fhe had preferved. 

 If we remember the mania which feized all claffes for diary-keeping 

 at the beginning of this century, when Haflewood wrote this, it will 

 deepen our fenfe of humour to note that he attributes private diary- 

 keeping to a young lady who lived ante 1450. 



But enough of fuch fham biography ; let us return to fa6ls. 



The word "Dame" did not in the fifteenth century, as it does 

 now, imply any connexion with a titled family, it meant fimply 

 Miftrefs or Mrs. Chaucer fpeaks of Dame Partlet in this fenfe ; 

 and had the Dame Julyans Barnes of the fifteenth century lived 

 now, fhe would have been jufl " Mrs. Barnes." 



Similarity of name in hiftory, like fimilarity of found in philology. 



