160 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Pray for the saule of 



thomas Wryttelay knyght 



for the kyngys bode to edward 



the forth rychard therd hare the vii & hare viii 



hows faults god per don wyche 



thomas cawsyd a loge to be made 



hon thys crag ne mydys of 



Wanclijf for hes plesor to her the 



hartes bel in the yere of owr 



lord a thousand cccccx. 

 A more extraordinary blunder occurs in the chapter on parks 

 in Oxfordshire, under the head of " Cornbury," an ancient royal 

 park long alienated from the Crown, and lying to the west of 

 Woodstock. After stating that it is recognized as a park as 

 early as the 13th Edward III. (1339), when John de Solers was 

 appointed keeper of the king's horses in his park at Cornbury 

 during pleasure, Mr. Shirley proceeds : — " At the same period 

 Joan, widow of Thomas de Musgrave, held certain lands in 

 Blechingdon by the service of carrying one shield of brawn (sic) 

 price twopence halfpenny to the King whenever he should hunt 

 in the park of Cornbury, it being understood that one shield of 

 brawn so carried to the King on the first day of hunting should 

 suffice during the whole of his stay at his manor of Woodstock." 

 This statement on the face of it is so ridiculous as at once 

 to provoke criticism. 



The words of the original tenure are not given ; but a reference 

 is furnished to Kennett's ' Parochial Antiquities,' where they will 

 be found, as well as in Blount's ' Ancient Tenures.' From these 

 authorities we learn that the land at " Blechesdon " was held 

 11 per servitium deferendi domino Regi unam liastam porch 

 pret. ii d." ; that is, by the service of carrying to the King one 

 boar spear, price twopence, whenever he should hunt in the park 

 at Cornbury. By a mistranslation, adopted by all the above- 

 mentioned authorities, nonsense has been made of what is other- 

 wise a perfectly intelligible and reasonable tenure. 



Other passages might be indicated which seem to stand in 

 need of revision ; but enough has been said to show that while 

 a new edition of this very useful book would doubtless be 

 acceptable to many, a mere reprint would not satisfy present 

 requirements. 



