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COCK-FIGHTING. 
itself, but also by the pye ; and hence, probably, the oath 
‘ by cock and pye/ for the use of which no very old 
authority can be found.” 
Shallow. “ By cock and pye, sir, you shall not away to¬ 
night .”—Henry IV. Part II. Act v. Sc. i. 
The pastime of cock-fighting, to which Shakespeare has 
alluded in Antony and Cleopatra , is no doubt of some 
antiquity. Strutt, in his “ Sports and Pastimes of the 
People of England,” does not give any history of its 
introduction, but quotes from Burton (1660), and Powell 
(1696), to show that the sport was well known at those 
dates. It was much in vogue in Shakespeare’s day, and 
the great dramatist is probably not wrong in leading us to 
suppose that it was first introduced by the Romans :— 
“ His cocks do win the battle still of mine, 
When it is all to nought.” 
Antony and Cleopatra , Act ii. Sc. 3. 
“ Cock-fighting took place generally between August 
and May. Six weeks before a battle, the champions were 
confined in separate pens, and fed with bread. Their 
spurs were then wrapped in leather, and they were allowed 
to spar, and sweated in straw baskets, and fed with sugar- 
candy, chopped rosemary, and butter, to strengthen them 
and give them wind. Roots dipped in wine, and oatmeal 
kneaded with ale and eggs, were also allowed them, as 
purges and diaphoretics. Every day the feeder had to 
