Part 48 (1/2)
The Squyer
He toke a white yeard in his hande, Before the kynge than gane he stande, And sone he sat hym on his knee, And serued the kynge ryght royally With deynty meates that were dere, With Partryche, Pec.o.c.ke, and Plouere, With byrdes in bread ybake, The Tele, the Ducke, and the Drake, The c.o.c.ke, the Corlewe, and the Crane, With Fesauntes fayre, theyr ware no wane, Both Storkes and Snytes ther were also, And venyson freshe of Bucke and Do, And other deyntes many one, For to set afore the kynge anone.
l. 312-27, _E. Popular Poetry_, v. 2, p. 36.
Several of the names of the dishes in Russell are used burlesquely in the Feest of the Turnament of Tottenham, _E. Pop. P._, v. 3, pp. 94-6, ”saduls sewys, mashefatts in mortrewys, mylstones in mawmary, iordans in iussall, chese-crustis in charlett,” &c.
l. 688, _Swan._ ”Cap. xxviij. The Swan{n}e is veri a fayr birde, w{i}t{h} whyte feders / & it hath a blacke skinne & flesshe / the mariner seeth hy{m} gladly / for whan he is mery, the mariner is without sorowe or dau{n}ger; & all his strengthe is in his wy{n}ges / and he is coleryke of complexio{n} / & whan they will engender, than they stryke wyth theyr nebbys toged{er}, and cast theyr neckes ouer eche other as yf thei wolden brace eche other; so come they togeder, but the male doth hurt {the} female; & as sone as he beknoweth that he hathe hurte her, tha{n} he departeth frome her co{m}pani in all the haste possible / and she pursueth after for to reuenge it / but {the} anger is sone past, & she wa.s.sheth her with her bylle in the water / and clenseth herselfe agayne.” --L. Andrewe, _n.o.ble Lyfe._ Pt. II. sign. m. 1.
l. 688, _Feysaund._ ”Cap. xlvi. Fascian{us} is a wyld c.o.c.ke or a fesa{n}t c.o.c.ke that byde in the forestes, & it is a fayre byrde with goodly feders. but he hath no co{m}mbe as other c.o.c.kes haue / and they be alway alone except whane they wylle be by the henne. and they that will take this bird / and in many places the byrders doth thus, they pay{n}te the figure of this fayre byrde in a cloth, & holdeth it before hym / & whan this birde seeth so fayr a figure of hym selfe / he goeth nother forward nor bacwarde / but he standeth still, staringe vpon his figure / & sodenly commeth another, and casteth a nette ouer his hede, and taketh hym. Thys byrde morneth sore in fowle weder, & hideth hym from the rayne vnder {the} busshes. Towarde {the} morninge and towardes night, than com{m}eth he out of the busshe, and is ofte{n}times so taken, & he putteth his hede in the grou{n}d, & he weneth that all his boddy is hyden / and his flessh is very light and good to disiest.” --L.
Andrewe, _n.o.ble Lyfe._ Pt. II. (m. 4.)
l. 689. _Vensoun bake_, or Venison Pasty. Of the Hart and Hinde, Topsel says, ”The flesh is tender, especially if the beast were libbed before his horns grew: yet is not the juice of that flesh very wholesome, and therefore _Galen_ adviseth men to abstain as much from Harts flesh as from a.s.ses, for it engendereth melancholy; yet it is better in Summer then in Winter. _Simeon Sethi_, speaking of the hot Countries, forbiddeth to eat them in Summer, because then they eat Serpents, and so are venemous; which falleth not out in colder Nations, and therefore a.s.signeth them rather to be eaten in Winter time, because the concoctive powers are more stronger through plenty of inward heat; but withal admonisheth, that no man use to eat much of them, for it will breed Palsies and trembling in mans body, begetting grosse humors, which stop the Milt and Liver: and _Auicen_ proveth, that by eating thereof men incur the quartane Ague; wherefore it is good to powder them with salt before the dressing, and then seasoned with Peper and other things, known to every ordinary Cook and woman, they make of them Pasties in most Nations,” p. 103, ed. 1658.
l. 694. _Blanchmanger_, a made dish of Cream, Eggs, and Sugar, put into an open puff paste bottom, with a loose cover. _Blamanger_, is a Capon roast or boile, minced small, planched (sic) Almonds beaten to paste, Cream, Eggs, Grated Bread, Sugar and Spices boiled to a pap. R. Holme.
l. 694. _Po = tage_ is strong Broth of Meat, with Herbs and Spices Boiled. _Pottage_ is the Broth of Flesh or Fowl, with Herbs and Oatmeal boiled therein. R. Holme.
l. 694, _Vensoun_; and l. 696, _Heironsew_.
But many men byn nowe so lekerous That they can not leve by store of howse, As brawne, bakyn, or powderd beef; Such lyvelod now ys no man leef, But venyson, wyldfowle or heronsewes, So newfanggell be these men of her thewes; Moche medlyd wyne all day men drynke; j haue wyste wyldfowle sum tyme stynke.
_Piers of Fullham_, ll. 171-8, p. 8, v. 2, of _Early Popular Poetry_, ed. Hazlitt, 1866.
l. 695, _Bustard._ ”Cap. xv. The Bistarda is a birde as great as an egle, of {th}e maner of an egle, and of suche colour, saue in {th}e winges & in the tayle it hath some white feders; he hath a crooked byll, & longe talants. and it is slowe of flight / & wha{n} he is on the grownde, than must he ryse .iij. or iiij. tymes or he can come to any fulle flight. he taketh his mete on the erth; for .v. or .vi. of them togeder be so bold that they festen on a shepe & tere hy{m} a-sonder / & so ete the flesshe of him / & this birde dothe ete also of dede bestes & stinkyn caryon, and it eteth also gra.s.se & grene erbes / & it layth his eggis vpon the grou{n}de, & bredeth the{m} out the while that {th}e corne groweth on the felde.” --L. Andrewe, _n.o.ble Lyfe_, L ij back.
l. 695, _Crane._ ”Cap. lix. The Crane is a great byrde / and whan they flye, they be a greate many of them to-gyder in ordre, and a-monge the{m} they chose a kynge the whiche they obey / whan the crane sleepth, than standeth he vpon one fote w{i}t{h} his hede vnder his winges / & ther is one {tha}t kepeth the wache w{i}t{h} his hede vpryght to-wardes {th}e ayre / & wha{n} they ete, tha{n} the kynge kepeth the wache fore them, and than the cranes ete w{i}t{h}out sorowe. Aristotiles sayth {tha}t aboue Egipt in farre lo{n}des come the cranes in the wi{n}ter / and there the fight w{i}t{h} the pygmeis as before is shewed in {th}e .c. & .xvi. chapter.[*]
[Footnote *: Pigmeis be men & women, & but one cubite longe, dwellinge in {th}e mountaynes of ynde | they be full growen at their third yere, & at their seue{n} yere they be olde | & they gader them in may a grete co{m}pany togeder, & arme them in theyr best maner | and tha{n} go they to the water syde, & where-so-euer they fynde any cranes nestis they breake all the egges, & kyll all the yonges {tha}t they fynde | and this they do because {th}e cranes do them many displeasures, & fight with them oftentymes, & do the{m} great scathe | but these folke couer their houses w{i}t{h} the cranes feders & egshels. fol. h. ij. back.]
The Operacion.
Rasi. The flesshe of him is grosse, & not good to disiest / & it maketh mela{n}colious blode. -- The crane that is kille in somer shalbe hanged vp one daye / and in winter season .ij. dayes or it be eten, and than it is the more disiestious.” --L. Andrewe, _n.o.ble Lyfe._ Pt. II. (n. iij.)
l. 695, _peac.o.c.k._ ”Paon revestu. A Peac.o.c.ke flayed, parboyled, larded, and stucke thicke with Cloues; then roasted, with his feet wrapped vp to keepe them from scorching; then couered againe with his owne skinne as soone as he is cold, and so vnderpropped that, as aliue, hee seemes to stand on his legs: In this equipage a gallant, and daintie seruice.”
--1611, _Cotgrave._
l. 695, _Peac.o.c.k._ ”Pauo / the pec.o.c.ke is a very fayre byrde / and it hath a longe necke, and hath on his hede feders lyke a lytell crowne / he hathe a longe tayle the whyche he setteth on hye very rycheli, but whan he loketh on hys lothly fete, he lateth his tayle sinke. Be nyght, whan the Pec.o.c.ke can nat see hymselfe, tha{n} he cryeth ernefully, and thynketh that he hath lost hys beautye / and with his crye he feareth all serpentes / in suche maners {tha}t they dare nat abyde in those places whereas they here hym crye / and whan the pec.o.c.ke cly{m}meth hye, that is a token of rayne ... also the pec.o.c.ke is envious & wylle nat knowe his yonges tyll that they haue {th}e crowne of feders vpon theyr hede, and that they begynne to lyken hym.... The flesshe of hy{m} will nat lightely rote nor stynke / and it is euyll flesshe to disiest, for it can nat lightely be rosted or soden ynough.” --L. Andrewe, _n.o.ble Lyfe_ (o. iv.), Cap. xci.
l. 696, _Heironsew._ Ardea is a byrde that fetcheth his mete in y^e water, & yet he byldeth vpo{n} the hyest trees that he can. This birde defendeth his yonges from y^e goshawke, castinge his dou{n}ge vpon him / & tha{n} the fedders of the goshawke rote of y^e dounge of ardea as far as it touchet[h]. _n.o.b. Lyfe_, L. ij.
l. 696, _Partrich._ ”Cap. xcvi. Perdix is a byrde very wylye, & the c.o.c.kes feght oftentymes for the he{n}nes. and these byrdes flye of no heght / and they put theyr hedes in the erthe, & they thinke {tha}t they tha{n} be well hyde{n}, for wha{n} she seeth n.o.body she thinketh {tha}t n.o.body seeth here. & she bredeth out other p{ar}triches egges / for wha{n} she hath lost her eges, tha{n} she steleth other egges & bredeth the{m} / & wha{n} they be hatched {tha}t they can go on the grou{n}de / than this da{m}me setteth the{m} out of {th}e nest / but whan they be a-brode, & here the wyse of theyr owne da{m}mes, inco{n}tinent they leue theyr da{m}me {tha}t brought the{m} up, & go to their owne natural da{m}me / & tha{n} she {tha}t brought the{m} vp hath lost her labour.
The Operacion. The flesshe of a p{ar}triche is most holsomest of all wylde fowles, {the}brest & vppermoste parte of {th}e bodie is the swetest, & hathe the best sauoure / but {th}e hinder parte is nat so swete.” L. Andrewe, _n.o.ble Lyfe_, sign. p. i. & back.
l. 698, _Lark._ Alauda: the larke is a lytel birde, & w{i}t{h} euery man well beknowen through his songe / in {th}e somer {the}i begy{n}neth to singe in the dawning of {th}e day, geuynge knowlege to the people of {th}e cominge of the daye; and in fayre weder he reioyseth sore / but wha{n} it is rayne weder, than it singeth selden / he singeth nat sittinge on the grownde nouther / but whan he a.s.sendith vpwarde, he syngeth mereli / & in the descending it falleth to the grownde lyke a stone. The Operacion. The larkes flesshe hardeneth the beli, and the brothe of hym that he was soden in, slaketh the beli. L. Andrewe, _n.o.ble Lyfe_, sign. L. iv. back, and L. i.
l. 706, _Snyte_ or Snipe. ”Cap. lx.x.xiiij. Nepa is a byrde w{i}t{h} a longe byll / & he putteth his byll in {th}e erthe for to seke the worms in the grou{n}de / and they put their bylles in {th}e erthe sometyme so depe {tha}t they can nat gete it vp agayne / & tha{n} they scratche theyr billes out agayn w{i}t{h} theyr fete. This birde resteth betimes at nyght / and they be erly abrode on the morninge / & they haue swete flesshe to be eaten.” L. Andrewe, _n.o.ble Lyfe._
l. 706, _Sparow._ ”Pa.s.ser / The Sparowe is a lytell byrde / and wha{n} {th}e cucko fyndeth the sparowes nest / tha{n} he suppeth vp {th}e egges, & layeth newe egges hym self therin agayne / & the sparowe bredeth vp these yo{n}ge cuckoes tyl they can flee; tha{n} a great many of olde sparowes geder to-geder to thente{n}t {tha}t thei sholde holde vp the yo{n}ge sparowes that can nat flee / & theyr mete is wormes of {th}e erthe.... All sparowes flesshe is euyl / and their egges also.