''The Master of Game'' is a medieval manuscript, a hunting treatise, written by

Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York Edward, 2nd Duke of York, ( – 25 October 1415) was an English nobleman, military commander and magnate. He was the eldest son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and a grandson of King Edward III of England. He held significant appointment ...

, between 1406 and 1413, of which 27 manuscripts survive. It is considered to be the oldest English-language book on hunting. ''The Master of Game'' was first printed in 1904 in modernised English by William and Florence Baillie-Grohman, with an essay on

medieval hunting Throughout Western Europe in the Middle Ages, humans hunted wild animals. While game was at times an important source of food, it was rarely the principal source of nutrition. All classes engaged in hunting, but by the High Middle Ages, the necess ...

, and a foreword by then-American President and noted hunter

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Overview

Written between 1406 and 1413 by Edward, second Duke of York, ''The Master of Game'' is mostly a translation of an earlier work by

Gaston Phoebus Gaston Fébus (also spelt Phoebus) (30 April 1331 – 1391) was the eleventh count of Foix (as Gaston III) and twenty-fourth viscount of Béarn (as Gaston X) from 1343 until his death. Early life Gaston was born either in Orthez or Foix, the e ...

entitled ''

Livre de chasse The ''Livre de chasse'' is a medieval book on hunting, written between 1387 and 1389 by Gaston III, Count of Foix, also known as Fébus or Phoebus, and dedicated to Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Fébus was one of the greatest huntsmen of his ...

'', and is considered to be the oldest English language book on hunting. Edward held the position of master of game during the reign of Henry IV and in a prologue dedicated the book to Henry, Prince of Wales, later to become

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

, as a set of instructions on how to proceed with the hunt. Although ''The Master of Game'' is mostly based on the earlier work, Edward added an additional five chapters which dealt with English hunting, including comprehensive coverage of hunting for

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

and

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

in the English style. Several chapters from the previous work were also omitted, including sections on the

ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. ...

and the

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

which were not relevant quarry for medieval Englishmen. Other chapters omitted included those on trapping and the conduct of hunts in France, including an early French description of a modest form of coursing hares for the pot, ''a la croupie'', by a couple of men and their greyhounds.

Modern publication

The work was first published as a printed work in 1904, with multiple later editions, including a foreword by

who at the time was

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and modernised by

William Adolf Baillie Grohman William Adolph Baillie Grohman (April 1 1851–February 11 1921) was an Anglo-Austrian author of works on the Tyrol and the history of hunting, a big game sportsman, and a pioneer in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. Biography Grohman ...

and his wife Florence. It included some of the illustrations from the original French ''Livre de Chasse'', and also added a glossary to explain the meaning and terms of medieval hunting. At the time it was republished, only nineteen copies of the original text were known, two of the best preserved copies were on the shelves of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

and one in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

. A further reprint was made in paperback in 2005, which was a straight reprint of the 1909 edition including the black and white reproductions of the original illuminations. The text was presented for the first time as a scholarly collation of all the existing manuscripts, in modern English, analysed in comparison to the original French, as an assessment of literary relations, by James I. McNelis III.James I. McNelis III, “The Uncollated Manuscripts of The Master of Game: Towards a New Edition” (PhD diss., Univ. of Washington, 1996).

References

External links

''The Master of Game''
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

(1904 editions illustrated) {{DEFAULTSORT:Master of Game 1413 books British non-fiction books Hunting and shooting in England