“The Northumberland Household Book,” was “iij for a penny,” while hens could be bought “at ijd. a pece.”
“Item, it is thoughte goode to by Pidgions for my Lords Meas, Maister Chambreleyne, ande the Stewardes Meas, so they be boughte after iij for a penny.
“Item, it is thoughte goode Hennes be boughte from Cristynmas to Shroftide, so they be good and at ijd. a pece. Ande my Lorde Maister Chambreleyne and the Stewardes Meas to be syrved with theym and noon outher.”
THE GOOSE.
A much more notable bird for the table is the Goose.
“Item, it is thoughte goode to by Geysse so that they be good and for iijd. or iiijd. at the moste seynge that iij or iiij Meas may be served thereof.”
This bird is mentioned in As You Like It, Act iii. Sc. 4; Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act iii. Sc. 1, and Act iv. Sc. 3; Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act v. Sc. 1; Tempest, Act ii. Sc. 2; Merry Wives of Windsor, Act v. Sc. 1; Romeo and Juliet, Act ii. Sc. 4; Coriolanus, Act i. Sc. 4; and Merchant of Venice, Act v. Sc. 1.
Shakespeare draws a distinction between a grass-fed and a stubble-fed goose:—
“The spring is near, when green geese are a-breeding.”
Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act i. Sc. 1.
GREEN GEESE AND STUBBLE GEESE.