1. The "Master of Game" translated G. de F.'s "grant cerf" as a hart of high feeding or pasture. But he omitted to render the following passage: "Et s'il est de bonne meute, allons le laisser courre." The "bonne meute" is not translated by "high meating." It was an expression in use to indicate whether the stag was in good company or not. If a warrantable stag was accompanied by one or two large stags he was termed "Un cerf de bonne mute" (or meute), but if hinds and young stags (rascal) were with him he was designated as a "cerf de mauvaise mute." In Roy Modus we read: "La première est de savoir s'il est de bonne mute."
  2. Perhaps meute when used in this sense was derived from the old Norman word moeta, māēta, from mōt, meet, come together. There was also an Old Eng. word metta or gemetta, companion.
  3. Meute was also used in another sense which is translated by the "Master of Game" as haunts, probably the place the deer usually moves in. G. says: "Il prendra congé de sa meute," and the "Master of Game" has: "he leaves his haunts." If a deer was harboured in a good country for hunting he was also called "En belle meute" (D'Yauville, voc. Meute).
  4. It was in this sense that the "Sénéschal de Normandye" answers the question of his royal mistress about the stag he himself had harboured that morning; he tells her the stag was En belle meute et pays fort.
  5. Meute, mute, a number of hounds, now called a pack or kennel of hounds or a cry of hounds.

Mue, to shed, cast, or change. "The hart mews his horns," the deer casts his head, or sheds his antlers. From the French muer, and the Latin mutare, to change, of hawks to moult.

Meu, Meue, mewe, meeve, old forms of move. To start a hart signified to unharbour him, to start him from his lair.

G. de F. says: Allons le laisser courre; but the word meu or meve was also used in Old French in the same way as in English.

Twici says: Ore vodroi ioe savoir quantez des betes sunt meuz de lymer, e quanz des bestes sunt trouez des brachez.... Sire, touz ceaus qe sunt enchaces; sunt meuz de lymer. E tous ceaus enquillez sunt trovez de brachez. (Now I would wish to know how many beasts are moved by a lymer and how many beasts are found by the braches.—Sir, all those which are chased are moved by a lymer. And all those which are hunted up are found by braches.) (Line 18; Tristan., i. 4337; Partonopeus de Blois, 607.)

Meuse. An opening in a fence through which a hare or other animal is accustomed to pass. An old proverb says: "'Tis as hard to find a hare without a muse, as a woman without scuse." "A hare will pass by the same muses until her death or escape" (Blome, p. 92).

M. E. nombles, noumbles; O. F. nombles. The parts of a deer between the thighs, that is to say, the liver and kidneys and entrails. Part, and sometimes the whole of the numbles were considered the right of the huntsman; sometimes the huntsman only got the kidneys, and the rest was put aside with the tit-bits reserved for the King or chief personage (Turb., pp. 128-129). Numbles by loss of the initial letter became umbles (Harrison, vol. i. p. 309), and was sometimes written humbles, whence came "humble pie," now only associated with the word humble. Humble pie was a pie made of the umbles or numbles of the deer, and formerly at hunting feasts was set before the huntsman and his followers.

The Duke of York does not tell us anything of the chase of the Otter, but merely refers one at the end of the chapter on "The Nature of the Otter" to Milbourne, the King's Otter-hunter, for more information and says, "as of all other vermin I speak not" (p. 73). The Otter was evidently beneath his notice, as being neither regarded as a beast of venery nor of the chase (Twety and Gyfford, Brit. Mus. MS. Vesp. B. XII.). But the very fact that the King had an Otter-hunter shows that it was a beast not altogether despised, although probably hunted more for the value of its skin and for the protection of the fish than for the sport.

The Milbourne referred to by the Duke of York can scarcely be any other than the William Melbourne we find mentioned in Henry IV.'s reign as "Valet of our Otter-hounds" (Privy Seal, 674/6456, Feb. 18, 1410).

the perfect. Twici says: Une autre chasce il y ad qe homme appele le parfet. Dunkes covient il qe vous corneez en autre maneree.... E isse chescun homme qest en tour vous, que siet de vénerie puet conustre en quel point vous estes en vostre dedut par vostre corneer (line 111).