Harley MS 2340

This pocket-sized manuscript contains a collection of three Middle English treatises on the subject of hawking, including a version of the so-called 'J. B. Treatise'. The text contains a hierarchy of hawks and owners (including the line, 'A kesterell for a knafe', f. 50r) as well as a final section, listing collective nouns for different types of birds. This copy of the work only gives the author's initials in the colophon ('J. B.'). Previously, the authorship of the treatise has been attributed to Julianna Berners (fl. 1460), prioress of the Benedictine nunnery of Sopwell, St Albans, but this has since been disputed.

For a further discussion of the 'J. B. Treatise' and its authorship, see Scott-Macnab, The J. B. Treatise (2003), pp. 1-6; and Boffey, 'Berners [Bernes, Barnes], Juliana (fl. 1460), supposed author and prioress of Sopwell', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Contents:

ff. 1r-22v: The Booke of Hawkyng after Prince Edwarde Kynge of Englande, a treatise in Middle English, beginning, 'This is the maner to kepe hawkes. but not almaner of hawkes. but only goshawks and sperhawkes...' (f. 1r); with the closing rubric, 'here endith the boke of haukyng after prince Edwarde kynge of Englande' (f. 22v).

ff. 23r-45r: A hawking treatise in Middle English, of which a large amount of material is duplicated (Hands, English Hawking (1975), p. xxiv); with the rubric, 'So draw a hawke on fist and to jewle hir in all poyntes whair sche is fremis at all' (f. 23r), the text beginning, 'Shall at nytt go into your melk and take hyr fayr...' (f. 23r), and ending, 'Thes medicyns a ffore writin Benn expressely preuyd in ffay' (f. 45r).

ff. 47r-51v: A version of the 'J. B. Treatise', a treatise on hawking in Middle English, in the printed version attributed to Julianna Berners, the text beginning, 'Take þe iusse of daysys and hony...' and ending, 'Explicit J. B.' (f. 51v).

The manuscript contains a number of later additions:

f. 1*r: An inscription in Latin relating to the gift of the manuscript from Reverend Peter Needham (b. 1682, d. 1731) to the Harleys in 1719, written in the hand of Humfrey Wanley (b. 1672, d. 1726), Old English scholar and librarian.

f. 1*v: Pen-trials and partially-erased ownership inscriptions.

f. 52r: An added 8-line poem written in English, together with an attempt to imitate the decorative colophon of the 'J. B. Treatise'.

ff. 52v-53v: Added recipes in English, including, 'To make a pultus', 'To temper bird-lime', and 'for the pine in a haukes fot', some of which have been struck out.

ff. 54v-55r: Added memoranda and a fragment of verse, written upside down in the volume.

ff. 55v-59r: Pen-trials and partially erased ownership inscriptions, some written upside down in the volume.

ff. 45v, 46v, 54r, 58v and 59v are blank.

Decoration:

One large blue initial with red pen-flourishing (f. 1r). Smaller blue initials with red pen-flourishing (ff. 1r-22v only).

One plain red initial (f. 34v). Highlighting in red ink.