"The Boke of St. Albans aimed to provide its readers with instruction in hawking, hunting, coat-armour and blazing arms, and the language proper to each. Compiled in 1486 from a number of sources by the 'Schoolmaster Printer' of St. Albans, it proved immediately popular and was well used for about a century and a half, forming the basis of several later works on the same subjects. Today its appeal is two-fold: being so very early an example of vernacular English provincial printing, it is of interest to the bibliographer and antiquarian, while in content it is of importance to any study of life in the late medieval and early renaissance period, and to an understanding of many references and allusions in the contemporary literature. This edition covers the first two sections (hawking and hunting), together with the additional and related material used by the printer to complete the last gathering of each, and aims in particular to facilitate an understanding of fifteenth-century sporting practice and terminology. The text is provided in facsimile, with a brief bibliographical and linguistic discussion, close examination of the sources, and detailed commentary upon the subject-matter. A useful feature is the classified index, which enables the book to be used as a reference work in conjunction with similar treatises and contemporary literature." --Book jacket.