![]() She explained that because Berners received attribution in a published work – an uncommon feat for most authors during the Middle Ages, let alone a woman – and because of her intimate familiarity with the subject matter, she likely came from a highly influential family. Yet, the only documented evidence of this woman’s existence is the attribution ‘Explicit Dam Julyans Barnes in her boke of huntyng’, which appeared in the original edition.Īllison Treese, a masters student at the University of Arkansas and author of the theses A Flourynge Aege: Tracing the Sacred and Secular in The Book of St Albans, believes Berners was likely of noble birth. ![]() Also known by the title The Book of Hawking, Hunting and Blasing of Arms, Berners' 1486 publication of this gentlemen’s catalogue of wildlife and hunting included 165 collective nouns for animal species, and is said to make her one of the earliest female authors writing in the English language. People have been coming up with terms to describe animal groupings for hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until The Book of St Albans, written by Juliana Berners, a 15th-Century Benedictine prioress from England, that they were recorded extensively. But I still wanted to know if these collective nouns were simply a gimmick employed by safari guides to engage their guests, or if they had actual roots in the English language.Īs it turns out, these scintillating nouns are neither coincidence nor misnomer, but rather the result of centuries of linguistic evolution. ![]() Of course, the obligatory wildlife photos were shared with friends and family, inclusive of clever captions decrying their relevant animal groupings. The safari proved a singular travel experience that stayed with me long after I returned home.
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