The Book of St. Albans (or, as spelled at the time of publication, The Boke of St. Albans) was the last of 8 books printed by the St Albans Press in England [1], around 1480.

It contains three essays, on hawking, hunting, and heraldry. It became wildly popular, and went through many editions, quickly acquiring an additional essay on angling (fishing) [2]. Commonly it is known by titles such as "The Book of Hawking, Hunting, and Blasing of Arms".

The essay on hunting is attributed to Dame Juliana Barnes (possibly Berners, or Bernes), who traditionally is supposed to have been the prioress of Sopwell Priory near St Albans.

The book contains a large list of special collective nouns for animals, such as "gaggle of geese" and the like, listed in the "List of animal names". Amongst these are numerous humorous collective nouns for different professions, such as a "diligence of messengers", a "melody of harpers", a "blast of hunters", and a "superfluity of nuns".

English has a tradition, traceable at least back to this book, of acquiring many such collective nouns. A modern collection is James Lipton, An Exaltation of Larks, Penguin Books, 1968, ISBN 0-670-30044-6. Similar lists are at [3] and [4].

[edit] See also

• Falconry#The Book of St Albans
• Terms of Venery
• Rache

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