The Harmony of Birds

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: QUEST OF INQUIRIE, OR HIS PRIVY SEARCH FOR THE VERIEST FOOLE IN ENGLAND. A COLLECTION OF MERRY TALES PUBLISHED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. EDITED FROM A COPY IN THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY. LONDON: REPRINTED FOR THE PERCY SOCIETY. M.UCCC.XLII. COUNCIL President. The Bt. Hon. LORD BRAYBROOKE, F.S.A. THOMAS AMYOT, Esq. F.RS., Treas. S.A. WILLIAM HENRY BLACK, Esq. J. A. CAHUSAC, Esq. F.S.A. WILLIAM CHAPPELL, Esq. F.S.A., Tnamrtr. J. PAYNE COLLIER, Esq. F.S.A. T. CROFTON CROKER, Esq. F.S.A., M.R.I.A. PETER CUNNINGHAM, Esq. REV. ALEXANDER DYCE. WILLIAM JERDAN, Esq. F.S.A., M.R.S.L. SIR FREDERICK MADDEN, K.H., F.R.S., F.S.A. T. J. PETTIGREW, Esq. F.R S., F.S.A. E. F. RIMBAULT, Esq. F.S.A. Secretary. WILLIAM J. THOMS, Esq. F.S.A. JAMES WALSH, Esq F.S.A. THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq. M.A., F.S.A. PREFACE. The following little tract is extremely curious, as forming one of the links between the wit of the middle ages, and that of modern times. There is scarcely one of the merry tales contained in it which has not its counterpart among the numerous Latin stories of the monks, which were popular in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. On this account we are justified in supposing that it is only a reproduction of a work of a much earlier date than any of the known editions. It was perhaps one of the little black-letter books of the earlier times of printing in England. There must have been an edition of the present work in or before 1601, for on the 3rd of August of that year, was entered in the Stationers1 register, by W. Firebrand, the printer of the earliestedition now in existence, the second parte of Jack of Dover. The present edition is reprinted from the copy of the earliest known edition now preserve...