Books › Markhams maister-peece
Markhams maister-peece
First published 1615 · 22225 pages
An immersive, archaic guide to the earthy realities of 17th-century animal husbandry and equestrian mastery.
What it feels like
Reading this early modern handbook feels like stepping directly into a bustling 17th-century stable. The text offers a steady, methodical immersion into the practicalities of historical animal husbandry, wrapped in archaic phrasing and meticulous instruction. From the engraved frontispiece and its accompanying verses to the detailed 'receipts' for curing ailments in oxen, sheep, and hogs, the atmosphere is deeply earthy and pragmatic. The reading experience is grounded in the tactile realities of horseshoeing, livestock diseases, and the rigorous training of race-horses. It is a deeply historical, instructional journey that will delight readers fascinated by the raw, unvarnished history of veterinary medicine, early agricultural practices, and the enduring bond of utility between humans and their working animals.
- Mood
- earthy
- pragmatic
- historical
- pastoral
- Tone
- instructional
- authoritative
- practical
- archaic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- animal husbandry · historical veterinary medicine · equestrian training · agricultural history
- The writing
- Archaic and meticulously instructional, characterized by 17th-century phrasing, detailed 'receipts,' and structural quirks.
- The arc
- A steady progression from seeking practical agricultural knowledge to acquiring a sense of historical mastery over livestock and horses.
- Who it's for
- Readers fascinated by early modern agriculture, the history of veterinary medicine, and the practicalities of 17th-century equestrianism.
Content notes
- animal illness
- historical veterinary treatments
About the book
With an additional title page, engraved, with title "Markhams maister:peece", and signed: Ren. Elstrak sculpsit.
The first leaf bears a verse explaining the frontispiece, i.e. the engraved title page.
Pages 79-80 are repeated in numbering only.
"Markham's master-piece. The second book" and "An appendix, containing the exactest receipts for curing all diseases in oxen, cows, sheep, hogs, goats, and all small cattel" each have separate dated title page; pagination and register are continuous. "The appendix" is dated 1695.
"The complete jockey; or the most exact rules and methods to be observed for the training up of race-horses" has a separate title page, dated 1695, and begins new pagination on 5A1.
"The complete jockey" identified as Wing C5642 on UMI microfilm "Early English books, 1641-1700" reel 274.
Reproduction of the originals in the British Library and the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery ("The complete jockey" only).
Wing (2nd ed.) M665A
Available electronically as part of Early English books online.
Microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI, 1968, 1989. 1 microfilm reel; 35 mm. (Early English books, 1641-1700; 1917:5, 274:9).
Description from Open Library.
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