Albans was, after all, a vocabulary-booster, a primer designed to help gentlemen-in-training avoid the embarrassment of “some blunder at the table.” Over the next century, the book’s popularity bloomed. Appended to the hunting chapter sits a list of 164 collective nouns, titled “The Compaynys of Beestys and Fowlys.” (Contrary to the title, many terms actually describe people-a biting example of ye olde satire.)Īs silly as some sound today, the phrases were formal and proper descriptions. Albans was a handbook for medieval gentlemen, and it contained essays on hawking, hunting, and heraldry. Many were codified in books of courtesy, like the 1486 classic Book of St. Most collective nouns, or “terms of venery,” were coined during the 15th century. Collective nouns may seem like quirky ways to describe groups, but 500 years ago, they were your ticket to the in-crowd.