Transcript Medieval_Falconry__2

Medieval Falconry
Written by Niko Gupta
March 2010
Where did falconers live and what did
they wear?
• In or near the mews
• Leather gloves
• Green tunic/trousers
What was their place in society and what
did they do in their free time?
• Penhebogydd was 4th down from the king
• They played games, talked, took walks, and
sold meat/accessories.
What birds did they use and where did
they get them?
• Hawks
• Falcons
• Goshawk
• Sparrow hawk
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• Best time to catch the birds was
right after they learned to fly and
left the nest
Peregrine
Gyrfalcon
Saker
Lanner
Merlin
Hobby
• Best hawks/falcons came from
Scandinavia
How were the Hawks/Falcons trained?
• Trained to return, they already knew how to
kill
• Raised with special hunting dogs
• Falconer sewed the eyes closed
• Put the bird in a tree and
lured it back. Eventually
it always came back.
What tools and special equipment did
falconers use?
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Lures - to lure back the birds.
Leather gloves - worn by falconers
Leg straps - went on the bird’s legs
Tough leather strips - went on the leg straps
Hoods - worn by the birds
Soft leather thong –
went over the bird’s body
What were the jobs and duties of medieval
falconers?
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Main job was caring for their birds and other’s birds
Higher ranking falconers watched over the townspeople
Captured, trained, then sold falcons/hawks
Made falconry accessories and then sold them
In the morning they went hunting, then sold the meat in their
free time
 The position was almost always handed down from father to
son
Qualities needed – good eyes/ears, even temper, early riser
Cool facts
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Best time to hunt was early in the morning
Falconers were a key part to hunts
Went to war alongside their lord
True falcons were restricted for the noble(longer wings)were
falcons of lure/tower
• Falconry was expensive
• The bigger the bird, the more expensive its care was
• Less wealthy got falcons with shorter wings that were less
effective at hunting
Conclusion
• So in conclusion, falconry in the middle ages
was very popular, and was not only for the
wealthy. Nearly everybody had a falcon. The
way falcons and hawks were trained and how
their life was intertwined with humans is very
interesting.
Bibliography
 Hartman, Gertrude. Medieval Days and Ways. New York: Macmillan, 1961. Print.
 Wikipedia. Web. 9 Mar. 2010. <wikipedia
 Bellerby, Rachel. "Hawking in Medieval Times." Web. 9 Mar. 2010.
<medievalhistory.suite101.com/>.
 Wikianswers. Web. 9-12 Mar. 2010. <wikianswers.com/>.
 "Average Day of a Falconer." Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <medievallife.pbworks.com/>.
 "Falconry in the Middle Ages." Web. 11 Mar. 2010. <stronghold2.heavengames.com/>.
 "Glossary of Falcon Terms." Web. 12 Mar. 2010. <2020site.org/>.
 Saker Falcon (Falco Cherrug)- "Kali" Photograph.
 Mews and Weathering Photos. 2007. Photograph.
 Hooded Falcon. 2007. Photograph.
 Larson, Lesli. Photograph.
 Eaton, Emily. 2006. Photograph.
 Greenwood, Colin. Sparrowhawk. Photograph.
 Backgammon. 1300. Photograph.
 Male Peregrine / Saker Falcon Just Missed the Lure Falconry Centre Hagley. Photograph.
 The Falcon. Photograph.
 Gyrfalcon. 2009. Photograph.
 Saker Falcon. Photograph.
 Faster than a Speeding Bullet - The Lanner Falcon. 2006. Photograph.