614 EAPTOEES, OE BIEDS OF PEEY. 



of Europe. In consequence of the invention of fire-arms, after 

 having been for centuries the delight of kings and nobles, it 

 fell into disuse. The Arabs and other Asiatic nations adhere 

 to it to the present day. This sport may be traced back to a 

 very remote period, for Aristotle, and subsequently Pliny, make 

 mention of it. .Falconry was introduced into Europe about the 

 fourth century of our era, and was at its greatest repute in the 

 Middle Ages and during the Renaissance. All the nobilit}^, from 

 the monarch to the lowest courtier, were passionately fond of 

 liawking — the name specially applied to it. Sovereigns and noble- 

 men expended princely sums upon it. The gift of a few fine 

 Falcons was considered a magnificent present. The kings of 

 France solemnly received twelve Falcons every year, which were 

 given to them by the grand-master of the Order of St. John of 

 Jerusalem. They were intrusted on their voyage to a French 

 knight of the order, to whom the monarch accorded, under the 

 name of a present, a sum of £3,000, and the expenses of his 

 journey. 



Gentlemen, and even ladies, of the Middle Ages, seldom appeared 

 in public without a Falcon on their wrists ; and this example was 

 followed by bishops and abbots — they entered the churches sup- 

 porting their favourite birds, depositing them on the steps of the 

 altar during mass. Noblemen on public ceremonies proudly held 

 their Falcons in one hand and the hilt of their sword in the 

 other. 



Louis XIII. was devoted to falconry. Daily he went hawking 

 before going to church ; and his fiivourite, Albert de Luynes, 

 owed his fortune to his great skill in this science. Charles 

 d'Arcussia of Capri, Lord of Esparron, published, in 1615, a 

 " Treatise on Falconry," in which it is stated that the Baron de 

 la Chastaigneraie, chief falconer of France under Louis XIII., 

 purchased his office at a cost of fifty thousand crowns. He had 

 the direction of one hundred and forty birds, which required the 

 assistance of a stafi" of one hundred men for their care. 



This kind of sport has almost totally disappeared ; a revival 

 of it in England and Germany has taken place, but only with 

 moderate success. For this purpose a society, called the " Hawking 

 Club," meets together every year in a dependency of the royal 



