280 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
Richard Cceur de Lion, while in the Holy Land, amused him- 
self with hawking at Jaffa, in the plain of Sharon; and it 
is related of him that he sent an ambassador in vain to Melik el 
Aadil to try and procure some fowls for the hawks which he had 
brought with him from England, and which he desired to present 
to the Sultan. On another occasion, while passing through 
Dalmatia, he carried off a falcon which he saw in one of the 
villages, and, on refusing to give it up, was attacked so furiously 
by the villagers that it was with great difficulty, and only by 
valiantly defending himself, that he managed to make his escape. 
King John used to send to Ireland for his hawks, amongst 
other places to Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim,* and was especially 
fond of a flight at the Crane with Jerfalcons, which he received 
from Philip, King of Norway. He used to hawk in Dorsetshire 
and Somersetshire, as appears by entries in the Court Rolls 
of payments of the expenses of the journeys. Here is an extract 
from the ‘ Rotulus Mise,’ 1212—13 :— 
“On Wednesday, the Feast of the Innocents [Dec. 28th], at Hiswell, 
alms contributed, to buy food for 350 paupers, by the King, who 
proceeded to capture and took 7 Cranes, with his Hawks, for each 
of which he feasted 50 paupers, and every one of them had 
one:ponny , {2 s0v0. .) tos oe sian eee 
Again :— 
“On Wednesday next following the Purification at Limbagam, as alms 
to 100 paupers whom the King fed, as he went with his Ger- 
falcons to capture Cranes, and having taken 9 Cranes, he com- 
manded the aforesaid paupers to be fed with bread, meat, and ale 
to'theamovatof 2. 3. a ert ee ee 
These entries serve not only to illustrate the history of 
Hawking in England, but are interesting as proving the former 
existence of the Crane in this country in sufficient numbers to be 
flown at when required. Nor are these exceptional instances. 
In the Wardrobe Accounts of King Edward I., preserved in the 
British Museum (Add. MSS., No. 7965; Ed. I., 1297-8) is the 
following entry :— 
“Jan. 5. To Alexander Coo, the King’s falconer, for presenting to the 
King 3 Cranes taken in Cambridgeshire by the Gerfalcons of 
Sir Geoffrey de Hauville . . .. . . ..... «. G8 @amm 
* Cf. Rotulus Misee Anno Regis Johanuis quarto decimi, a.p, 1212-13. 
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