1 87 BOOKS ON FALCONRY. 



The Greek text of his treatise was first printed in 1612 by 

 Rigault, librarian to Louis XIII., in his Rei Accipitraria. Scriptores 

 (No. 314) from two MSS. in the Bibliotheque Royale, Paris; 

 but a Latin translation by Pierre Gilles {a Petro Gillio Latine 

 redditus) had been previously published at Leyden in 1562 

 with the Historia Animalium of ^lian. This is reprinted by 

 Rigault (op. cit.), with separate pagination (pp. 1-118). 



Besides the two MSS. in Paris, there is a third in the Imperial 

 Library at Vienna, in which there are considerable variations 

 {cf. Hammer Purgstall, No. 112, p. xxix.). It was probably this 

 MS. which was lent by a physician of Vienna to Gesner, who 

 in great part translated and incorporated it in his work De Avibus 

 (No. 303). 



As both this MS. and that used by Gillius (No. 316) have the 

 name of Demetrius at the commencement, it has been assumed 

 that this was the name of the author of the treatise. He 

 styles himself " Constantinopolitou," and addresses himself 

 to the Emperor, who was devoted to training and managing 

 hawks. 



The treatise commences by teaching how and when hawks are 

 to be caught ; how to choose one ; how to distinguish the different 

 kinds ; how to tell whether a hawk is sick or in good health ; 

 how to tame and train them ; and concludes by an enumeration 

 of the various diseases to which hawks are supposed to be 

 liable, with the remedies prescribed. These recipes were 

 apparently copied from older MSS., for the author in his first 

 chapter states that not a few wise men had already written on 

 this part of the subject. 



The details which he gives of the methods of catching and 

 training hawks in Greece in his day (the middle of the thirteenth 

 century) are interesting as showing the antiquity of some of the 

 practices well known to modern falconers. 



The capture of the birds was effected from a hut in which 

 the falconer was concealed, and from which he let out 

 decoy pigeons, on taking which the hawks themselves were 

 seized. 



Another plan was for the falconer to extend himself at full 

 length upon the ground, covering himself with grass, and flutter- 

 ing a pigeon to attract the hawk, which he grasped by the 

 legs as soon as the pigeon was taken. Hawks were also 



