4°° [Proc. B.N.F.C, 



attached to this sport. After he defeated Constantine, King of 

 the Welsh, at Brunanburg, he imposed upon him an annual 

 tribute of gold, silver, and cattle, to which were added a certain 

 number of hawks and sharp-scented dogs. His successor, 

 Edgar, cancelled the monetary part of the tribute upon condition 

 of receiving annually the skins of 300 wolves ; but it is not 

 likely that he annulled that part of the contract dealing with 

 the hawks, as he was notable for his enthusiasm in all field 

 sports. Hawking does not appear to have suffered any check 

 during the short Danish reign, for after the restoration of the 

 Saxon rule the pastime of hawking continued to be carried on 

 as formerly. Edward the Confessor, though said to have been 

 better fitted for the Church than for the Throne, made hunting 

 and hawking his one outdoor pastime. It was his chiefest 

 delight to follow on horseback a pack of swift hounds in pursuit 

 of their quarry, or to attend the flight of hawks taught to 

 pursue and catch birds. In Saxon times so general was the 

 pastime that the monks of Abingdon had to procure a charter 

 to restrain the practice of flying hawks, in order to preserve 

 their lands from being trampled upon. Harold, who succeeded 

 Edgar, was so fond of his hawks and hounds that he rarely 

 travelled without them. He is represented on the famous 

 tapestry of Bayeaux with his hawk on his wrist and his hounds 

 by his side when brought before William of Normandy. At 

 this period it was part of the education of every young man of 

 position to be instructed in hawking, and people of rank carried 

 with them on special occasions falcons suited to their rank. 

 Hawking was pursued with great enthusiasm by all the Norman 

 princes. From the time of Henry I., and during subsequent 

 reigns, offences against the Crown were often punished by a fine 

 of so many hawks. Prisoners were ransomed on similar terms, 

 and lands leased from the Crown by finding annually one or 

 more falcons, or providing for their keep, the leasing of the 

 Isle of Man to a family on such terms being a notable instance. 

 King John was very partial to field sports, and his love of fine 

 horses, hounds, and hawks was remarkable. Amongst other 



