548 
BIRD-LIFE. 
Falcons were, of old, held in high estimation by the 
mightiest of the land. Charles the Great forbade the 
serf from indulging in the pleasures of hawking. Frede¬ 
rick I., Emperor of Germany, trained Falcons with his 
royal hand. Frederick II. was passionately given to this 
sport, and was the most expert falconer of his day: he 
wrote a treatise on the subject in Latin, which was 
afterwards edited by his son, King Manfred, who added 
copious notes : this work is even to this day regarded as 
of great value. The Crusaders took their Falcons with 
them to Palestine; and the German Emperors and 
Princes laid all monasteries and towns under contribu¬ 
tions to furnish food for a certain number of Falcons. 
Charles Y. gave the Island of Malta to the Knights 
of St. John, on condition that they should present him 
with a snow-white Falcon every year. The French 
ecclesiastics pursued this sport so much to the detriment 
of their professional duties, that their superiors forbade 
them to indulge in it. The English barons held it as 
their right that their Falcons should stand on the altar 
during divine service. Francis I. of France had a head 
falconer, who had under him fifteen young noblemen and 
fifty falconers, whose special business it was to look after 
more than three hundred Falcons! The Grand-master, 
Conrad von Jungingen, had a school of falconry attached 
to the monastery. Edward II. of England made the 
robbery of a Falcon punishable with death, and the 
taking of a Falcon’s egg with imprisonment for a year 
and a day. A thoroughly well-trained Falcon often cost 
as much as from eight hundred to a thousand golden 
florins. 
In olden times the profession of falconry was held in 
great estimation, and the training of Hawks was regarded 
