Erin writes . . .
I get a thrill
out of introducing you to our friends from Shenaya. Apart from anything
else, it lets me share some really arcane knowledge with you. Arcane. What
a nice word. It means 'understood by few, mysterious or secret' and that pretty much sums up the person I want you to meet today.
Daniel, our falconer, was Caleb's younger brother.
Even as I write the word 'falconer', I can picture Daniel giving me a good-natured shake of the head. If he were here, he would gently correct me, reminding me that he is an austringer, not a falconer.
The difference? He flies a hawk, not a falcon. I know, I know, that seems like splitting hairs . . . but I told you was going to share arcane facts with you.
Daniel, our falconer, was Caleb's younger brother.
Even as I write the word 'falconer', I can picture Daniel giving me a good-natured shake of the head. If he were here, he would gently correct me, reminding me that he is an austringer, not a falconer.
The difference? He flies a hawk, not a falcon. I know, I know, that seems like splitting hairs . . . but I told you was going to share arcane facts with you.
Emperor - Eagle
King-
Gyr Falcon
Prince
- Peregrine Falcon
Duke
- Falcon of the Rock (another name for Peregrine)
Knight
- Saker or Sakeret
Squire
- Lanner or Lanneret
Lady
- Merlin
Youngman
- Hobby
Yeoman
- Goshawk
Priest
- Sparrow hawk
Knave/
Servant – Kestrel
These rules were strictly applied. If you stole a trained bird, or hunted with one outside your specified class, you could be put to death. Sometimes they even cut off an inch of your flesh and fed it to the raptor!
These rules were strictly applied. If you stole a trained bird, or hunted with one outside your specified class, you could be put to death. Sometimes they even cut off an inch of your flesh and fed it to the raptor!
But
before the politicisation of falconry, hunting with a raptor was a vital part of
survival. People of all classes caught fledglings of any type, just before the first
moult, and trained them to hunt for the pot. The pigeons, pheasant, and grouse
they took formed a staple part of the diet in ancient times.
It
would be romantic to think that a special bond formed between the bird and the
human, but this wasn’t so. The bird generally tolerated its handler, putting up
with the hood, anklets and jesses. Amazingly, apart from digital tracking devices, the equipment used to control falcons today is largely the same as it was four thousand years ago when man and birds first started working together.
When released, the bird would revert to the wild within days of soaring away. The tradition of releasing falconry birds in the spring after a season of hunting was carried out by practically all falconers until captive-bred raptors became available some thirty years ago. This was because of the very high maintenance of keeping birds not securing food for the table. They were just another mouth to feed.
When released, the bird would revert to the wild within days of soaring away. The tradition of releasing falconry birds in the spring after a season of hunting was carried out by practically all falconers until captive-bred raptors became available some thirty years ago. This was because of the very high maintenance of keeping birds not securing food for the table. They were just another mouth to feed.
There
was one notable exception to all this though . . . Daniel and his hawk,
Light-Being.
Theirs was no ordinary relationship. Then Light-Being was no
ordinary hunting bird.
She was an African Harrier Hawk, a raptor which specialises in raiding other bird’s nests for eggs and babies. They also follow after elephants, picking up insect larvae from broken trees. Hardly the kind of food one would want on one’s table – even in Shenaya.
So why did Daniel have a hunting bird that contributed nothing edible to the relationship? Because he loved her.
When looking for hunting birds, the slaves raided the wrong nest. When the head falconer saw the fledgling Harrier Hawk, he wanted to strangle it, but Daniel refused to let that happen. Despite being ridiculed by everyone for being too cowardly to watch a fledgling die, he chose to keep Light-Being precisely because she is ‘utterly useless to man’.
I rather liked that about Daniel. And I think you'll like him too.
Erin
P.S. Just another arcane fact . . . Both the male and female Harrier Hawks incubate the eggs. But when the male thinks the female has hogged the eggs for too long, he brings her a green twig to remind her that there is a life beyond the nest!
She was an African Harrier Hawk, a raptor which specialises in raiding other bird’s nests for eggs and babies. They also follow after elephants, picking up insect larvae from broken trees. Hardly the kind of food one would want on one’s table – even in Shenaya.
So why did Daniel have a hunting bird that contributed nothing edible to the relationship? Because he loved her.
When looking for hunting birds, the slaves raided the wrong nest. When the head falconer saw the fledgling Harrier Hawk, he wanted to strangle it, but Daniel refused to let that happen. Despite being ridiculed by everyone for being too cowardly to watch a fledgling die, he chose to keep Light-Being precisely because she is ‘utterly useless to man’.
I rather liked that about Daniel. And I think you'll like him too.
Erin
P.S. Just another arcane fact . . . Both the male and female Harrier Hawks incubate the eggs. But when the male thinks the female has hogged the eggs for too long, he brings her a green twig to remind her that there is a life beyond the nest!
