Falconry – A Knightly Pursuit
A Brief Journey Through History

Part 1

Mykola Rud'
Translation from ukrainian in english: Yevheniia Mikheenko

“The only past-time worthy of a man is falconry”
Chingiz Khan

The philosophy of early medieval period had formulated the moral code for the knightly order in the so-called
“Seven Virtues of a Knight”. Apart from the essential qualities such as loyalty, devotion to a Lady of heart, the art of horsemanship and wielding of weapons, skill in chess and in writing of poetry, these included the possession and training of a bird of prey for the hunt. While the other virtues conferred social superiority, skill in falconry allowed the knight to obtain food on a journey, without the demeaning need to earn his daily bread. Besides that, a stranger with a falcon on his hand need never beg for shelter for the night, and was at liberty to choose his own lodging – he would always be a welcome guest, entertaining the host with hunted game and song.

Who has not heard of falconry – the noble past-time which has inspired both men and women, lords and commoners, monarchs and shepherds. In today's Europe, it is the leisure pursuit of many devoted fans.
Where has it originated?
This is probably known to no one.

The appearance of falconry in Ukraine, which has bordered the Asian and West European civilisations from prehistoric times, is the emergence of a unique culture of hunting which has absorbed a range of methods, techniques and approaches characteristic of the East and the West. Today, it is difficult to establish exactly when falconry has emerged as an independent form of hunting on the territory of modern Ukraine. It is plausible to suggest that hunting with the aid of a bird of prey stems from the early Palaeolithic era, when the flint knife was one of the few tools available to man, and the dog his only faithful companion.

Prehistoric Times

A writer has once remarked that Man has come forth from the darkness of the ages with a falcon on his hand. It is suggested that the first species to be domesticated were ones that could be, in times of crisis, be used for food (fowl, pigeons, dogs, monkeys, etc.). However, this evidently did not apply to the birds of prey, which could be kept solely as a means of obtaining food by hunting. It is clear that once the breeding and training of birds of prey has reached a certain level, they would not be considered as source of food if killed, as they could be used to bring down wild game when the need arose. Apart from supplying food, falconry could also provide a diversion. It is possible that hunting with the dog and the falcon were among the first sources of aesthetic pleasure in the human society. However, it is equally reasonable to assert that falconry developed purely as a practical method of getting food, and only later, with the appearance of defined classes within society, became viewed as a recreational past-time or sport.

Before Christ

The eminent researcher of the history of falconry G. P. Dementiev notes the following fact: in 1908, a group lead by the archaeologist Gershtung, working in the Middle East on the territory of modern Turkey, unearthed a relief depicting a man with a falcon on his hand. The relief is thought to belong to the culture of Hittites – an ancient people who have inhabited Asia Minor from 1600 to 1200 BC. A similarly dated Eastern manuscript refers to the existence of falconry on the territory of China. However, it is suggested that falconry was practised far earlier than the earliest surviving documentary evidence, primarily as a method of obtaining food. Equally, there is no reason to believe that the appearance of this phenomenon was confined to a single geographic location – quite probably, the domestication of birds of prey began independently in several locations, and extended to include a fairly wide range of species.

According to Sabaneev, the warrior Celts invading the British Isles around 1000 BC brought with them “spaniels” – small, long-haired and floppy-eared dogs previously unknown to the local population, specialised for hunting with hawks and falcons. V. Bedel suggests that the Gordon Setter, now known as the Scottish Setter, has originated from this species or their descendants.

The bas-reliefs of Ancient Egyptian temples also depict the domesticated falcon, revered as a symbol of Horus. The name, which can be translated as “heavens” or “on high”, is a general term for the many gods worshipped in the image of the falcon across Ancient Egypt. The cult of the falcon-god was brought into Egypt by invading tribes that later settled on its territory. Initially worshipped as a deity of war who tore his victims with powerful talons, Horus was absorbed into the state religion as the son of Ra, the Sun, and was later seen as the son of Isis and Osiris.

In all his forms, the Egyptian Horus was seen as the Prince of the Gods, other gods of the pantheon becoming subordinate to him. This hierarchy is seen in the image of enthroned falcon-headed Horus attended by Thoth, the god of wisdom and learning – a being with the head of an ibis. The rule of Horus on earth was personified by the living Pharaoh. The clearest symbol of the divine and temporal rule of Horus is the statue of the Pharaoh Khafre (Chephren), depicting a falcon embracing the head of the ruler with outspread wings.

In the western Delta, Horus was worshipped as the God of the noontime sun, often portrayed as a winged solar disc or a lion with the head of a hawk. His exalted nature as the guardian of the heavens is seen in his form as Ra-Harakhte, the combined deity of Horus and Ra who took the sun on its daily path across the sky, represented by a falcon or a man with the head of a falcon wearing the sun's disc and the double crown of Egypt.

Collecting materials concerning Horus, I have come across an intriguing connection: Herodotus, examining the fundamental moral and aesthetic concepts in the religious paradigms of ancient Egypt and Greece, has compared Horus to Apollo. This implies a possible association of Apollo with the symbol of the falcon within Greek mythology. The link is also indicated by the fact that Apollo's twin sister, Artemis, was worshipped as the Goddess of the Hunt. And, apart from his other attributes, Apollo himself was portrayed as a skilled hunter.

Archaeologists researching the sites of Ancient Egypt have uncovered numerous falcon figures, ranging from life-size representations to tiny statuettes crafted with exquisite precision. This is also partly due to the fact that the falcon was sacred to Sokar, the Memphite patron of the Dead. In paintings and frescoes the deity was often depicted as a falcon, resting on the hill by the Necropolis.

Contemporary view of a stone statue of the Falcon by the temple complex of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt.

Photo by O. Mishchenko

In the sparsely populated, semi-desert areas of modern Kazakhstan, rock paintings of hunting with birds
of prey have been dated back many thousands of years. This fascinating legacy was noted by many travellers
of the ancient world.

When trying to pinpoint the geographical origins of falconry, climate and terrain can provide valuable clues.
The steppes of central Asia are likely to be one of the areas that saw the domestication of birds of prey, as well as dogs and, possibly, horses and camels. Another cradle of falconry may have been the Arabian East. The peoples most likely to have made the first use of birds of prey for hunting purposes are the nomadic tribes such as the Bedouins, or ethnic groups with similar culture.

Among the most intriguing artefacts of the early Iron Age are the bronze plates of the so-called Permian style,
dated to the first millennium BC.

The outline recalls the image of a falcon, hovering in mid-air. The level of stylisation, and therefore of the craftsman's skill, is stunning. The frozen, emotionally distant expression of the human face may symbolise the soul of the departed. Bronze Plate. Permian Style, 1st millennium BC.

The figure, a synthesis of three falcon forms, echoes the previous [sacred] motif. Pendant. Bronze. Permian Style, 1st millennium BC.

Some of them are seen to depict falcons and hawks among elements of vegetation, groups of human figures, horses, beavers and other creatures. Judging from their subject, it is thought that these may embody the belief of men that falcons carry the souls of the dead to the next, higher world. Is this not why the elation and joy of watching the falcon swoop down from on high was likened to approaching emotionally the higher forces of creation, making falconry highly regarded and revered as something almost magical?

Indeed, hunting with birds of prey had possessed elements of a totemic cult. Therefore, taking part in the hunt, i.e. participating in the ritual, a person was seen to come closer than ever possible to the divine nature of the cosmos.

It can be confidently asserted that the species depicted on the bronze plates were used as hunting birds. And this is why: the ancient craftsmen have clearly recorded the differences between falcons, seen on the two illustrations here, and hawks. The shapes of the heads and beaks are distinctly different, and the eyes of the hawks, with yellow irises and black pupils, are meticulously represented in contrast to the all-black eyes of the falcons. Such precise recording is only possible if the craftsman had either known the species professionally, as a falconer, or was carefully instructed by somebody who could clearly describe their biological differences.* In either case, the strikingly precise depiction of the distinct species smith cannot be a coincidence.

Beneath the surface of somewhat crude and obscure form of the bronze plate lies the subtle mastery of the ancient artist and metalworker. The halo-like hawk heads framing the three-headed humanoid being are crafted with profound knowledge of the depicted subject. In the shape of the head and colouring of the eyes the artist had captured, in ornamental stylisation, the distinguishing characteristics of the species – the gold-rimmed black pupil of the eye of a hawk.

Such professional precision of the craftsman implies that he was able to make direct observation drawings of the birds and uch professional was familiar with morphological details of their anatomy.

Therefore, taking into account the dating of the plates, it possible to assert that at that time falconry was fairly widespread across the Eurasian part of the continent. It is evident that no other occupation could give the ancient peoples such a detailed knowledge of biological characteristics of the birds of prey.

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* Even the experienced contemporary artists, having easy access to a ppropriate specialist literature,
often find it difficult to realistically depict birds. This is a formidable task, demanding adequate knowledge of anatomy of the portrayed species, and, most importantly, of subtle specific characteristics of body build a nd colouring distinguishing species, and a feel for their natural poses. This is why the artists who frequently
depict birds usually have an ornithological background.