Falcon

Falcons are medium sized birds of prey and were used for falconry. There are many types of falcons in Europe but the peregrine falcon is the fastest and the best hunter. It can be found all over the world. George Turberville in his 1575 book The Booke of Faulconrie or Hauking, describes seven types of falcon:

1. The Falcon Gentle
2. The Haggart Falcon
3. The Barberie or Tartaret Falcon
4. The Gerfalcon
5. The Sacre
6. The Laner
7. The Tunician

Heraldic falcons

Falcons are used as charges in heraldry. Unlike eagles, they are normally portrayed side-on with their wings closed. They also have smooth neck compared to an eagle's ruff. It is also common to see a heraldic falcon with jesses and bells attached to its legs, which can be described as (surprise surprise) "a falcon jessed and belled". However, this is not always included in the blazon. A heraldic falcon can also be hooded and if it is portayed standing on its prey it is "trussed" or "preying upon PREYNAME". Sometimes the same basic charge will be blazoned as some other small bird of prey (e.g. a hawk), but in the SCA they would all be regarded the same type of bird.

See Also

• The entry for falcon from Maplet's A Greene Forest

External Links

• Falcons on Wikipedia