Dissertation on Birds of Prey and the Sport - the Falconry Heritage ...

chosen a mate so far above him in every way that he dare not presume to approach her.
The scene is of a large gathering of birds singing loudly, courting, and happily choosing
their mates. The poet, who has entered the garden, finds that he can understand the
speech of the birds. As the poet explains the rules of love in this bird world, i.e., that the
lovers may break off at the end of a year, he cites examples of bird-lovers in a list.
Interestingly, this list mentions only birds of prey specifically, and it is a good guide to
the types of hawks and falcons found most commonly in literature:
Mais, soit faucon ou esprevier,
Sacre, gerfaut ou mylion,
Ou oyselet d'autre fasson,
Certez, ceulz la font faulcete
Qui premier brisent l~amictie.~~
When it comes to birds as lovers, there are birds of prey, and then there is
everybody else. Order of precedence continues to be maintained in that the bird who
presides over the whole gathering is the eagle. It is this eagle who scolds the tercel
falcon, asking why he has shown up to this gathering if he does not wish to choose a
mate. The falcon tells of his dilemma, remarking that he would not switch the object of
his affection even though she might be unattainable. After all, he explains, "sui je dez
oiseaulx genti~."'~ "Gentle" birds, like their human counterparts, are to be forever
faithful to their lovers; a change in affection is best left to the lower orders.
The tercel tells that he met the falcon that he loves when they both belonged to the
same gentleman. He praises his loved one by describing the falcon's fantastic abilities in
flying and hunting. The tercel portrays his loved one as courageous, loyal, dependable,
gracious, attractive, brave, and strong; in short, the falcon that he celebrates has all the
750ton
de Granson; sa vie et sespodsies, ed. Arthur Piaget (Lausanne: Librairie Payot, 1941), vv. 97-101.
76 Ibid., v. 137.