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

Kenneth ~ c~enzie'~ that Davanzati's sources for his animals are all from a single Italian
bestiary, which also included several fables, of which he was in possession.'5 In his
canzoni alone may be found nearly forty animal comparisons.'6 However, hawks occur
only twice in his opus, both in sonnets. In both cases the hawk is to be imitated for its
courage and for its hunting ability.
Bono sparver non prende sanza artiglio,
e chi ben cacc[i]a prender non si larga;
chi dona il cor per un levar di ciglio
e uno proverbio ch'usan quei da Barga;
quand'om per non far guerra e 'n gran periglio,
in gran bonac[ci]a i' non v[o]i [stlare a larga,
ca per tempesta l'u[l]timo consiglio
si de' serbare, e '1 senno in ben si sbarga.
Perzo chi trova no.1 si tegna ad onta
i-nulla guisa se fosse ripreso,
perch'ogn'om parla per lo suo pensero;
che molti son che sentenz'ha[n] non conta
se non di con[in]ciar lor dire inceso:
aucel di buono ailar nonn-e lanero."
In this first sonnet, Chiaro advises those who write poetry to have the courage to write
what they wish regardless of criticism, if they wish to write well. He sets up as an
example the hawk, who hunts well because it is fierce: a good hawk uses its talons. He
recalls this first verse in the final verse of the sonnet, reinforcing his theme with the
negative example of the lamer falcon: it is a type of falcon whose reputation was as an
inept hunter, not to be imitated. Chiaro frames his argument by counseling his audience
l4 McKenzie, "Unpublished Manuscripts of Italian Bestiaries," 384-5.
l5 On the other hand, it has been argued that he derives his animal references directly from late Provenqal
poets; see Cesare De Lollis, "Sul canzoniere di Chiaro Davanzati."
l6 See Menichetti, Chiaro Davanzati, Rime, p. xlv.
l7 From Menichetti, 33 1.