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

- I' mi son qui selvaggia pasturella
che tendo in queste selve reti a1 varco,
come colei che volentieri uccella.
Altrove son figliuola d'un de' conti
e 'n mie compagna son pih damigelle
con grossi uccelli e can per gli alti monti.
Se ti piacesse in me cogliere il fiore,
apparecchiata son, come colei
che certamento t'ha donato il core. -
1', cio sentendo, a volo un mio sparviero
presto gittai, e divenni maniero."
This madrigal is interesting because of the direct discourse of the lady, who tells of her
situation, and also because of the change in her method of bird-hunting that she assumes
as part of her new identity. As a count's daughter, she usually hunts with other ladies, on
the mountains, in open land, with dogs and "grossi uccelli." In her disguise, she hunts as
peasants do: not with falcons, but with nets, to catch birds in the woods.
Madrigals in which the pursuit of the lady is represented by the poet following a
falcon or hawk that he desires are similarly popular. A few of these are written by poets
who can be named, such as this, by Cino Rinuccini, in which the substitution of the
falcon for the lady is clear in his detailed and enthusiastic description of its beauty. It is
also a good example of the general progression of madrigals of this theme:
j2 Ibid.. 542.
Un falcon pellegrin dal ciel discese
con largo petto e con si bianca piuma,
che chi '1 guarda innamora e me consuma.
Mirando io gli occhi neri e sfavillanti,
la vaga penna e '1 suo alto volare,
mi disposi lui sempre seguitare.
Si dolcemente straccando mi mena,
ch'altro non cheggio se non forza e lena.j3