Pertinax Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 More detail later but I am informed that the Romans originally considerd any type of fowling to be a barbarian sport ,given that its context was the netting (literally often) of birds , in particular for food. However they seem to have started to intergrate it into both fashion and sport possibly due to the influence of Hadrian Caesar. Caesar, Senators , Knights, Citizens- I bring you a visit to the Fowler's tent, here: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...&cmd=si&img=753 and I will blog some more and hope others will have something to say about the social and military contexts of hunting and hawking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 The nature of falconry is just so cool. I'd love to get involved with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted June 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 (edited) The Fowler was often a retired military man of some reasonable standing, I suggest that he is likely to have been more associated with the "barbarous" fringes of the Empire.Contact with local custom, in such areas and the useful acqusition of additional game foods would be a boon to any garrison. The best "setting" dogs and tame owls would literally have the fowling net "thrown over their backs" to gather the prey animals. The owl is very useful as , during daylight , smaller birds will mob the animal to drive it out of their territory. A tame bird will sit still-as it thinks it is a humen (being imprinted from hatching) and happily let its master cast a net. Likewise falcons and other hawks can be set onto a group of "mobbing " birds distracted by the owl. http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...&cmd=si&img=753 The female Eagle Owl here has a stand nearby to emulate the shape of a comfortable branch, this keeps sinew and claw in good condition .My msn blog has more hawk shots in the LEG VIII gallery.The smaller birds have a screen perch , if they fall or hop down they can scramble back up the cloth as they would ascend a tree trunk, again keeping in good physical shape. Hadrian is said to have developed an interest in hawking as he had tame birds flutter over his head to provide shade! One day these companions swooped on a hare at his feet-he was hooked. If anyone would like to see a few more (not too brilliant) images go here and ive photo blogged a few shots , of some quite striking birds from different events http://spaces.msn.com/Triclinium/PersonalSpace/ Edited June 1, 2006 by Pertinax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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