oods and fields in the vicinity of each abbey. The jealous
peasants, not themselves having the right of hunting, and who continually
saw _Master Abbot_ passing on his hunting excursions, said, with malice,
that "the monks never forgot to pray for the success of the litters and
nests (_pro pullis et nidis_), in order that game might always be
abundant."

[Illustration: Fig. 143.--"How Wolves may be caught with a
Snare."--Fac-simile of a Miniature in the Manuscript of Phoebus (Fifteenth
Century).]

If venery, as a regular science, dates from a comparatively recent
period, it is not so with falconry, the first traces of which are lost in
obscure antiquity. This kind of sport, which had become a most learned and
complicated art, was the delight of the nobles of the Middle Ages and
during the Renaissance period. It was in such esteem that a nobleman or
his lady never appeared in public without a hawk on the wrist as a mark of
dignity (Fig. 147). Even bishops and abbots entered the churches with
their hunting birds, which they placed on the steps of the altar itself
during the service.

[Illustration: Fig. 144.--"How Bears and other Beasts may be caught with a
Dart."--Fac-simile of a Miniature in the Manuscript of Phoebus (Fifteenth
Century).]

The bird, like the sword, was a distinctive mark which was inseparable
from the person of gentle birth, who frequently even went to war with the
falcon on his wrist. During the battle he would make his squire hold the
bird, which he replaced on his gauntlet when the fight was over. In fact,
it was forbidden by the laws of chivalry for persons to give up their
birds, even as a ransom, should they be made prisoners; in which case they
had to let the noble birds fly, in order that they might not share their
captivity.

The falcon to a certain degree partook of his owner's nobility; he was,
moreover, considered a noble bird by the laws of falconry, as were all
birds of prey which could be trained for purposes of sport. All other
birds, without distinction, were declared _ignoble_, and no exception was
made to this rule by the naturalists of the Middle Ages, even in favour of
the strongest and most magnificent, such as the eagle and vulture.
According to this capricious classification, they considered the
sparrow-hawk, which was the smallest of the hunting-birds, to rank higher
than the eagle. The nickname of this diminutive sporting bird was often
applied to a country-gentleman, who,