Grave findings and references in sagas provide evidence that falconry was practiced in Scandinavia at least by the 6th century. It is believed that falconry originated with the nomads of the eastern steppes and spread first to Sweden and Gotland, and finally to Norway and Denmark with the Viking age.
Picture stones and mythology illustrate that Vikings held birds as holy symbols of the spirit, death and the afterlife. One of the treasures of the goddess Freyja was a cloak of falcon feathers that enabled the wearer not only to fly, but to travel between the nine worlds, in much the same way that Odin traveled on his eight legged horse, Sleipnir. Valkyries wore swan cloaks. Odin stole the mead of poetry in the form of an eagle. Each day he sends out his two ravens, Hugin and Munin, mind and memory, to gather the news of the worlds. These myths may well be analogies for trance state and astral travel.
Chieftains were buried with their dogs and horses, as well as livestock and birds. The Gokstad ship burial contained a peacock. Hawking gear, a swivel and several small copper bells, were found in a cremation grave near Skiringssal along with riding equipment. Remains of raptors have been found in burials throughout Sweden and Gotland, including falcons, goshawks, and owls.
Unlike dogs and cats, raptors are not social animals and can never become truly tame. In a practice called “manning,” the hooded falcon becomes acclimatized to humans and learns to trust humans as a safe source of food. Sometimes the bird will form a bond with a human, but without constant human contact and training raptors will quickly return to the wild. Raptor training methods in Viking times are unknown, although it is believed Scandinavians hunted with falcons, hawks, and eagles. Sources on medieval falconry claim that hoods were not in use in Europe until the 13th century. The middle eastern method of training involved sewing the bird’s eyes shut. There no is evidence of the Vikings using either method, but no evidence to the contrary either.
There are two categories of hawks, the long-winged falcons, and shorter-winged hawks. The falcons hunt in open areas, using their superior eyesight to spot their prey from on high, and killing by folding their wings close to their body and plunging (“stooping”) from the heights at speeds of up to 200 mph. They strike their prey mid-air and flip upright, spreading their wings and tail to break their fall. The peregrine falcon’s beak is notched near the tip to enable them to snap the neck of smaller birds.
Hawks hunt by swooping down on their prey with spread wings and can hunt through the forests. The differences affect their training. Hawks are called “birds of the fist” while falcons are “birds of the lure”. Hawks glide down to perch on the falconer’s glove, while a falcon hitting the fist from a 200 mph stoop is, well, impractical. Instead, falconers recover their falcons by swinging baited lures on long strings.
Falcons mate for life. The females are larger than the males and are called falcons, while the males are called tiercels. Female hawks are also larger than the males but don’t have a named distinction.
Raptor eyesight is far superior to that of humans. They can see much farther, with a broader range of vision, and they can see colors far beyond the range of humans. Primates have three cones, red, green and blue, while raptors have a fourth cone for ultraviolet. Their densely packed cones enable them to see twice as far as a human.
Raptors have two fovea, indentations in the retina that enable the eye to focus. Humans, along with most mammals, and many other birds only have one. The first fovea enables the falcon to see forward, as we do, and perceive distance. The second fovea captures peripheral detail and lets them focus on more objects in a broader field. It gives them superb stereoscopic vision that enables them to maneuver at high speeds. Their brains can process more visual information than we can, giving them much faster reaction times.
Sources:
• A FALCONER’S RITUAL, A Study of the cognitive and spiritual dimensions of pre-Christian Scandinavian Falconry. Karyn Bellamy-Dagneau, Skemman 2015
• PEREGRINE SPRING, Nancy Cowan, 2016 Rowman & Littlefield
• THE PEREGRINE, J.A. Baker 1967 HarperCollins
• MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, Jean Craighead George, 1957