What is a medieval falconer?

A medieval falconer is a person who trained birds to hunt and fly during the medieval times. Close human contact was important to prevent the birds from becoming wild and, therefore, unreliable.

The art of falconry or hawking was expensive, and it involved hunting small birds and wild game with trained birds of prey, such as falcons, eagles and hawks. The hunting birds lived in a special housing called mews. The birds were picked from their nests when young and trained by falconers. Tools that were used in training the birds include lures, jesses, hoods and bells. Bells were tied to the legs to help the falconer keep track of the birds' location.