The Grand Falconer of France (french: Grand Fauconnier de France) was a position in the King's Household in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

to the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

History

The position first appeared in 1250 as "Master Falconer of the King" (''Maître Fauconnier''). The title was changed to Grand Falconer in 1406, although the title of "First Falconer" (''Premier Fauconnier'') was sometimes also used. The Grand Falconer was responsible for organizing the royal falcon hunt and for caring for the king's hunting birds. The position was one of the " Great Offices of the Maison du Roi". From the reign of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

, the position became purely honorific, as the kings had stopped hunting with birds of prey. This notwithstanding, Louis XIV maintained an aviary of hunting birds, located (from 1680 on) in Montainville, as a symbol of power.

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

s were presented to the king at the start of each year in the Galerie des Glaces of the château of Versailles, generally in the presence of foreign ambassadors. Only northern kings and the Grand Falconer had the right to pose a falcon on the hand of the king. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the Grand Falconer featured two lures in blue and

fleur-de-lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

, placed below and to each side of the shield.

Grand Falconers

*c.1250:

Jean de Beaune Jean de Beaune was a Dominican inquisitor in Carcassonne during the early 14th century who played a role in precipitating the Apostolic poverty controversy of the period. As related by Nicholas the Minorite, in 1320 de Beaune was ordered to c ...

(until 1406 the title was Master Falconer of the King) *c.1274: Étienne Granché *dates?: Simon de Champdivers *c.1313: Pierre de Montguignard *c.1325: Pierre de Neuvy *c.1317: Jean Candavenes *c.1338: Philippe Danvin *c.1351: Jean de Serens *c.1354: Jean de Pisseleu *c.1367: Eustache de Chisy *c.1371: Nicolas Thomas *c.1372: André d'Humières *1381: Enguerrand Dargies *1385: Enguerrand de Laigny *1394: Jean de Sorvilliers *1406: Eustache de Gaucourt "Rassin" (†c.1415) (henceforth, the title was Grand Falconer of the King, except where indicated) *1415: Jean V Malet de Granville et de Montagu († after 1441) *1416: Nicolas de Bruneval *1418: Guillaume Després *1428: Jean de Lubin (First Falconer of the King) *1429: Philippe de La Châtre *c.1441: Arnoulet de Caves (First Falconer of the King) *1455: Georges de La Châtre *1468: Olivier Salart, seigneur de Bonnel *c.1480: Jacques Odart, seigneur de Cursay *c.1514: Raoul Vernon, seigneur de Montreuil-Bonin *c.1521: René de Cossé, seigneur de Brissac (also Grand Panetier) *c.1549: Louis Prévost de Sansac (First Falconer of the King) *c.1550: Charles I de Cossé, comte de Brissac (also Grand Panetier, Marshal and Grand Master of the Artillery) *c.1563: Timoléon de Cossé, comte de Brissac (also Grand Panetier and Marshal) *1569: Charles II de Cossé, comte and then duc de Brissac (also Grand Panetier and Marshal) *dates?: Robert de La Vieuville, baron de Rugles et d'Arzillières *1610: Charles de La Vieuville *1612: André de Vivonne, seigneur de la Béraudière *dates?: Nicolas de La Rochefoucauld *1616:

Charles d'Albert Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes (, 5 August 1578 – 15 December 1621) was a French courtier and a favourite of Louis XIII. In 1619, the king made him Duke of Luynes and a Peer of France, and in 1621, Constable of France. Luynes died of scar ...

(1578–1621), duc de Luynes (also

Constable of France The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...

) *1622: Claude de Lorraine (1578–1657), prince de Joinville, duc de Chevreuse (also Grand Chambellain) *1643: Louis Charles d'Albert de Luynes (1620–1699), duc de Luynes, duc de Chevreuse *1650: Nicolas Dauvet, baron de Boursault *1672: Henry François Dauvet, marquis de Saint-Phalle († 1688) *1688: François Dauvet, baron de Boursault († 1718) *1717: François Louis Dauvet, baron de Boursault *1748: Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc, duc de La Vallière (1708–1780) *1762: Louis Gaucher de Châtillon (1737–1762) *1780: Joseph Hyacinthe François de Paule de Rigaud, Comte de Vaudreuil (1740–1817)

References

:''This article is based on the article Grand Fauconnier de France from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has articl ...

, retrieved on September 5, 2006.''

External links

Grand Falconer Heraldry
(in French) Court titles in the Ancien Régime Falconry Hunting in France

History

Grand Falconers

See also

References

External links