How falcons helped women break gender norms in the Middle Ages

This is the conclusion reached by researcher Rachel Delman after studying visual, written and material sources from the era, The Conversation writes.

Although today falcons and hawks are often seen as symbols of aristocratic fashions of the past, in the medieval context they had a much deeper meaning. Owning a bird of prey and participating in falconry allowed women to demonstrate control, competence and membership of the elite.

Hunting as a social and symbolic language

In medieval culture, falconry was often associated with courtship rituals and social interaction. In paintings, tapestries and decorative objects of the time, men and women were often depicted together - walking or hunting with birds.

However, the image of women in literature as "a falcon to be tamed" did not imply an exclusively subordinate position. On the contrary, the symbolism of falconry provided noble women with the opportunity to assert autonomy and control - both over the bird and over their own role in society.

Self-representation through images

Of particular importance to understanding female identity are the personal seals used to authenticate legal documents in the Middle Ages. Elite women often chose images with birds of prey to emphasise status and authority.

For example, Elizabeth of Riddlan, daughter of King Edward I, used a seal with the image of a woman confidently holding an obedient falcon. Another 13th-century noblewoman, Lady Elizabeth of Seworks, was depicted on horseback, with birds in her hands, in an active and commanding pose.

Through such visual solutions, women demonstrated not only their social status, but also their belonging to the circle of influential and independent noblewomen.

A practice, not just a symbol

Historical documents show that women were not limited to a symbolic presence. Queens and aristocrats:

• created and managed hunting grounds,

• trained birds of prey,

• hunted together,

• used falcons as valuable diplomatic and status gifts.

Although women were thought to be more suited to small birds, many went beyond that. Margaret Beaufort, Henry VIII's grandmother, owned both small and large birds of prey and created a hunting park specially adapted for falconry. Her daughter-in-law, Queen Elizabeth of York, was also active in hunting.

Female expertise and professional recognition

In a number of cases women were also recognised as experts. Illuminated manuscripts from the fourteenth century depict women confidently handling large birds of prey. In the fifteenth century, Abbess Juliana Berners is thought to have contributed to treatises on hunting and falconry.

There is also documentary evidence of professional activity: in the thirteenth century a woman named Imaina was keeper of the falcons and hounds for the Earl of Richmond and was given land tenure for her work. Although rare, these examples point to a wider - though poorly documented - involvement of women in this field.

Falcons also played an important role in the culture of gift exchange. Women gave and received birds of prey in honour of marriages, status upgrades and political alliances. In this way, falconry became a way of participating in the male world of power, land ownership and symbolic exchange without losing its own form of female influence.