Reddit mentions of Art of Falconry; Being the De Arte Venandi cum Avibus of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen

A reply to /u/Dereliction

Great question!

Maltese falcons were already very famous, in part due to the treatise on falconry written by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, among which titles is King of Sicily, at a time when Malta was a fief of the Kingdom of Sicily. So, Maltese falcons had long been very desirable, and given the popularity of falconry among the royals of Europe at the time, to be gifted a Maltese falcon is a sign of honor.

Even today you can order a copy of this book, "The Art of Falconry", although you may have to spell out the author's name as "Frederick Second of Hohenstaufen."

Finally, Charles V didn't "give" Malta to the Knights, he rented it to them, under feudal contract in his capacity as ruler of Sicily. This is why the text of the grant specified what should happen in case of succession of the grand master, who should assign the bishop of Malta (the viceroy of Sicily, not the knights), how Malta should not engage in activities against Sicily, etc.

Perhaps most telling is that there are conditions for returning Malta to Sicily if/when the Knights were able to re-conquer Rhodes their original home, or if it decides itself to relocate elsewhere. So Charles expected the situation to improve such that the knights could relocate to a more advanced position, instead it ended up being a long-term home for them.

Read more about falconry before going into this.

Seriously, becoming a falconer is more work than people think. You can't just buy a falcon and wing it, nor can you take one training class and expect to be ready to fly one let alone own one.

Here are some things you need to know about falcons:

• they are the fastest flying bird in the world, with a top recorded speed of 242miles/hr.
  
• they are extremely sensitive to temperature, stress. Say you have a bird, and he overheats in the summer. He will become very sick, so you try everything you can to cool him down. You are successful, and his core temperature is back to normal. Your bird dies anyway, because despite everything you do to help, it's the stress of the whole experience that will kill him. Because of this danger, taking care of a Falcon is a crucial responsibility that is nothing like having a pet dog or cat.
  
• they can easily contract a deadly foot fungus called bumblefoot. You must clean their feet once a day to avoid this. Believe me, cleaning a falcon's foot is not a walk in the park. Expect to have puncture wounds on your hands all the time. If you find a tiny red spot on their feet and confirm that it is the start of bumblefoot? You need to isolate the bird immediately. Clean everything in its cage, throw out its perch, throw out the bedding, gravel, their food. You basically need to start over from scratch. It is very expensive. If your bird's bumblefoot gets as extreme as the picture in the wikipedia article I linked to, prepare for losing your bird. The guinea pig in the photo might not die from it, but a falcon most certainly will.
  
  Falcons are not pets like other birds (parrots, budgies, etc). They will not warm up to you easily. It takes weeks of perseverance and trust-training to even get to the point where they will perch comfortably on your arm. They are birds of prey and you need to respect that. They will hunt, they will kill, and this is the purpose of falconry. You will learn from the falcon how to hunt, not the other way around. Small animals are at risk, and if your falcon attacks one, it will be your responsibility.
  
  Though this book is about 800 years old, it is one of the most complete and best books out there on the subject. http://www.amazon.ca/Art-Falconry-Frederick-II-Hohenstaufen/dp/0804703744