Fever Ridge: MacArthur's War #3

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written by Cover RI Art by Nick Runge

Regular Cover Art by Nick Runge

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FEVER RIDGE: A TALE OF MACARTHUR’S JUNGLE WAR #3. APRIL 2013. FIRST PRINTING. FEVER RIDGE © 2013 Michael A. Heimos. All rights reserved. © 2013 Idea and Design Works, LLC. All Rights Reserved. IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Editorial offices: 5080 Santa Fe Street, San Diego, CA 92109. The IDW logo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the contents of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Printed in Korea.

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almost never by Christians in the Middle Ages, being associated with “darkness” and yada yada. And, I’m told eagles are usually rubbish for falconry... egos no doubt get in the way.

By the time of Dame Juliana, there developed a hierarchy of feudal ranks (at least in England and France) vis-aà -vis raptor use and ownership, as documented in St. Albans: King: Gyrfalcon (male & female). Prince: Peregrine Falcon. Duke: Rock Falcon (a subspecies of Peregrine). Earl: Tiercel Peregrine Falcon (male). Baron: Bastarde Hawk. Knight: Saker Falcon. Squire: Lanner Falcon. Lady: Female Merlin. Yeoman: Goshawk or Hobby. Priest: Female Sparrowhawk. Holy water Clerk: Male Sparrowhawk. Knaves, Servants and Children: Kestrel.

After about 1300 the trade of falcons in Europe and Asia increased in importance as new territories and sources for the birds opened up. For instance, the white gyrfalcon of Greenland became the most prestigious of raptors and was so expensive as to be most suitable for king-to-king gifts (for example, in this period the King of Norway-Denmark is documented to have sent one as a gift to the King of Portugal). Europe’s best raptors generally came from Scandinavia, especially Norway, and from the areas east of the Baltic Sea. Whilst Flanders was the major trading site of birds coming from Scandinavia, Konigsberg in Prussia was a major trading center of raptors from the Baltic forests.

Indeed, yet another reason why the Teutonic Knights coveted the lands of the Northern Crusades was that the nobles and royals of Western Europe that supplied the Order with donations and monks (nobles’ “extra sons”) craved the raptors from the wilds of the east. The forests of Prussia, Livonia, Lithuania and of course Russia abound with numerous species of raptor suitable for the wrists of nobles of any rank. They also teem with many a gang of stoats (as you’ll see when you check out Fever Ridge # #4).

So, no wayne of Bat Hawks in Fever Ridge # 3, just a soloist, and he was not under the command of a falconer of any social rank. Perhaps only a Papua-supporting, Prussian baron-errant conducting guerilla operations in the Finisterre Range, would be interested in such a hunting companion. Still, we will be showing you many more a cauldron of bats...

Mike

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