Note 11 — THE WIFE OF BATH.
Reading edition
In the original,
With empty hand men may no hawkes lure.
When the falconer had let fly his hawks, and wanted them to return, he was commonly obliged to entice them by some bait. The tassel, or tercel, was the male of the peregrine falcon, and was noted for its docility and gentleness. It would seem as if this species would obey the summons of the trainer without any other inducement, for when Juliet calls after Romeo, and he does not instantly reappear, she says,
O for a falconer's voice To lure this tassel-gentle back again.