Forms: α. 6 vervall, veruel, vervile, 7 (9) vervel, 7 -vell, vervail(e, vervil. β. 7 varuel(l, varvill, 8– varvel. [a. OF. vervelle (1350), verviele, varvele, etc. (F. vervelle) in the same sense (in OF. also a ring for a bolt or hinge: see VARDLE), app. a reduced form of vertvelle, vertevelle VARTIWELL, repr. a pop.Lat. derivative of L. vertibulum joint.] A metal ring (freq. of silver with the owner’s name engraved on it) attached to the end of a hawk’s jess and serving to connect this with the leash.
α. 1537. St. Papers Hen. VIII., VII. 674. Praying you to tell Mr. Porter his vervalles [printed veryalles] may be in good ordre, as also his hawkes.
1539. Act 31 Hen. VIII., c. 12. Haukes hauinge vpon … them the marke of the kinges armes and veruels.
1575. Turberv., Faulconrie, Commend. Hawking, B ij b. With Belles, and Bewets, Veruels eke, to make the Falcon fine.
1615. Armin, Val. Welshm. (1663), I iij. Proud Welshman, redeliver up that Bird…. The Vervels that she wears belongs to Rome.
1675. Lond. Gaz., No. 977/4. A Soare Faulcon with the Vervailes of Sir William Godbold of Gillingham.
1697. Evelyn, Numismata, v. 186. Branded with the names … (as do now our Falkners … on the Vervils of their Hawks and Dog-Collars).
[1892. G. Lambert, Gold & Silversmiths Art, 49. The vervels (silver rings for the legs of hawks) on which the name of the owner was engraved.]
β. 1615. Latham, Falconry, Words expl., ¶ 2. Iesses, are those short straps of leather,… fastned to the Hawks legs, etc. and so to the lease by varuels, anlets, or such like.
1638. Sir T. Herbert, Trav. (ed. 2), 233. Their Lures, Jesses, Varvills, and Hoods, are richly set with stones of great price and lustre.
1671. Lond. Gaz., No. 623/4. A Falcon lost … with the Kings Varvels upon her Gesses.
1833. Blackw. Mag., XXXIV. 943. I would give my merlin’s best crimson jesses and varvels of silver to dip but my fingers’ ends in that dimpling pool.
1894. Daily News, 8 June, 8/5. Hawks’ varvels, lent by Lord Dillon.
Hence Varvelled a. (In later use Her.)
1644. T. Westfield, in Spurgeon, Treas. David, Ps. xxxvii. 36–7. The hawk flies high … vervelled with the gingling bells of encouragement.
c. 1828. Berry, Encycl. Her., I. Gloss., When the leather thongs … are borne flotant, with rings at the ends,… it is then termed jessed … and varvelled.
