Sokolnichii

an official post in the household of the grand prince from the mid-14th century; an official rank at the Russian court from the second half of the 16th century to the 17th century. In the 15th century and the first half of the 16th, the sokol’nichii organized the grand prince’s hunting parties. From the late 16th century through the 17th, the sokol’nichii was head of the Sokol’nichii Prikaz (Falconry Prikaz).