The prōtoierakarios or prōtohierakarios (Greek: πρωτοϊερακάριος, "first falconer"), also prōthierakarios (πρωθιερακάριος), was a Byzantine court office and honorific title in the 13th–15th centuries.
[3] The French scholar Rodolphe Guilland suggested that it was closely associated with the prōtokynēgos ("first huntsman"), who was in the 41st place, and that holders of the former office were promoted to the latter.
As a sign of this he bore a left-hand gauntlet on his belt, decorated with gold braid and purple eagles.
His uniform was otherwise typical of the mid-level courtiers: a gold-brocaded hat (skiadion), a plain silk kabbadion, and a skaranikon (domed hat) covered in golden and lemon-yellow silk and decorated with gold wire and images of the emperor in front and rear, respectively depicted enthroned and on horseback.
[6] The lowly rank and obscure charge of the position means that its holders are not often attested in the sources.