De arte venandi cum avibus
De arte venandi cum avibus, (Latin, literally The art of hunting with birds ) was released as The art of pickling, also called ' Falk book' is a textbook on hawking and ornithology, the 1241-1248 was written by Frederick II in Latin and provided by his son Manfred with annotations.
Background
Medical Advisor for the care of hawks have survived in the West since the 10th century, but may go back to older templates. The major treatises on falconry from the 12th century caused the Norman royal court in Palermo, but they were kept fairly short. Frederick II was next to Aristotle's De animalibus libri known, a treatise on animals that had been translated into Latin by his court astrologer Michael Scot from the Arabic; besides, he knew De scientia venandi by aves, a textbook of the Arab falconer Moamin, which was translated in 1240 by Frederick order a magister Theodor and was present in many copies.
Content
Only an introduction to the general ornithology The work also contains instructions for raising, training and use of hunting falcons. The text is illustrated with over 900 images of about 80 different species of birds. They show the specific attitudes of the birds, but also Falkner and activities and tools from the falconry.
Assessment
The Falk book remained until well into modern times the standard work on falconry. This is mainly due to the scientific accuracy and systematic approach of the author, who works with empirical methods, and thus his contemporaries is far ahead. He relies on his own experience he gained from experiments: By covering the eyes of a bird of prey, he tries to find out whether he uses his sense of smell for hunting; He also experimented with birds' eggs, to find out if the sun's heat is sufficient for the brood. His experiences give the author the necessary support to venture criticism of Aristotle. Due to the rich illuminations, the work is also an art historical significance. In the Lower Saxon state exhibition Emperor Frederick II world and culture of the Mediterranean the work was devoted to a separate display unit; in the exhibition catalog, the historian Michael Menzel called the Falk book as " big bang ornithological knowledge."
Tradition and History Edition
The original manuscript of Frederick II was in 1248 at the siege of Parma lost. In the tradition of the text, two editors are to determine:
- A version with the first two books ( abridged version), which are now in Rome and Vienna, Geneva, Stuttgart and two times to find in Paris;
- The most famous version of the textbook is the Codex Palatinus latinus 1071, an illuminated manuscript, now preserved in the Vatican Library, which was commissioned by Frederick's son Manfred of Sicily in order. The Code of parchment comprises 111 described in two columns sides in a folio format (here about 36 × 25 cm). This most beautiful copy of the text contains the extraordinarily lifelike images of birds, falconers and their tools in brilliant colors. The manuscript also includes Manfred's comments, each with " Rex ", " Rex Manfredus " or " addidit Rex" (Latin for king, King Manfred, the king added ) are marked.
- A version in six books, today in Bologna ( Biblioteca Universitaria Ms. lat. 717), Paris, Nantes, Valencia, Rennes and Oxford;
The first translation of the work was carried out in the French and was commissioned in 1300 by Jean II, Lord of Dampierre, Viscount of Troyes in order.
The first printed edition of the Latin manuscript ( in two books version) was published in 1596 in Augsburg by Mark Welser. Joachim Camerarius had temporarily Manfred Codex leave him, who was then in his possession. Presumably, the handwriting was on the son of Ludwig Camerarius in the Bibliotheca Palatina. Ludwig had been standing a long time in the service of the Elector Frederick IV and V. Friedrich. But in the palatine magnificent building on the Neckar, it should be very short at home. After the capture of Heidelberg by Tilly this optimus Germaniae literatae thesaurus (Germany's most precious treasure books ) went as a sign of gratitude for the victory of the Catholic League of the Protestant Union, of Duke Maximilian I to Pope Gregory XV. to Rome. In spring 1623 the transport of the books was carried out over the Alps.
Impact on modern falconry
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Brandenburg -Ansbach entertained in the 18th century at his country estate Triesdorf in Ansbach has 51 employees, one of the largest falconry in Europe. He commissioned in 1756 to pickle the dean and rector of the Latin school Gunzenhausen Johann Erhard Pacius the translation of the book Falk Frederick II under the title From the art; this resulted in the " command" from, had, however, for the technical language of falconry with the Flemish falconers exchange on the farm. After the DFO in 1923 revived the falconry in Germany, the word lists were Pacius ' in part. So Flemish expressions came in the jargon of modern German falconry.
More translations
The first translation into English was performed in 1943 by Casey A. Wood and F. Marjorie Fyfe.
Facsimile editions
A facsimile edition was prepared in 1940 by the German historian Carl Arnold Willemsen and appeared in the 1969 Academic Printing and Publishing Company, Graz. After this issue a full ( reduced ) playback was published in paperback in 1980 by the Haren Bergverlag.