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Tag Archives: Holy Roman Empire

Book of the Week — Liber Moamin falconrii de Scientia venandi per aves et quadrupeds

03 Tuesday Oct 2017

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al-Gitrif, al-Malik al-K'amil, al-Mutawakkili, Arabic, architecture, aristocracy, art, Baghdad, birds of prey, Bologna, caliph, chamber, Charles V, Christian, crusade, diplomat, diseases, dogs, Europe, excommunication, Faenz, Fakhr ad-d'in al-F'ars'e, falcon, falconer, falconry, feudal, Frederick II, Germans, Germany, Gothic Textura, historiated initials, Hohenstaufen, Holy Roman Empire, Hunayn ib Ish aq al-Ibad, hunting, illuminator, imperial, Islamic, Italian, Italy, Jerusalem, Knights of Saint John, Latin, literature, Malta, manual, manuscript, medieval, Mediterranean, miniatures, Moamin, Mongolian Empire, moulting, mouse, Palestine, papacy, parchment, Persian, physician, poetry, science, scribe, Sicily, Siege of Parma, sport, Sufi, sultan, Syrian, Theodore of Antioch, translator, vernacular

fFalconry1r
“In quantum enim sunt reges non habent propriam delectationem nisi venationem” — Moamin

“A wise falcon hides his talons.” — Proverb

Liber Moamin falconrii de Scientia venandi per aves et quadrupeds

Facsimile. The so-called “Wiener Moamin” was created on the Italian penisula in the second half of the 13th century at the request of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, King of Sicily and Jerusalem, king of the Germans and the Holy Roman Empire. It is illuminated with 101 historiated initials and more than 80 miniatures. The Wiener Moamin is a Latin version of an Arabic treatise on falconry, Kitab al-mutawakkili, attributed to one Moamin by the Western world. The original content was probably inspired by two oriental hunting treatises from the 8th and 9th centuries: the falcon book of al-Gitrif and the treatise dedicated to the caliph al-Mutawakkili of Baghdad, a work written by Christian scholar, physician and translator Hunayn ib Ish aq al-Ibad who resided at the court of al-Mutawakkili between 809 and 873. These two works exist only in fragments. As early as this, falconry was embraced as an empirical science as well as a sport.

The work provides an in-depth aspect of hunting with birds and dogs, formatted in five books:

The first book focuses on birds of prey.
Books two and three are devoted to diseases of birds and tried and tested methods of healing.
The last two books deal with the keeping and care of hunting dogs.

Falconry17v
Falconer treats a bird’s headache with massage.

The translation of the Arabic version was done by the philosopher Theodore of Antioch, a Syrian naturalist and interpreter, one of the most prominent cultural representatives of the court of Frederick II. This manual became one of the earliest to circulate in medieval Europe. Several copies survive. Copies translated into the vernacular began to appear soon after the first manual appeared

Frederick II (1194-1250) was a falconer of note and participated in correcting the work in 1240, during the siege of Faenz, near Bologna. A few years after the king worked on this book, he wrote his own on the subject, De arte venandi cum avibus. This manuscript was lost in 1248 during the siege of Parma, but other copies exist. For his work, Frederick II used several sources, including the manuscript here.

Frederick II, a larger-than-life figure, counted himself as a direct successor to the Roman Emperors. He was excommunicated four times during a lifelong power struggle the papacy. He took part in a crusade (the sixth, in 1238) and spoke six languages, including Arabic. He was married three times and had at least nine mistresses, with whom he had illegitimate offspring. He was also an avid patron of art, poetry, literature, and architecture.

Frederick II ruled over most of what is now Italy and Germany as well as territories around the Mediterranean (including Malta and Palestine.) He is recognized as an enlightened ruler over a multi-cultural multitude of people.  Frederick II was an enthusiast of Arabic culture and became acquainted with falconry through personal contacts with representatives of the Islamic world. One of his teachers was Fakhr ad-d’in al-F’ars’e, a Persian Sufi and advisor to sultan al-Malik al-K’amil, who stayed at the Sicilian court as a diplomat. It is probable that he gained firsthand knowledge of Arabic falconry during wars conducted in 1228 through 1229. He obtained a copy of Moamin’s manual on falconry during this time.

Falconry was a popular sport and status symbol among aristocracy in medieval Europe, the Middle East, and the Mongolian Empire. There is some evidence of its use by commoners, although that was likely unusual due to the commitment of time, money, and space. So valuable were falcons that when Charles V ceded Malta as a fief to the Knights of Saint John, the feudal rent was the annual payment of a Maltese falcon. Scholars differ on the origin of falconry. Some speculate that it entered Europe through warring Germanic tribes. The Arab world claims a two thousand year headstart before Frederick II mastered it.

Falconry31v
An elegant lady falconer giving medicine to a sick bird.

The text is laid out in one-column in a uniform script of dark brown ink with red chapter headings. The historiated initials range form 4 to 10 lines in size. The initials offer information along with the text. The initial opening the section on fol. 7v, for instance depicts the mouse chamber of the falcons. During the annual moulting in the late spring, the birds were secluded by the falconer in a specially made chamber.

Falconry7v
Falcon renewing its flying feathers.

The initials are enhanced by flower and leaf forms which spread over the parchment. The painters of the manuscript added decorative interest to scientific text and image.

Marginal notes, written in Italian, give precise instructions to the illuminator, detailing which scenes to paint in the fields of the initials written by the scribe. Written by a single scribe, the script is Gothic Textura, identified by two forms of “r” and sharp, straight, angular lines.

The facsimile is bound in a manner of a time later than the text block — a mid-century fifteenth sample — green patterned velvet covers and two metal clasps. Facsimile edition of three hundred and eighty-one, two hundred and twenty of which are reserved for the Arab Region. Rare Books copy is no. 39.

 

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A Noble Genealogy — Happy Birthday, Philip the Fair

22 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by rarebooks in Uncategorized

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angel, Bernard of Clairvaux, Bruges, Burgundy, Carthusian, Charles the Bold, Chlothar, Christian, Dijon, Dole, Duchy of Burgundy, Duke of Merania, Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa, facsimile, Flanders, Flemish, Flemish Chronicles, France, German, Ghent, Girart de Roussillon, Holy Roman Empire, House of Burgundy, Hungary, illuminators, John the Fearless, King Boson, Louis XI, manuscript illumination, Margaret of York, Mary Magdalene, Master of Edward IV, Maximilian of Austria, Mechelen, miniatures, Montereau-Fault-Yonne, Oise, Olivier de la Marche, Philip the Bold, Philip the Fair, Poligny, rare books, Saint-Stephen of Besancon, Seine, spite, sword, Theodoric, Turks, tutor, workshop

DC611-B776-F5-2015-spread1
“Here follow some chronicles excerpted from some ancient registers and other teachings of certain ancient kings, princes and several holy persons from the very noble and ancient house of Burgundy.”

THE FLEMISH CHRONICLES OF PHILIP THE FAIR
Quaternio verlag Luzern, 2015
DC611 HB776 F5 2015

Facsimile. The Flemish Chronicles was produced in 1485/86 in Bruges for Philip, the heir to the House of Burgundy, who was just seven years old at the time. The Chronicles is a history of Burgundy illustrated with eleven large miniatures depicting historical events, idyllic nature scenes and scenes at court. The text is minimal, as would befit the beginning reading capacity of a child.

DC611-B776-F5-2015-spread2
“Theodoric, King of Burgundy, defeated Chlothar, second King of this name of France, in battle in the year 605 after the resurrection of Our Lord. 30,000 men were then killed. During this battle an angel was seen holding a naked sword above the people. And at that time the said Theoderic conquered all the land situated between the rivers Seine and Oise, as it is written in detail in the chronicles of France.”

Like any children’s book, the images were intended to overtake the text. In this case, the images announce the importance of the dynasty Philip was to inherit. The Duchy of Burgundy ended with the death of Charles the Bold in 1477. Louis XI of France pounced on the Burgundian lands, but the economically powerful Flanders rebelled. Charles’ daughter Mary, in an effort to avoid catastrophe, married the son of the Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian of Austria, three months after her father’s death.

DC611-B776-F5-2015-spread3
“Frederick, who since that time was Emperor, and who was a brother of the said King Boson, despite his young age recovered all the land of Burgundy and a part of the German lands.
Otto, by grace of God palatine count of Burgundy, was a son of the said Frederick, and he died in the year 1191, on the 26th day of June.
Jeanne, daughter of the said Otto, whose body lies in the church of Saint-Stephen of Besancon, was wife of the Emperor and lady of Burgundy.
Otto, by the grace of God Duke of Merania and palatine count of Burgundy, of Macon, and of Vienne was a son of the said Jeanne, who formerly claimed the Kingdom of Burgundy, and founded the canons of Poligny, who since then were transferred to Dole. And at that time, out of spite, the Kingdom of Burgundy was turned into a Duchy.”

Their son, Philip, was born on June 22 in Bruges. Mary died in an accident in 1482.

DC611-B776-F5-2015-spread4
“From the said Philip the Bold descended John the Fearless Duke of Burgundy, most victorious and most Christian prince who fought the Turks in Hungary, and died at Montereau-Fault-Yonne in the year 1419. His tomb is in the Carthusian church at Dijon.”

The Flemish territories refused to recognize Maximilian as regent for his son. Ghent and Bruges rebelled. In 1485 Maximilian took Philip to Mechelen, where his grandmother, Margaret of York, raised him.

This chronicle, written and produced for Philip, featured a century of his Burgundian ancestors. This is an unusual book for its time, made especially for a child. The chronicler, Olivier de la Marche, was Philip’s tutor. The chronicle sets the Burgundian throne within a thousand year-old history, beginning in 14CE and ending just after the death of Philip’s mother. In this setting, the Burgundian ancestors were placed alongside Mary Magdalene (who purportedly baptized the first Burgundian king), the knight Girart de Roussillon, Bernard of Clairvaux, Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa and the Burgundian dukes from Philip the Bold on.

Flanders was a bevy of wealthy commercial cities at this time. Bruges and Ghent had a concentration of talented and well-funded illuminators. These cities became the center of European manuscript illumination in the second half of the fifteenth century. In this highly competitive atmosphere, Master of Edward IV operated a flourishing workshop. One of his assistants created the miniatures and border art for The Flemish Chronicles.

Facsimile edition of seven hundred and forty copies, sixty of which are hors de commerce. Rare Books copy is no. 134.

DC611-B776-F5-2015-spread5

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Book of the Week – Martin Luther

15 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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Albrecht Dürer, biblical commentary, Christ, copyright, Germany, halo, Hans Bauldung Grien, historiated woodcut, Holy Roman Empire, homilies, Johann Schott, Latin, lions, Martin Luther, Medieval Europe, Otto Brunfel, portrait, Postil, proprietary law, putti, Reformation, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Church, sainthood, sermons, stags, Strasbourg, title page, title page border, unicorns, Wittenberg, woodcut border, woodcuts


XIII. PREDIG. NEWLICH…ANNO XXIII. ANHENGIG DEN…
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Strasbourg: Johann Schott, 1523
Second edition
BR332 S3 1523

A copy from one of only two editions of this collection of thirteen sermons by Martin Luther. The collection of sermons was a supplement to “Twenty Seven Sermons” (1523). These two collections, along with “Fourteen Fine Christian Sermons” (1522) were part of one of the most important projects of Luther’s career: the creation of a Postil for the reformed church.

Luther wrote his sermons in a piecemeal fashion. His Postil was printed a few pieces at a time. “Thirteen Sermons” is from the early period of his Postil composition. The early printed sermons represent Luther’s own vision for the Postil. Editorial changes were made by reform Lutheran leaders after his death.

“Postil” was originally a term used in Medieval Europe for biblical commentary, derived from the Latin term “post ill verba textus” (after these words). “Postil” later referred to homiletic exposition as opposed to thematic sermonizing. By the mid-fourteenth century, the term was applied to an annual cycle of homilies.

In early sixteenth century Roman Catholic preaching, especially in Germany, postils were commonly used. Luther began publishing his Postil (that is, his suggested annual series of homilies) in Wittenberg in 1521, as replacements for those used by the Roman Catholic Church.

This edition is illustrated with a historiated woodcut title-page border, thought to be by Hans Bauldung Grien, a student of Albrecht Dürer, which includes printer Schott’s monogram, putti, unicorns, lions, and stags. A full-page portrait of Luther by Grien faces the title-page. A small image of Christ appears on the title-page. The penultimate leaf has a four-part woodcut border, also attributed to Grien. The portrait of Luther is of particular interest.

The original portrait, first published by Schott in 1521, included a halo surrounding Luther’s head (signifying sainthood). The fact that the halo was removed in a second edition printed only two years later suggests the swiftness of Reformation theological departure from Roman Catholic notions of the spiritual power of church leaders.

Printer Johann Schott was famous for using excellent woodcuts by noted artists of the day, including students of Dürer. In 1533, he took another printer to court over the reprinting of one of his illustrated books (Otto Brunfels’s herbal). The case is the first reprint suit documented in the Holy Roman Empire, an example of how the commerce of printing changed notions of proprietary law, i.e. copyright, for the written word and for art; authors and artists; and, of course, publishers.

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