Disputatio: an international transdisciplinary journal of the late Middle Ages

Publication date: 2002-01-01
Pages: 189 - 199

Author:

Smets, An

Abstract:

During the Middle Ages, hunting was one of the favourite activities of the high society. The animals who helped the hunters were of great value and, as a consequence, often taken care off by specialised people, with generally detailed zoological and medical knowledge. This knowledge is conserved in the medieval hunting treatises, which should be considered as real scientific works. Besides, a study of these treatises is not only useful for our knowledge about medieval science. Other fields, like lexicology, are also involved, especially when it is possible to compare a Latin text with its translations in one or more vernacular languages. Such a text is the “De falconibus”, by Albertus Magnus († 1280). The treatise is divided into four sections: the differences between the birds of prey and the other birds, the different kinds of falcons, the way of preparing them for the hunt and finally the cures for sick or wounded falcons. The accuracy of his observations clearly shows that Albertus Magnus was a real expert in this field. After some time, the “De falconibus” was inserted in the larger work De animalibus (book 23, chapter 40), but simultaneously the treatise also circulated as an autonomous work. By the end of the Middle Ages, several different translations appeared. Up to now, we know of two German versions. The first one, by Werner Ernesti, is based only on the therapeutical part, whereas the second one, composed by Heinrich Münsinger, deals with the whole Latin text and was written from a more practical point of view. There are also four French translations, dating from the end of the XIVth till the XVIth century. Like the German versions, these French texts, which were written independantly from each other, show a clear evolution in the way they transmit the technical vocabulary. Finally, we also possess three Italian versions of the XVth century, of which two are again dealing with the therapeutical part only.