Object Description
Manuscript
Berlin, Staatsbibliothek. Petermann II 20
title
Book on Falconry about the Birds of Prey
Title (Arabic)
كتاب البزدرة في الضواري من الطير
Kitāb al-bazdara fī ’l-ḍawārī min al-ṭayr
date
Dated 838/1434 (on page 63)
Place/s of Origin
Tripoli
Introduction
All versions of the book of Adham and al-Ghiṭrīf begin with an anecdotal introduction that positions falconry and scholarly exercises connected with falconry at courts. In the case of the Iskandar version, the interest is medical and the court is that of Alexander the Great.
In the case of the al-Ḥajjāj version, the interest is antiquarian (i.e., the history of falconry literature) and the court is the late Umayyad/early Abbasid court.
The beginning of the actual text is historical/literary and deals with the first who hunted with birds of prey. There are a classification of birds of prey and issues of training, but the bulk of the text is medical. The individual chapters follow the same structure. The title identifies the disease, the corresponding chapter begins with diagnosis and continues with one or several treatments.
Contents
Author
Patron of text
Scribe
Not known
Patron of manuscript
Nāṣir al-Dīn ibn al-Shihābī
Description of physical object
67 pages. According to Ahlwardt, the folios measure 18.5 x 13.5 cm.
Bibliography
W. Ahlwardt, Verzeichniss der arabischen Handschriften der Königlichen Bibliothek zu Berlin, Fünfter Band (IX.-XIV. Buch) (Berlin, 1893), 481.
Detlef Möller, Studien zur mittelalterlichen arabischen Falknereiliteratur (Berlin, 1965), 24-25, 29.
Al Ġiṭrīf ibn Qudāma al-Ġassānī, Die Beizvögel (Kitāb ḍawārī aṭ-ṭayr). Ein arabisches Falknereibuch des 8. Jahrhunderts, Deutsche Übersetzung von Detlef Möller und François Viré (Hildesheim, 1988), 51.
Al Ġiṭrīf ibn Qudāma al-Ġassānī, Traité des oiseaux de vol (Kitāb ḍawārī aṭ-ṭayr), Le plus ancien traité de fauconnerie arabe, Traduit, introduit et annoté par François Viré et Detlef Möller, Ouvrage préparé pour l’édition par Baudouin van den Abeele (Nogent-le-Roi, 2002), 40.
Provenance
This manuscript was acquired from Julius Heinrich Petermann (1801-1876). Petermann was a professor of Oriental Studies in Berlin as well as a Prussian diplomat.
He travelled extensively in the Middle East, including modern-day Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt. His travels were supported by the Prussian king who tasked the diplomat with the acquisition of manuscripts. The Staatsbibliothek acquired a first set in 1853-57 and a second set in 1870.
Location of manuscript
Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Location Of Original Digitised File
Rights Holder
© STAATSBIBLIOTHEK ZU BERLIN - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung
File names
Original file names are retained
Item Description
Manuscript
00000001
