Order Form for De Scientia Venandi per Aves or Latin Moamin

Comments from Austrian falconer Christian Habich

For those falconers who are not aware of this famous falconry artefact:

The codex, also known as De Scientia Venandi per Aves or Latin Moamin, was written and illuminated in the late 13th century, after the death of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250), King of Sicily, who requested a translation of the text in 1240. With its 101 exquisitely illuminated historiated initials and more than 80 miniatures of exceptional quality, the codex is a superb example of Italian production from the Southern area.

The work represents the Latin version of an Arabic treatise on falconry – Kit?b al-mutawakkil? – attributed to one Moamin, a name attributed to the work in the Western world but not in the Eastern one. What seems to be certain is that 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 for the caliph al-Mutawakkili. The work deals with all aspects of hunting with birds and dogs in five books

The new facsimile edition of this “Vienna Moamyn” is  published as Vol. CXXIII of the “Codices Selecti” series and reproduces the manuscript in the  original format and colours, in its most minute  details.