A copy of the Catalan Bestiary.

Title: Spill d’exemples de naturaleses d’alguns animals. Colophon: "This small booklet is copied from another book of the same Catalan language and [I have] seen the book and [my] opinion is by the way that auia al manch cc anys quera [decay?; the bookworms have eaten for cc years?], written according to the words so excuse and the paper so thick and written with letters and words so strange of which ... been made by a friar of St. Francis who, not to seek vain glory, did not want to put his name, and if by chance he had failed in anything, he put himself in obedience, and of the holy mother, the Roman Church, and of her saints, as an obedient son."

This Catalan Bestiary manuscript is designated B.

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[Adapted from Aquatic animals in the Catalan Bestiari, page 129]

This manuscript was used as the base text of version B by Panunzio, who considers that it was copied from an earlier book. The preface reads:

Libre apellat Spill d’exemples de naturaleses de alguns animals, concordats ab moltes sententies de la Sagrada Scriptura ab molt gentill estill fet per un Reverent frare del orde de Sant Fransesch dels Claustrals, lo qual per avitar vanaglòria e per umilitat no pose son nom. Es libre entiquisim. (Book called mirror of examples of natures of some animals, agreed with many sentences of the Holy Scripture with very gentle style made by a Reverend friar of the order of St. Francis of the Cloisters, who to avoid vanity and humility does not put his name. It is a very ancient book).

It contains 45 animals with certain differences compared to Biblioteca Universitària de Barcelona, MS 75 of version A, as this text does not include the sparrowhawk, which is the last animal mentioned in version A. Furthermore, the crane (grua) is included between the chapters on the swan and the dog, and it is also mentioned again in another chapter (grua-grues, here in plural), coinciding with version A.

Additional Descriptions

Additional description 1
Additional description 2
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Additional description 4
Additional description 5
Additional description 6 (page 159-160)
Additional description 7 (page 129)

Editions and Facsimiles

Printed editions

Saverio Panunzio, Bestiaris