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 1921 OF THE EMPEROR FREDERICK II 343 Pelicans are called cofani in Apulia. 1 Young birds should be protected especially against the south winds, 2 a precaution necessary in Frederick's dominions only in the land of the sirocco. One passage brings us more specifically to that region of the Capitanata where Frederick's favourite castles lay : In quadam regione Apulie plane que dicitur Capitanata in tempore reditus gruum capte sunt iam grues cum girofalcis, falconibus et aliis avibus rapacibus, que erant sanguinolente in plumis et pennis sub alis et in lateribus et erant adeo debiles quod vix poterant volare et alique de talibus iam fuerunt capte manibus hominum, cuius rei simile non audivimus in aliis regionibus visum fuisse. 3 The purpose and method of the treatise can best be seen from the preface, where, planning the first comprehensive and finished work on the subject, he declares his independence of Aristotle on the ground that the philosopher had little or no practice in falconry, and indicates his own reliance on experience and the results of long inquiry among experts brought from a distance. Frag- mentary and corrupt in the edition, the preface reads as follows : 4 Liber divi Augusti Frederici secundi Romanorum imperatoris, Ierusalem et Sicilie regis, de arte venandi cum avibus 5 Pre[sens opus ag]gredi 6 nos induxit et 7 insta[ns tua pejtitio, fili karissi[me Man]fride, 8 et ut removeremus errorem plurium circa presens negocium qui sine arte hiis 9 que artis erant in eodem negocio abutebantur imitando 10 quorundam libros mendaces et insufficienter compositos de ipso, et ut relinqueremus posteris artificiosam traditionem de materia huius libri. Nos tamen, licet proposuissemus ex multo tem[pore ante] com- ponere presens [opus, dis]tulimus fere per trigi[nta a]nnos propositum in scripto redigere, quoniam non putabamus nos extunc sufficere neque 1 ' Pellicani qui ab Apuliensibus dicuntur cofani,' MS. M, fo. 3 V, ed. Schneider, p. 6. * Pellicani quos quidam in Ytalia dicunt cofanos,' MS. M, fo. 6, ed. Schneider, p. 9. 2 MS. M, fo. 58 v, ed. Schneider, p. 92. Cf. Moamyn (MS. Corpus 287, fo. 48 v ), ' Domus non sit aperta a parte austri '. 3 MS. B, p. 361 ; repeated from pp. 54 f. 4 The text is based on MS. M, with the portions in brackets filled in from B, C, and D. I have not included the introductory matter which follows, since it appears sufficiently in the editions. 5 There is no heading in the manuscripts, but the title is given in the introductory matter which follows the preface proper : ' Libri titulus talis est, Liber divi Augusti Frederici secundi Romanorum imperatoris, Ierusalem et Sicilie regis, de arte venandi cum avibus divisivus et inquisitivus ad manifestationem operationum nature in venatione que fit per aves.' So M, fo. l v. The edition omits all after 'avibus'. B and D omit ' de arte venandi cum avibus '. C has further at the end of i, c. 1 ' Divi Augusti Federici secundi Romanorum imperatoris, Ierusalem et Sicilie regis, super librum de avibus et aucupando prologus explicit 6 agendi, BCD. 'om. BCD. 8 vir claris8ime M.S., BCD, the last letter blotted in C. m has Tres chiers filz Manfroi. The edition omits everything to this point. 9 habentes, ed. w in imitando, C.