Liber ad honorem Augusti sive de rebus Siculis
The Liber ad honorem Augusti sive de rebus Siculis (including Carmen de motibus Siculis , German: book in honor of the emperor or the affairs of Sicily , Codex 120 II Burgerbibliothek Bern ) is a in the year 1196 by de Peter Ebulo in Palermo wrote Illustrated Chronicle which reproduces the Staufer conquest of Sicily .
The work was by Petrus de Ebulo as a panegyric on Emperor Heinrich VI. and as a diatribe against Heinrich's opponents, especially against Tankred of Lecce . According to the author's comments, it was the first work of Petrus de Ebulo. It is a verse epic, which, however, differs from the ancient models depicted on the frontispiece ( Virgil , Lucan , Ovid ) and is written in distiches to beat them . In addition, there is a narrative picture cycle, which illustrates the text on the verso on the opposite recto and is provided with its own tituli in prose . The language and the highly rhetorical style are well-mannered and, despite some Italianicisms in the choice of words and, above all, the spelling, testify to the literacy of the highly educated author, who is also proficient in comprehension. The work is divided into three books and 52 counted scores. The first two books contain the history of the event, the third is a panegyricus on Henry VI. It also contains a praise of the seven liberal arts ( artes liberales ), which can certainly be seen as the poet's indirect self-praise (Part. 51).
Apart from the Bayeux Tapestry , this book is the only surviving medieval series of images illustrating events in contemporary history. It is a valuable source for the clothing culture of southern Italy in the Hohenstaufen era. Due to the propagandistic representation of the events and the polemics against Tankred and his followers, it should be interpreted with caution as a historical source, but it does offer important additional information on the history of the event, especially on Heinrich's wife Constance of Sicily and the birth of Frederick II , and is due to the high-ranking client, the Chancellor Konrad von Querfurt , a source of great importance for the court of Heinrich VI. propagated understanding of rule.
literature
- Theo Kölzer and Marlis Stähli (eds.): Petrus de Ebulo - Liber ad honorem Augusti sive de rebus Siculis. Codex 120 II of the Burgerbibliothek Bern. A pictorial chronicle of the Staufer era , text revision and translation by Gereon Becht-Jördens. Jan Thorbecke Verlag, 1994 ISBN 3-7995-4245-0
- Sibyl Kraft: A picture book from the Kingdom of Sicily. Art-historical studies on the "Liber ad honorem Augusti" by Petrus von Eboli (Codex 120 II of the Burgerbibliothek Bern) . Weimar 2006.
Web links
- Digital copy of the manuscript at e-codices .
- Description of the manuscript in the archive catalog of the Burgerbibliothek Bern
- Latin text of the Liber ad honorem Augusti sive de rebus Siculis