Folio 22r Translation and Transcription

Folio 22r Translation

[Of the horse]

[... Some horses recognise their own masters, and] if these change, forget their training. Others let no-one on their back except their master - we will give an example of this.

The horse of Alexander the Great was called Bucefala, either from its savage appearance, or from its brand - it had a bull's-head burnt into its shoulder - or because the points of little horns grew out of its forehead. Although it was ridden by its groom at times without resisting, once it carried the royal saddle, it would never deign to carry anyone but its master the king. There are many accounts of this horse in battles where, by its own efforts, it carried Alexander unharmed from the fiercest fights. The horse of Gaius Caesar allowed no-one on its back but Caesar. When the king of the Scythians was killed in single combat, his victorious opponent sought to plunder his corpse but was mauled by the king's horse, which kicked and bit him. When King Nicomedes was killed, his horse starved itself to death. When Antiochus conquered the Galatians, he leapt on the horse of a general, Cintaretus by name, who had fallen in battle, in order to go on fighting. But the horse reacted against the bit to such an extent that it fell deliberately, injuring both itself and its rider in the fall.

Among this kind of animal, the males live longer. Indeed, we read of horses living for seventy years. We note also that a stallion called Opuntes was at stud up to the age of forty. In mares, sexual desire is quenched when their mane is cropped; when they give birth, a love charm appears, which the foals display on their foreheads, tawny in colour, like a tuft of sedge, called hipponenses. If it is taken away immediately, the mother will on no account give her udders to the foal to suckle it. The deeper a horse dips its nostrils when drinking, the better its prospects.

Horses weep for their slain or dying masters. It is said that the horse alone weeps for men and feels the emotion of grief on their account. Following on from this, the characteristics of horses and men are intermingled in the centaurs. Men riding into battle can infer from the low or high spirits of their mounts, what the outcome will be.

The general view is that in horses of good pedigree ...

Transcription

[De equo part] etudinis si mutentur. Aliqui preter dominum dorso nullum re\recipiunt, unde exemplum dabimus. Alexandri magni equus \Bucefala dictus, sive de aspectus torvitate, seu ab insigni quod \taurinum caput armo inustum habebat, seu quod e fronte \eius quedam corniculorum mine protuberabant, cum ab equa\rio suo alias etiam molliter sedetur accepto regio stratu neminem \unquam preter dominum vehere dignatus est. Documenta eius in preliis plu\ra sunt, quibus Alexandrum crudelissimis certaminibus sospitem \opere suo extulit. Equus Gaii Cesaris nullum preter Cesarem dor\so recepit. Regem Scitarum singulari certamine interemptum, \cum adversarius victor spoliare vellet, ab equo eius calcibus mor\suque est laceratus. Nichomede rege interfecto equus eius inedia vi\tam expulit. Cum prelio Anthiocus Galathas subegisset, Cin\tareti nomine ducis qui in acie cediderat equum insilivit pug\naturus. Isque adeo sprevit lupatos ut de industria cernuatus, \ruina pariter et se et equitem affligeret. In huiscemodi animalis \genere etas longior maribus. Legimus sane equum ad annos lxx \vixisse. Notatum etiam advertimus Opuntem nomine equum ad \gregariam venerem durasse ad annos quadraginta. Equarum libi\do extinguitur iubis tonsis, in quarum partu amoris nascitur vene \ficium, quod in frontibus preferunt editi fulvo colore caricis simile, \hipponenses nominatur. Quod si preraptum statim fuerit nequaquam \mater pullo ubera prebet fellitando. Quo equis amor fuerit speique \maioris, eo profundius nares mersitat in bibendo. Interfectis vel \morientibus dominis equi lacrimas fundunt. Solum enim equum \dicunt propter hominem lacrimare et doloris affectum sentire. Unde \et in centauris equorum et hominum natura permixta est. Solent enim \ex equorum vel mesticia vel alacritate eventum futurum dimica\turi colligere. Frequens opinio est in generosis equis ut \

Translation

[Of the horse]

[... Some horses recognise their own masters, and] if these change, forget their training. Others let no-one on their back except their master - we will give an example of this.

The horse of Alexander the Great was called Bucefala, either from its savage appearance, or from its brand - it had a bull's-head burnt into its shoulder - or because the points of little horns grew out of its forehead. Although it was ridden by its groom at times without resisting, once it carried the royal saddle, it would never deign to carry anyone but its master the king. There are many accounts of this horse in battles where, by its own efforts, it carried Alexander unharmed from the fiercest fights. The horse of Gaius Caesar allowed no-one on its back but Caesar. When the king of the Scythians was killed in single combat, his victorious opponent sought to plunder his corpse but was mauled by the king's horse, which kicked and bit him. When King Nicomedes was killed, his horse starved itself to death. When Antiochus conquered the Galatians, he leapt on the horse of a general, Cintaretus by name, who had fallen in battle, in order to go on fighting. But the horse reacted against the bit to such an extent that it fell deliberately, injuring both itself and its rider in the fall.

Among this kind of animal, the males live longer. Indeed, we read of horses living for seventy years. We note also that a stallion called Opuntes was at stud up to the age of forty. In mares, sexual desire is quenched when their mane is cropped; when they give birth, a love charm appears, which the foals display on their foreheads, tawny in colour, like a tuft of sedge, called hipponenses. If it is taken away immediately, the mother will on no account give her udders to the foal to suckle it. The deeper a horse dips its nostrils when drinking, the better its prospects.

Horses weep for their slain or dying masters. It is said that the horse alone weeps for men and feels the emotion of grief on their account. Following on from this, the characteristics of horses and men are intermingled in the centaurs. Men riding into battle can infer from the low or high spirits of their mounts, what the outcome will be.

The general view is that in horses of good pedigree ...

Historic Collections - University of Aberdeen - King's College - Aberdeen - AB24 3SW
Michael Arnott m.arnott@aberdeen.ac.uk