Treatise on Hunting and Fishing - Oppiano, Cynegetica

The Treatise on Hunting and Fishing counts as one of the largest and most important hunting manuscripts. It contains the well-known expositions of the Greco-Roman writer Oppian of Apamea concerning hunting with dogs and birds as well as fishing, which were composed for the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Severus Augustus, known as Caracalla. The treatise is furnished with 157 informative and likewise entertaining, wonderful miniatures in the Byzantine style of the 11th century. The owner of the manuscript in the 15th century, the famous Italian mediator of ancient Greek culture, Cardinal Bessarion, commissioned Georgios Trivizias to complete the manuscript a few centuries after it was written. In this way, a true treasure of book art was created, which impressively conveys the ancient knowledge of hunting and fishing in 150 pages.

A Poet Vaunted by the Emperor

The author of this influential treatise was Oppian of Apamea, a 3rd century Greco-Roman poet. Originally from Syria, he became known when he presented his verses to the Roman Emperor Caracalla, who lauded him considerably for them. This didactic poem, which contains parts that concern themselves with hunting, constitutes the basis of the text for the manuscript, which was begun in the 11th century.

Valuable Miniatures in the Naturalist, Byzantine Style

The Treatise on Hunting and Fishing is impressively illustrated in 157 remarkable miniatures. Many fishing methods are presented, such as the use of nets, hutches, traps, spears, and lances. The hunters, ever adjoined by their horses and hounds, hunt various animals be they lions, birds, ducks, swine, rabbits, and many more. In wonderful, naturalistic pictures, the scenes with animals and other figures are intertwined with a memorable landscaped background. Alongside that, the depictions of fishing play out naturally over open water, where fisherman are seen casting forth their nets. Large swarms of fish populate the dark blue water. Stylistically, the miniatures orient themselves on Byzantine illumination, which demonstrate an astounding naturalism. The Greek text is entertainingly subdivided through detail rich depictions.

A Highlight of the Bessarion Collection

Greek minuscule lettering was added to part of the text in the 15th century. Cardinal Bessarion, in whose possession the manuscript ended up, gave forth a contract to complete the missing portions of the text. In the middle of the 15th century, this task was executed by the writer Georgios Trivizias, a priest of the Greek community in Venice. Therefore he relied upon the older, original Greek version of the famous text. Basilius Bassarion was a Byzantine humanist and theologian of the 15th century whose life's work consisted of spreading Greek culture and the writings of Greek philosophers in the Occident. When this Cardinal Bessarion gave his entire, extensive library as a gift to the city of Venice in 1468, the treatise also ended up through these means in the Marciana Library, where it has remained as a highlight of the collection through today.