Folio 51r - the hoopoe, continued. De noctua; Of the nightowl. [De vespertilione]; Of the bat
brings about the death of the spirit; for this reason those who love God should 'rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing and in every thing give thanks' (see 1 Thessalonians, 5:16-18) 'for the fruit of the Spirit is joy' (see Galatians, 5:22).
In addition, Physiologus says of the hoopoe that when it grows old and cannot fly, its offspring come and pull out the oldest feathers from its body and constantly care for it, until it has recovered its strength as before and can fly. The young hoopoes provide, therefore, an example to those evil men who, when their parents grow old, throw them out of their home; who refuse to support, when they are weak, the parents who raised them when they were still in their infancy.
Let man, who is endowed with reason, learn his duty to his mother and father, from the way in which this creature, which lacks reason, provides (as we have already shown) for its parents' needs when they are old.
Of the night-owl
The night-owl, noctua, is so called because it flies at night and cannot see in the daytime. For its sight is dimmed by brightness of the sun when it has risen.
The night-owl, noctua, is not the same as the owl, bubo, which is bigger. But the night-crow, nicticorax, is the same as the night-owl, because it loves the night. For it is a bird which shuns the light and cannot bear to see the sun.
This bird symbolises the Jews who, when the Lord our Saviour came to save them, rejected him, saying: 'We have no king but Caesar' (John, 19:15); and 'loved darkness rather than light' (John, 3:19). Then our Lord turned to us, the Gentiles, and gave us light as we sat in darkness and the shadow of death; of the Gentiles it is said: 'A people which I knew not shall serve me' (Samuel 2, 22:44; Psalms, 18:44); and in another prophet: 'I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved' (Romans, 9:25; see Hosea, 2:23). Of the people of the Jews, the sons of strangers etc.
[Of the bat]
The bat, a lowly animal, gets its name from vesper, the evening, when it emerges.
It is a winged creature but also a four-footed one, and it has teeth,
- Commentary
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Commentary
Text
Young hoopoes care for their parents. Noctua, the night owl.
Comment
Prick marks for pouncing are visible, which relate to the image of the bat on f.51v. The centre of this page is excised for the illustration of the jackdaw on f.51v. The rubric for the bat, at the bottom of the page, is missing. Initial type 2.
Folio Attributes
- Transcription and Translation
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Transcription
mortem spiritus operatur, propter quod oportet eum qui diligit deum semper\ gaudere sine intermissione orare, in omnibus gratias agere quia gaudi\ um spiritus est fructus. De hupupa etiam Phisiologus dicit, quia [PL, quod]\ cum senuerit et volare non possit, filii eius ad eum veniunt\ et pennas vetustissimas a corpore ipsius evellunt, eamque fovere\ non cessant, donec sicut ante assumptis viribus volare pos\ sit. Exemplum igitur perversis hominibus tribuunt, qui patres\ suos cum senuerint a domibus propriis expellunt, qui eos cum\ deficiant sustentare renuunt, qui ipsos cum adhuc parvu\ li essent educaverunt. Videat ergo homo rationabilis quid patri\ vel matri debeat, cum irrationabilis creatura quod predixi\ [A, imus in necessitate cum senuerint parentibus reddat. \ De noctua \ Noctua dicitur, eo quod nocte circumvolat, et per diem non possit videre. Nam exorto splendore solis, visus illius hebetatur. Noctua autem non est bubo. Nam bubo maior est. Nicticorax ipsa est noctua, quia noctem amat. Est enim avis lucifuga, et solem videre non patitur.] Hec avis figuram gerit Judeorum,\ qui veniente domino salvatore ad salvandos eos reppule-\ runt eum, dicentes: Non habemus regem nisi Caesarem, et plus\ dilexerunt tenebras quam lucem. Tunc dominus convertit se ad nos\ gentes et illuminavit nos sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis,\ de quibus dicitur: Populus quem non cognovi servivit mihi, et in alio\ propheta: Vocabo non plebem meam plebem, et non dilectam dilectam.\ De populo Judeorum, filii alieni et cetera. \ [De vespertilione] \ Vespertilio animal ignobile, a vespere nomen accepit. Est\ autem volatile idemque quadrupes, et dentibus utiturTranslation
brings about the death of the spirit; for this reason those who love God should 'rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing and in every thing give thanks' (see 1 Thessalonians, 5:16-18) 'for the fruit of the Spirit is joy' (see Galatians, 5:22). In addition, Physiologus says of the hoopoe that when it grows old and cannot fly, its offspring come and pull out the oldest feathers from its body and constantly care for it, until it has recovered its strength as before and can fly. The young hoopoes provide, therefore, an example to those evil men who, when their parents grow old, throw them out of their home; who refuse to support, when they are weak, the parents who raised them when they were still in their infancy. Let man, who is endowed with reason, learn his duty to his mother and father, from the way in which this creature, which lacks reason, provides (as we have already shown) for its parents' needs when they are old. Of the night-owl The night-owl, noctua, is so called because it flies at night and cannot see in the daytime. For its sight is dimmed by brightness of the sun when it has risen. The night-owl, noctua, is not the same as the owl, bubo, which is bigger. But the night-crow, nicticorax, is the same as the night-owl, because it loves the night. For it is a bird which shuns the light and cannot bear to see the sun. This bird symbolises the Jews who, when the Lord our Saviour came to save them, rejected him, saying: 'We have no king but Caesar' (John, 19:15); and 'loved darkness rather than light' (John, 3:19). Then our Lord turned to us, the Gentiles, and gave us light as we sat in darkness and the shadow of death; of the Gentiles it is said: 'A people which I knew not shall serve me' (Samuel 2, 22:44; Psalms, 18:44); and in another prophet: 'I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved' (Romans, 9:25; see Hosea, 2:23). Of the people of the Jews, the sons of strangers etc. [Of the bat] The bat, a lowly animal, gets its name from vesper, the evening, when it emerges. It is a winged creature but also a four-footed one, and it has teeth,
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