Swallow, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230
Transcription
Translation
sed in aere escas capiat et edat. Garrula avis. per
tortuosos orbes et flexuosos et iuxta terram circuitus;
volans. et in nidis construendis educandisque fetibus;
sollertissima. habens etiam quiddam prescium; quod
lapsura deserat nec appetat culmina. A diris quoque avi-
bus non inpeditur; nec umquam preda est. Maria trans-
volans; ibi hyeme commoratur. Parva corpora; sed
pio sublimis affectu. et arte ingeniosissima. Indi-
ga rerum omnium; pretiosiores auro; nidos instruit;
quia cum sapientia nidificat. Quid enim sapientius
quam ut volandi vaga libertate potiatur. et hominibus
It is said of the swallow that the resident does not take food; but let him catch food in the air and eat it. The chattering of the birds, through the tortuous circles and windings, and round about the earth; flying, and in building nests and raising young; very skilful, having even a certain prescience; that he had abandoned the slide and did not desire the summits. He is also not troubled by wild birds; nor was he ever a prey. Mary flying across; he spends the winter there. Small bodies; but I am pious with lofty feelings, and a most ingenious art. In need of all things; more precious than gold; builds nests; because it nestles with wisdom. For what is wiser than to take possession of the wandering freedom of flight, and recommend nests and chicks to men
det. ubi subolem nullus hostis inpetere audet.
et pullos suos humane conversationi assues-
cat. Preterea nidum sine ullo adiutore artificio-
sissime componit. Legit enim festucas ore. easque luto
linit; ut glutinare possit. Sed quia lutum pedibus
deferre non potest; summitates pennarum aqua infun-
dit. ut facile hiis pulvis adhereat. et fiat limus
quo paulatim festucas vel minutos surculos(changed from furculos);
sibi colligat. atque adherere faciat. et sic totum nidum
facit; ut solidus sit. nec rimultus. ne grigus ad
pullos iiitrare possit. Hoc quoque preclarum ha-
bet et medicamenti insigne. quod pullis cecitate per-
cussis; novit lumina reformare. Hec avis velocis-
sima est. et nigra super dorsum. alba sum ventre.
vermiculata; sub gutture. habens caudam bifur-
catam. Nomine hirundiiiis aliquando dicitur christus ni-
dum ecclesie sapienter edificans. aliquando apostoli. in nido ecclesie
filios fide generantes. aliquando prophete in nido sinagoge
vel veteris testamenti; populos edocentes.
and men's dwellings, where no enemy dares to intrude, and accustom his chicks to humane intercourse. Moreover, he arranges the nest very skillfully without any helper. For he read the fescues with his mouth. and he smears them with mud; to be able to glue But because he cannot carry the mud with his feet; he infuses the tops of the feathers with water, so that it easily adheres to these dusts, and becomes a slime on which little by little the shoots or little shoots grow; gather it to himself, and cause it to adhere. and so he makes the whole nest; so that it is solid and not broken, so that the grayling cannot enter the chicks. This also has a prominent and medicinal sign. that the chickens were struck with blindness; he knows how to change the lights. This bird is very swift, and has a black back, and a white belly, covered with worms; under the throat, having a bifurcated tail. By the name of the swallows, sometimes Christ is said to be wisely building the church's nest, sometimes the apostles, begetting children by faith in the church's nest, sometimes the prophet in the synagogue's nest or the Old Testament; educating the people.