| Annotation | Date of publication from colophon. Imprint: Basileae per Henrichum Petri. Colophon: Basileae, per Henrichum Petri, mense Martio, anno M. D. XLVIII. Paging irregular: 113-120 repeated in numbering; 299 numbered 269; 329-330 numbered 331-332; 340 numbered 304. Printer's device on title page and on verso of final leaf. Includes index. Dedication in decorated border, Signatures: a⁶, A-2K⁶. The first edition was published as early as 1471 at Augsburg, Germany and at the same time also at Strassbourg, both editions under the title "Opus ruralium commodorum". This second Petri edition (first 1538) has an entiry different set of blocks for all of the illustrations for this edition, none of them resembling the heavier work found in the edition of Peter Drach, [1490-1495], or of the 1512 edition. Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des 16. Jahrhunderts (VD 16), Adams, H.M. Catalogue of books printed on the continent of Europe, 1501-1600, in Cambridge libraries, C 2930 P 1832 The best work on agriculture written in the Middle Ages, by Petrus Crescentiis (Bologna 1230-1320). It has had a great impact, first in Italy itself, later also through the whole of Europe. The work is divided into twelve sections, each of which addressed itself to a specific agricultural topic. Book I discusses the best location and arrangement of a manor, villa, or farm, and touches on every necessary point from proper water supply to the dues of the head of the household. Book II provides the farmer with the botanical background needed to raise every kind of crop. Book III tells how to build a granary and a threshing floor, and how to cultivate cereal, forage, and food crops. Book IV is on vines, wine-making, the means of preserving both fresh and dried grapes. Books V and VI are on arboriculture and horticulture, respectively. Book VII is on meadows and woods, while Book VIII, which contains a quantity of original material, is on gardens, and is very much the model for gardening books of the 16th and 17th centuries. Book IX concerns animal husbandry and bee-keeping. Book XI offers a general summary of the work, and Book XII is a calendar of duties and tasks to be performed month by month. Crescenzi was born in Bologna approximately 1233. He first studied medicine and natural sciences but then became a lawyer. He compiled his text around 1306, drawing on the Roman writers whose works form the 'Scriptores rei rusticae', Cato, Columella, Varro, and Palladius. | Translate |
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