Contains the Der Naturen Bloeme by Jacob van Maerlant. This is the oldest known copy of this text. The manuscript kept in Detmold is a particularly fine copy; it contains over 500 colored miniatures, some with gold leaf plating. Several of the images are partly painted on a piece of parchment that has been pasted onto the edge or bottom of the page, possibly because the scribe did not leave enough space for the planned illustration.

The books containing animal chapters are:

• Book 2 : Quadrupeds [folio 13v]
• Book 3 : Birds [folio 48r]
• Book 4 : Marine monsters [folio 77r]
• Book 5 : Fish [folio 87r]
• Book 6 : Serpents [folio 97r]
• Book 7 : Worms (insects) [folio 104r]

Folio 79 is missing entirely. The animals on those two pages were: sea-stag (cervus marinus), caab, crab (cricos), celethi, chylon (chilon), sea-dog (canis marinis), ceruleum and sea-dragon (draco marinis).

This is the manuscript copy designated D.

Note: In the Detmold manuscript digital facsimile, folio 110r and 110v have been switched (that is, the actual 110v is labeled 110r and the actual 110r is labeled 110v).

Additional Descriptions

Additional description

Editions and Facsimiles

Printed editions

Gysseling, 1981

Digital editions

Gysseling (DBNL), 2001

Printed facsimiles

Berteloot, 1999

Digital facsimiles

Lippische Landesbibliothek