2003
Cairn
Marie-Dominique Leclerc, « Les dits des oiseaux », Le Moyen Age, ID : 10670/1.srmz1t
M.D. LECLERC, Les Dits des oiseaux (Tales of Birds). Among all the medieval bestiaries that got printed, the short piece called Les Dits des oiseaux stands out as a singular work. It is striking first and foremost because of its longevity : two handwritten copies in the 15th century were followed by few printed versions, but it lived on within a rather heterogeneous work known as the ancestor of the almanac, Le Grand Calendrier et Compost des bergers (The Shepherds’ Great Calendar and Compost). The present paper examines developments in the composition of the work through its several editions from the 15th to the 18th century, then it compares its contents to the traditional contents of bestiaries and more particularly of volucraries.