The ("Book in honour of the

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, or on Sicilian affairs"; also called ''Carmen de motibus Siculis'', "Poem on the Sicilian revolt") is an illustrated narrative epic in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

elegiac couplets, written in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

in 1196 by Peter of Eboli (in Latin, Petrus de Ebulo). The presentation copy, ordered by chancellor

Conrad of Querfurt Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewher ...

, is now MS. 120 II of the

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Municipal Library. It tells the story of

Tancred of Lecce Tancred (; 113820 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce, an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of Lecce. H ...

's attempt to take control of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, an attempt thwarted by the successful military campaign of

Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (German language, German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was ...

. Composed in honour of Henry VI and intended for presentation to him, the poem, distributed into three books, the last one being an encomium of Henry VI, and 52 continuously numbered particulae, is written in a mannered and sophisticated style. It is often mocking and extremely biased (see for example part. 4; 7-9; 25f. and the illustrations), but, once allowance has been made for this, is a useful and detailed historical source. It contains much information about

Constance of Sicily Constance of Sicily can refer to: *Constance I of Sicily Constance I (; 2 November 1154 – 27 November 1198) was the queen of Sicily from 1194 until her death and Holy Roman empress from 1191 to 1197 as the wife of Emperor Henry VI. As queen ...

, the wife of Henry VI (part. 20ff.), and the birth of her son

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI, Holy Roman ...

(part. 43). At every page opening a column of Latin text is faced by a full page illustration with brief captions. This beautiful volume gives a rich picture of 12th century life in Italy and Sicily; it may be compared with the 11th century

Bayeux Tapestry The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery, embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest, Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy challenging H ...

. The fierce caricatures of Tancred, who is depicted as almost ape-like in stature and features, match the propagandistic bias of the text.

References

External links

Latin text of the ''Liber ad honorem Augusti''

Bibliography

* Theo Kölzer, Marlis Stähli, ''Petrus de Ebulo: Liber ad honorem Augusti sive de rebus Siculis'', text revised, translated and annotated by Gereon-Becht-Jördens, Jan Thorbecke Verlag, 1994 omplete facsimile with German translation and commentary* Petrus de Ebulo, ''Book in Honor of Augustus (''Liber ad honorem Augusti'')'', trans. Gwenyth Hood, Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies v.398 (Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2012), 560pp. nglish translation Epic poems in Latin 12th-century books in Latin 12th-century history books 1196 books 12th-century illuminated manuscripts Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor {{latin-stub