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2 NOTES BRfiVES 121

likc an eagle rather tlian a raven ^{1 2 3}. At the same time, somc of the versions of the so-called “para-ble of the unicorn” known in our country^ speak of the lion instead of the unicorn ⁴.

The rivalry between the winged creatures and the beasts, in forms that remind of Cantemir’s story, appears also in the pictures which illustrate several late 15th-century edi-tions — perhaps recnrring also later — of- Magnus de Magneriis*work : Dialogus creaturarum¹. The wood cutting which illustrates dialogue 49 (De aąuilla et auibus et leone et aliis bestiis) shows a deer, a boar, a beast in the likeness of a camcl (“Stru^ocamila” “Camilopardal”), a unicorn and a crowned lion fiercely attacking a crowned eagle.

In dialogue 88 (De leopardo et unicorni qui pugnabant cum dracone), the unicorn is allied to the leopard when it fights a dragon. Dimitrie Cantemir, who styles himself monoceros, calls his father, Conslantin Cantemir, Monoceroleopardal (monoceros = unicorn), a name which does not secm to be chosen at random.

Neither Aesop’s fable, nor the Dialogues (if Dimitrie Cantemir bccame acquainted with tliem and not with others related to them) are taken up ad litteram by the Moldavian voivode. The idea of these fcw lines from the Life and Fables of Aesop, so simply expounded, becomes the basis of a novel and Magneriis’ leopard-unicom dialogue assnmes an entirely new meaning ; this happens also to another tale which is paraphrased almost word for word and intro-dneed in the Historia hieroglifphica. It seems that a certain bishop, Cyrillus, wrote in JBohemia, iii the 14th century, a collection of fables in Latin : Speculum-Sapientiae (known in its later versions also as Namen Quadripartitus Apologeticus or Gwidrinus)⁴. This book circulated in maniiscript, ilhislratcd Latin or German versions (translated by Ulrich von Pottcnstein at the beginning of tlić 15th century under the title Buch der naturhehen Weisheit). In 1490 a German version of the text, with woodcuts, was issued at Augsburg. The chapter entitled Contra superbientes tx robore. De Rinoceronte et coruo lells the story of a unicorn which wanted to top-ple with its horn a raven which was perching on a high rock. But the conceited beast smasli-ed his horn against the rock and had to listen to the edifying sermon of the bird which had flown lip high in the air.

The same story appears in the Historia hieroglifphica but with a different end . “The unicorn was climbing a high, stcep, craggy, pathless moniitain ; all around nothing but chasms, abysses, bottomlcss ravines that madę one dizzy. And suddenly it sighted high up in the sky, abovc the peaks, a dark bird (“Dark bird : Ravcn”) which was coming down whirling and whirring and altcmpting to alight on its bright and slippery horn. The unicorn started sliakmg its liead and the bird was not able to alight. But the bird did not give up, attempting to pcrch on the bright and slippery horn. The unicorn and the bird fought for a wliile and the former hittmg agnin and agnin succceded in breaking some feathers of the bird’s riglit wing. (“broken fcalhcrs : diminishing strenglh”). Exhansted by the figlit and dizzy, flnttering and tnmbling down, the bird ignominiously collapsed into the abyss (“collapsing fioma high standing : from pride to disgrace”) ⁵ ...

The corresponding woodcnt from the Augsburg edition (1490) ⁶ miglit be considered as having urged Cantemir to givc a ncw inlcrprctation to the Unicorn and Raven story. But, as this was a German vcrsion, wc think that hc draw his inspiration from another sourcc : a maniiscript or print with similar illustralions.

1

Dan Ccrnovodcann, ętiinfa ęi arta lieraldicd in Romania (Heraldic science and art in Romania), Bncurcsti, 1977, pp. 43 — 51.

2

⁰ CStalina Vclcnlcscu, The " Parable of the Unicorn” and of the man who was ijearnmg for apples, “Synthesis”, VI, 1979, pp. 139 - 143.

3

   L. Hain, op. cit., vol. II₂, pp. 249 — 250 ; P. Rajna, Intorno al cosidetto 'Dialogus creaturarum'_t “Giornale storico della letteratura italiana”, vol. III, IV, X, XI, 1884—1888;

I.    Collijn, Katalog der Inkunabeln der kgl. Bibl. in Stockholm, II_lf Stockholm, 191G, pp. 19 — 90 ;

J.    W. Einhorn, op. cit., p. 237, 295.

4

   L. Hain, op. cit., vol. II₂, pp. 221 — 222 ; J. W. Einhorn, op. cit., pp. 23G — 237, 294; F. Wagner, op. cit., p. 895.

5

   The Latin title was similar : Contra superbientes ex robore ... ; D. Cantemir Istona IcroghficćL, citcd. ed. pp. 196—197, 198,203. The fragment was issued also separately under the title Lupta dintre inorog ęi corb (The fight of the unicorn with the raven), Bucureęti, 1927. Dimitrie Cantemir*s comments are put in brackejts.

6

³⁰ In a cragged landscape a unicorn is fiercely fighting with a raven. Other illustrations explicity show the nnicorn’s defeat.