''Hortulus Animae'' (, , , ) was the Latin title of a prayer book also available in German. It was very popular in the early sixteenth century, printed in many versions, also abroad in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

s and

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

History

An earlier well-known work of devotion and of moral instruction, richly illustrated with stories, was ''"Der Selen Würtzgart"'', first printed at

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

in 1483. The meaning of the title is "Herb garden of the Soul", which is similar to later titles. The first known edition of ''Hortulus Animae'', dated 13 March 1498, was printed at

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

by Wilhelm Schaffener of

Ribeauvillé Ribeauvillé ( is the French name of Ràppschwihr (), a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. Geography The town is located around north of Colmar a ...

(''Rappschwihr''), followed by German versions appearing in 1501. Later editions contained woodcuts by the well-known engravers Hans Springinklee and

Erhard Schön Erhard Schön ( 1491–1542) was a German woodcut designer and painter. Schön was born in Nuremberg as the son of painter Max Schön III. He probably started to learn his trade as an artist in the workshop of his father. He was clearly influence ...

, with beautiful miniatures in some existing manuscript examples, like the one at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(Cod. Bibl. Pal. Vindobonensis. 2706, 1907), which has been reproduced as facsimile by Friedrich Dornhöffer. In 1501/1502,

Sebastian Brant Sebastian Brant (also Brandt; 1457/1458 – 10 May 1521) was a German humanist and satirist. He is best known for his satire '' Das Narrenschiff'' (''The Ship of Fools''). Early life and education Brant was born in either 1457 or 1458 in Strasbo ...

from Strasbourg translated it into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. ''Hortulus Animae polonice'', a Polish version written by

Biernat of Lublin Biernat of Lublin ( Polish: ''Biernat z Lublina'', Latin ''Bernardus Lublinius'', ca. 1465 – after 1529) was a Polish poet, fabulist, translator, and physician. He was one of the first Polish-language writers known by name, and the most i ...

, printed and published in 1513 by

Florian Ungler Florian Ungler (died 1536 in Kraków) and Kasper Hochfeder were printers from Bavaria that after 1510 became pioneers of printing and publishing in the Polish language. *1512 ''Introductio in Ptolomei Cosmographiam'', with maps of America *1513 ...

, was believed to be the first book printed in the

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

(it is the second). The last known copy was lost during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The work is mentioned briefly at the end of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

's short story "

The Man of the Crowd "The Man of the Crowd" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe about a nameless narrator following a man through a crowded London. It was first published in 1840. Plot summary The story is introduced with the Epigraph (literature), ...

References

External links

* ''Catholic Encyclopedia'
''Hortulus Animæ'' - Little Garden of the Soul
{{Authority control 1513 books 16th-century Christian texts Latin religious words and phrases Devotional literature

History

See also

References

External links