''Hortulus Animae'' ( en, Little Garden of the Soul, german: Seelengärtlein, french: Jardin des Âmes, pl, Raj duszny) 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,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
s and
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
.
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 a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
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 (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
by
Wilhelm Schaffener of
Ribeauvillé
Ribeauvillé (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Rappschwihr''; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It was a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the de ...
(''Rappschwihr''), followed by German versions appearing in 1501. Later editions contained woodcuts by the well-known engravers
Hans Springinklee
Hans Springinklee (c.1490/c.1495 – c.1540) was a German artist from Nuremberg, best known for his woodcuts.British Museum bio, see refs below. He was a pupil of Albrecht Dürer.
Life
Little written evidence remains of Springinklee's life ...
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 influenced ...
, with beautiful miniatures in some existing manuscript examples, like the one at
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
(Cod.
Bibl. Pal. Vindobonensis. 2706, 1907), which has been reproduced as facsimile by
Friedrich Dornhöffer.
''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 int ...
, 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 ...
in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, was believed to be the first book printed in the
Polish language
Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...
(it is the second). The last known copy was lost during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The work is mentioned briefly at the end of
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
'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 ''"Ce grand ma ...
."
See also
* ''
Book of Henryków
The ''Book of Henryków'' ( pl, Księga henrykowska, la, Liber fundationis claustri Sanctae Mariae Virginis in Heinrichow) is a Latin chronicle of the Cistercian abbey in Henryków in Lower Silesia, Poland. Originally created as a registry of ...
''
* ''
Almanach cracoviense ad annum 1474
''Almanach cracoviense ad annum 1474'' (Cracovian Almanac for the Year 1474) is a broadside astronomical wall calendar for the year 1474, and Poland's oldest known print. This single-sheet incunable, known also as the ''Calendarium cracoviense' ...
''
*
History of printing in Poland
The history of printing in Poland began in the late 15th century, when following the creation of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455, printers from Western Europe spread the new craft abroad.
The Polish capital at the time was in Kraków, where schola ...
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