Pietro de' Crescenzi

For other people named Pier Crescenzi, see Pier Crescenzi.

Pietro de' Crescenzi (or Pier Crescenzi)[1][2] (ca. 1230/35-ca. 1320) was an Italian jurist from Bologna, now known as a writer on agriculture.[3] Educated at the University of Bologna in logic, medicine, the natural sciences and law, Crescenzi practiced as a lawyer and judge from about 1269 until 1299. After retiring to his villa, the Villa Olmo outside the walls of Bologna, he wrote an agricultural treatise based largely on classical and medieval sources, as well as his own experience as a landowner.

Contents

Liber ruralium commodorum

His work Liber ruralium commodorum (The Book of Rural Benefits) was completed some time between 1304 and 1309, and was dedicated to Charles II of Naples.[4] King Charles V of France ordered a French translation in 1373. After circulating in numerous manuscript copies, Crescenzi's treatise became the first printed modern text on agriculture when it was published in Augsburg by Johann Schüssler in 1471.[5] Some 57 editions in Latin, Italian, French, and German appeared during the following century.[6].

Sections

Crescenzi's book was organized in 12 parts:

  1. Siting and layout of a manor, villa or farm, considering climate, winds, and water supply; also the duties of the head of the estate
  2. Botanical properties of plants and horticultural techniques
  3. Agriculture of cereals and building of a granary
  4. Vines and winemaking
  5. Arboriculture—trees useful for food and medicine
  6. Horticulture—plants useful for food and medicine
  7. Management of meadows and woodland
  8. Pleasure gardens
  9. Animal husbandry and bee keeping
  10. Hunting and fishing
  11. General summary
  12. Monthly calendar of tasks

See also

References and notes

  1. ^ Petrus de Crescentius, Petrus de Crescentiis, Petrus Crescentiensis, Peter de Crescentiis, Pietro dei Crescenzi, Pietro de Crescenzi, Pietro de Crescenzi, Pietro de' Crescenzi, Pier de' Crescenzi, Pier de Crescenzi, Pier Crescenzi, Piero Crescientio, Piero de Crescenzi, Piero de' Crescenzi.
  2. ^ Robert G. Calkins, "Piero de' Crescenzi and the Medieval Garden", in Medieval Gardens, ed. Elisabeth B. MacDougall, Dumbarton Oaks, 1986: 155-173.
  3. ^ "Crescenzi, Pietro – 14th Century". History of Horticulture. The Ohio State University. http://hcs.osu.edu/hort/history/028.html. Retrieved June 2011. 
  4. ^ Johanna Bauman, "Tradition and Transformation: the Pleasure Garden in Piero de' Crescenzi's Liber Ruralium Commodorum", Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes (2002): 99-141.
  5. ^ Crescentius, Petrus de (16 February 1471) (in Latin). Ruralia commoda. [Augsburg]: Johannes Schüssler. pp. 417. http://bibliotecadigitalhispanica.bne.es:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=1604508&custom_att_2=simple_viewer. Retrieved June 2011. 
  6. ^ Frank J. Anderson, An Illustrated History of the Herbals, New York, 1977.

External links