A drawing of an Australian cockatoo found in a 13th century manuscript

Tweet

Our son sent us a link to an article in The Guardian which says that four sketches of an Australasian cockatoo have been found on the margins of a 13th century manuscript. Over 900 illustrations appear in the manuscript written by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. The discovery has had experts reassessing their views on the trade routes that existed over 700 years ago. The book’s title translates to ‘The Art of Hunting with Birds’ and is in Latin, written between 1241 and 1248. It is held in the Vatican library. Frederick II was known for his large menagerie. The bird is a sulphur-crested cockatoo and from the far north of Australia or from New Guinea or one of the islands in that region. It was presented to Frederick by al-Kamil, the sultan of Egypt. The discovery of the drawing shows that Australia was not as isolated from the rest of the world as was first thought. There must have been trade going on in the north of the continent from quite early on. I guess they are searching for more such drawings now.