On the Lion

...twelve-fold. Or otherwise that text can be read, namely: And a solid number, so that these animals complete a solid number—that is, the number twelve—and alone—that is, a unity. So that here he determines the natures of thirteen animals original: "tredecim"; while the poem mentions twelve (bisseno) animals, the commentator here counts thirteen, possibly including a specific chapter or treating the preface differently..

For the lion, standing strong upon the high peaks of the mountain,
By whatever way of the valley he descends to the lowest parts,
If he senses the hunter’s scent through his nose,
With his tail he wipes away everything where his foot fixes tracks,
So that [the hunter] might not be able to discern his lair lair (lustrum): a den or hiding place of a beast therefrom.
When born, he does not wake until the sun circles three times,
But giving a roar, his father rouses him;
Then, as if brought to life, he takes up the five senses,
And whenever he sleeps, he never closes his eyes.

¶ Having finished the preface, the author carries out his intent, beginning his book with the lion. It is divided into two parts: First, he provides the natural history, and second, he provides the allegory. The second part begins there: ¶ So to you who [reside] in the heights. And he says first that the lion has three natures.

The first nature of the lion is that he lives on the highest mountain he can find, and however long the path may be, he descends and strives to reach the valley. If by chance he senses a hunter, he immediately wipes out the tracks of his feet with his tail, so that the hunters do not discover his lair through them.

¶ The second nature of the lion is that he produces a young cub that is dead—or as if sleeping—until the third day after its birth; then the father of the newborn, seeing the half-living cub in his grief, emits a massive roar around it. In this way, he rouses the cub, as if from sleep, and the cub itself (or the lion's whelp) begins to use its five external senses: namely sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.

¶ The third nature of the lion is that he never sleeps with closed eyes, but always sleeps with open eyes when he rests.

¶ Note that the author rightly focuses first on the nature of the lion because, according to "the Philosopher" Aristotle (384–322 BCE), whose "History of Animals" was a primary source for medieval science. in the book On Animals, the lion is the king of all animals and beasts.

So to you who reside at the summit of high heaven,
When it finally pleased you to visit the earthly regions,
In order that you might renew the human race, fallen through sin,
It was not at all known to any of the demons...

Signature mark indicating this is the third leaf of the first gathering of the printed book.