Introduction.

Books 13 to 19 contain the continuation of the Aristotelian paraphrase according to the translation of Michael Scotus. They begin with the third chapter of the third book of the Parts of Animals and conclude this writing with the fourteenth book. Then follow the five books on the Generation of Animals. Otherwise, everything is exactly as in the first volume; I would like, therefore, to note once again that the source stands between | and ||, but the additions of Albertus stand between || and |.

Books 20 and 21 provide philosophical treatises of a general nature, which in my opinion were composed by Albertus himself with heavy use of contemporary literature.

With the second treatise of the 22nd book begins an alphabetical enumeration of individual animal species, a work concerning whose scientific value the author himself expresses a quite disparaging opinion in the first paragraph. The almost exclusive source here is the liber de naturis rerum of Thomas of Cantimpré. This is unfortunately still unprinted, although, given its great significance for the entire natural science of that time, it would deserve publication far more than many a recently published work by a less significant writer. Its numerous manuscripts—cf. Christ. Ferckel, Die Gynäkologie des Thomas von Brabant, Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der mittelalterlichen Gynäkologie und ihrer Quellen, Aus dem Institut für Geschichte der Medizin zu Leipzig als Beiheft zu den Frauen- und Hebammenbüchern der „Alten Meister“, Munich, Carl Kuhn, 1912—fall essentially into two groups, a complete one with 19 or 20 books and an abbreviated and revised one, in which books 2 and 3 are missing. Albertus used a copy of the first, which is why I also based my comparison on the only Munich manuscript of this kind, cod. lat. 27006. It admittedly dates only from the 15th century, but my concern was not with readings, only with the content as a whole, and for that, it could suffice. I have now given in the notes after the introduction, with Thom., the sources mentioned by him in round brackets. Whatever stands outside these, Albertus obtained elsewhere or added himself. I have not gone back to the primary sources; therefore, a remark might well be found in Pliny for which Solinus or Isidorus is cited; that is simply the business of Thomas. For the sake of completeness, I have also cited with [Vinc...] the parallel passages of Vincent of Beauvais, which were accessible to me in an edition from the Munich University Library (Speculi maioris Vincentii Burgundi praesulis Beluacensis... tomi quatuor quorum primo tota naturalis historia continetur... in lucem prodit... AD. S. D. N. gregorium XIII. pont. Max. Venetiis MDXCL. Apud Dominicum Nicolinum). The encyclopedia of Arnoldus Saxo was provided to me by the programs of the Royal Gymnasium at Erfurt by senior teacher Dr. Emil Stange 1905/1907; for Isidore’s Origines I had to be content with Lindemann’s edition (Leipzig 1833), for Jacobus de Vitriaco with Bongars, Gesta dei per Francos Vol. I, part II, Hanau 1611, and for the Physiologus with Prof. Dr. Emil Peters, Der griechische Physiologus und seine orientalischen Übersetzungen, Berlin, Calvary & Co. 1898. I cite the riddles of Adelinus (Aldhelm of Malmesbury) according to Migne, PL 89. Who is behind the 'Experimentator' remains unclear to me.