Entre compilation et observation : l'écriture de l'Ornithologie d'Ulisse Aldrovandi

At the end of the sixteenth century the Bolognese scholar Ulisse Aldrovandi launched the series of publications in natural history which were to ensure him fame, compiling all knowledge available since ancient times on each species and type in the animal, plant and mineral worlds. The preparatory manuscripts of the Ornithology, the first volume of this vast humanist encyclopaedia, show kinds of scientific writing adapted to fit such a project. To effect a complete compilation of older works, Aldrovandi turned to secretaries who sought out and copied all passages pertaining to birds in the books of his substantial library. Indexes made up from pieces of paper stuck into large collective volumes allowed these references to be controlled ; at private expense the author also maintained painters and engravers, who prepared the illustrations to be inserted in his books. Published under the sole name of Aldrovandi, the Ornithology is in fact a work of widely collective origin, whose composition makes full use of the techniques of knowledge characteristic of the Renaissance.