Mariano Taccola, De ingeneis

Mariano Taccola was the first Renaissance writer who clearly illustrated and described teohnical devices. With remarkable ingenuity and realistic force, Taccola olarified the complex form of engines in optical unity. His originality of mind and artistic skill also led hirn to formulate devices for “interconnecting drawings and texts. No earlier, illustrated descriptions of teohnical devices are known, and among the later ones few are as suggestive and informative as Taccola’s sequence of illustrations.” He did not claim these specific devices as his inventions, but he evidently impressed his followers by his clear teaching. In fact – Tacwla’s notebook gives us the impression that it originated in a world where only rumors were known aJbout the aohievements of ancient technology. That many of these things became clearer in Taccola’s time is definitely due to his curiosity, resourcefulness, and persuasion.This ist the first time that Taccola’s fascinating treatise “De ingeneis” can be presented as full facsimile. The text volume contains a short biography of Mariano Taccola, the history of his “Notebook”, a description of its contents as weIl as an article on Taccola’s importance for science and technology during the Renaissance.Each of the 272 facsimile pages is explained in detail. Taccola’s Latin description of the machines and devices are transcribed and translated into English.Drawings of certain technical devices which have been developed after models from Taccola’s “Notebook” are included in an appendix.