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PROPERTY FROM THE DESCENDANTS OF JOHN GRESHAM MACHEN
GRATIAN (fl. mid-twelfth century). Decretum. With commentary of Bartholomaeus Brixiensis. Venice: Nicolaus Jenson, 1477.
Details
GRATIAN (fl. mid-twelfth century). Decretum. With commentary of Bartholomaeus Brixiensis. Venice: Nicolaus Jenson, 1477.
Jenson’s second edition of Gratian’s foundational compilation of canon law, with dedication miniature of Pope Sixtus IV. No other complete copy of this edition has appeared at auction according to ABPC and RBH. This twelfth-century text, originally written by the monk and jurist Gratian, revolutionized the field by providing a systematically organized collection of church decrees. “Gratian did more than gather texts together; he unified and explained them … the Decretum was the first collection of the high Middle Ages in which the compiler commented on the texts he brought together” (Burns). Its use was widespread, inviting many interpolations and corrections over the centuries, and formed the basis for centuries of legal education. BSB-Ink G-258; Goff G366; HC 7890; ig00366000. See J. H. Burns, ed., The Cambridge History of Medieval and Political Thought, p. 424.
Folio (428 x 290mm). 411 leaves (register leaf used as pastedown). Printed in red and black, double column with commentary. Miniature depicting the dedicatee, Pope Sixtus IV; alternating red and blue initials, rubricated (some worming, light spotting and staining, a few small paper repairs and tears). Contemporary blindstamped pigskin with original straps, some surviving pigskin index tabs, remains of paper label on spine (tear to head of spine, clasps and bosses lacking, some worming). Provenance: early marginalia – Bibliotheca Weissenaviensis ([CERL 00014984] religious institution in Weissenau, dissolved in 1802; inscription).
Jenson’s second edition of Gratian’s foundational compilation of canon law, with dedication miniature of Pope Sixtus IV. No other complete copy of this edition has appeared at auction according to ABPC and RBH. This twelfth-century text, originally written by the monk and jurist Gratian, revolutionized the field by providing a systematically organized collection of church decrees. “Gratian did more than gather texts together; he unified and explained them … the Decretum was the first collection of the high Middle Ages in which the compiler commented on the texts he brought together” (Burns). Its use was widespread, inviting many interpolations and corrections over the centuries, and formed the basis for centuries of legal education. BSB-Ink G-258; Goff G366; HC 7890; ig00366000. See J. H. Burns, ed., The Cambridge History of Medieval and Political Thought, p. 424.
Folio (428 x 290mm). 411 leaves (register leaf used as pastedown). Printed in red and black, double column with commentary. Miniature depicting the dedicatee, Pope Sixtus IV; alternating red and blue initials, rubricated (some worming, light spotting and staining, a few small paper repairs and tears). Contemporary blindstamped pigskin with original straps, some surviving pigskin index tabs, remains of paper label on spine (tear to head of spine, clasps and bosses lacking, some worming). Provenance: early marginalia – Bibliotheca Weissenaviensis ([CERL 00014984] religious institution in Weissenau, dissolved in 1802; inscription).