INCUNABULA -- an early printed book, especially one printed before 1501. In Latin incunabulum is singular of "incunabula," which translates to "swaddling clothes" or "bands holding the baby in a cradle." The "baby in this case is a figurative one, referring to a book that was produced when the art of printing was in its infancy.
Source: Merriam Webster Dictionary.
- Dominicus, and Catholic Church Liber 6. 1477. Lectura Super Secundam Partem Libri Sexti Decretalium. Venetiis: [publisher not identified].
Archives and Special Collections General Collection
BX1930 .D66 1477
- Dominicus de Sancto Geminiano (1375-1424) was a 15th century canonist who wrote commentary on the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241). The Decretals was a new set of canonical writings (papal law) created in the 1230s cornering the Catholic Church.
The author was born in Florence and studied at Bologna where he was a student and disciple of Antonius de Butrio, and possibly also of Petrus de Ancarano. He then served as the vicar of the bishop of Modena and attended the council of Pisa in 1409. He also taught law at Bologna. In his later years, Dominicus became an auditor of the Apostolic Camera (Papal Treasury). He also attended the council of Basel. Dominicus died in Tivoli.
This is the oldest book in the library, dated 1477. It is written in Latin and considered an incunable, a book created during the earliest stages of printing in Europe, before 1500. It was printed in Venice, a major printing hub during this time. Flourishing (hand-drawn letters) is featured throughout. Pigments were created from lapis lazuli (blue), red lead (red), and charcoal/soot (black).
- Boethius, and Thomas. 1489. De Consolatione Philosophiae : De Disciplina Scholarium [with the Commentary of Thomas Aquinas]. [Venice]: [Locatellus for Octavianus Scotus].
Archives and Special Collections General Collection
PA6231 .C8 1489
- Authored by Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Boethius (480-524) and regarded as an influential work. Boethius was charged with treason, imprisoned and executed. During this time he wrote De consolatione philosophiae. It comprises five books and is a form of dialogue between the author and his visitor, Philosophy. Commentary is attributed to Aquinas but is thought to be by Thomas Waleys (1318-1349). This book was printed in Venice and is bound in vellum. It features illuminated capitals throughout.
- Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, and Gellio Bernardino Marmitta. 1492. Tragedie. Venetiis: Per Lazarum Isoarda de Sauiliana.
Archives and Special Collections General Collection
PA6664 .A2 1492
- Gellio Bernardino Marmitta, Padua, Italy (1440-1497) was a professor of Humanities. This book includes Marmitta’s commentaries of Lucius Annaeus Seneca tragedies. Seneca was a Stoic philosopher and politician charged with the creation of the Senecan tragedy – ten ancient Roman plays. The text is presented in the manner of manuscript commentaries: the play's text is closest to the spine, and the commentaries surround the text.
- Folio, Nuremberg Chronicle. 1493
- The Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated world history, containing biblical accounts in an enclyclopedic format. It was compiled by Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), a doctor, humanist and bibliophile in Nuremburg, Germany. The book contains 1809 woodcuts produced from 645 blocks. Sebald Schreyer and his brother-in-law Sebastian Kammermeister financed the production of the book. Michael Wolgemut and his son-in-law Wilhelm Pleydenwurff executed the illustrations around 1490, a time when their workshop was at its artistic peak and Albrecht Dürer was completing his apprenticeship there.
