Exhibitions

Petrus de Natalibus: Catalogus sanctorum, Lyon, 1514

The Venetian author, Bishop Petrus de Natalibus, completed his life work regarding the lives of the saints in 1372, which was printed for the first time in 1493, in Vicenza. The Catalogus sanctorum relates the saints in the order of the Catholic calendar, the 11 books (chapters) gathering over 3,000 legends about them (the 12th book contains only the index of names). His legends are short and summary, but still contain all the important information. In terms of influence, it cannot compete with the famous Legenda Aureá of Jacobus de Voragine, written a hundred years earlier, but it is more extensive and organized, it went through many editions in the early 16th century, and it is the main source of the Debrecen Codex, the most complete Hungarian collection of medieval legends.

The copy on display is the first edition from Lyon (December 9, 1514), the work of the printer Jacques Sacon. The publication, made with Gothic letters and many ornate initials, contains over 230 woodcuts.

The presented pages feature richly ornamented architectural borders with plant motifs. Both borders consist of 4 stamps each, with columns between the lower and upper elements across the entire width of the composition. The motifs of the lower and upper engravings on both pages are similar, but not identical. In the lower part, a pair of mermaids holding shields for coats of arms and dolphins appears, while in the upper part, the Father appears among putti blowing trumpets. On the other hand, the same two engravings were used for the columns, in the same order, as a result, the same stamp was used for the left column of both pages, while a different stamp was used for the right one, with the only difference that on the second page, the craftsman applied it in reverse, upside down (most likely by mistake). In the left frame, prints of four smaller woodcuts can be seen: the Prayer of David, the Annunciation, the Last Judgment, the Prayer of the Dying, while the text begins in the right frame. The first two lines present the title of the book and the name of the author, and the next two lines contain the title of the first book (chapter): Advent and the Birth of Jesus. The main text of Advent begins with the initial A decorated with floral motifs, with King David in it.


Year

2024

Month

December

Type

Old books