PETRUS LOMBARDUS, Sententiarum libri IV
[Freiburg im Breisgau, Kilianus Fischer, or Basel, Johann Amerbach, c.1491]
£ 4,800
Folio, 310 x 210mm, 255 ff. (of 256, lacking final blank O6) [512] pp; early blind-stamped pigskin, clasps missing, worn, some dappled wormholes and stains, ink inscription to spine, losses to head and foot; 55 lines, double column, gothic type, red ink ornamentation to the title, rubricated with capital initials supplied in alternate red and blue, minor early ink notations to margins, tear to title-page repaired with tape on verso, occasional wormholes mostly marginal, some more extensive in gutter and occasional ones affecting text, light marginal damp-staining to some leaves.
Early incunable edition of the cornerstone work of scholastic theology, Sententiarum libri IV by Petrus Lombardus (1095-1160), Bishop of Paris and professor at the cathedral school of Notre Dame. Written in the 12th century, the Sentences was an unparalleled compendium of works in theology, and the most important book of the Middle Ages. A text commented by all great theologians, this copy presents the commentary of Heinrich von Gorkum (1378 – 1431) typographically distinguished from the text.
ISTC ip00494000; BMC III 694; Goff P494; GW M32492; USTC 748101.