Art of Dying.
Ars moriendi
Block books are slim volumes, typically comprising 20 to 50 pages, produced by cutting text and images into wooden blocks (a process known as xylography). The production of block books reached its…
The Dance of Death.
Totentanz
Block books are slim volumes, typically comprising 20 to 50 pages, produced by cutting text and images into wooden blocks (a process known as xylography). The production of block books reached its…
Leaf from a Benedictine Psalter.
Psalterium Benedictinum cum canticis et hymnis
The 1459 Psalterium Benedictinum cum canticis et hymnis (Benedictine Psalter with canticles and hymns) was the third major project from the cradle of printing in Mainz, and the earliest example of a…
Four Books of Dialogues.
Dialogorum libri quatuor
This book is a copy of the first printed edition of the Dialogues traditionally ascribed to Saint Gregory the Great (540--604, pope 590--604). The first three books of the Dialogues recount the…
Conferences of the Fathers.
Collationes patrum
Collationes partum (Conferences of the fathers) is the first printed edition of this work by John Cassian (circa 360--circa 435), an important early Latin monastic author who greatly influenced Saint Benedict of…
The Encyclopedia of Medicaments.
Liber Pandectarum Medicinae
This book is a printed edition of the Pandectarum Medicinae (Encyclopedia of medicaments) by Matthaeus Sylvaticus (died circa 1342), consisting of an alphabetized list of medications (primarily of herbal origin). Sylvaticus relies…
Contributor:
Locatelli, Boneto, Flourished - Silvatico, Matteo, Died Approximately 1342 - Simon, Genuensis - Manliis, Joannes Jacobus De, Flourished 1490
The Greater Luminary.
Luminare maius cinthius ut totum radiis illuminat orbem Illuminat latebras sic medicina tuas. Lumen apothecariorum cum nonnullis expositionibus noviter impressum
This volume contains Luminare Maius (The greater luminary), and an antidotarium (book of antidotes), by Joannes Jacobus de Manliis (1490). It is based on the works of the Nestorian Persian physician Yūḥannā…
Contributor:
Locatelli, Boneto, Flourished - Silvatico, Matteo, Died Approximately 1342 - Ibn Māsawayh, Yūḥannā, Approximately 777 - Manliis, Joannes Jacobus De, Flourished 1490
City of God.
De civitate dei
Saint Augustine of Hippo (354--430) is generally considered one of the greatest Christian thinkers of all time. He was born in Thagaste (present-day Souq Ahras, Algeria) in Roman-ruled Africa, the son of…
Contributor:
Jenson, Nicolas - Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo, 354
Compendium of the Art of Arithmetic.
Suma de la art de arismetica
Suma de la art de arismetica (Compendium of the art of arithmetic) is the first arithmetic printed on the Iberian Peninsula and possibly the second printed in Europe. Very little is known…
Book for Women.
Libre de les dones
Francesc Eiximenis (circa 1340--1409) was a Franciscan monk and a prolific writer. He studied in Catalonia, Oxford, and Toulouse, and probably in Paris. Considered a prestigious intellectual, he maintained good relations with…
Contributor:
Eiximenis, Francesc, Approximately 1340-Approximately 1409
The Furs of Valencia.
Furs nous del regne de Valencia e capitols ordenades per lo rey don Fernando II en la Cort general de Oriola XXXI de juliol de Any de la natiuitat de nostre senyor ... M.cccc.lxxxvIII
The Furs de València was a set of laws to rule the Kingdom of Valencia, on the eastern side of the Iberian Peninsula. The Furs was promulgated in 1261 by the founder…
Contributor:
Valencia (Spain : Region). Corts - Hagembach, Pedro - Hutz, Leonardo, Active 15th Century - James I, King of Aragon
Calendar for the Years 1486 through 1504.
Kalendarium
This unique, single-leaf print is a rare fragment of the perpetual calendar in German for the years 1486 to 1504 issued by the Nuremberg printer Konrad, or Conrad, Zeninger in Venice in…
Contributor:
Zeninger, Conrad, Active - Stagnino, Bernardino, 1540
Grammar of the Castillan Language.
Gramática de la lengua castellana
Presented here is the first grammar of the Castilian language. This is also the first grammar of any vernacular language to be printed in Europe. The book was published in 1492, at…
Guide for Human Life.
Directorium humanae vite
Composed in India by a wise brahmin known in the West as Bidpai, Panchatantra (Five treatises) is an Indian anthology of stories and fables. Although purportedly about animals, the fables contain aphorisms…
Contributor:
Baydabā - Giovanni, Da Capua, Active 13th Century
Elegantiolae.
Agostino Dati (1420--78) was a philosopher, theologian, historian, linguist, and teacher in Siena. We know from his extensive correspondence that he also filled important public political, administrative, and judicial functions. Dati opened…
About Patience.
De patientia
Battista Spagnoli (Giovanni Baptista Spagnoli Mantuanus, 1448--1516) was a Carmelite monk, poet, philosopher, and theologian. He produced a large and diverse body of work, including religious, philosophical, and ethical writings and several…
Contributor:
Capriolo, Elia, Died Approximately 1519 - Baptista, Mantuanus
Dance of Death.
Chorea ab eximio Macabro versibus alemanicis edita
Chorea ab eximio Macabro versibus alemanicis edita, better known under the uniform title Dance of Death, is an example of a late-medieval morality play, the purpose of which was to teach that…
Contributor:
Desrey, Pierre, Approximately 1450-Approximately 1520
On Famous Women.
De claris mulieribus
Jacobus Philippus Bergomensis (also seen as Giacomo Philippi Foresti, 1434--1520) of Bergamo was an Augustinian monk, historian, and theologian. His book Supplementum chronicarum orbis ab initio mundi (Supplementary chronicle of the world…
Contributor:
Ferrariis, Albertus De, Active 15th Century - Jacobus Philippus, Bergomensis - Augustinus, De Casali Maiori
Satire.
Satyrae
Aulus Persius Flaccus (known as Persius, 34--62) was a Roman poet who came to Rome at a young age and attended grammar lectures by the famous teacher Remmius Palaemon, the rhetorician Verginius…
The Consolation of Philosophy.
De consolatione philosophiae
De Consolatione Philosophiae (The consolation of philosophy) is a by Boethius, the son of an influential and aristocratic Roman family, written around the year 524. It is regarded as one of the…
Contributor:
Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus, Circa 480-524
First Folio of Zainer's German Bible.
Biblia germanica
Presented here are the decorations for the first folio of the Augsburg edition of the German Bible printed by Günther Zainer (died 1478) in 1477. The illustrations are the work of an…
Contributor:
Bämler, Johann - Zainer, Günther, 1478
Calendar for the Years 1486 through 1504.
Kalendarium perpetuum ad annos 1486--1504
This unique, single-leaf print is a rare fragment of the perpetual calendar in Latin for the years 1486 to 1504 issued by the Nuremberg printer Konrad, or Conrad, Zeninger in Venice in…
Woodcut from Prüss's Latin Bible.
Biblia latina
Presented here is a hand-colored devotional single-sheet woodcut inspired by one of the compositional schemes of the German engraver and painter Martin Schongauer (circa 1450-91). The artist has not been identified. The…
Contributor:
Schongauer, Martin, Active 15th Century - Prüss, Johann
Dance of Death.
Der doten dantz mit figuren, clage vnd antwort schon von allen staten der werlt
The Middle Rhenish Totentanz (Dance of death) originated around 1450 in Mainz. It derived from the Paris Danse de macabré, but its immediate model was a German version in the form of…
Stöger Passion: The Suffering of Christ.
The so-called Stöger Passion is the first book to have been printed in Bavaria and probably the very first illustrated incunabulum, predating even Albrecht Pfister's edition of Boner's Edelstein dated February 14,…
An Admonition to Christendom against the Turks.
Eyn manung der cristenheit widder die durken
In the aftermath of the capture of Constantinople by the Turks under Sultan Mehmed II on May 29, 1453, numerous writers in Europe called on the rulers of Europe to defend Christendom.…
Koberger Bible.
After the Mentelin Bible dated to 1466, the Koberger Bible of 1483 is the ninth German-language version of the Bible to have been printed and the second to have been produced in…
Techniques for a Contemplative Way of Life.
Ars et modus contemplativae vitae
This edition is a compendium of five short texts intended for the religious edification of members of the clergy. The first work, with the title Ars et modus contemplativae vitae (Techniques for…
Contributor:
Thomas, Aquinas, Saint - Creussner, Friedrich, Active
Star of the Messiah.
Stern des Meschiah
This book, entitled Stern des Meschiah (Star of the Messiah) and published in 1477, is an expanded German version of the Latin Tractatus contra Iudaeos (Treatise against the Jews) published in 1475.…
Hero and Leander.
De Herone et Leandro
This illustrated edition of the epyllion (epic poem) by the Greek poet Musaeus (also seen as Musaios, late fifth century-early sixth century) relating the tragic love story of Hero and Leander is…
The "Institutes" of Justinian.
Corpus iuris civilis: Institutiones
This edition of the glossed Institutiones (Institutes) of the Emperor Justinian was printed in the Mainz workshop of Peter Schöffer (circa 1425-circa 1502), previously assistant of Johann Gutenberg, in 1468. The copy…
Contributor:
Justinian I, Emperor of the East, Approximately 483-565 - Schöffer, Peter, Approximately 1425-Approximately 1502
Gratian's "Decretum"
Decretum Gratiani
Gratian was a 12th-century Benedictine monk and canon lawyer from Bologna. Little is known about him beyond the fact that he compiled and wrote this collection of legal texts, which became the…
Contributor:
Joannes, Teutonicus, Died Approximately 1245 - Bartolomeo, Da Brescia, 1258 - Gratian - Gratian, Active 12th Century - Antonio Maria, Da Villafora, 1511
The Divine Comedy.
La Commedia
Almost from the time it was written, the Commedia by Dante Alighieri (1265--1321) enjoyed enormous popularity, being praised by Boccaccio as divina and copied in more than 600 manuscripts. The work has…
The Mentelin Bible.
Biblia: Übers. aus dem Lat. Mit dt. Tituli psalmorum
More than a decade after Johann Gutenberg's first edition of the Latin Vulgate, the first German Bible appeared in print. As in the case of the Gutenberg Bible, the German edition contains…
Psalter of the Benedictine Congregation at Bursfelde.
Psalterium Benedictinum congregationis Bursfeldensis
The first printing workshop in Mainz was a joint venture undertaken by Johann Gutenberg, the financier Johann Fust, and Peter Schöffer (circa 1425--circa 1502). Schöffer, the youngest of the three, had studied…
Contributor:
Schöffer, Peter, Approximately 1425-Approximately 1502 - Fust, Johannes
Gratian's "Decretum".
Decretum Gratiani
Gratian was a 12th-century Benedictine monk and canon lawyer from Bologna. Little is known about him beyond the fact that he compiled and wrote this collection of legal texts, which became the…
Contributor:
Gratian, Active 12th Century - Joannes, Teutonicus, Died Approximately 1245 - Bartolomeo, Da Brescia, 1258 - Schöffer, Peter, Approximately 1425-Approximately 1502
Thirty-Six-Line Bamberg Bible.
Biblia : [1-2]
None of the three editions of the Latin Bible printed before 1462 contains information about the place of printing, the printer, or the date of publication. The relative chronology of the oldest…
Paupers' Bible.
Biblia pauperum
Having already developed a considerable manuscript tradition from the 13th century, the so-called Biblia pauperum (Paupers' Bible) attained its most prolific level of distribution in the second half of the 15th century…
Chiromantia.
Chiromantie
As the large number of manuscripts related to the art of palm reading indicates, this subject enjoyed a certain popularity in late medieval times. This German Chiromantia, the authorship of which remains…
Book/Printed MaterialArt of Dying.
Book/Printed MaterialThe Dance of Death.
Book/Printed MaterialLeaf from a Benedictine Psalter.
Book/Printed MaterialFour Books of Dialogues.
Book/Printed MaterialConferences of the Fathers.
Book/Printed MaterialThe Encyclopedia of Medicaments.
Book/Printed MaterialThe Greater Luminary.
Book/Printed MaterialCity of God.
Book/Printed MaterialCompendium of the Art of Arithmetic.
Book/Printed MaterialBook for Women.
Book/Printed MaterialThe Furs of Valencia.
Book/Printed MaterialCalendar for the Years 1486 through 1504.
Book/Printed MaterialGrammar of the Castillan Language.
Book/Printed MaterialGuide for Human Life.
Book/Printed MaterialElegantiolae. Agostino Dati (1420--78) was a philosopher, theologian, historian, linguist, and teacher in Siena. We know from his extensive correspondence that he also filled important public political, administrative, and judicial functions. Dati opened…
Book/Printed MaterialAbout Patience.
Book/Printed MaterialDance of Death.
Book/Printed MaterialOn Famous Women.
Book/Printed MaterialLatin Bible with Interpretations of Hebrew Names in Alphabetical Order.
Book/Printed MaterialSatire.
Book/Printed MaterialThe Consolation of Philosophy.
Book/Printed MaterialFirst Folio of Zainer's German Bible.
Book/Printed MaterialCalendar for the Years 1486 through 1504.
Book/Printed MaterialWoodcut from Prüss's Latin Bible.
Book/Printed MaterialDance of Death.
Book/Printed MaterialStöger Passion: The Suffering of Christ. The so-called Stöger Passion is the first book to have been printed in Bavaria and probably the very first illustrated incunabulum, predating even Albrecht Pfister's edition of Boner's Edelstein dated February 14,…
Book/Printed MaterialAn Admonition to Christendom against the Turks.
Book/Printed MaterialKoberger Bible. After the Mentelin Bible dated to 1466, the Koberger Bible of 1483 is the ninth German-language version of the Bible to have been printed and the second to have been produced in…
Book/Printed MaterialTechniques for a Contemplative Way of Life.
Book/Printed MaterialStar of the Messiah.
Book/Printed MaterialHero and Leander.
Book/Printed MaterialThe "Institutes" of Justinian.
Book/Printed MaterialGratian's "Decretum"
Book/Printed MaterialThe Divine Comedy.
Book/Printed MaterialThe Mentelin Bible.
Book/Printed MaterialPsalter of the Benedictine Congregation at Bursfelde.
Book/Printed MaterialGratian's "Decretum".
Book/Printed MaterialThirty-Six-Line Bamberg Bible.
Book/Printed MaterialPaupers' Bible.
Book/Printed MaterialChiromantia.