RARE FIRST EDITION of Sermones de tempore et de sanctis of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and other sermons attributed to him in the later Middle Ages. "[A] noble edition and a typographical monument of the greatest value." (Bibliotheca Medii Aevi, Gilhofer & Ranschburg Cat. 220, Wien, no. 252).

Very tall, untrimmed, complete copy of this magnificent incunabulum in a contemporary binding. A truly superb typographical specimen from the cradle of printing. Printed in the same beautiful gothic type which was first introduced in the colophon of Fust and Schoeffer's 1459 Durandus and then used to print the celebrated 1462 Bible.

This copy has the corrections on 1₇r and 12₈v, identical to those in the copies at the British Library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and the Pierpont Morgan Library, indicating that the corrections were made in the Schoeffer's printing house itself. "On 1₇r of this edition the compositor inserted a heading which was repeated immediately afterwards in slightly different form; the first version has here been scored through in red ink. On 12₈v a line of text was printed out of place, 13 lines higher in the column than it should have been; this was scored through in red, and the text was reprinted in the lower margin (in a different setting), with carats in red ink indicating the correct point of insertion. These errors and the corrections occur in the same form in the copies at the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Pierpont Morgan Library, indicating that the corrections were made in the printing house itself." (Friedlaender Libr. Sale Catalogue, Christie's, London, 23 April 2001, lot 22)

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 - 1153) was a preeminent French medieval theologian, mystic, philosopher, preacher, monastic reformer, abbot and the primary founder of the reforming Cistercian order. One of the most accomplished preachers and influential religious figures of the Middle Ages, Bernard was canonized by Pope Alexander III on 18 January 1174. A Doctor of the Church and "the Last of the Fathers," Bernard was called Doctor Mellifluus by Pope Pius XII in his encyclical given at Rome on the feast of Pentecost, 1953, in which the pope praised St. Bernard as the "Doctor Mellifluus, the last of the Fathers, but certainly not inferior to the earlier ones, [who] was remarkable for such qualities of nature and of mind".

Bernard's sermons, which here appear in print for the first time, enjoyed a new popularity in the fifteenth century, in Germany as elsewhere in Europe (see J. Leclercq, Die Verbreitung der Bernhardinischen Schriften im deutschen Sprachraum, in Bernhard von Clairvaux, Mönch und Mystiker, ed. J. Lortz, Wiesbaden 1955, pp. 176-191). Bernard's sermons are here arranged according to the ecclesiastical year, making them of particular value to preachers, as witnessed by the early monastic ownership. Bernard's works were particularly popular with preachers and were recommended to young clerics. This splendid Mainz edition of St. Bernard's Sermones was the first of six printed in the 15th century.

In addition to St. Bernard's sermons, this magnificent edition includes (leaves 23₄r-24₁r) his celebrated treatise in praise of the Knights Templar, Ad milites templi de laude novae militae. It was written in 1129 as an answer to a letter written to Bernard by his friend, co-founder and first Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Hugues de Payens (c. 1070-1136). The work begins with an exhortation to the Knights Templar and proclamation of the ethical principles and the way of life of the "new", i.e. Christian, knighthood, which Bernard extolls as morally and spiritually superior to the secular knighthood. The further sections deal allegorically with holy sites in Palestine and the Holy Land and the Holy Sepulchre.

Bernard's Ad milites templi can be viewed as both an exhortation to the Knights and advertisement to the population in general. The work championed the Templars' mission and defended the idea of a military religious order by appealing to the long-held Christian notion of just war, which approved of "taking up the sword" to defend the innocent and the Church from violent attack. By so doing, In Ad milites templi Bernard wrote: "[A Templar Knight] is truly a fearless knight, and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armor of faith, just as his body is protected by the armor of steel. He is thus doubly-armed, and need fear neither demons nor men."

After Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1397-1468), Peter Schoeffer was the most influential individual in the early history of printing in Europe. Born about 1425 in Gernsheim, near Mainz, educated at Erfurt University, and trained as a calligrapher in Paris, Schoeffer had become involved in the new art of printing by 1455, serving as an employee of Johann Fust of Mainz, who was then financing the printing of the Gutenberg Bible. On 6 November 1455, a court notary in Mainz drew up an account of the legal dissolution of a partnership between Johnnes Gutenberg and Johann Fust. With Peter Schoeffer serving as his witness, Fust sued Gutenberg for the return of the substantial funds he had supplied for work involving certain equipment and large quantities of paper, vellum, and ink. The outcome of the suit is not recorded; but while Gutenberg is believed to have continued quietly with further printing experiments until his death in 1468, Fust and Schoeffer established the first great printing enterprise in Europe. In late October, 1466, Johann Fust died, apparently of the plague, during a book-selling tour in Paris. Schoeffer took over their printing enterprise, and by 1469 he had married Fust's daughter, Christina. He began printing books under his name alone, and in 1469-70 he issued a broadside advertisement for 21 editions that were available from his shop. Throughout the 1470s, Schoeffer continued to print major theological works in editions of the highest quality.

Schoeffer remained at the forefront of Europe's printers for the better part of five decades, first as Gutenberg's helper, later as Fust's junior partner, and finally on his own, producing an impressive array of essential theological and legal editions. Before his death in late 1502 or early 1503, he had done more than any other to introduce important publishing innovations and to set technical standards that would shape the history of the printed word.

Goff B 436; Hain 2844*; BMC I, 32; Proctor 107; BSB-Ink. CIBN B-262; GW 3940; IGI 1556; Polain 601; Oates 32; Lehmann-Haupt, Peter Schoeffer 53.

Royal Folio (leaves measure 41 cm x 28.7 cm). Extremely large, apparently untrimmed, slightly larger than the Helmut Friedlaender's copy (Christie's NY, 23 April 2001, lot 22). Single pinholes mostly visible at center of upper and lower margins.

235 unnumbered leaves (i.e. 470 pages). Signature collation: [1-3¹⁰ 4⁸ 5⁶⁽⁵⁺¹⁾ 6-9¹⁰ 10⁸; 11-15¹⁰ 16-17⁸ 18⁶; 19-25¹⁰]. COLLATED AND COMPLETE, including the final blank 25₁₀.

Colophon and printer's device on 25₇r (25₇v blank); table on leaves 25₈r-25₉r (25₉v blank). Printed in double column. 47 lines per column. Type 5:118G (the type of 1462 Fust-Schoeffer Bible, also known as the "Durandus colophon-type"). Two section titles (on leaves 1/1r and 19/1r), colophon and Schoeffer's device printed in red.

Two 9-line, two 4-line and many 3- and 2-line initial spaces. Rubricated throughout in contemporary hand. Two major 9-line initials, as well as two 4-line and many 3-line ones, with attractive penwork decorations in blue and red; the 9-line initial on leaf on 19₁r incorporates four grotesque human heads. Lesser lombard initials alternating in red and blue. Paragraph marks and capital strokes in red. Several initials 'I' painted in red or blue entirely within margins, with bold, long descending extensions.

Printing-house corrections to 1₇r and 12₈v. On 1₇r of this edition the compositor inserted a heading which was repeated immediately afterwards in slightly different form; the first version has here been scored through in red ink. On 12₈v a line of text was printed out of place, 13 lines higher in the column than it should have been; this was scored through in red, and the text was reprinted in the lower margin (in a different setting), with carats in red ink indicating the correct point of insertion.

Bound in contemporary brown calf over thick wooden boards; boards paneled in blind with borders made up by repetition of an unusual "rose twig" stamp .apparently unknown to either Kyriss or Schunke). Given the provenance of the copy, the binding was probably produced in a Bamberg workshop. Banded spine over 5 massive binding cords, with a early paper label bearing manuscript title.

The book belonged to the monastery of the Augustinian Canons at Neunkirchen am Brand, near Bamberg (Upper Franconia), with a manuscript note "Conventus Novemecclesie" on leaf 1₁r (dated 1525), and another on 11₈v. The monastery was established in 1314 and dissolved in 1555.

Occasional manuscript marginalia in a late-15th or early 16th-century monastic hand.

Good, complete copy, untrimmed and exceedingly wide-margined, in contemporary binding. Binding rubbed with wear to edges and corners and several tiny wormholes; with a few inconspicuous repairs (mostly at corners, joints, end of spine). Original clasps and metal bosses (at corners and center of both boards) all perished. A few tiny wormholes to the first two quires: quite harmless and not affecting legibility. One leaf (20₉) with an old and somewhat clumsy repair of a closed tear in outer margin (away from text and without loss). Light to moderate dampstaining to upper portion of the last seven or eight quires, mainly confined to the top margin, and only occasionally entering printed area. Some brownish staining near bottom edge of the last two quires, entirely within the bottom margin and well away from text. Outer margin of the colophon leaf (25₇) with a minor paper-flaw resulting in a small chip at the fore-edge (well away from text). Light soiling to opening page 1₁r and a few other leaves. Otherwise a very clean, bright and extraordinarily large example of this splendid edition.

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