Lives of the Saints by Petrus De Natalibus
1514 Hagiography with graphic woodcut illustrations
of saints being martyred
Verso: Two columns of Latin text printed in two sizes in black in a gothic font on laid rag paper. Five woodcuts, one of Pope Pelagius and four of martyrs meeting their death by being beaten or put to the sword.
Recto: As Verso, with four woodcuts - the Abbott Severus, King Ludovic the Fifth and two martyrs meeting their death by sword or being beaten.
Printer: John Thomas, Leiden
Date: 1514
Condition: This leaf is in excellent condition, sharply printed on good quality paper with original margins all round. It is unconditionally guaranteed genuine.
Size: Size of leaf: approx. 240x175 mm. Presented in a museum quality mat, ready for framing. Please note that postage is invoiced separately. Australia $22.50. Overseas, ask for quote.
Notes: This work, Catalogus sanctorum et gestorum eorum (A Catalogue of Saints and their Acts) by Petrus de Natalibus (1330?-1406), and Jacobus de Voragine’s “The Golden Legend”, were the two most widely read hagiographies in medieval Europe. Depicting the lives of the saints in an array of factual and fictional stories, de Natalibus produced 1500 entries in 12 books following the calendar of the Church. The collection, first printed in 1493, went through many editions, the last of which appeared in Venice in 1616.
Item No: PSA070
