Cleynaerts, Nicolas (Nicolaus Clenardus).

Campen, Jan Van (Joannes Campensis). Ex variis libellis Eliae, grammaticorum omnium doctissimi. Louvain: Thierry Martens, 1528, text in Latin and Hebrew, printer's device on final leaf, ownership inscription and library stamp on title [IA 130.822]



2 works bound in one volume, 4to (195 x 142mm.), seventeenth-century red morocco gilt, gilt turn-ins, spine gilt in compartments with floral motif, edges gilt, some browning and dampstaining, covers scuffed, spine rubbed at head and foot 

Dominican Convent at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, library stamp on title

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Rare first edition of Cleynaert's Hebrew grammar. Cleynaert was among the first generation of pupils at the Collegium Trilingue Lovaniense, the college founded in 1517 by the humanist Jérôme de Busleyden. Cleynaert's grammars of Hebrew and Greek were enormously popular and went through several editions in the sixteenth century.

Like Cleynaert, the Dutch Hebraist and theologian Johannes van Campen studied at the Collegium, where he later became Professor of Hebrew. This treatise on masoretic Hebrew, based on the work of Elijah Levita, was published in the same year as his Hebrew grammar.

Martens was the leading printer in Louvain during the first third of the sixteenth century and oversaw a number of books specifically for the Collegium. Both of these titles would have been particularly suitable as Hebrew was one of the college's three languages.