Guillermus, Postilla super Epistolas, Basel, 1489, contemporary half stamped calf

Property of Ampleforth Abbey Trust

Guillermus and Gesta romanorum

A volume containing two fifteenth-century preacher's manuals in a contemporary binding with numerous early annotations, comprising:

GUILLERMUS. Postillae super epistolas et evangelia [Mora 1488]. [Basel]: Nicolaus Kesler, 1 December 1489, 136 leaves, a-s⁶ t⁸ v-x⁶ y⁸, double column, 50 lines, gothic type, woodcut printer's device at end, first initial in blue and green with red penwork decoration, other initials in red, slight damp-staining at head with a few small wormholes

Gesta romanorum. [Strassburg: Johann (Reininger) Grüninger], 15 January 1488, 100 leaves, a-b⁸ c-m^6.8 n⁸ o⁶, double column, 50-51 lines plus headline, first initial in blue and green with red penwork decoration, contemporary manuscript text on final blank verso entitled "Incipit libellus Sancti Bernhardi de regimine..."

2 works in one volume, Chancery folio (285 x 197mm.), numerous early annotations throughout, contemporary half blind-stamped calf over wooden boards, from the Christuskopf bindery in Hildesheim [EBDB w000207], later lettering-piece on spine, traces of two clasps, index tabs, new endpapers (browned), hinges repaired

Although attributed to "Guillermus", the postillae on New Testament texts are considered to have been compiled under the supervision of the preacher Johann Herolt. There were more than a hundred editions printed in the fifteenth century, indicating its popularity as a manual for preaching.

It is likely that the moralising Gesta romanorum was also designed for the use of preachers, as the author was probably a cleric in southern England or Germany. It contains not just tales from classical history but also from more recent authors and non-European traditions.

LITERATURE:

ISTC ig00687000 & ig00291000

PROVENANCE:

Benedictine monastery of St Godehard, Hildesheim, inscription on first title-page; Ampleforth Abbey library, bookplate and ink stamp