A fascinating, early 16th-century collection of rare editions of largely literary and secular texts, including the 12th-century epic on Alexander the Great, the Alexandreis by Walter of Châtillon, illustrated with an early chiaroscuro title-border by Hans Wechtlin.
No doubt originally collected together and bound for a humanist scholar, who wrote ‘Lepidissima hystoria’ [‘a most witty story/history’] on the title of the Alexandreis, in 1789 the sammelband was bought by the noted German antiquary and bibliophile Joseph von Lassberg. At this time he was completing his studies at Strasbourg and Freiburg before entering into the life-long service of the Fürstenberg family; he sold his library of over 12,000 books and manuscripts to the Court Library at Donaueschingen shortly before his death.
The first edition of the Alexandreis (Rouen c. 1487-90, ISTC ig00048300) is extremely rare and known in only eight copies; this second edition is also very rare with VD16 recording only eight copies while OCLC records only four copies in US libraries. Walter of Châtillon’s poem drew principally on the biography of Curtius Rufus and influenced subsequent Alexander romances of Ulrich von Eschenbach and Rudolf von Ems, it was also referenced by Chaucer in the Wife of Bath. ‘One of the high achievements of twelfth-century literature. … In artistry and intelligence it loses nothing by comparison to the first flowerings of European vernacular literature’ (Townsend, The Alexandreis 1996). “The triumph of rhythmic verse must not be interpreted as an eclipse of traditional poetry. The latter. on the contrary, was more abundant than ever and became more varied. A master of the rhythmic strophe such as Walter of Chatillon was equally as good as versifier of the hexameters of the Alexandreis for which the romantic history of Quintus Curtius furnished him with the essentials.” (Hélin, Medieval Latin Literature). This great poem of the 12th century found the immediate approval of the poet’s contemporaries, and it established his reputation as “one of the most important figures among the secular poets of the Middle Ages” (Raby Medieval Latin Verse)
Also included are Gresemund’s poem on the mutilation of a crucifix by an actor; the life of Constantine the Great, translated from the Greek by the great German humanist, Johannes Reuchlin, letters by classical authors Symmachus and Pliny the Younger (with four leaves replaced by contemporary manuscript), and the literary forgery of letters attributed to Sultan Mehmed II by Laudivius Zacchia.
Provenance**:** contents written in an early hand inside front-cover, repeated in an 18th-century hand (Lassberg’s?); inscription deleted from first title. Inscribed on fly-leaf “Lasperg Filius. Die 25 Januarii 1789”, i.e. Baron Joseph Maria Christoph von Lassberg (1770-1855) with each work numbered (101-108) on title-pages in his hand and his shelf-marks at foot of spine and inside front cover; shortly before his death sold to the Fürstenberg Court Library at Donaueschingen, which was only dispersed in recent decades.
A few wormholes, occasional light damp stain, more prominent at upper corners of final two works..
