THOMAS ILLYRICUS. - Lot 57

THOMAS ILLYRICUS. Sermones aurei ac excellentissimi, in alma civitate Tholosana proclamati a fratre Thoma Illyrico,... verbi Dei precone famosissimo, generali et apostolico per universum mundum. Toulouse. Jean de Guerlins, 1521. - In-4, 174 x 125 : (8 ff.), CXXI ff., (1 f.), ff. CXII-CCXXVII, (2 ff. last blank). (sig. +8, A-Q8, a-l8, m6, n4). Marbled basane, ornate smooth spine, speckled edges (18th-century binding). Very rare first edition of this collection of Sermons by the Franciscan friar Illyricus Thomas (1485-1528), transcribed by Masseo Bruna di Frossasco. A native of Dalmatia, Thomas Illyricus entered the Order with the Observants in Osimo, and began his life as a popular preacher in Spain, Italy and France at a very young age (25) in 1510... This edition, divided into 2 parts, features the sermons he preached in Toulouse during his stay there in 1518 and 1519. The first part includes 25 on Jesus Christ, and the second contains the same number on the Virgin Mary. What's special is that the author wrote not only the text but also the staging of his sermons, thus following in the tradition of the great preachers of the Middle Ages. He explains, for example, in the second sermon dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus: "As soon as I am in the pulpit, I make the sign of the Cross, join my hands and raise my joined hands almost to the height of my face; I thus remain in silence for the duration of a Credo. Then I sing an antiphon, invoke the name of Mary, recite the Ave Maria and kneel. After reciting the Ave Maria, I silently recite the Veni Sancte Spiritus. Then I rise, and after a moment's silence, I announce the theme of my sermon, and call out: Al mome sia del bon Jesu et de la sua madre Maria et del tutti li santi del paradisio la pace de Jesu Cristo sia con noÏ. Amen. I propose the exordium and continue the sermon" (passage taken from Marie-France Godfroy, in the article entitled Le prédicateur franciscain Thomas Illyricus à Toulouse (novembre 1518 - mai 1519), published in Annales du Midi in 1985). Beautiful Toulouse printing in Gothic letters, from the presses of Jean de Guerlins. The title is printed in red and black, and features a large, handsome three-quarter-page woodcut of Thomas Illyricus preaching in the Place Saint-Georges in Toulouse. Also on folio Q8 recto, before the section devoted to the Virgin Mary, is a full-page woodcut figure depicting the crucifixion. Example in 18th-century binding. Epidermures, some worm work and missing binding. Headbands worn, corners dulled, part of title-piece missing. Light staining at bottom of leaves. Tear without missing leaf LXIX. Provenance: handwritten bookplate on title. - Société scientifique d'Arcachon? with stamp repeated several times.