Illustrated Incunabulum of St. Augustine. AUGUSTINUS. Sermones ad heremitas & ad alios feliciter.

AUGUSTINUS, Hipponensis Aurelius. Sermones ad heremitas & ad alios feliciter. Incipiunt.

Venezia, Vincenzo Benali, 1492

8vo. 154x105 mm. Vellum binding from an ancient manuscript leaf. Leaves [2], 122. Paging at the foot of the page. Collation: [A]8 B-P8 Q4. Colophon on leaf Q4r. “Impressum Venetijs opera & impensis Vicentij Benalij, 1492 die xxvj Ianuari”. Text in two columns, Gothic type, Capital spaces. Woodcut illustration on leaf [2] v. Initials rubricated in red, the first illuminated in blue with watermark and extensions on the margin in red. Marginalia of ancient hand. Heraldic ex libris glued to the inside cover. Water stain on several leaves; good specimen. 

A very rare illustrated edition of this highly successful work. The large woodcut, with red highlights, depicts S. Augustine baptized and enthroned as bishop, and is signed: ‘F’. The Sermones ad heremitas, also known as Sermones ad fratres in eremo, although attributed to Augustine in manuscripts and early printed editions, are not considered to be the work of the Saint. The collection was created in the context of a medieval debate over which branch of the Augustinian Order had precedence: the Augustinian Hermits or the Augustinian Canons. The importance of the Sermones lies in the fact that, although spurious, they were widely accepted as authentic. Consequently, they contributed to the historical understanding of Augustine and revealed the late medieval experience of the saint, which was a fundamental component of Augustinism. The Sermones were first published in Modena in 1477 and were reprinted at least twelve times during the fifteenth century.

Goff A1317; HC 2004*; Sander 686; Essling 695; IGI 1037; Proctor 5375; BMC V 525; IGI 1037; Rhodes, Catalogo del fondo librario antico della Fondazione Giorgio Cini, A130.