MARBODEUS [WITH] PSEUDO-APULEIS

£7,500 · Offered by Sokol Books

Scarce editions of two works on the virtues of precious stones and herbs. Marbodus (c.1035-1123) was Bishop of Rennes, a poet and hagiographer. De gemmarum lapidumque formis , his first work to appear in print, in 1511, was translated into several vernaculars in the middle ages, even influencing Hebrew lapidaries. This 1543 edition was produced by the humanists Alardus Amstelredamus and Pictorius Villinganus on the basis of a longer ms.; it contains nearly 100 additional lines, and 16 stones, of uncertain authorship, in a separate section. A century before the successful lapidary attributed to Albertus Magnus, it discussed precious stones in a novel way, listing them one by one, paying sole attention to their alleged properties (d Angeville, 7). Written in exquisite Latin metre, each of the 63 sections is devoted to a single gem (e.g., iaspis, sapphire, chrysopasius), explaining its formation, appearance, etymology, exotic origins (e.g., Ethiopia or India), medical properties (against fever, helpful to women giving birth) and preparations. This is followed by Alardus s and Pictorius s learned commentaries, which add ms. textual variants, and references to ancient authorities like Pliny, Dioscorides, Galen or the Church Fathers, and more recent ones like Camillus Leonardus and Marisilio Ficino. Variants also included additional information on the stone s virtues (e.g., iaspis curbs sexual desire by reducing the menstrual cycle and the possibilities of conception). The second w

• Binding: Hardcover

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