Bellemère - Decisiones - 1556

Judging as an Act of Government: Rome, the Courts, and the Birth of Modern Law
From a judicial experience and doctrinal construction, Gilles de Bellemère's decisions represent one of the highest points of sixteenth-century canon jurisprudence. The work directly stems from the author's activity as an auditor causarum of the Apostolic Palace and transforms the law experienced in Roman tribunals into an organized system of authoritative precedents. It is not merely a collection of cases but a true tool for governing the law, capable of uniting Roman law, canon law, and curial practice in an operational and normative language. Published in Lyon, a European editorial crossroads, the work is situated at the heart of the legal standardization process that characterizes 16th-century Europe, speaking to the continent's jurists with the authoritative voice of Rome.

Market value
In the antique market, the sixteenth-century editions of Bellemère's Decisiones generally range between 800 and 1,000 euros, with significant variations depending on the condition of the binding, the completeness of the collation, the quality of the paper, and the readability of the text. Copies that retain ownership notes, legal annotations, or ancient manuscript provenance are particularly valued, as they demonstrate the volume's practical use in professional and academic contexts.

Physical description and condition
Leather binding with two ancient restorations, one in parchment and one in paper. Presence of woodcut initials and a typographic mark on the title page. Pages with browning and some wormholes, consistent with intensive use and long circulation of the volume. Ownership signature handwritten on the title page, indicating a qualified historical provenance. In ancient books with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present that are not always noted in the description. Pages: (2), 56 unnumbered, 588.

Full title and author
Decisions of D. Aegidius Bellemera.
Lugdunum, among the heirs of Jacobus Juntus, 1556.
Gilles de Bellemère.

Context and Significance
In the course of the fifteenth century, the systematic collection of judicial decisions took on a central role in the development of European law, anticipating the modern notion of precedent. Bellemère's work stands out for its direct origin in Roman practice, which grants it greater authority than purely theoretical treatises. The collected decisions are not merely reports but interpretative models intended to guide judges, canonists, and ecclesiastical officials. The choice of Lyon as the place of printing was not accidental: the city was one of the main editorial hubs for Roman and canon law and ensured the work's widespread dissemination among universities, curies, and European courts, contributing to the construction of a shared legal language.

Biography of the Author
Gilles de Bellemère, known in Latin as Aegidius Bellemera, was a jurist and canon lawyer active in the 16th century. An auditor of the Apostolic Palace, he operated at the highest levels of Roman curial justice, gaining direct experience that he was able to translate into doctrinal form. His Decisions reflect a conception of law as a living practice and a tool of governance, and they remained for a long time an essential reference for European ecclesiastical jurisprudence.

Printing history and circulation
The 1556 edition, printed in Lyon by the heirs of Giacomo Giunta, is part of the high-level legal production of the workshop, specialized in texts of Roman and canonical law intended for a professional audience. Subsequent reprints and the presence of the work in European legal libraries attest to the enduring success of the volume and its continued use as a reference and training tool.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Adams, H. M., Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, 1501–1600.
Brunet, J.-C., Manual for booksellers and book lovers.
Index Aureliensis, by the voice of Bellemère.