Marziale - Epigrammaton - 1611

IN FOLIO - ON SATIRE AND CENSORSHIP: THE PAGAN EPIGRAM AT THE MERCY OF THE COUNTER-REFORM
This imposing folio edition of the great commentary on Marcus Valerius Martialis’ Epigrams, edited by Matthäus Rader, represents one of the most authoritative moments in the seventeenth-century reception of Martial’s work. Rader tackles a text renowned for its caustic wit, sexual innuendo, and social critique with an imposing exegetical apparatus designed to bring the epigram within a philological, historical, and moral framework compatible with Counter-Reformation culture. The volume thus transforms Martial from a “dangerous” poet into a commented, studyable, and teachable classic, without diminishing its linguistic and literary complexity.
MARKET VALUE
The folio editions of the humanist commentaries on Martial, especially those by Rader, are consistently priced on the international market in a range roughly between 1,200 and 1,600 euros, with variations tied to the condition of the binding, the completeness of the plates, and the freshness of the paper. The parchment-cased copies remain sought-after for the historical-philological importance of the work.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary binding in limp parchment, showing signs of wear, red edges. Title page printed in red and black with a large woodcut printer’s mark depicting a standing female figure on a globe, holding a scepter and a lit lamp. A folded woodcut plate is present between pages 176–177 and a full-page plate between pages 180–181. Some beetle holes at the margins. In old books with a long shelf life, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pages (2); 30 prelims; 1078; 62 prelims.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Epigrammaton Libros Omnes. Plenis Commentariis. Ingolstadii, Adami Sartorii, 1611. Marcus Valerius Martialis.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Martial’s Epigrams constitute one of the peaks of Latin literature for their stylistic density, irony, and capacity to observe reality. Rader’s commentary, first published in 1602 and here presented in the expanded second edition, stands out for the breadth of classical sources, attention to historical context, and the intent to channel reading within moral parameters acceptable to the educated Catholic audience of the early seventeenth century. The work played a decisive role in the scholastic and academic transmission of Martial in German-speaking lands and beyond.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Marcus Valerius Martialis was born in Bilbilis, in Hispania Tarraconensis, around 40 CE and died after 100 CE. He is regarded as the greatest Latin epigrammatist, master of a short form capable of combining formal precision, sarcasm, and social observation. Matthäus Rader, born in 1561 and died in 1634, was a Jesuit, philologist, and historian; his commented editions of Latin classics enjoyed wide diffusion and helped define the humanistic canon of the early modern era.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printed in Ingolstadt by Adam Sartorius, a printer active in a major Catholic university hub, this edition fits the Jesuit editorial program of control and mediation of the classics. The second edition of 1611 attests to the success of the project and its wide circulation among the academic circles of Central Europe.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
VD17, 23:297813U.
Brunet, Manuel du libraire, s.v. Martial.
Sandys, A History of Classical Scholarship, II.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, records of the commented editions of Martial."