Eusebio di Cesarea - L'Histoire Ecclesiastique - 1581

Eusebius of Caesarea – Ecclesiastical History

Lyon, Benoît Rigaud, 1581

Fundamental work of Christian historiography, the Ecclesiastical History collects and narrates the events of the Church from the origins to the 4th century: succession of the apostles, persecutions, martyrs, heresies and development of the first Christian communities. An indispensable text for understanding the history of ancient Christianity.

Sixteenth-century edition of notable collectible interest, not common on the market, especially with apparatus of original handwritten notes. The Lyon edition by Benoît Rigaud is appreciated for its typographic quality and the diffusion of religious texts in the Renaissance. An authentic and integral specimen, representative of European religious culture of the 16th century.

12.6x8.7 cm; pp. 354, (12) leaves, (732 pp.); an ancient volume of great historical interest, back binding with the title on the spine. Frontispiece present with printer’s mark; text in French in 16th-century types, with woodcut initials and regular-column layout. Numerous contemporaneous manuscript annotations in brown/reddish ink on the endpapers and on some pages, some underlinings, direct testimony of the volume’s reading and study over the centuries.

Good overall condition for its age: signs of use and time, browning and light foxing of the paper, slight wear to the binding; internally generally well preserved and legible.

An object of clear interest for collectors of ancient books, scholars of ecclesiastical history, and specialized libraries.