[Post Incunable] - Athanasii - Opera - 1518-1519

POST INCUNABLE - ATHANASIUS IN RENAISSANCE PARIS, SHAPES THE HUMANIST DEBATE
Rare Paris edition from 1518-1519 of the works of Athanasius of Alexandria, one of the great Fathers of the Church and a decisive figure in the Arian controversy. An imposing folio volume that brings together the commentaries on the Epistles of Paul and the main theological treatises attributed to Athanasius. The spectacular title page, printed in red and black within an elaborate Renaissance woodcut frame, gives the copy a strong collectible impact. The text documents the extraordinary rediscovery of Greco patristics in the humanistic Europe of the early Cinquecento, in years crucial for Erasmus and for the religious debate that preceded and accompanied the Reformation. A complete copy of the two parts dated respectively 1518 and 1519.

ABSTRACT
Important Latin collection of the works of Athanasius of Alexandria, printed in Paris by Jean Petit (Ioannes Parvus / Ioani Parui) in 1518-1519. The first part includes the commentaries on the Pauline Epistles and various doctrinal texts; the second collects, among others, the treatises against the pagans, on the Incarnation of the Word, and against Arianism, as well as monastic exhortations and letters. The work represents a significant testimony to the circulation of the Greek Fathers within the Parisian university and humanistic milieu of the early Cinquecento. Notable the two-color frontispiece, richly decorated by a large architectural woodcut frame, with figures, coats of arms and allegorical motifs. Numerous woodcut initials and dense marginal typographic postils accompany the text.

WHY TO BUY
A particularly interesting copy for the combination of high antiquity, importance of the author, and typographic quality. The date 1518-1519 places the volume in the period immediately after the age of incunabula, at the heart of the great European humanistic season. Athanasius is one of the fundamental authors of Christian patristics, and his writings were central in defining the doctrine of the Trinity and Christology. The joint presence of the two parts, including those dated 1519, markedly increases bibliographic interest. Of particular appeal is the large frontispiece printed in red and black within an woodcut frame, together with the illustrated initials and the ancient marginal ownership notes. It is also a book strongly tied to the intellectual history of the Erasmian age and to the Renaissance rediscovery of ancient Christian sources.

MARKET VALUE
For a complete copy as described, with both parts 1518-1519 and the presence of the woodcut frontispiece, a rough indicative market valuation can be placed in the range of €1,200-1,800 on the international antiquarian market. Positively influenced by the early edition, the large two-color frontispiece, the completeness of the two parts, and the importance of the author.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
20th-century green half-leather binding with corners, coordinated cloth-covered boards, spine with raised bands and title and place/date impressed in gold. Sturdy binding with normal signs of use. Latin text printed mostly in full page, with marginal typographic notes, woodcut initials and a large frontispiece printed in red and black within an elaborate woodcut frame. Ancient handwritten notes on the frontispiece, signatures and a small provenance mark are present. Internally some physiological spreadings, small stains and browning consistent with age, sporadic ancient marginal handwritten notes. Visible traces of humidity and halos. In old books, with a centuries-long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. Images are an integral part of the description. Pp. (4); 12mo; 510; (2); 130mo; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Athanasii episcopi Alexandrini sanctissimi eloquentissimique opera.
Parisiis, Ioanne Paruo, 1518-1519.
Sant'Atanasio di Alessandria (ca. 295-373), bishop, theologian and Father of the Church.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This edition appeared at one of the most intense moments of the rebirth of patristic studies in Europe. At the beginning of the 16th century, humanists, theologians and editors sought to recover the oldest Christian texts through Greek manuscripts and Latin translations, aiming to trace back to sources earlier than the medieval scholastic tradition. In this context, Athanasius held an exceptional position: a protagonist of the 4th-century theological controversies, he was one of the most influential defenders of the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father against Arianism. The De Incarnatione Verbi, the texts Contra Gentes and Contra Arianos, together with biblical commentaries and letters, served as fundamental tools for the Christological and Trinitarian debate. Their diffusion in early Cinquecento Europe deeply interested the humanistic world in which Erasmus operated, who made the rediscovery and critical publication of the Fathers of the Church one of the central points of his intellectual program.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Athanasios of Alexandria, probably born around 295 and died in 373, was bishop of Alexandria in Egypt and one of the most influential figures of early Christianity. He participated in the theological culture from a very young age at the Council of Nicaea in 325 and devoted much of his activity to defending the Nicene doctrine against Arianism. His long episcopal career was marked by repeated political and religious conflicts and by numerous periods of exile. In his writings he developed one of the most influential formulations of the theology of the Incarnation and the relationship between the Father and the Son. His production includes apologetic, dogmatic, exegetical, ascetic and epistolary works. Tradition also attributes to him a decisive role in the development of the Western monastic ideal through the diffusion of the figure of Anthony the Great.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Paris edition of 1518-1519 belongs to the first great season of Western typographic diffusion of Athanasius’ works. The volume still presents many material features characteristic of early sixteenth-century typography: large format, folio text layout, extensive use of abbreviations, woodcut initials, marginal postils, and an elaborate two-color architectural frontispiece. Jean Petit, one of the most important Parisian booksellers-editors of the early Cinquecento, played a central role in the university and humanistic production of the capital and frequently collaborated with different printing houses. The publication of the two sections in consecutive years, 1518 and 1519, testifies to the structured editorial design of the work. The joint survival of the separate parts is particularly important in the assessment of today’s surviving copies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Indexes of Paris editions of the early Cinquecento and of Jean Petit’s output; bibliographies dedicated to the early Latin editions of Athanasius Alexandrinus; historical catalogs of Renaissance patristic collections; studies on the reception of the Greek Fathers in European Humanism and the relationship between patristics and Erasmus; bibliographies of post-incunabular French editions of the period 1501-1520.