[Post Incunable] - AA. VV. - Vita Jesu Christi - 1522

POST INCUNABLE – THE GREAT LIFE OF CHRIST THAT INFLUENCED ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
Important and rare Lyonese edition of 1522 of the famous Vita Iesu Christi by Ludolphus de Saxonia, one of the most influential texts of medieval and Renaissance Europe. Composed in the 14th century by the German Carthusian monk, the work builds a monumental meditation on the life of Christ, harmonizing the Gospel narratives with patristic comments, theological reflections, prayers and contemplations intended to involve the reader personally in the episodes of Jesus’ life. For centuries the Vita Christi was one of Europe's great spiritual tools, and its influence reached St. Ignatius of Loyola: during the convalescence after the Pamplona wound, Ignatius read a Spanish translation of the Vita Christi and scholars recognize in Ludolph’s work one of the important sources of his conversion and of the contemplative method developed in the Exercises of Spiritual Exercises. ([Revistas Comillas][1])
This valuable 1522 impression was produced in Lyon by Guillaume Huyon at the expense of Jacques Giunta and Florentine associates and is cataloged USTC 155559. ([Catalogo Biblioteche Liguri][2]) The edition stands out for its refined woodcut apparatus and for the red and black printing of some of its most spectacular parts, making it a significant testimony to the great French religious publishing of the first half of the sixteenth century.

WHY TO BUY
LYON 1522! A spectacular illustrated edition over FIVE CENTURIES OLD.
THE BOOK THAT INFLUENCED ST. IGNATIUS! One of the fundamental spiritual sources in the formation of the founder of the Jesuits.
ONE OF THE GREAT CLASSICS OF CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY! Read and meditated upon across Europe for generations.
GIOINTO + RENAISSANCE WOODCUTS! A prestigious Lyonese production commissioned by Jacques Giunta and Florentine associates.

MARKET VALUE
The Lyonese edition of 1522 has antiquarian interest meaningfully higher than later editions of the Vita Christi due to antiquity, illustrative apparatus and editorial prestige. A specimen declared complete, in contemporaneous binding and with red and black printing, is currently offered on the antiquarian market at €9,000, a figure that, however, represents a particularly high retail request. The present specimen is in modern binding. At present, a reasonable retail value would be in the order of €1,000-1,500.

PHYSICAL / CONDITION
Elegant modern full leather binding with three raised bands on the spine. Magnificent Renaissance architectural title-page entirely framed by rich woodcut decoration, with vegetal elements, angelic figures and grotesque ornamentation; at the center a large woodcut divided into three scenes of the life of Christ. Title and parts of the text printed in red and black, with a notable decorative effect. At the lower margin of the title-page there are ancient handwritten annotations, signs of use, light stains and a wide central paper restoration/intervention in the white margin, not affecting the text.
Pages 401; 4nn.
As with all old volumes, small defects, restorations, stains, halos, browning or signs of use not expressly mentioned may be present.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Ludolphus de Saxonia, called Ludolfo the Carthusian (ca. 1295/1300-1377/1378).
Vita Iesu Christi redemptoris nostri ex fecundissimis euangeliorum sententijs et approbatis ab ecclesia doctoribus excerpta per Ludolphum de Saxonia sacri chartusianorum ordinis obseruantissimum. Cum tabulis serie alphabetica concinnatis ac sancte Anne vita summisque diui Ioachim laudibus: reuulsoque antiquorum errorum cumulo: exactiori lima quam prius Lugduni impressa atque ornato figurarum cultu inuestita.
Lugduni: opera magistri Guilhelmi Huyon calcographi seduli, sumptibus Iacobi quondam Francisci de Giunta et sociorum Florentini, 1522, die XII mensis Aprilis. ([Catalogo Biblioteche Liguri][4])
In-4°. USTC 155559. ([Arlima][5])

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Ludolphus de Saxonia, known in Italian as Ludolfo di Sassonia or Ludolfo il Certosino, was probably born toward the end of the 13th century and died in 1377 or 1378. He was one of the greatest spiritual writers of late medieval times, and his name is inextricably linked to Vita Christi, a work to which he dedicated many years and which became one of the most widespread texts of Christian European spirituality. A German Carthusian monk by origin, Ludolfo developed a meditation method in which scriptural reading is not merely an intellectual exercise: the believer is invited to contemplate internally the episodes of Christ’s life, as if personally participating, combining imagination, prayer, affection and reflection. This contemplative mode enjoyed long-lasting popularity and represents one of the reasons for the work’s particular influence on later spirituality. Vita Christi is not merely a biography of Jesus, but a vast synthesis built on the Gospels, the Church Fathers, and the medieval exegetical tradition. Its historical importance is especially evident in the moment when Ignatius of Loyola, during his Pamplona convalescence, read Vita Christi in Spanish. Studies on the Ludolfo–Ignatius relationship have highlighted precise affinities in the use of contemplation, in identifications with the Gospel scenes, and in various aspects of the spiritual method that would converge in the Spiritual Exercises. ([Revistas Comillas][1])

RARITY
This 1522 edition belongs to the oldest phase of the printed fortune of Vita Christi. It is an important Lyonese cinquecentina cataloged USTC 155559, printed by Guillaume Huyon for Jacques Giunta and Florentine associates. ([Catalogo Biblioteche Liguri][2]) Particularly notable is the editorial wrapper: the title itself proclaims the work “ornato figurarum cultu investita,” underscoring the role of the figurative apparatus, while complete copies cataloged show the title-page and opening of the text printed in red and black, numerous illustrations and the Giunta mark. ([Iberlibro (ES)][3]) Complete and well-preserved copies, especially when still in sixteenth-century bindings, are decidedly harder to come by than the numerous late editions of the text. In the present specimen the absence of a complete collation, however, imposes not to automatically attribute the entirety of the illustrative apparatus: a detailed verification could materially affect both rarity and commercial value.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
Few medieval devotional works enjoyed a fortune comparable to Vita Christi. Ludolfo transformed the gospel narratives into a continuous path of meditation in which narrative, exegesis, theology and prayer integrate, offering the reader a true contemplative experience of the life of Christ. The work circulated widely in manuscript and later through numerous printed editions, becoming one of the great cultural bridges between medieval spirituality and the religious sensibility of the modern era. Its historical importance is particularly evident in the reading given by Ignatius of Loyola during his conversion: Vita Christi was one of the very few religious books available to him during his convalescence, and modern studies have dedicated specific attention to its influence on the formation of the Spiritual Exercises. ([Revistas Comillas][1]) The Lyonese edition of 1522 is furthermore of special interest in the history of the book because it links one of Europe’s fundamental texts of devotion to the great era of woodcut illustration and to the international Giunta network, the Florentine family that extended its publishing activity to Europe’s major printing centers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Universal Short Title Catalogue, USTC 155559, Ludolphus de Saxonia, Vita Iesu Christi, Lyon, Guillaume Huyon, Jacques Giunta et socii, 1522. ([Arlima][5])
ARLIMA – Archives de littérature du Moyen Âge, Ludolf von Sachsen, Vita Christi, edition of Lyon 1522, EA957, USTC 155559. ([Arlima][5])
Catalogo del Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale / Catalogo Biblioteche Liguri, Vita Iesu Christi, Lugduni, Guillaume Huyon, sumptibus Jacques Giunta et sociorum, 1522. ([Catalogo Biblioteche Liguri][4])
Baudrier, Henri-Louis – Julien Baudrier, Bibliographie lyonnaise. Recherches sur les imprimeurs, libraires, relieurs et fondeurs de lettres de Lyon au XVIe siècle.
Adams, H. M., Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, 1501-1600 in Cambridge Libraries, L-1674.
Paul J. Shore, The Vita Christi of Ludolph of Saxony and its Influence on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits, 30/1, 1998. ([WorldCat][6])
Estudios Eclesiásticos, The Vita Christi of Ludolpho of Saxony and Ignatius of Loyola: About a Great Book. ([Revistas Comillas][1])