J. Major - Von dem grausamen Gewitter und schrecklichem Gewässer - 1613

"Memorial and Remembrance Sermon/ Of the cruel storm/ and terrible waters/ with which Thuringia was scourged/ on the Saturday before Trinity in the night/ was the 29th (May) of this current 1613 year.", Johann Major 1613.

For sale is a very rare sermon manuscript by the theologian and Jena professor Johann Major about the devastating flood disaster that afflicted Thuringia on 29 May 1613. The work belongs to the early printed reports on natural disasters in the German-speaking world and combines contemporary documentary reporting with theological interpretation of the event.

For the printed edition, the sermon was expanded with the first reports of the damages caused by the destruction: among other things, the Ilm is described rising ten to twelve cubits above its usual level. In Weimar alone, 65 people drowned, 25 horses and 176 head of cattle, and 44 houses and barns were swept away. Other damage reports concern, among others, Kromsdorf, Roßla, Eberstedt, Sulza, and Leutra.

Presumably this is an early print of the first edition. In the title the month designation “Mai” (May) is missing, which is present in other prints and here was only contemporaneously added by hand (cf. VD 17, 12:112880 S).

With decorative woodcut title border.

Bound in a modern cover.

The leaves are slightly browned and show brown spotting in the lower margin. Marginalia from an old hand can be found sporadically. Overall a well-preserved and remarkably rare witness to one of the most severe natural disasters in central Germany in the early 17th century.

Collation: 12 leaves

Dimensions: 19 x 15.5 cm

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