Royaumont - L’histoire du vieux et du nouveau testament - 1715

[ROYAUMONT, Sieur de / FONTAINE, Nicolas]
The History of the Old and New Testament, with edifying Explanations drawn from the Saints, to regulate conduct in all kinds of conditions. Dedicated to His Grace the Dauphin.
Paris, At Pierre de Bats’, rue S. Jacques, opposite the image of St. Francis, 1715 (M. DCC. XV). New edition revised & corrected.

One volume in small 12mo, contemporary full brown granite calf binding, spine with raised bands ornamented with gilt compartments and ornaments, title piece in brown-red morocco (Histoire de la Bible), speckled edges, original marble-paper endpapers. Signs of wear and small losses to the binding. Overall good condition. Copy in pocket-size in-12 format, complete with text but lacking the engravings.

Variant in pocket-size in-12 of the famous Royaumont Bible, one of the greatest spiritual and booksellers’ successes of the 17th and 18th centuries. Originally written by the Jansenist Nicolas Fontaine from his Bastille cell under the pseudonym “Sieur de Royaumont,” this work offers a catechetical and moral narrative of the Holy Scriptures grounded in the comments of the Church Fathers.

This in-12 format, more intimate and intended for daily reading or travel, bears witness to the massive diffusion of this classic among the learned households of the Ancien Régime, far beyond the ceremonial libraries of display.

Originally intended for the religious education of the Grand Dauphin (the eldest son of Louis XIV), the Royaumont Bible established itself as the exemplary manual of religious reading under the reign of the Sun King. Its small-format in-12 variants allowed believers to appropriate the sacred texts and their moral interpretations within private devotion, far from the heavy folio or quarto formats reserved for church ministers.