Heinrich Suso - Bücher vnd Schrifften - 1661

Suso (also Seuse), Heinrich: Of the Blessed Henricus Susonius S. O. Fr. Praedicatorum, and for great holiness... celebrated books and writings, as many as come to light: together with his holy wondrous life, described in the Swabian language, later translated from Laurentius Surio into Latin, by Ans. Hoffmann, rendered into the High German language.

Cologne, W. Friessem 1661. 4 leaves, 250 (correctly 232) pages, 94 pages, 2 leaves, 10 (correctly 8, pages 2–3 omitted) pages, 1 leaf. Printer’s device of the time. 20.5 x 16 cm.

VD17 3:316100Y; Jantz 247. — First edition of this translation of the writings and autobiography of the Dominican mystic Heinrich Suso (Seuse; 1295–1366), who was “the Minnesinger among the German mystics,” here in back-translation after the Latin edition. A German edition appeared already in 1482 in Augsburg, which Surius translated into Latin in 1555. “Thus the life of Suso gains a significant place in German literature, for it is the first example of an autobiography in German prose, one of the most appealing productions of this genre and a benevolent spiritual counterpart to Dante’s Vita Nuova on German soil. The book’s strong, far-reaching influence is evidenced also by its translation into Latin and several other European languages” (Klaiber, p. 10). — Slightly worn. Browned.