Aemilius - De rebus gestis Francorum - 1539

Paulus Aemilius
Two titles in one volume
On the deeds of the Franks, 1539
The Chronicle of the Kings of the Franks, 1539
Latin


Paulus Aemilius’s work 'De rebus gestis Francorum' is a humanistically influenced history of France in ten books, depicting the deeds of the Frankish and French kings from the earliest Franks to King Charles VIII. Aemilius, an Italian humanist from Verona, was summoned to the French court around 1498 and served there as an official historian; his work was intended to replace the medieval 'Grandes Chroniques' as a representative imperial history and to follow classical Latin style inspired by ancient models like Livy. The narrative begins with the early Franks and kings such as Chlodio and continues through the Merovingians and Carolingians, covering the formation of the Frankish-French empire, the rule of the Capetians, the consolidation of royal power, and key conflicts such as disputes with the empire and England, up to the era of Charles VIII, during the Italian Wars and the early French Renaissance power politics. The 1539 edition presents these ten books along with an embedded chronicon of the Frankish and French kings from the legendary Pharamond to the present of the 16th century, emphasizing the dynastic continuity and the venerable origins of the French monarchy. Thus, the work is both a literary expression of Renaissance humanism and a political tool to legitimize the 'christianissimus Rex' and his claim to a prominent position in Europe.

34x23cm
Cover page, title, 4 pages preface, 1 page table of contents, 248 paginated text pages, title, 47 pages, 41 pages index, 1 cover page.
248 pages, very well-preserved full leather binding of the magazine. Interior in very good condition; see photos.


No shipping to Germany.