Ioannes Aventinus - ANNALIVM BOIORVM LIBRI SEPTEM - 1554

Elegitur presents: Johannes Aventinus – Annales Boiorum libri septem

Ingolstadt, from the presses of Alexander & Samuel Weissenhorn, 1554
Posthumous and expanded edition

Presentation of the work

The Annales Boiorum by Johannes Aventinus (1477–1534), a Bavarian humanist and the first true historian of Bavaria, represents one of the milestones of 16th-century German historiography. The work, composed in seven books, is a vast fresco of the history of the Boii and the Bavarian peoples from their mythic-antique origins to the events closest to the author.

This specimen belongs to the 1554 edition, printed in Ingolstadt by brothers Alexander and Samuel Weissenhorn, privileged typographers of the University of Ingolstadt. It is a posthumous edition, one of the most sought-after of the 16th century, enhanced by a careful preliminary apparatus and a rich index of notable things and words, making the text a fundamental reference tool for scholars of the period.

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The author: Johannes Aventinus

Born as Johann Georg Turmair, Aventinus was:
classic-trained humanist
first official chronicler of Bavaria
Central figure of German humanism.
Friend and collaborator of Conrad Celtis, Willibald Pirckheimer, and other protagonists of the cultural revival of the Holy Roman Empire.

He is remembered for introducing a more critical and philological historical method compared to the medieval chronicle tradition. His Annales are based on a rigorous consultation of ancient sources, archive documents, and epigraphic testimonies.

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The content of the work

The seven books of the Annales cover:
The mythical origins of the Boii, as cited by Greek and Latin authors, up to the migration and stabilization of Germanic populations.
2. The Roman age and the interactions between the Bavarian tribes and the Empire.
Early Middle Ages: the Agilolfingi dynasty, Christianization, internal struggles.
4. The Carolingian dynasty and integration into the Holy Roman Empire.
Noble dissent, Saxon war, battles for regional hegemony.
Legal and administrative reforms, analysis of customs and institutions.
Recent history up to the first Cinquecento, with political, genealogical, and cultural observations.

In addition to narration, Aventinus includes genealogies, geographical descriptions, customs, laws, wars, treaties, and moral observations, presenting Bavaria as an organic historical entity, worthy of equal dignity compared to the great classical nations.

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The title page and the preliminary material.

The title page features elegant humanistic typography, enriched by an encomiastic poem attributed to Abraham Escher, which celebrates the figure of the author and the usefulness of his work.
The printing instruction reads:

Visit of Ingolstadt by Alexander and Samuel Weissenhorn, German brothers. In the year of our Lord 1554, in the month of December.

The presence of the imperial privilege testifies to the political importance of the work, approved by the Bavarian authorities and the Empire itself.

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Historical and cultural significance

The Annales Boiorum exerted a great influence.
Construction of Bavarian identity: Aventinus is considered the 'father of Bavaria's historical consciousness'.
Germanic humanist historiography: the work becomes a model for chroniclers of the Germanic area.
Book collecting: the 1554 edition is one of the most desirable because it is well printed, rich in apparatus, and close to the author's manuscript tradition.
Relationship with the Reformation: Aventinus, close to certain reformist circles but always cautious, offers a critical perspective on ecclesiastical abuses, which made his work controversial and monitored by Catholic authorities.

For these reasons, the Annales are firmly situated within the great European historiographical tradition, alongside the major Renaissance chroniclers such as Paulo Emilio, Polidoro Virgilio, and the Italian Renaissance historians.

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Conclusion

The 1554 Ingolstadt edition of the Annales Boiorum is a valuable witness to the birth of modern historiography in the German-speaking area.
A monumental work, endowed with elegant style and philological rigor, it represents not only a history of Bavaria but also a true manifesto of Germanic historical humanism.

For a collector of ancient humanistic editions, such a specimen constitutes a significant piece, expressive of the political and literary culture of the Holy Roman Empire in the mid-16th century.

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