[ THE COPY OF JOHANNES SALICETUS ]
[ SPECTACULAR & LARGE 16TH-CENTURY HAND-PAINTED EX-LIBRIS ]
[ COUNTER-REFORMATION – OPPONENTS OF LUTHER ]
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WILD, Johann,
Sommerteil der Postill. Evangelischer... Mainz, Franz Behem, 1558
& Sommerteil der Postill. De Sanctis. Mainz, Franz Behem, 1559
Two parts in one folio volume, [6], 501 (i.e., 500) leaves; [4], 161 (i.e., 162), [1] leaves. Pigskin over wooden boards. Contemporary German binding, blind-stamped. Spine with four raised bands; outer borders adorned with floral motifs; inner borders featuring figures of Christ, David, Paul, and John the Baptist. Central panels decorated with floral designs. Traces of clasps; some restorations to corners and joints; minor leather loss; last leaf with paper loss in the upper outer quarter affecting the text. Remnants of a bookmark on fCCCCCI marking the end of the first part. Some browning and foxing. The tools used for this binding are dated 1549 and bear the initials "K.D." Bibliographical references: Haebler I, 91-2; workshop cited in EBDB ref. w002792.
Two Works by the Franciscan Preacher of Mainz, Johann Wild (1495–1554)
These two significant collections of sermons open with elegant title pages printed in red and black. Noteworthy are two beautiful woodcuts: one depicting the Crucifixion in the first work; the other showing the coat of arms of the Archbishop of Mainz in the second.
The sermons of Johann Wild (1495–1554), an opponent of Luther and a Franciscan preacher from Mainz, enjoyed wide dissemination in Germany during the second half of the 16th century. A proponent of the Counter-Reformation, Wild adopted rather moderate positions in his writings, far from the violence and zeal of some theologians of his time. His method of exegesis involved countering Lutheran citations with scholarly commentary derived from the Church Fathers. This dialectical approach, however, was not appreciated by all.
Copy of Johannes Salicetus, Rector of the University of Ingolstadt & Close Associate of Johannes Eck, Another Opponent of Luther
Rare Large 'Portrait' Ex-Libris Drawn and Hand-Painted on the Front Pastedown—with the handwritten inscription: "Joannes Salicetus alias Wideman, Possessor." This portrait (or self-portrait?) introduces our work in the most spectacular fashion, facing the title page. The mention "No. 1" suggests a possible library classification; or could it be the beginning of a portrait gallery? The attire of the painted figure, as well as his posture—holding ears of wheat in his hand—somewhat recalls the grand figures of the Schembart Buch preserved at the Getty Museum, where one finds characters from the Nuremberg carnival in typically German costumes of the first half of the 16th century (minus the grotesque aspect here).
Beneath the painting, one notices a small inked figure of a devil, with horns, mimicking the pose of the man above; although difficult to date, this additional small figure is nonetheless quite curious.
Johannes Wideman, the owner of this book, is better known by his Latin name, Johannes Salicetus. He was a professor at the University of Ingolstadt, teaching dialectics from 1536. He served as rector of the university in 1541–1542. Salicetus was very close to (and even related to) Johannes Eck, the famous anti-Lutheran preacher whose writings are often compared to those of Johann Wild.
"A colleague, compatriot, and relative of Johannes Eck, Professor Johannes Wideman, Latinized as Salicetus, delivered the first funeral oration in his honor. In this poem, Salicetus briefly enumerates Eck's merits in the humanist style but then earnestly requests prayers for the repose of his soul." (Corpus Catholicorum, 1930, vol. 16, p. xliii).
Salicetus's discourse on the death of Johannes Eck was published under the title Threni in obitum Ioannis Eckii, theologi. Hoc est epitaphium Eckius theologus vivens (1543). Not inclined to write extensively (Corpus Catholicorum, op. cit., p. xlvi), Salicetus also published an elegy denouncing a calumny by Peter Lemberg who had dared to criticize his funeral eulogy of Eck: Elegia Ioannis Saliceti Eckij, contra Petri Lempergii Gorlicensis calumniam (1544). This close relationship between Salicetus and Eck (who also taught at Ingolstadt) likely explains Salicetus's interest in Johann Wild.
The positions of these two men in their opposition to Lutheranism are quite complementary, with Wild being notably more moderate than Johannes Eck. For further insight and a comparison between the two, see the works of John Marshall Frymire (Pestilence and Reformation, op. cit.).
An Interesting Blind-Stamped Pigskin Binding
The volume is adorned with a remarkable blind-stamped pigskin binding. The tools used are dated 1549 and bear the initials "K.D." This workshop is cited in the EBDB (Einbanddatenbank, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin) under ref. w002792. Presented here is a 1549 variant of roll r001326 reproduced in the EBDB, featuring images of "Christ | Salvator," followed by the text "DATA EST MIHI // OMNIS PO" (dated 1549), King David with "DE FRVCTV // VENTRIS TV," Paul with "APPRVIT BEN // ET HVM MEN," and finally John the Baptist with "ECCE AGNVS // DEI QVI TOL."
An Exceptional Painted Ex-Libris & A Testament to the Circulation of Anti-Lutheran Ideas in 16th-Century German Universities
