Bonifacius VIII. e familia Caietanorum principum Romanus Pontifex / R.P. Ioannis Rubei, Congregationis Angliae, Ordinis S. Benedicti monachi, atque olim in Romanà Curià procuratoris. Opus in duas partes diuisum. Altera, vitam & res ab eo gestas illustrat; altera, defendit.
1651
Items
Details
Title
Bonifacius VIII. e familia Caietanorum principum Romanus Pontifex / R.P. Ioannis Rubei, Congregationis Angliae, Ordinis S. Benedicti monachi, atque olim in Romanà Curià procuratoris. Opus in duas partes diuisum. Altera, vitam & res ab eo gestas illustrat; altera, defendit.
Created/published
Romae [Rome] : Typis Haeredum Corbelletti, MDCLI [1651]
Description
[4], lii, 383 [i.e. 382], [2] p. ; 23 cm (4to)
Associated name
Rubeus, Joannes, O.S.B., active 1651, author.
Corbelletti, Francesco, heirs of, printer.
Corbelletti, Francesco, heirs of, printer.
Note
This is a PRELIMINARY RECORD. It may contain incorrect information. Please email catalog@folger.edu for assistance.
Cited/described in
BL Italian, 17th cent., p. 803
Item Details
Call number
FAST ACC 271717 (quarto)
Folger-specific note
Purchase made possible by The Professor Emile V. Telle Acquisitions Fund. From dealer's description: "BY THE ENGLISH PROCURATOR IN ROME, IN A CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH MOROCCO BINDING THE BECKFORD COPY [ENGLISH CATHOLICS IN ROME] / SELBY, Richard Wilfrid a.k.a RUBEUS, Joannis. Bonifacius VIII e Familia Caietorum Principum Romanus Pontifex, R.P. Joannis Rubei, Congregationis Angliae, Ordinis S. Benedicti, atque in Romana Curia Procuratoris... Rome: Heirs of Corbelletti, 1651. Tall 4to. [23 x 16.5 cm]. (2) ff., including added engraved architectural frontispiece, LII pp, 381 (i.e. 390) pp, (1) f. errata, plus large folding plate [35 x 22.5 cm]. Bound in contemporary English red morocco, central panes triple gilt ruled, with design of large filigree fleuron in center, matching triangles at corners, with additional fleurons outside panel at corners; gilt spine in six compartments repeating design, with gilt title label, all edges gilt. Joints a little worn; corners rubbed; occasional light staining to scattered leaves but mainly a very fresh copy. Scattered graphite underlining and notation, apparently by Beckford himself (per the provenance note on the flyleaf). Provenance: the rapacious English collector William Beckford (1760-1844), cf Catalogue of the Beckford Library Part III 1882-3, no. 1534, p. 108 (compare handwritten note on front end leaf, which matches the description in the printed catalogue. Extremely rare sole edition of this Counter-Reformation biography of Pope Bonifacius (Caietani) VIII (r. 1294-1303), composed following the execution of Charles I in 1649 by an English Benedictine monk resident in Rome. The work is dedicated to the contemporary patriarch of the Caietani clan, Duke Francesco; however a further English relevance beyond the author's nationality is suggested by the binding of contemporary English red morocco. The entire textblock shows central creasing, possibly from the binding process but also evoking suggestions of folding for travel, evidently having made its way to England at an early date. Following Selby's lengthy preface to his patron, it is noteworthy that his text highlights Boniface's numerous engagements in British foreign affairs, ranging from a youthful participation in diplomatic missions to England in the entourage of Cardinal Ottobuono Fieschi (Boniface even became rector of St Lawrence's Church in Towchester, Northamptonshire for a short while), to when as Pope he claimed suzerainty over Scotland in the First War of Scottish Independence; Boniface further challenged King Edward I of England's claim over the distribution ecclesiastical benefices. With his promotional biography of this militarily aggressive, 'interventionist' pope, Selby may have been hinting at the notion of restoring Catholic order to England by force. By medieval standards, Boniface's wide-ranging and militant incursions into civil affairs drew the ire of Dante, who makes the pontiff the principal target of De monarchia and consigned him to the 8th circle of hell in the Commedia. Boniface's acts of controversial aggression were by no means limited to Tuscany but spanned all of Europe, thus accounting for the work's organization: the first part is devoted to a chronicle of his life, the second (pp. 243-300!) to refutation of the large body of controversial literature written against him. Selby's work also contains a large folding plate showing the figural Sarcophagus of Boniface by the great sculptor Arnolfo da Cambio. John a.k.a. Richard Wilfrid Selby (d. 1659) a.k.a Reade, aka Rubeus, was born in County Durham and professed at St. Gregory's, Douai, in 1620. He served as Procurator in Rome from 1629-1645 and as President General of the English Benedictine Congregation from 1645-1649. John Evelyn described him as "a Person (to say truth) of singular learning, Religion and humanity" (Diary II, 213). According to Gillow, Selby was highly regarded by Pope Urban VIII's nephew, Francesco Barberini, Cardinal Protector of England; both uncle and nephew were known to have held deep reservations about the actions of Pope Clement VII against King Henry VIII which had resulted in the English Reformation. OCLC shows three copies in US libraries, at Cornell, Berkeley Law, and Boston College. Interestingly, OCLC notes that the John Rylands copy also belonged to a contemporary English collection (Parish Church of Saint Mary, Nantwich), but has survived very poorly (lacking boards and prelims). * BL Italian 17th c, 803; on Selby, cf Gillow, A Literary and Biographical History of the English Catholics V, pp. 490-491; Bibliographia Gregoriana III, p. 258; Snow, Necrology of the English Congregation of the Order of St. Benedict, p. 56." Ordered from Inlibris, D 9337, 2019-07-09, email quote.
Folger accession
271717