POLANO, Pietro Soave (pseud. of Paolo SARPI) and Nathaniel BRENT (translator).
The historie of the Councel of Trent. Containing eight Bookes. In which (besides the ordinarie Actes of the Councell) are declared many notable Occurrences, which happened in Christendomme, during the space of fourtie yeeres and more. And, particularly, the practises of the Court of Rome, to hinder the reformation of their errors, and to maintaine their greatnesse ...
London, Bonham Norton and John Bill, 1629. Folio. With the woodcut arms of king Charles I of England on the title page, 117 decorated woodcut initials, 17 woodcut headpieces, and 6 woodcut tailpieces. Contemporary gold-tooled calf, sewn on 6 supports with the corresponding raised bands on the spine, the crowned arms of King Charles I of England in the centre of both boards with the motto "Honi soit qui mal y pense" and the monogram "A W", surrounded by two single fillet borders with cornerpieces, gold-tooled board edges, remnants of closing ties. [2 blank], [10], "881" [=879], [16], [1 blank] pp.
€ 2,500
Beautifully produced work on the history of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), in an armorial binding with the arms of king Charles I of England (1600-1649), to whom the work is dedicated. Written by "Father Paul of Venice", the work was antipapal and anticlerical in nature, like the author itself, and was very popular in its own time. "Besides being of great importance in the development of historiography, [it] is memorable as the touchstone by which the value and effect of the Council were debated" (PMM).
Paolo Sarpi (1552-1623) was a Servite friar, historian, canon lawyer, and a statesman for the Venetian Republic. He was a proponent of the separation of state and Church, and one of the most prominent figures involved in the Venetian interdict (1606-1607), a diplomatic quarrel between the Republic of Venice and the Papal Curia. Because of this, he became the target of an assassination attempt in 1607, at the instigation of the pope. He recovered from his wounds, however, and spent the remainder of his life peacefully in his cloister, working on various literary works.
The historie of the council of Trent is his chief work. It was first published in Italian as Istoria del Concilio Tridentino in 1619 in London without his consent, under the pseudonym Pietro Soave Polano, which was an anagram for Paolo Sarpi Veneto. The work was translated into English in 1620 by Nathaniel Brent (ca. 1573-1652) in 1620, and republished in 1629 and 1640. It was also translated into Latin, French, and German. Although the work became very popular, especially among Protestants, Sarpi himself never claimed authorship for it. The present copy of the enlarged second English edition was dedicated to king Charles I of England and has his coat of arms tooled onto the boards, together with the initials "A.W.", which was likely the person for whom the work was bound.
With the bookplate of Reverend Richard Neate (1737-1817) mounted on the front pastedown. The boards and spine are somewhat rubbed, with some loss of material, missing a chip at the head of the spine. The work is slightly browned, a small tear in the lower margins of some of the leaves. Otherwise in good condition. ESTC S116697; Pollard & Redgrave 21762; USTC 3014208; cf. Printing and the Mind of Man 118 (first ed.).
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