Broekaert 33-34; Adams J256. The book begins with Gregory the Great's Life of Benedict; Benedict's Rule is accompanied by the commentary of the Dominican Cardinal Juan de Torquemada, or Turrecremata (1388-1468); the Benedictine orientation is continued with the inclusion of the monastic profession rite of the Congregation of Santa Giustina of Padua; there follow the monastic rules of Basil the Great and Augustine of Hippo and the mendicant rule of Francis of Assisi.
The book was first printed at Venice by J.Emericus de Spira, 1500 (Goff R135), and there was one other edi1514 (Adams J257). The large woodcut is a close copy of that in the Venetian edition (reproduced by Essling, 1316), sometimes attributed to an artist of the Poliphilo. The changes include the omission of the kneeling figures at the base and the inclusion of a flowery sward, presumably due to national differences of taste. The local Rouennais artist has produced a picture as good as the original. The manuscript index in our copy is unusual at this early date.
St Benedict, founder of Monte Cassino, is known as the ‘father of Western monasticism’.