New Acquisition: Mariale, officum et missa immaculatae conceptionis, 1496
An incunable (Latin, incunabulum, pl. incunabula, meaning “swaddling clothes”) is a printed book produced prior to 1501. While the first European printing press emerged in Strasbourg, France in the mid-fifteenth century, thanks to Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468), the printed book with moving typeface did not gain popularity until after the beginning of the sixteenth century. One of the first printed texts is the Gutenberg Bible, printed in 1455.
and shadows of original two clasps now missing.
The University of Oregon Special Collections & University Archives recently acquired the Mariale, officum et missa immaculatae conceptionis by the Italian theologian Bernardino de’Busti (1450-1513), printed July 26, 1496, in Strasbourg by the printer Martin Flach, the Elder (d. 1500). Not only is this manuscript an incunabulum, but it also a censored book with various leaves missing and cut out. Additionally, the pastedowns on either side of the cover boards are from earlier, handwritten manuscripts.
Bernardino de’Busti (b. 1450) was the son of the jurist Lorenzo de’Busti, a noble Milanese family. After completing first studies in his hometown, he went to the University of Pavia to attend law courses. Between 1475 and 1476, driven by the religious vocation manifested in him from his early youth, he took the habit of the observant Franciscans which he received from the hands of the provincial Michele Carcano, in the convent of S. Angelo in Legnano.The Mariale, de’Busti’s best known work, is a collection of sixty-three sermons dealing with the Virgin Mary’s life, attributes, and noble qualities that was used on all her holy days. The number of sermons is deliberate, for it aligns with the sixty-three years of Mary’s earthly life. The missing leaves provide a glimpse into the controversy over the Immaculate Conception in the fifteenth century, which de’Busti passionately defended strenuously.
Those who promoted the teaching of the Immaculate Conception came to be known as “immaculists” and those who were opposed as the “maculists.” At this time, the controversy on the Immaculate Conception was very lively and Busti relates in Mariale that even his father had followed the “maculists” for a long time. From 1483, Pope Sixtus IV had left Roman Catholics free to believe whether Mary was subject to original sin or not, and this freedom had been reiterated by the Council of Trent. The Oxford Franciscans William of Ware and especially John Duns Scotus defended the doctrine of Immaculate Conception despite the opposition of most scholarly opinion at the time. Arguments ensued between the immaculist Scotists and the maculist Thomists, and the doctrine was generally not shared by either Eastern Orthodoxy or by Protestantism because it is not explicitly spelled out in the Bible. It was not until 1854 that Pope Pius IX, with the support of an overwhelming majority of Catholic bishops, felt safe enough to pronounce the doctrine infallible.
As mentioned above, our copy has several leaves that were purposely removed. The first missing leaf (A2) contained a dedication to Pope Alexander VI (r.1492-1503, formerly Rodrigo Borgia, known for his scandals of illegitimate children and nepotism. Some missing leaves (a1 and a6) relate to a controversy over the Mass and office for the feast of the Immaculate Conception approved by Pope Sixtus IV (r.1471-1484) in 1476. Missing leaf q5 is part of a sermon discussing the cardinal virtues of the Virgin and contains the section on Prudence; a former user of the book decided to remove it and skip directly from Modesty Humility. Leaf 5v, dealing with the eligibility of Mary to marry Joseph, appears to have been deliberately ripped out, possibly for its unseemly references to fornication, copulation, and carnal knowledge.
Mariale eximii viri Bernardini de busti ordinis seraphici Francisci de singulis festiuitatibus beate virginis per modu[m] sermonu[m] tractans, omni theologia copiosum, deni[que] vtrius[que] iuris auctoritatibus applicatis : et arte humanitatis refertu[m] in omnibus allegationibus promptissimus. Bernardino de’Busti, (1450-1513). Strasbourg: Martin Flach, 1496.
300 x 200 mm. (11 3/4 x 8”). [373] (of 378) leaves (lacking A2, a1, a6, q5, and final blank GG8). Double column, 54 lines, plus headline and shoulder notes, in gothic type. Contemporary blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards, covers with botanical roll frame, round dragon stamps at corners, central panel with fleuron tools in ogival compartments, raised bands, ink shelf mark in tail compartment, remnants of hardware for strap closures, wide (14th century?) manuscript fragments pasted along hinges, original leather tabs to fore-edge of some pages.Rubricated in red, hand-painted initials in red, one seven-line initial in red and green.
common practice that can provide research about the item the fragments were taken.
Boards splaying slightly, pigskin a bit soiled, spine rather rubbed in spots, other general signs of wear, but a solid and pleasing unrestored period binding, nevertheless. Title page a bit soiled and frayed at edge, v5 with large arching tear at bottom, causing the loss of three inches from one column of text on both sides, final leaf with the (blank) right half and tail edge torn away, but with all text intact, occasional minor stains or smudges, one quire lightly browned, other insignificant defects, otherwise an excellent copy internally, quite clean, fresh, and bright. Cited in Goff B-1334; BMC I, 154; ISTC ib01334000.
Front pastedown with book label of W. D. Worthington; title page with hand-drawn heraldic shield bearing an antler and the initials “W H” in ink (Waldalenus Hirschhorn, whose coat of arms likely used by the city of Hirschhorn (Neckar), Hesse, Germany); The contemporary inscriptions on the title page and leaf B6 offer a glimpse of the book trade in the 15th century. de Hirschhorn writes he purchased this book at the meeting or assembly (“conventus”) in Frankfurt in 1496, perhaps referring to the book fair that has been held in that city since the 13th century. It was donated by him to the Carmelite monastery near his castle in Hirschhorn, a town near Heidelberg.
Not much is known about Martin Flach the Elder, who died in 1500. He was a Strasbourg (German spelling: Straßburg) printer, producing some of the earliest printed books. Much more is known about his son, Martin Flach. Following his father’s death, he began to operate their family printing press and published his first book in 1501, entitled Castigatorium Egidii de Roma. We do know his mother remarried to the printer, Johann Knobloch, who took over Martin the Elder’s printing business. After which, Martin established a second press in Strasbourg, from which he shared typesets and printing materials with his stepfather, Johann Knobloch, for most of his career. Flach went on to print both humanist and Reformation literature, including many of Martin Luther’s Sermons. By his death in 1539, he had printed over one hundred titles.
– Zoey Kambour and David de Lorenzo
