Jordanes -

JORDANES - BONAVENTURA VULCANIUS

Iornandes Episcopus Ravennas De Getarum, sive Gothorum Origine & rebus gestis. &De Literis & Lingua Getarum, Sive Gothorum. Item De Notis Lombardicis.

Lugduni Batavorum, Ex off. Plantiniana Apud Franciscum Raphelengium, 1597. Small 8vo . 2 parts in 1 volume. Pp.(16), 264; 191, (1); (16), 109, (1). Contemporary limp vellum.Collation: I: †8 A-M8 N4 O-R8, 2A-M8. II:
¶ 8 a-g8 (g8 blank). Fingerprint identical to STCN 159708. This book consists of 2 volumes, bound together and as such a convolute of writings by older historians on the history of the Goths, edited by Bonaventura Vulcanius (1538-1614). The first volume consists of 2 parts. The first part contains 7 pieces and 2 indices; the second part contains 4 pieces.Complete titles of these pieces (with indication of their pages): 1. “Iornandes Episcopus Rauennas de Getarvm, siue Gothorvm Origine & rebus gestis” (index-title: Iornandes De rebus geticis) (pp 1-180) - the history of the Goths or Getae by Jornandes/ Jordanis, written in 551,2. “Sidonivs Agricolae SVO S. De Theoderico rege Gothico” (index-title: Sidonij Apollinaris Epistola de vita Theoderici Vesogothorum regis) (pp. 181 – 186) – Caii Sollii Apollinaris Sidonii (ca 430- ca 490) wrote his letters on the last Roman Emperors around 470.3. “Conradi Pevtingeri Augustani De Inclinatione Romani Imperii & exterarum gentium, praecipue Germanorum commigrationibus” (index - title: Excerpta è Conrado Peutingero De inclinatione Rom(ani) Imp(erii) & exterarum gentium migrationibus (pp. 187 – 190) – Peutinger edited Jordanes’ History of the Goths together with the „Historia Langobardorum“ of Paulus Diaconus in 1515 (Adams J 320).4 & 5. “Nomina authorem” (index-title: Index authorem qui à Iornande citansur) (p. 190) and “Index Rerum et Verborum memorabilivm Quae Iornandis De Reb(us) Geticis” (index-title Index rerum & verborum in Iornandem De rebus Geticis) (pp. 191-200)6 – 9. “Isidori Chronicon Gothorum” (pp. 201-225) and three others by the same “Historia Wandalorum (pp. 225-230), “Historia Svevorvm” (pp. 231-235) and “Chronica Regvm Wisigothorum” (pp 235-238) - Isidorus Hispalensis Episcopus (Isidorus of Seville, ca 560 – 636)10. “Ex Descriptione Ponti Evxini Quae desideratur apud Procopium Libro quarto belli Gothici, qui est vltimus ogdoadis historiarum” (index-title: De priscis sedibus (& migrationibus) Gothorum, Hunnorum & Vandalorum, (Graecè & Lat), excerpta è Procopij lib. 4 De bello Gothico, nondum edito” (pp. 239 – 245 in Greek, 246 – 252 in Latin) - Procopius Caesariensis – see further on.11-12. “Castigationes in Isidori Chronicon Gothorum” (pp. 253 – 260) and “Notae in Procopii Fragmentvm De sedibus Gothorum” (index-title: Notae & castigationes in Procopium De sedibus Gothorum” (pp. 261-264) – pp. 259-260 with “Inscriptiones Regum Gothorum.The second part has its own pagination and contains: 1. “Iornandes De regnorum ac temporum successione. (Omnia ex recognitione & cum notis Bon. Vvlcanii Brvgensis)” (pp 1 – 151) - also by Jordanes, already published in 1531 in Basel by Hervagius, 2. “De Gothorum in Hispaniam adventu, & regum serie. Ex Lvcii Marinei Sicvli. Libro sexto De rebus Hispaniae memorabilis” (index-title: Excerpta è L. Marineo Siculo, De Gothorum in Hispaniam adventu, & regum serie). (pp 152-166) - Lucio Marineo (1444 - 1533), the 6th book from his work “Siculi opus De rebus Hispaniae memorabilis, Libri 22”, published in 1533 by Complutum.3. “De Theodorico Rege Gothorum. Sumpta è quarta parte Historiae Generalis MS. Ricobaldi Ferrariensis“ (index-title: Excerpta è Ricobaldi Ferrariensis Historia MS, cui titulus Pomoerium Ecclesiae Rauennatis: De Theoderico rege Gothorum) (pp 167 – 176) - the Italian chronicler Ricobaldus Ferrariensis / Riccobaldo da Ferrara (ca 1245 – 1318), taken from his “Historia Imperatorum Romanorum ab anno 95 usque ad annum 1149 e una Compilatio chronologica usque ad a. 1312” (printed under different titles already as early as 1476 -Schurener, Rome - and later on). 4. “In Iornandem Variae Lectiones & Notae aliquot Bon. Vvlcanii” (index-title: Variae Lectiones & Notae aliquot in utrumque Iornadis librum) (pp 177-191)The second volume has its own title page and contains:“De literis & Lingua Getarvm, Siue Gothorvm. Item De Notis Lombardicis. Quibus accesserunt Specimina variarum linguarum, quarum Indicem pagina quae Praefationem sequitur ostendit; Editore Bon. Vvlcanio Brvgensi” - Bonaventura Vulcanius (1538-1614). Apart from the titles mentioned, title pages of both volumes have the same lay-out with Plantin’s title-vignette.On the different authors: Jordanes/ Jordanis/ Jornandes was a Roman notarius/clerk, with a Gothic background, stationed at the frontier area in modern Bulgaria in the 6th century. He became a historian and is best known by his “De Getarum” or as it is often known “Getica” (the first title of the first volume of our copy). That work treats the early history of the Goths. Older manuscripts said that he was converted and became a bishop, even of Ravenna (as in the title of our work “Iornandes Episcopus Rauennas”), but that is far from certain. Jordanes claims his work to be a short summary of the “Origo Gothica” or “Historia Gothorum”, the history of the Goths, written by Cassiodorus (c. 485 – c. 585). Cassiodorus was a Roman consul who became a quaestor sacri palatii and later magister officiorum under the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great (454 -526). Theodoric ordered him to account the origin and history of the Gothic people. That work was written in Ravenna around 530 AD and is said to have consisted of 12 volumes, but it is no longer extant. Jordanes was allowed to see that work, but only for 3 days. To his summary of Cassiodorus’work, Jordanes added material from other sources and accounts of contemporary events a.o. Ablabius, Dio Cassius, Fabius, Pomponius Mela, Strabo and Tacitus.The other work written by Jordanes was his “Historia Romana” or, as it is called in our copy “Iornandes De regnorum ac temporum successione” (the first title of the second part of the first volume of our copy). That work is a history of the world and more specifically of the history of Rome in the form of a compendium of the most remarkable events from the creation down to AD 552. It is most valuable for the description of the events during the last century of that period. These 2 works of Jordanes were printed for the first time in 1515 at Augsburg by Conrad Peutinger, together with the “Historia Longobardorum” of Paulus Diaconus (VD16-J932). The humanist Konrad Peutinger (1465 – 1547), became in 1497 “Stadtschreiber” –the town clerk - of Augsburg, but he was also a diplomat, a politician and an important historian. Whereas Jordanes wrote about the early history of the Goths, Procopius Caesariensis (500 – 562) treated the later history of the Goths in his “Gothic Wars” (Volume 1, part I, title 10 of our copy). Procopius. born in Palestine was a witness to the Gothic wars, the principal historian of the 6th century and of Emperor Justinian and his chief military commander Belisarius, whose legal adviser Procopius was. The editor of our work, Bonaventura Vulcanius/ de Smet (1538, Bruges – 1614, Leiden) was an important humanist from the Low Countries. His father had already befriended Erasmus and the son later worked as corrector for Henri Estienne in Geneva and Froben in Basel. After that he became Professor in Greek and Latin in 1581 at Leiden. He is important for his revival of the study of the Greek language in the Netherlands (Cf NNBW X, 1143-5 and H. Cazes & K. van Ommen: Facebook in the sixteenth century ? The Humanist and Networker Bonaventura Vulcanius, Leiden, 2010).The second volume of this work “De literis & lingua Getarvm, siue Gothorvm” was written by Vulcanius as an appendix to Jordanes’ “De Getarum” (Cf Van der Aa, XIX, 485-8). It is typographically very interesting as it treats different early Gothic languages, including their pronuncation, illustrated with examples of the different alphabets and writing systems and typographic comparison of the older Gothic signs to those of other languages; sections as different as Teutonic, runes, Anglican & -Saxon (with the translated text interposed), Frisian, Cimbric, Icelandic, Anglo-Saxon, Basque, Persian, and even gypsy ("De Nubianis erronibus quos Itali Cingaros appellant, corumque lingua”) language; a.o. comparison (typographic) of older Gothic signs with those of other languages. Ties missing (holes present), pages occasionally slightly foxed and browned (last 8 leaves more so), but otherwise a very good copy. Both works rare editions (Brunet 3, 568: “volume peu commun”).

Zaal Books

Book number: 21437

€ 1600.00 [Appr.: US$ 2132.5 | £UK 1376.5 | JP¥ 205794]

Keywords: Goths;Gothen;Lombarden;Gothic language;Lombard language; Plantijn; Procopius; Vulcanius; runes; celtic; geticum; Ostrogoths; Peutinger; Paulus Diaconus; ; Cassiodorus; Theodoric; Rome; Ravenna; Jornandes; Wisigoths; Vandals; Leiden; Plantin; gypsies; Roma