PLACENTIUS, Johannes Leo.

Editio princeps of the history of the dioceses Tongres, Maastricht and Luik Catalogus omnium antistitum Tungarorum, Traiectensium, ac Leodiorum, & rerum domi, bellique gestarum compendium.

      Antwerp, Willlem Vorsterman, (ca. 1530; preface dated 14 September 1529).. 8vo. Seventeenth-century overlapping vellum with title in ink on spine. Title with woodcut coat-of-arms of Everard van de Marck within border consisting of four ornamental woodcuts, 2 woodcuts of Maria, Anna & Christ (63 x 42 mm), and a bishop in his study (46 43 mm), both within the same ornamental border of four cuts, and almost full-page woodcut printer's device on last page, woodcut initials. Finely rubricated in red throughout. 116 ff. [Collation A-O8 P4]. With 2 indexes in contemporary handwriting on 4 inserted lvs. at the beginning; 27 lines on a page. Editio princeps of Placentius' history of the bishops and general history of the dioceses Tongres (Tongeren), Maastricht and Liege until 1506. The work is dedicated tot Everard van de Marck, who was bishop of Liege from 1505 until his death in 1538. A later edition was edited by M.Z. Boxhorn under the title De Leodiensi republica and was published in Leiden (by I. Commelin) and Amsterdam (by J. Janssonius) in 1633.Johannes Placentius (or Jean le Plaisier, Johan Struven, Struiven or Struiven) was born in the beginning of the 16th century in Sint-Truiden, near Liege. He became a Dominican monk in Maastricht and studied in Louvain. He died in 1548. Besides the present work he a.o. wrote a chronicle in verses until the year 1458 of which nothing else is known. Rather famous is his Neo-Latin poem ('poeme tautogramme') of 253 hexameters 'Pugna porcorum' (The battle of the pigs), published anonymously in 1546 with the fictitious author's name 'Publius Porcius'. Contents :- The work is preceded by 4 leaves containing three separate indices, written and rubricated in red in a strictly contemporary hand 'Pro Thoma v. Venne, presbytero in Oorschot conviviorum' (For Thomas vande Venne , priest of the monastery in Oirschot (Brabant): the same Thomas van de Venne who owned the book and who wrote his name on the title-page! This Thomas vande Venne can be found in the Oirschot archives as a priest in Oischot and member of a well-known Oirschot family).- ff. (1)r-v: Index of all bishops of Tongres (9), Maastricht (20) and Liege (55).- ff. (2)r-v: Alphabetical index of all 84 bishops.- ff. (3)r- (4)r: Index of the most important subjects.- The first quire (A) of the printed work with 8 unnumbered leaves:- f. A1r: Title (verso blank).- f. A2r: 'Chronographorum quibus usi sumus, nomenclatura' (List of historians cited).- ff. A2v-A3r: Two Greek poems with tyheir facing translation into Latin.- ff. A3v-A5r: Preface by Johannes Placentius, dated Liege, 14 September 1529.- ff. A5v-A6r: Laudatory poem by Placentius to Everard van de March: 'Ad amplissimum principem D. Erardum a Marca Cardinalem Leodiorum Pacis redditae gratiarum actio, autore Placentio.- ff. A6v-A7v: Some passages from Raimundis Marlianus'commentary on Caesar regarding Tongres and Maastricht and the region in between: 'Ex indice Raimundi Marliani viri suo tempore eruditissimi, in commentaria C. Iulij Caesaris'.- f. A8r-v: the two woodcuts of Maria and the bishop in his study (see above).The leaves of the following quires (B-O) are numbered by a contemporary hand:- f. Ir-v (B1r-v): Dedication letter by Placentius to his fellow canons at Tongres ('Antiquissimo canonicorum Tungarorum collegio, Ioannes Placentius Dominicanus S.D.'.- ff. Iv-VIIIv (B1v-B8v): Catalogue of the 9 bishops of Tongres , concluded by another letter of Placentius ('Catalogus antistitum Tungarorum ...').- ff. IXr-XXXr (C1r-E6r): Catalogue of the 20 bishops of Maastricht ('Catalogus antistitum Traiectentium ...').- ff. XXXr-CIIIr (E6r-O7v): Catalogue of the 55 bishops of Liege ('Catalogus omnium antistitum Leodinorum ...').- f.O8r-v: Laudatory poems by Placentius for Everard van de Marck ('Encomion illustrissimi principis, & ampliss. domini. D. Erardia Marca Leodiorum Cardinalis, autore Placentio'.- ff. O8v-P1v: Laudatory poem for the 'Catalogue' of Placentius by Frater Nicolaus Carolus Gandensis.- ff. P1v-P4r: Some other poems by Placentius (epitaphs, and the poem 'De amplitudine civitatis Leodicae').- f. p4r: Errata.- f. P4v: Colophon. Fine copy with engraved armorial bookplate of G. van Havre pasted on inside front cover, and ms. ownership's entries of F. Bruijnincx, J.P. Cle and Charles-Nicolas comte d'Oultremont, a former bishop of Liege, on the verso of the last leaf with manuscript index, and a contemporary ownership's entry of Thomas vanden Venne (in red) on title; also on title ownership's entries of 'Willems', and 'Frederic Verachter', the weel-known early nineteenth-century archivist from Antwerp; lvs. contemp. foliated in ink, some contemp. annotations throughout). NK 1726; STC Dutch, p. 170; Machiels 931; Carasso-Kok, Rep ., p. 338, nr. 310; Nijhoff, L'art typografique XII, 35-38 & XXVIII, 176; J. IJzewijn, 'The real name of Johannes Placentius' in: Humanistica Lovaniensia , 25 (1976), pp. 283-4.