LIBELLUS DE MODO CONFITENDI ET PENITENDI. DEVENTER, RICHARD PAFFRAET, 20 DECEMBER 1488.

      4to. 19th-century boards covered with marbled paper and green title label, in a modern box. First initial (I; 6 lines) painted in blue. a-c6, 8-1 (last blank missing). 25 lvs. G44, 34 ll. to a page First Deventer edition of this very influential and popular, although anonymous, treatise on confession and penitence. In the course of time the text has been attributed to several 14th- or 15th-century authors: to Johannes de Garlandia (Michaud-Quantin, Sommes des casuistique et manuels de confession (1962), p. 19), Petrus Blessensis and William de Montibus (McKinnon, in: Essays in medieval history presented to Burtin W . Kinson (1969), p. 40-5), none of these attributions, however, being unchalLenged.first edition appeared in Antwerp, printed by Gerard Leeu in 1486, with three more editions by him till 1488. After this first Deventer Paffraet edition, many were to follow, printed by Paffraet himself (4 from 1490-1500) and Jacobus de Breda (8 from 1489 till 1498). There is also an edition printed in Delft in 1494.The book has a very intersting provenance. It has been part of a volume with more texts from the library of St. Mathias's Monastery south of Trier. The contemporary ownership's entry on top of the title-page (on the recto of the first leaf) reads: "Codex monasterij sancte mathie apostoli extra muros Trenensis". The title Libellus de modo confitendi et penitendi is complemented with the handwritten words "Primo" before the title and "Metricus cum commento" after the word 'penitendi'. Beneath the title there is a list of the 16 other texts that were contained in the volume, written by the same hand. Among these titles are a.o.: Catho cum commento fratris Roberti de Turemodro; Facetus cum commento; Floretus bernardi cum commento; Doctrinale altum seu parabolarum Alani cum commento; Philalethes Maffei Wegii laudensis; Oracio doctoris Johannes geyler de keysersperg; Directorium statuum; Collationes salomonis et marcolphi; Poggius florentinus de nobilitate; Manuale scolarum; Ars scribendi epistolas francisci nigri. libri tres; Interpretationes somniorum danielis. Good copy with a very interesting provenance.- (Some staining and foxing; inner top corners of the first lvs. repaired). Hain 11499; Pr. 8980; Campbell 1135; Vouilieme (Trier) 2377; BM, IX, 50; Goff M 768 (one copy); Oates 3467; IBP 4504; IDL 3277 (one copy in the Royal Libr. The Hague); ILC 1616.