Spiegel, Jakob

Iuris [Juris] Civilis Lexicon ex Variis Probatorum Autorum

      Spiegel, Jakob (Jacobus) [1483- - c.1547]. [Hegendorf, Cristoph (1500-1540)]. Iuris Civilis Lexicon ex Variis Probatorum Autorum Commentariis Congestum. Strassburg: Io. Schottus Execudebat, 1538. [340], 54, [58] pp. Text printed in double columns. Folio (8-1/4" x 13-1/2"). Contemporary vellum dyed to look like calf, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed at some point. Light rubbing to extremities, corners and spine ends bumped, front joint cracked but secure, rear joint starting, rear free endpaper loose. Attractive woodcut decorated initials, dedication printed within ornate woodcut architectural border. Toning, light browning in a few places, occasional faint dampstaining to margins. Early annotations to title page and a few leaves. A handsome copy of a scarce edition. * First edition. With indexes. Spiegel was a lawyer, a privy counselor to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and a notable humanist scholar who corresponded with Erasmus. The Lexicon Iuris Civilis, a dictionary of terms in Roman law, is his most important work. It was issued 12 times; the first edition was published in 1538, the final edition in 1577. The entries are rather brief, ranging from a sentence to a few paragraphs, and they contain references to examples in the Roman juristic literature. The part comprising 54 numbered pages, "In Tit. C. Iustiniani, Christophori Hegendorphini Exegeses," is Spiegel's exegesis of sections of the Code, the Twelve Tables and other topics in Roman law with added commentary (exegesis) by Hegendorf. OCLC locates 2 copies of this edition in North America, one at the Library of Congress, another at the University of Pennsylvania. Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, 1501-1600 S1584. [Attributes: First Edition]