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[BAPTISTA DE SALIS, SUMMA CASUUM]

Large cuttings from 18 bifolia, from a manuscript of Baptista de Salis, Summa casuum conscientiae, in Latin, manuscript on paper

[Italy
15th century]

€1.200 - €1.800

18 large cuttings (two stuck together in one place), each leaf with text in single column of up to 35 lines in a scrawling hand, occasional red 2-line initials (many spaces left unfinished), watermark a cow's head surmounted by a cross, some text faded, all recovered from reuse in a later binding and hence with spots, stains, tears and losses to edges in places, overall fair condition, each cutting approximately 210 by 340mm

Baptista de Salis (or Trovamala) was a Franciscan friar, active in northern Italy between the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century. This work was a grand undertaking, intended to replace the numerous confessional manuals that had appeared following the Fourth Lateran council of 1215. It was arranged alphabetically by subject, from 'Abbas' to 'Uxor', and includes detailed guidelines for numerous religious topics, including absolution, adultery, divorce, confession, excommunication, heretics, the canonical hours, indulgences, novices, relics, and usury. Baptista completed it in the convent of Levanto in 1483, and it was instantly popular, leading to it being printed as early as 1484

Manuscripts