Les Sept Livres de Flavius Josephus de la Guerre et Captivité des Juifs
The History of the Jews by Flavius preserved in its beautiful contemporary vellum.
Very rare edition, unknown to Brunet and Brun.
Folio (6) leaves, 237 leaves, (1) leaf.
Flexible vellum with overlapping edges, calligraphic title on spine. Binding of the period.
319 x 203 mm.
Flavius, Josephus. The Seven Books of Flavius Josephus on the War and Captivity of the Jews, translated from Greek and rendered in French by N. de Herberay Seigneur des Essarts & ordinary commissioner of the King’s artillery. With privilege of the King, Paris, Etienne Groulleau for Vincent Sertenas, 1557.
Very rare edition of The History of the Jews by Flavius Josephus translated by Nicolas Herberay des Essarts, commissioner of the king's artillery.
Destailleur, no. 1638; Bulletin Morgand et Fatout, no. 536.
Only the first book had previously appeared from Groulleau in 1550.
It is adorned with 94 vignettes in the text, woodcut engraved.
A finely printed and beautifully illustrated edition, the second of the complete text, of Nicolas de Herberay's translation of Josephus' history of the Jewish rebellion against the Romans. The illustrations are partly from Janot’s edition of Amadis de Gaula begun in 1546, with identical borders surrounding them, the new cuts executed in the same manner. The initials are particularly noteworthy: they come from Janot’s thistle-alphabet attributed to the F-master and are simple white Roman capitals on a thistle background; they were cut for the Amadis and first used in 1544. The book is very rare: there was no copy in the Rothschild and Murray collections, it remained unknown to Brunet and Brun, Livre Illustré.
The History of the War of the Jews Against the Romans, in particular, which Flavius Josephus (ca 37-ca 100) wrote under the reigns of Vespasian and Titus, constitutes the main, if not the only, source devoted to the last revolt of Judea against Roman authority in 66, the ensuing repression, and the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem.
“This work was widely circulated among the Ancients; Josephus was called the Greek Titus-Livy. Today, it is the only source that acquaints us with long periods of Jewish history and is also very useful for Roman history” (T. F. Leroux).
“ It is the only testimony of a Jewish author of that era on Jesus ” (Dictionnaire des Œuvres).
“For initiates, Flavius is the symbol of the conversion of the Jews. But Flavius is above all the catalyst for the popularization of Scripture and dogma. In his hands, the history of the Jews is a blend of anecdote and classical tragedy ” (G. N. Deutsch).
A Jew born around 37 AD, Flavius Josephus returned to Jerusalem in 66, which was in full insurrection against Rome. The Sanhedrin of Jerusalem sent him to Galilee, where local intrigues were rife, with the mission of restoring order and reorganizing political life. As military commander of Galilee, he faced the Roman offensive at Gamala. Defeated, he surrendered to the Romans and then joined their camp. He is thought to have witnessed the massacre of 2,000 Jews and the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. The emperor Titus Flavius Vespasian freed him, appointed him translator to his son, and installed him in Rome, where he lived as a high-ranking official until his death around 100.
Beautiful copy preserved in its original overlapping vellum binding.
Provenance: ex-libris Dom François Haran, at the abbey of Val-Dieu in the province of Liège.
Rare.
