1644 - Mysticism of Catherine of Sienna
Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), a Dominican tertiary, was deeply immersed in the world of mystical experience. From a young age, she reported visions, receiving the stigmata (though invisible to others), and experiencing a mystical marriage to Christ. An intense person, she was once stopped by guards as she tried to give comfort to a group of men condemned to death. She said "I am going to these men to help them make a good death; is that any concern of yours?" The guards let her through.
Catherine's letters are deeply personal and filled with insights into her spiritual life. She could be disarmingly open. In a letter to Pope Gregory XI, whom she addressed as Babbo or ‘Daddy’ she writes, "I long for You with a burning desire, and my soul faints for the love of You." In a letter to her confessor, Raymond of Capua, she describes her mystical marriage to Christ, where she received a ring (invisible to others) as a symbol of their union. These letters are considered one of the great works of early Tuscan literature.
1644. Catherine of Sienna. Les Epistres de la Seraphique Vierge Saincte Catherine de Sienne. Paris: Sebastien Hure. 23.5 x 18 x 5 cm, quarto. Pages - (xxviii), 834 (377-388 not used, as per cataloguing, so 832), (16 pages of Table). Mottled leather binding; boards framed with double gilt filet. Spine with five raised bands; five compartments with a central gilt floret tool, and one compartment with the title in gilt on red morocco. Sprinkled edges. Title page with printer's mark of Hure. One full-page portrait of Catherine. Binding worn, with some crazing, rubbing, bare corners, etc. but still solid; the joints are not cracked. Ticket of Luciani de Contagnet on the pastedown. Older hinge repaired, and first and last gathering mounted; Stamp of a library on title page. Some strikethroughs on the notes at the bottom of Catherine of Sienna's portrait. Toned throughout with some foxing. Bottom corner of title page missing, no printing affected. Thumbs, dog-eared pages, foxing, some worming, etc. throughout. Moisture mark on the four leaves following the portrait. 1st several gatherings a little shaken at the gutter and slightly proud at fore-edge. There's a few errant ink marks. Last several leaves with a repair in the bottom margin.
Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), a Dominican tertiary, was deeply immersed in the world of mystical experience. From a young age, she reported visions, receiving the stigmata (though invisible to others), and experiencing a mystical marriage to Christ. An intense person, she was once stopped by guards as she tried to give comfort to a group of men condemned to death. She said "I am going to these men to help them make a good death; is that any concern of yours?" The guards let her through.
Catherine's letters are deeply personal and filled with insights into her spiritual life. She could be disarmingly open. In a letter to Pope Gregory XI, whom she addressed as Babbo or ‘Daddy’ she writes, "I long for You with a burning desire, and my soul faints for the love of You." In a letter to her confessor, Raymond of Capua, she describes her mystical marriage to Christ, where she received a ring (invisible to others) as a symbol of their union. These letters are considered one of the great works of early Tuscan literature.
1644. Catherine of Sienna. Les Epistres de la Seraphique Vierge Saincte Catherine de Sienne. Paris: Sebastien Hure. 23.5 x 18 x 5 cm, quarto. Pages - (xxviii), 834 (377-388 not used, as per cataloguing, so 832), (16 pages of Table). Mottled leather binding; boards framed with double gilt filet. Spine with five raised bands; five compartments with a central gilt floret tool, and one compartment with the title in gilt on red morocco. Sprinkled edges. Title page with printer's mark of Hure. One full-page portrait of Catherine. Binding worn, with some crazing, rubbing, bare corners, etc. but still solid; the joints are not cracked. Ticket of Luciani de Contagnet on the pastedown. Older hinge repaired, and first and last gathering mounted; Stamp of a library on title page. Some strikethroughs on the notes at the bottom of Catherine of Sienna's portrait. Toned throughout with some foxing. Bottom corner of title page missing, no printing affected. Thumbs, dog-eared pages, foxing, some worming, etc. throughout. Moisture mark on the four leaves following the portrait. 1st several gatherings a little shaken at the gutter and slightly proud at fore-edge. There's a few errant ink marks. Last several leaves with a repair in the bottom margin.
Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), a Dominican tertiary, was deeply immersed in the world of mystical experience. From a young age, she reported visions, receiving the stigmata (though invisible to others), and experiencing a mystical marriage to Christ. An intense person, she was once stopped by guards as she tried to give comfort to a group of men condemned to death. She said "I am going to these men to help them make a good death; is that any concern of yours?" The guards let her through.
Catherine's letters are deeply personal and filled with insights into her spiritual life. She could be disarmingly open. In a letter to Pope Gregory XI, whom she addressed as Babbo or ‘Daddy’ she writes, "I long for You with a burning desire, and my soul faints for the love of You." In a letter to her confessor, Raymond of Capua, she describes her mystical marriage to Christ, where she received a ring (invisible to others) as a symbol of their union. These letters are considered one of the great works of early Tuscan literature.
1644. Catherine of Sienna. Les Epistres de la Seraphique Vierge Saincte Catherine de Sienne. Paris: Sebastien Hure. 23.5 x 18 x 5 cm, quarto. Pages - (xxviii), 834 (377-388 not used, as per cataloguing, so 832), (16 pages of Table). Mottled leather binding; boards framed with double gilt filet. Spine with five raised bands; five compartments with a central gilt floret tool, and one compartment with the title in gilt on red morocco. Sprinkled edges. Title page with printer's mark of Hure. One full-page portrait of Catherine. Binding worn, with some crazing, rubbing, bare corners, etc. but still solid; the joints are not cracked. Ticket of Luciani de Contagnet on the pastedown. Older hinge repaired, and first and last gathering mounted; Stamp of a library on title page. Some strikethroughs on the notes at the bottom of Catherine of Sienna's portrait. Toned throughout with some foxing. Bottom corner of title page missing, no printing affected. Thumbs, dog-eared pages, foxing, some worming, etc. throughout. Moisture mark on the four leaves following the portrait. 1st several gatherings a little shaken at the gutter and slightly proud at fore-edge. There's a few errant ink marks. Last several leaves with a repair in the bottom margin.