Aquinas's Summa contra gentiles

Aquinas's Summa contra gentiles
Heinrich Eggestein, c.1474
THOMAS AQUINAS (c.1225-1274). Summa contra gentiles, sive De veritate Catholicae fidei. [Strasbourg: ‘Printer of Henricus Ariminensis type 1’ (Heinrich Eggestein), not after 1474.]

First edition of Aquinas’s great work of apologetics, in a contemporary binding. The Summa contra gentiles is a detailed explanation and defense of Christianity, exploring the ways that both reason and revelation can lead the human mind towards faith. The suggestion that Aquinas wrote this work for Raymond of Penafort specifically to convert Muslims in Spain is likely apocryphal. H 1385*; BMC I 77; BSB-Ink T-269; Bod-inc T-160; Goff T-190; ISTC it00190000.

Royal folio (403 x 276mm). 247 leaves (of 248, without final blank). Red and blue ink initials, some large with penwork interiors, others flourished (occasional light dustsoiling; a few wormholes at ends). Contemporary blindstamped goatskin over wooden boards, painted monastic spine, 15th-century manuscript waste reused as pastedowns and quire guards, including partial text of life of Saint Odile of Alsace, with possible printed waste on reverse (wormed, losses to leather surface, lacking clasps, corners worn). Provenance: Fürstenau, unidentified monastic house (inscription).