Duns Scotus's Quaestiones in primum librum Sententiarum

Duns Scotus's Quaestiones in primum librum Sententiarum
Printer of Duns Scotus 'Quaestiones', 1472
DUNS SCOTUS, Johannes (c.1265-1308). Quaestiones in primum librum Sententiarum. Venice: [eponymous press, for:] Antonius Bononiensis and Christophorus Bellapiera, 19 November 1472.

Second edition of the most important book by one of the most important Medieval thinkers—published only two weeks after the first edition. Alongside Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham, the Scottish theologian Duns Scotus is among the most influential European philosophers of the Middle Ages. This is the first book of his commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, one of the foundational texts of the Medieval educational system; the full commentary would only be printed later in the decade. Scotus’s work has had an enduring relevance, continuing to inspire modern philosophers like Deleuze and Guattari with his concept of “univocity.” This is the only dated book from a rare press to which four books are now ascribed. H 6423*; BMC V 212; BSB-Ink D-301; GW 9080; IGI 3604; Goff D-375; ISTC id00375000.

Median folio (338 x 225mm). 248 leaves (five gatherings bound out of order). Red brushwork initials, red Lombard capitals, capital strokes, and paragraph marks (some spotting and staining, worst on first few leaves). 17th-century reversed calf covering pink-stained deerskin over contemporary wooden boards, bosses, straps and catchplates, contemporary paper label on board, a vellum manuscript antiphonal reused as flyleaves and quire guards (lacking one strap, worn). Provenance: Füssen, Benediktinerkloster St. Mang, St. Magnus (inscription on first leaf) – acquired from Lathrop C. Harper, Inc, 6 June 1955.