Witch, Trials, Heresy and Executions: Two Broadsides. Italy, 17th Century.

Witch, Trials, Heresy and Executions: Two Broadsides.

Italy, 17th Century.

Two broadsides meant for public display and issued by church and government leaders, warning of consequences for heresy:

1) Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (1562-1612), Mantua, 6 September 1603; double-page broadside printed on folio-format bifolium, with the Duke's woodcut coat of arms; text in Italian begins, "The harm inflicted upon our subjects by male and female sorcerers [...] is so frequent and atrocious that we are compelled to act with severity and take all possible measures to ensure that this great scourge is suppressed through the harshest punishment"; it goes on to refer to the execution of a witch that took place that morning, "come l'effectutione di questa mattina ha dimostrato"; the text also offers immunity and a cash reward for anyone informing on their neighbors; two stains, old holes & folds, with original deckle edges; generally very good; 17 x 11 1/2 in.

Under Vincenzo Gonzaga, between 1595 and 1603, Mantua experienced "one of the most vigorous episodes of witch hunting in the Italian peninsula in those years, and in 1601 induced the Congregation of the Holy Office to warn Mantua's inquisitor to exercise caution when prosecuting presumed witches, and to refrain from proceeding against more than one witch at a time." (Quoted from Tamar Herzig's "The Hazards of Conversion: Nuns, Jews, and Demons in Late Renaissance Italy," 2016; Church History 85: 468–501.)

2) Joannes Lupus (fl. circa 1666); Rome: Camereare Apolstolicae, 10 March 1666; large format edict of the inquisition with large woodcut papal arms flanked by 2 woodcuts of saints; text in Italian, admonishing the practice of heresy, magic, necromancy, and any other heretical acts, and advising anyone who harbors or in any other way supports any such beliefs, whether out of malice or ignorance that they will be held mercilessly responsible for their actions; imprint trimmed from bottom, paper repairs; large section foxed; center fold; crisp type impressions; 20 3/4 x 16 in. (2)

Condition
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