Item Details

A PRINTED LEAF FROM CONRADUS GRITSCH'S "QUADRAGESIMALE."

([Augsburg]: Johann Wiener, 1477). 318 x 210 mm (12 1/2 x 8 1/4"). Single column, 38 lines of text in rounded gothic type.

Rubricated in red. Goff G-492; BMC II, 357. Slightly wormed and faintly stained, otherwise excellent.

This pleasing leaf is from an early edition of a frequently printed collection of Lenten sermons. Born in Basel, the Franciscan Gritsch (ca. 1409 - ca. 1475) was learned in canon law, biblical exegesis, and philosophy, and he was a stirring and popular preacher who knew how to tell a good story. First printed in Nuremberg, ca. 1474, these sermons celebrate the events in Christ's life during the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter, and in doing so, they develop a picture of the truly Christian life in an unusually lively way, a fact that no doubt contributed to their popularity. (CEs472)