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''Fasciculus mirre'' is a Germanic
Following the expansion of both the printing press and the Reformation during the first half of the sixteenth century, various editions of the book were widely circulated throughout the Low Countries while the region was under the control of Charles V and the Holy Roman Empire. Between 1518 and 1550, twenty separate editions of ''Fasciculus mirre'' were printed in the bustling,
the Universal Short Title Catalogue database
Typically, only leaves (single pages with text on each side) can be found within the United States, either in museums or in University Libraries of Special Collections, as such leaves are prized among collectors of rare
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, Pennsylvania
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan * Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
The Universal Short Title Catalogue, hosted by the University of Saint Andrews
{Dead link, date=April 2024 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes , is "a collective database of all books published in Europe between the invention of printing and the end of the sixteenth century," which includes a list of 29 different editions of ''Fasciculus mirre'' that were printed in various Dutch cities between 1504 and 1578.
Preservation Measures: Pages from the Past. Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)
detailed information on The Foliophiles, Inc. and the practice of biblioclasty (book-breaking). Christian manuscripts
''Fasciculus mirre'' is a Germanic devotional book
Christian devotional literature (also called devotionals or Christian living literature) is religious writing that Christian individuals read for their personal growth and spiritual formation. Such literature often takes the form of Christian daily ...
that was popular in the Low Countries during the first half of the sixteenth century. The text contains meditations on the life of Jesus Christ, most notably the Passion.Pallarés Jiménez, Miguel Ángel. “Algunas Reflexiones Sobre El Inicio de la Tipografía en Zaragoza y Aragón: Cambios Pervivencias en la Transición del Códice al Impreso.” ''Universidad de Zaragoza'' (2002): 114. http://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/32/44/05pallares.pdf Its Latin title (meaning "a bundle of myrrh
Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...
" in English) comes from the first chapter of ''Canticum Canticorum'': "''Fasciculus Myrrhae dilectus meus mihi inter ubera mea commorabituris''." ''Fasciculus mirre'' is often sometimes spelled as ''Fasciculus myrre'', or ''myrrhæ'', and can also be referred to by an English title, ''On the Life of Christ''.Indiana University of Pennsylvania Special Collections and University Archives. ''Pages from the Past: Original leaves from Rare Books and Manuscripts: Manuscript Group 178'' (Jan. 29, 2015): 7. http://libs0500.library.iup.edu/depts/speccol/All%20Finding%20Aids/Finding%20aids/MG%20or%20Col/MG178Word.pdf The earliest known printed version dates to approximately 1500 CE in the Dutch city of Delft
Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
.''Pages from the Past: Original Leaves from Rare Books and Manuscripts. Portfolio Set I: History of the Written Word.'' Washington, D.C.: Foliophiles, 1964.
Background
''Fasciculus mirre'' was first compiled by an anonymous Franciscan in the German city of Cologne, although the exact date of its original composition is unknown. During a time when Europe was on the eve of the Protestant Reformation, the pocket-sized text was convenient for those who could carry it around with them everywhere, reading it throughout the day and embracing the spiritual power it was believed to have embodied.
Following the expansion of both the printing press and the Reformation during the first half of the sixteenth century, various editions of the book were widely circulated throughout the Low Countries while the region was under the control of Charles V and the Holy Roman Empire. Between 1518 and 1550, twenty separate editions of ''Fasciculus mirre'' were printed in the bustling, mercantile
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchan ...
hub of Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
, a city which was becoming an epicenter of commercial printing as well as a popular safe-haven for non-Catholic religious movements such as Calvinism and Lutheranism.
Dutch Printed Editions, 1500-1578
*1500: Delft - Roelant Bollaert *1504: Antwerp - Willem Vorsterman *1517: Delft - Hugo Jansz (or Janszoon) van Woerden, edited by Matthias Weynsen (or Weijnsen) (or Matthijs Wentsen) *1518: Antwerp - Henrick van Eckert Homberch, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1519: Antwerp - Willem Vorsterman, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1519: The Hague - Hugo Jansz van Woerden *1520: Antwerp - Heyndrick Peetersen van Middelburch, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1526: Antwerp - Symon Cock voor (for) Roelant Bollaert, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1527: Antwerp - Jan I van Ghelen *1527: Antwerp - Willem Vorsterman *1529: Antwerp - Symon Cock, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1534: Antwerp - Willem Vorsterman *1535: Antwerp - Willem Vorsterman *1537: Antwerp - Hansken van Liesvelt *1537: Antwerp - Heyndrick Peetersen van Middelburch *1538: Antwerp - Heyndrick Peetersen van Middelburch *1539: Antwerp - Symon Cock *1540: Antwerp - Jan I van Ghelen *1540: Antwerp - Heyndrick Peetersen van Middelburch *1543: Antwerp - Willem Vorsterman, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1543: Antwerp - Jacob van Liesvelt *1544: Antwerp - Heyndrick Peetersen van Middelburch, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1546: Leiden - Peter Janszoon, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1548: Antwerp - Jacob van Liesvelt, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1550: Antwerp - Heyndrick Peetersen van Middelburch, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1550: Unknown Location - Unknown Printer (woodcuts by Bollaert?) *1554: Leiden - Peter Janszoon, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1565: Antwerp - Peeter van Keerberghen, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1565: Leiden - Dierick Gerridt Horst voor Peeter van Keerberghen, edited by Matthias Weynsen *1569: Antwerp - Jan II van Ghelen *1572-78: Antwerp - Symon Cock voor Roelant BollaertEnglish Jesuit Version
In 1632-33, the book was translated into English by theJesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
priest John Falconer. Falconer published it as ''Fasciculus myrrhæ. Or a briefe treatise of our Lord and Sauiours passion. Written by the R. Fa. I. F. of the Society of Iesus''.
Modern Significance
Today, ''Fasciculus mirre'' continues to be a curious obscurity in the vast realm of devotional literature andincunabula
In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
. Fully intact copies are extremely rare, but can be found througthe Universal Short Title Catalogue database
Typically, only leaves (single pages with text on each side) can be found within the United States, either in museums or in University Libraries of Special Collections, as such leaves are prized among collectors of rare
medieval manuscripts
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, incunabula, and post-incunabula.
Examples of Leaves Housed at University Libraries in the United States
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, Pennsylvania
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan * Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
See also
*Book of hours
The book of hours is a Christian devotional book used to pray the canonical hours. The use of a book of hours was especially popular in the Middle Ages and as a result, they are the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscrip ...
* Block books
* Incunable
In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pr ...
* Global spread of the printing press
* List of printers in the Southern Netherlands
* The Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
* Habsburg Netherlands
* Guild of Saint Luke
Notes
Further reading
*Roest, Bert. "Franscicans Between Observance and Reformation: The Low Countries (ca. 1400-1600)." ''Franciscan Studies'' 63 (2005): 409-42. *Stock, Jan Van Der. ''Printing Images in Antwerp: The Introduction of Printmaking in a City: Fifteenth Century to 1585''. Studies in Prints and Printmaking; v. 2. Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1998. * Vervliet, Hendrik D. L. ''Sixteenth Century Printing Types of the Low Countries''. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1968. *Wijsman, Henri Willem, Kelders, Ann, and Sutch, Susie Speakman. ''Books in Transition at the Time of Philip the Fair: Manuscripts and Printed Books in the Late Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Century Low Countries''. Burgundica; 15. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2010.External links
The Universal Short Title Catalogue, hosted by the University of Saint Andrews
{Dead link, date=April 2024 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes , is "a collective database of all books published in Europe between the invention of printing and the end of the sixteenth century," which includes a list of 29 different editions of ''Fasciculus mirre'' that were printed in various Dutch cities between 1504 and 1578.
Preservation Measures: Pages from the Past. Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)
detailed information on The Foliophiles, Inc. and the practice of biblioclasty (book-breaking). Christian manuscripts