About this Item
Octavo volume of the Digest (Pandects), forming Part VII, devoted to stipulations, contracts, and delicts (crimes and obligations). Printed in Lyon by the famed humanist publisher Guillaume Rouillà , 1581, under royal privilege. The engraved title border displays Renaissance grotesques, mythological figures, and cherubic ornamentation. Text in Latin, arranged with running titles and marginalia. This is a working juristâ s copy bound in limp vellum, with manuscript titling still faintly visible on spine and upper cover. The binding exhibits heavy wear, including loss at the upper cover and vellum abrasion, but retains its original 16th-century character. Internally, the paper is clean, crisp, and highly legible, with strong impression of type and generous margins; some quires show early professional annotations and signs of careful scholarly use. Rouillà â s Digest editions are highly regarded as part of the legal humanist project of Renaissance Lyon, where law and humanist scholarship intersected. Roman law was the foundation of European jurisprudence, and these volumes were central to universities, law courts, and early modern legal education. Surviving examples, especially in original contemporary bindings, are desirable for collectors of legal history, Renaissance humanism, Lyon printing, and the Corpus Juris Civilis. A scarce Lyon imprint from the famed printer Rouillà , whose output is prized by collectors for both its quality and humanist associations. While not the first edition, this 1581 printing represents the continuing dissemination of Justinianâ s law into Renaissance Europe. Condition issues to binding are noted, but the text block is remarkably sound and crisp, making this a collectible yet affordable gateway into early printed law books. Good internally; vellum binding worn and partially defective (loss to front cover, staining, evidence of past damp at upper edge). Textblock complete and sound, clean and crisp throughout, with wide margins and strong impressions. Contemporary limp vellum, manuscript titling on spine and cover (faded), evidence of early hand. Covers worn, with losses and staining, remnants of ties Lyon edition, printed by Guillaume Rouillà (Apud Guilielmum Rouillium).
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