(1513). JEAN DE SALISBURY - POLICRATIUS. DE CURIALIUM NUGIS - Lot 61

(1513). JEAN DE SALISBURY - POLICRATIUS. DE CURIALIUM NUGIS CURIALIUM ET VESTIGIIS PHILOSOPHORUM... Paris, Berthold Rembolt and Jean Petit, May 25, 1513. In-8, [45]-1bl.-232 leaves, granulated brown calf, ornate ribbed spine (18th century binding). The Policraticus is a discourse on the principle of government and one of the most important medieval treatises on politics and its theory. Composed around 1159 and first printed in 1479, the work questions the involvement of kings with their subjects and, through its eight books, proscribes hunting, games and magic, like a moral encyclopedia opposed to frivolity. Covers missing, handwritten bookplate Petrus Balderus advocatus dated 1605, qq. annotations and underlined passages, interior in perfect condition (USTC 144164)(Brunet III, 547).