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An Unknown Incunabulum fromTeleki-Bolyai library of Tîrgu-Mureş

M o n i c a A V R A MBiblioteca judeţeană Mureş

Mures County libraryPersonal e-mail: monavram@yahoo.com

F l o r i n B O G D A N Muzeul Naţional al Unirii, Alba IuliaNational Union Museum, Alba Iulia

Personal e-mail: bogdan_florin_reghin@yahoo.com

An Unknown Incunabulum from Teleki-Bolyai Library of Tîrgu-Mureş

Collection of incunabula belonging to Teleki-Bolyai Library from Tîrgu-Mureş includes 69 copies, out of which theaudience knows 68 copies. On initiating their classification to the National Cultural Heritage it was discovered, in thecolligation containing works of Florentine preacher Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) printed in the incunabular period,a text of 8 pages representing the work entitled Exposizione sopra el psalmo Verba mea [Florence, 1498], a unique copy in theRomanian area.

The theological work, Exposizione sopra el psalmo Verba mea [Florence, 1498], was attributed to Simone Cinozzi or PlacidoCinozzi, because its printing was realised after the death of Savonarola, from 1498.

By the 8 pages, part of the colligation from Tîrgu-Mureş, we assume that the copy is complete; within our approachof identification relevant was also information obtained from specialists from Cambridge University Library, BibliothèqueNationale de France or Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart.

This study is a contribution to knowing the fund of incunabula existent in Romania, the copy being new, unpublished,but also at global level, only other 18 copies being known.

Keywords: Teleki-Bolyai Library Tîrgu-Mureş, incunabulum, Savonarola, Florence, XVth century

EEuropean Humanism and Renaissance ofthe XVth century encompassed the needto return to values of Greek-Roman

antiquity, social and cultural renewal, emphasis beinglaid on the individual. Renewal not only dominatedsocial and cultural life but also political and Europeanecclesiastic life, fully benefiting of the support offeredby the greatest technological discovery of the period,movable type printing.

End of XVth century and beginning of the XVIth

century was dominated by the reproach addressed bythe church men, such as the Italian GirolamoSavonarola or German Martin Luther, to the clergy notnecessarily related to the their life of luxury, but moreto their lack of faith1.

What interests us mostly especially in this study isthe Italian area, and the most famous Italian preachers

of the XVth century were Bernardino da Siena(1380-1440) and Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498)2.The latter was born in Ferrara in 1452, remarkinghimself through the virulent tone and daringassertions3. When he was only 20 his first workappeared, De ruina mundi (On the downfall of the world), andthree years later he wrote De ruina Ecclesiae (On thedownfall of the church)4.

Subsequent development of Savonarola was markedby his joining the Dominicans, religious order foundedby Dominic de Guzman, in Toulouse, in 1214 andacknowledged by pope Honorius III two years later,whose members addressed the popular masses by somewell documented sermons cultivating virtues such asobedience, commitment, poverty and chastity5.

Through his imaginative sermons, Savonarolarevives the symbolic themes of the Middle Ages6;

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adversity against corruption that embraced the churchresults also from a sermon held in 1493: While in theprimitive church chalices were made of wood and prelates of gold,nowadays the church holds golden chalices and prelates of wood7.

Disgust with clergy’s corruption, specific toRenaissance inspires Savonarola to undertake projectson moral, religious and political reform, thereforeinvolving in the conflict with Medici family Medici8.Italy’s invasion by the French army of Carol VIII andproclamation of the republic in Florence allowedSavonarola doing a project of constitution which wasbased on old communal Florentine and Venetianinstitutions, which swung over to an “universal”government”9. Thus, from September 1494 to May1498, Girolamo Savonarola implemented in Florence“total reform”, Florentines living „in an environmentof collective exhilaration”. If through philosophical ordoctrinal works Savonarola creates the image of acompiler, through extremism and vitality he succeededto fascinate the intellectuals. Amongst his followers wefind many scholars such as Giovanni Pico dellaMirandola or his nephew, Gian Francesco who firstlywas apprentice and then biographer of Savonarola, theFlorentine physician Antonio Benivieni, Giovanni dellaRobbia or painter Sandro Botticelli10; in Botticelli’s caseit is remarked, following 1500 (death of Savonarolahappened in 1498), a return to the situation from beforereformist movement initiated by Savonarola11.

Withdrawal from Italy of the French armies had leftthe Florentine republic, implicitly Savonarola, withoutprotection in front of the supporters of the Medicifamily12. Ardent opponent of papal corruption, leaderof dei piagnoni (Weepers) political party, Savonarolapreached religious life, giving up to joy of senses, hisworks forming a supreme law, obsessive, dominated byCatholic moral, that was compared with that of Dante13.Adversity against popedom worsened after election ofRodrigo Borgia as pope in 1492 with the name ofAlexander VI, suspected of simony14. Consequently,pope Alexander VI excommunicated Savonarola in May1497, year when to the carnival from Florence tookplace ceremony of “bonfire of vanities”15 (burning ofobjects that are deemed to be luxurious objects, clothes,books or paintings) on bruciamenti delle vanita (stakes ofvanities)16.

In this context also came the challenge of theFranciscans for Savonarola concerning the test of fire,yet on 7 April 1498, in Piazza from Signoria, he gotaway from this test, the second day being arrested,following that on 22 May 1498 to be hanged and burnedat the stake17.

Image of Savonarola amongst his compatriots wasbest depicted by Machiavelli who said:

The people of Florence are far from consideringthemselves ignorant and benighted, and yet Brother

Girolamo Savonarola succeeded in persuading them thathe held converse with God. I will not pretend to judgewhether it was true or not, for we must speak with respectof so great a man; but I may well say that an immensenumber believed it without having seen any extraordinarymanifestations that should have made them believe it18

or by Guicciardini: If he was good, we have seen agreat prophet in our time; if he was bad, we have seen agreat man. For, apart from his erudition, we must admitthat if he was able to fool the public for so many years onso important a matter without ever being caught in a lie,he must have had great judgment, talent and power ofinvention19.

The attribute of Girolamo Savonarola of churchreformer, but also political man that influenced the endof XVth century and beginning of XVIth century madethat his works to be in great demand. Although to theirgreat majority these are theological works, they havefound place not only in the libraries of somemonasteries but also in those of some private persons.For the Romanian area relevant is the presence,according to the Collective catalogue of incunabula fromRomania20 of some of his works, incunabular editions,in libraries such as “Lucian Blaga” Central UniversityLibrary from Cluj-Napoca (8 copies), “MihaiEminescu” Central University Library from Iaşi (1 copy)and Mureş County Library – Special CollectionsDepartment. Teleki-Bolyai Library (16 copies).

Our attention is directed to copies that are inTîrgu-Mureş, in Mureş County Library – Specialcollections department. Teleki-Bolyai Library. All worksof Savonarola held by the Library from Mureş are in acolligation21 encompassing 23 titles, printed in quarto.In the remembered catalogue, as well as in the catalogueof incunabula from Târgu-Mureş22 or in other worksthat deal with this subject23 are recorded 15 editions in16 copies, attributed to Girolamo Savonarola.

The binding of the volume is made of pressboardover which was applied marbled paper in tones of red,yellow, orange and blue; the spine is made of leather.Inside the front cover it is stuck the ex libris of countSamuel Teleki. The binding is dated to XVIIIth century.A handwritten list of some works whose author isGiralomo Savonarola is on the front flyleaves, yet in thevolume only a few of them are found.

On initiating classification of these copies to theNational Cultural Heritage of Romania, 10th colligationdrew our attention: Exposizione sopra el psalmo Verba mea.Usually, the work is dated after 1500 (nonetheless itwasn’t totally excluded that the work to have beenpublished earlier, year 1499 being recorded), so outsidethe time line by which it would have been part of theincunabular period of printing24. Similarly, attributionof the work to Girolamo Savonarola is questionable, hebeing executed, as we stated before, on 22 May 1498.

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According to more recent biography25 the work iscertainly dated to 1499, within the religious order of theDominicans an investigation being launched on 24 May1499 as for the author of the manifest. The forwardedname is that of Simone Cinozzi, disciple of Savonarola,and as date of publication was mentioned the day of 15May 149926.

For an accurate identification, after wholephotographing of the 8 page work, were contactedseveral of the institutions which officially hold thiswork: Württenbergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart,Bibliothèque nationale de France Paris, British LibraryLondon and Cambridge University Library. Responseof the specialists from the mentioned institutions27,whom we thank on this occasion, was that the copy heldby the Library from Tîrgu-Mureş is identical to copiesfound in the remembered collections. Otherwise, atglobal level, are known only 18 copies, found in thefollowing institutions28: London, British Library;Cambridge UL; Paris BN; Berlin SB; Stuttgart WLB (2copies); Ferrara C; Lucca G; Roma Cas; Roma Cors;Vaticano BAV Stamp. Ross.; Cambridge MA, HarvardCollege Library, Houghton Library; Dallas TX,Southern Methodist Univ., Bridwell Library; San MarinoCA, The Huntington Library; Urbana IL, Univ. ofIllinois at Urbana-Champaign Library; Washington DC,Library of Congress, Rare Book Division; DubrovnikD; Lugano BCant.

Technically the work has 8 unnumbered pages, inquarto, on pages 1, 2, 3 there are signatures ai, aii, aiii.A handwritten list, with 54 titles of some workspublished by Girolamo Savonarola29 is on the twoflyleaves from the beginning of the volume:

Tutte lopere di fratre Jeronimo da Ferrara: Predichefatte lanno 1494 sopra […] si psalmi infra l’animo,Prediche fatto [sic] l’anno 1495 sopra Amos profeta,Prediche fatte nel 1496 infra l’animo, Prediche fatte nel1497 sopra le esodo, Prediche 25 sopra que bonno […]deus della providentia humana [?], Prediche 3 sopra Jobnella figura di padrone, Compendio dello revelationi, Librodelle venta de […] fede […] el […] noso della […]Christi, Dialogo delle venta prophetika, Dialogo intitolatosollatio del mio maggo, Trattato o vero expositione soprael psalmo […], Expositione sopra el psalmo Miserere meiDeus, Expositione sopra il psalmo Qui re ais issrael antete, Expositione quattro sopra el pater noster, Trattato delhumilta, Tractato del oratione, Tractato del orationementale, Epistola del discreto modo di orare, Epistola afratri di sacro […] del modo di operare in santa sperantiadivina dispositione, Sopra uno capitolo de fere […] fratreJeronimo in sancto mando del […] divine nella religione,Epistola al convento da Fiesole de fratri […], Epistola afratri di s. M […] del modo de resistere alle tentationi[…] pervenire alla perfezione, Alchune regole a religiosinecessarie, Epistola mandata a fratri di S. Matris […],De sette gradi di salire alla sacra mota della vita spiritualea instatia […] examenatione malischotto […], Trattato

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alla more di Jesu, Del misterio della Croce, De misterijdella messa, Sermone fatto a sui fratri nella vigilia dinatale sopra la […], Trattato exortatorio a tutti gli elect.et figli del padre eterno, Trattato exortatorio a certe persone[…] perseguitate per la verita da lui predichata, Regoleda observare nel tempo delle tribulationi, Rimedij spiritualicontro la peste, Del modo di vivere in monasterio allaCortessa della Mirandola, Trattato della vita viduale,Trattato sopra dieci commandam […] alla murate,Epistola alle monache darnalena [?...], Expositione soprala Avemaria, Epistola a uno suo familiare commiciamagnifacem […] nos siamo nel sesto anno, Epistolacontra la sententia della excommunicatione contra di luidata, Epistola contra la excomunica subre […] fatta,Sermone fatto in suo ma […] a molti sacerdoti e secolari,Epistola a mio amico, Epistola a fratri habitanti nelconvento di Bologna no e astampa, Una lettera la qualemandava a papa Alexandro, Tratato della providentiadivina sopra Abachire pro no e astampa, Trattato dellasemplicita della vita Cristiana, Tractato della defensionede fratri […] congregatione di santa […], Tractato cicho[?] el reggimento e governo di fratre [?] […] fatto adinstantia della signoria, Trattato contra alla astroi […]divinatoria, La soscriptione […] lusione quando fratreDomenicho da Pescia haveva […] nel furcho ed fratre disanta […], Compendium philosophie et logice,Expositione sopra il salmo Verba mea,Introductorium Confessorum

The last two titles are written by another hand,subsequently. It is not about the table of contents ofthe colligation, because works within it come fromdifferent volumes, or were bounded togethersubsequently, there being noticeable evidence of addingpaper on the edge of some works or even pagenumberings made by hand but which lack continuity.

Coming back to the title that interests us in thisstudy, penultimate in the list from the beginning of thevolume, within the 8 pages of the work is presented ina specific form to Savonarola or his disciples Psalm 5,seen by the Holy Fathers as prayer for salvation,addressed to God by the Church or believer. The textis in Italian language, having some quotations in Latin.The one that wrote the text drew a parallel between thegeneration that lived in Italy from the end of XVth

century with that biblical of Noah’s. Comparisons goeven further, it is mentioned the controversial period ofAlexander’s VIth shepherding and Florence and Romewere confronted on the one hand, with Sodom andGomorrah on the other hand. That fact that the text iswrongfully attributed to Savonarola results also fromsome assertions made in the text, on pages 4v-5, relatedto death of Florentine preacher: La morte del frate sia causadi verificare le cose predecte […] El signore torra via e punira teFirenze che hai pollute le mani tue del sangue iusto […] Ancorael signore punira te Roma. Modern attributions on paternityover the text refer, as we have already mentioned, to

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Simone Cinozzi, known for his Epistle, from 1501-1503,a first attempt of making a biography of GirolamoSavonarola. Furthermore, a manuscript held byHoughton Library, Harvard University30, call numberMS Ital 102, entitled Girolamo Savonarola compositionsdrawn up in Italian and dated between 1498-149931, hasthe following table of contents:

Savonarola, Girolamo, 1452-1498. Piu opere di fragirolamo di ferara, MS. (unidentified hand); [n.p.]1498-1499. 97f. (188p.)

Questa gli laesposizione del misere...; ff. 1v-21.Expositione...sopra tre versichuli del salmo

trigesimo...; ff. 22-37.Oratione fatta addi ventire di Maggio...; f. 37v.Chopia duna lettera...al Cristianissimo Re di francia; ff.

38-39v.Chopia duna altra lettera...alli serenissimi Re et Reina

di Spagna; ff. 39v-41.Chopia duna altra lettera...al serenissimo Imperadore; ff.

42-43v.La infrascritta et [!] la examina del...Hieronimo...; ff.

44-63.Lapistola che mando lasantita del Papa...; ff. 63-63v.Unaltra epistola che mando lasantita del papa...; 64.La infrascritta e la chopia della sechonda examina

del...Hieronimo...; ff. 64v-70v.Examina del...Domenicho da pescia...; ff. 72-76.Chopia duna lettera di fra Domenicho...a sua fratri; ff.

76-76v.Questa sie la chopia di una schongiurazione...; ff. 76v.Addi...examina di frate silvestro...; ff. 77-84v.Expositione del salmo Verba mea auribus...da frate

simone Cinozi...; ff. 85v-97v.

According to the table of contents, the text that weare focusing on was definitely written by SimoneCinozzi. We propose modification of the informationknown until nowadays, completing the name of theauthor with the one mentioned above, also becausedating of the manuscript between 1498-1499 as well asmentioning of his name.

Coming back to the printed text, its printing waslikely to be occur in Florence. Only the name of thetypographer would be entered into discussion, andusually works of Girolamo Savonarola were printedeither by Bartolomeo di Libri, or Johannes Petri andLorenzo Morgiani or only by this last one alone.

This study is a contribution to knowing the fund ofincunabula existent in Romania, but also at global level,given that more of the repository libraries from Europeand not only have adopted international indexing,information offered for each title relating to all copiesknown at global level, from here resulting alsoimportance of the presence of the title Expositione soprail salmo Verba mea within funds of Mureş CountyLibrary-Special Collections Department. Teleki-BolyaiLibrary.

(Re)discovery of the copy from Expositione sopra ilsalmo Verba mea [Florence, 1499] and analysis ofbiography on the subject imposes a reevaluation ofmore recent bibliography concerning incunabula andprinting houses or authors of works and updatinginformation referring to theme, which could lead todiscovery of some new copies of incunabula in thelibraries from Romania, or to clarification of someissues regarding dating existent nowadays.

Note:

1. Paul Faure, Renaşterea, Bucharest, Corint PublishingHouse, 2002, p. 45.2. George Lăzărescu, Civilizaţie italiană, , Ştiinţifică şiEnciclopedică Publishing House, 1987, p. 110.3. Giuliano Procacci, Istoria italienilor, Bucharest, PoliticăPublishing House, 1975, p. 128-129.4. Cornelia Comorovski, Literatura Umanismului şiRenaşterii ilustrată cu texte, vol. I, Bucureşti, AlbatrosPublishing House, 1972, p. 93-94.5. Sever Lucian Ceuca, Lucian Victor Ceuca, Ordinemonahale: cavaleri şi călugări, Alba Iulia, Altip PublishingHouse, 2009, p. 90.6. André Chastel, Artă şi umanism la Florenţa pe vremea luiLorenzo Magnificul, vol. II, Bucharest, MeridianePublishing House, 1981, p. 183.7. Giuliano Procacci, op. cit., p. 129.8. Cornelia Comorovski, op. cit., p. 93.9. Giuliano Procacci, op. cit., p. 130.10. Ibidem.11. André Chastel, op. cit., p. 188-189.12. Giuliano Procacci, op. cit., p. 132.13. George Lăzărescu, op. cit., p. 111.14. Claudio Rendina, Papii. Istorie şi secrete, Bucharest, AllPublishing House, 2002, p. 613.15. Giuliano Procacci, op. cit., p. 132.16. Cornelia Comorovski, op. cit., p. 93.17. Giuliano Procacci, op. cit., p. 132.18. http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarolaconsulted on 27 November 2013.19. Ibidem.20. Elena-Maria Schatz, Robertina Stoica, Catalogulcolectiv al incunabulelor din România, Bucharest, Cimec,2007.21. Call number T. q – 154 b/322. Catalogus incunabulorum Bibliothecae Teleki-Bolyai,Tîrgu-Mureş, 1971.23. Marius Ionescu, Incunabule în bibliotecile din România.Biblioteca “Teleki-Bolyai”, Tîrgu-Mureş, in Vox Libri, Deva,2012, no. 3 (24), p. 42-46. In fact, the work is a simplearrangement of the incunabula catalogue from TelekiLibrary.24. http://istc.bl.uk/search/search.html?operation=record&rsid=741306&q=2 from 27 November 2013

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apud Frederick R. Goff, Incunabula in American libraries:a third census, Millwood (N.Y.), 1973. (Reproduced fromthe annotated copy of the original edition (New York,1964) maintained by Goff). (Supplement. , 1972.), nr. S203; Catalogue of books printed in the XVth century now inthe British Museum [British Library], 13 parts, London, ‘tGoy-Houten, 1963-2007, (Pts I-IX reproduced from theworking copies of the original edition (London,1908-62) annotated at the Museum); Short-title catalogueof books printed in Italy and of Italian books printed in othercountries from 1465 to 1600 now in the British Museum,London, 1958, (Supplement, London, 1986), BMC VII1209; BMC(It) p. 100; Indice generale degli incunaboli dellebiblioteche d’Italia. Compilato da T.M. Guarnaschelli e E.Valenziani [et al.]. 6 vols. Roma, 1943-81, IGI VI, p. 131.Without presenting the printing year, Reichling,Dietrich, Appendices ad Hainii-Copingeri RepertoriumBibliographicum … Emendationes, 6 vol., & index,Monachii, 1905-11 (Supplement, Monasterii, 1914), nr.14410, p. 285 (we appreciate the help provided by Mrs.dr. Doina Hendre Biro who made possible researchingthis work in Batthyaneum Library from Alba Iulia).25. http://istc.bl.uk/search/search.html?operation=record&rsid=741306&q=2 from 27 November 2013apud Lorenzo Polizzotto, The Elect Nation. TheSavonarolan Movement in (1494-1545), , Clarendon Press,1994, p. 173-177.26. R. Ridolfi, Vita di Girolamo Savonarola, II, , 1952, p.235, note 22, information offered by Nicolas Petit(Réserve des livres rares, Bibliothèque nationale deFrance), mentioned also in Catologue des incunables [de laBnF].27. Dr. theol. Christian Hermann (WürttenbergischeLandesbibliothek Stuttgart), Nicolas Petit (Réserve deslivres rares, Bibliothèque nationale de France), LiamSims (Rare books Department, Cambridge UniversityLibrary). 28. Information is taken over from British LibraryIncunabula Short Title Catalogue (ISTC) and is availableonline to the address: http://istc.bl.uk/search/search.html?operation=record&rsid=741306&q=2; weconsulted it on 27 November 2013.29. We thank our colleague Dr. Andreea Mârza for thesupport offered in reading this note!30. http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~hou00749 consulted on 27 November 2013.31. Volume presents a note drawn up by Bartolomeodel Vantaggio and dated to 1499.

Bibliography:

Catalogus incunabulorum Bibliothecae Teleki-Bolyai,Tîrgu-Mureş, 1971;

Ceuca, Sever Lucian. Ceuca, Lucian Victor, Ordinemonahale: cavaleri şi călugări [Monastic orders: knights andmonks], , Ed. Altip, 2009;

Chastel, André. Artă şi umanism la Florenţa pe vremea luiLorenzo Magnificul [Art and Humanism in Florence in theTime of Lorenzo the Magnificent], vol. II, Bucureşti, Ed.Meridiane, 1981;

Comorovski, Cornelia. Literatura Umanismului şi Renaşteriiilustrată cu texte [Humanism and Renaissance’s literatureillustrated by texts], vol. I, Bucureşti, Ed. Albatros,1972;

Faure, Paul. Renaşterea [Renaissance], Bucureşti, Ed.Corint, 2002;

Ionescu, Marius. Incunabule în bibliotecile din România.Biblioteca “Teleki-Bolyai”, Tîrgu-Mureş [Incunabula in thelibraries from Romania. “Teleki-Bolyai” Library,Tîrgu-Mureş]. In Vox Libri, Deva, 2012, nr. 3 (24), p.42-46;

Lăzărescu, George. Civilizaţie italiană/Italian civilization,Bucureşti, Ed. Ştiinţifică şi Enciclopedică, 1987;

Polizzotto, Lorenzo. The Elect Nation. The SavonarolanMovement in (1494-1545), , Clarendon Press, 1994;

Procacci, Giuliano. Istoria italienilor [History of Italians],Bucureşti, Ed. Politică, 1975;

Ridolfi, Roberto. Vita di Girolamo Savonarola, II, Roma,1952;

Reichling, Dietrich. Appendices ad Hainii-CopingeriRepertorium Bibliographicum […] Emendationes, 6 vol., &index, Monachii, 1905-11 (Supplement, Monasterii,1914);

Rendina, Claudio. Papii. Istorie şi secrete [Popes. History andsecrets], Bucureşti, Ed. All, 2002;

Schatz, Elena-Maria; Stoica, Robertina. Catalogul colectival incunabulelor din România [Collective catalogue ofincunabula from Romania], Bucureşti, Cimec, 2007.

http://istc.bl.uk/search/search.html?operation=record&rsid=741306&q=2 consulted on 27 November2013;

http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~hou00749consulted on 27 November 2013;

http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarolaconsulted on 27 November 2013.