Descrizione

12mo (143x73 mm). 371, [1] leaves. Collation: A-Hh12. Woodcut printer's device on the title page, woodcut head-pieces and initials. Restoration-period polished fawn calfskin, signed “Simier, R. du Roi” (Relieur du Roi, 1762-1843) on the spine, panels decorated with a double gilt border, spine with four raised bands, gilt and blind-stamped ornaments, and morocco lettering piece, marbled edges, all edges gilt (Simier was one of the greatest French bookbinders of the 19th century, holding the title of ‘Bookbinder to the King' under Louis XVIII and Charles X). Joints skillfully repaired. A very good copy.
Second edition, which is essentially a reprint of the first edition from 1597. Both editions were published by Jeanne Rondel, the widow of Gabriel Buon, who had died in 1595. The author dedicated the work to Philippe Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duke of Mercœur and Penthièvre, and Governor of Brittany (1558-1602), with a letter signed from Nantes on 1 January 1597. The privilege granted by the king to Jeanne Rondel is included at the end.
This pastoral adventurous novel, written in prose interspersed with verses, forms the second part of a trilogy dedicated to chastity. The first part, published in 1595 simultaneously by the widow of Gabriel Buon and by Saugrain and Des Rues, was entitled Oeuvre de la Chasteté, notable for the Amours de Criniton et Lydie, and was followed by the tragedy Cleopatra. The third part, entitled Les chastes et fidèles Amours de Criniton et Lydie, was published in 1599, again in Paris by Jeanne Rondel.
Nicolas de Montreux was born in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, in the province of Maine. He was ordained around 1585. In 1591 he became librarian of the Duke of Mercoeur and fought in the civil wars alongside the Ligue until he was imprisoned. Following his release, he joined the court of Henry IV of France. Montreux signed many of his works with the anagram ‘Ollénix du Mont Sacré' and left behind a large body of work, including dramas, poems and pastoral novels, as well as a history of the Ottoman Empire from 1565 to 1606 and a lengthy work of spiritual philosophy entitled L'Homme et ses dignités (1599). His most famous work is the pastoral novel/play in five volumes entitled the Bergeries de Julliette (1585-1598). He is considered one of the founders of pastoral drama in France (cf. J. Mathorez, Le Poète Olényx du Mont-Sacré, bibliothécaire du duc de Mercoeur (1561-1610), Paris, 1912, passim).
OCLC, 23639456; Erdmann, p. 259; Barbier-Mueller, IV-4, pp. 337-347 (1597 edition).