Stanihurst, Richard
De rebus in Hibernia gestis
£1,386
Auction: 05 February 2025 from 10:00 GMT
Description
… omnia nunc primum in lucem edita. Leiden: ex officina Christophori Plantini, 1584. First edition, 4to (20.9 x 14.9cm), 264 [8] pp., contemporary vellum, manuscript spine-title, remains of alum-tawed ties, woodcut Plantine device to title, woodcut initials, front inner hinge strained [Adams S1633]
Provenance
From the library of the Murrays of Dollerie, Crieff, Perthshire. Ownership inscription of Anthony Murray to title-page.
Footnote
'The second of Stanihurst's works devoted to Irish history and chorography, De rebus in Hibernia gestis, appeared from the Plantin press in Antwerp in 1584. In this more scientific treatment of Ireland, Stanihurst was anxious to reveal its merits to a continental as well as an Irish readership … From his vantage point in the Netherlands, Stanihurst was celebrating the political and cultural heritage conveyed to his own Old English community from Norman times. Also significant was the greater openness to the Gaelic Irish on the part of one who had previously been highly critical of their customs' (ODNB).