A Paradise of Prayers
ISSELT, Michael von.
Paradisus precum, ex R. P. F. Ludovici Granatensis spiritualibus opusculis, aliorumque sanctorum patrum, et illustrium cum veterum, tum recentium scriptorum concinnatus per Michaelem ab Isselt Amorfortium. Cologne, Gerwin Calenius and the heirs of Johann Quentel, 1593.
12mo, pp. [24], 567, [8], [1 (blank)]; woodcut bust of Christ to title, woodcut initials, text within ruled borders throughout; fore-edge tear without loss to p. 287; a very good copy in contemporary blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards, edges partly bevelled, ‘B. G. A. 1595’ lettered in black to upper cover, three raised bands to spine, later paper labels at head of spine, two brass catches and one remaining brass clasp, blue edges; rubbed; ownership inscriptions ‘M[o]n[aste]rii Thierhaubten’ and ‘Ulr. Leyrer Capellanus Thierhauptensis a[nn]o 1845’ to title and facing page, engraved bookplate ‘Closter Thierhaupten Corbinianus Abbas 1667’ to front pastedown; Latin prayers added in brown and red ink in an elegant near contemporary hand to front and rear endpapers (7 pp.).
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Paradisus precum, ex R. P. F. Ludovici Granatensis spiritualibus opusculis, aliorumque sanctorum patrum, et illustrium cum veterum, tum recentium scriptorum concinnatus per Michaelem ab Isselt Amorfortium.
Scarce second edition (first 1589) of this collection of prayers for all occasions by the Dutch Catholic exile Michael von Isselt (d. 1597), with additional prayers added in contemporary manuscript, once owned by the Abbot of the Bavarian Benedictine Abbey of Thierhaupten and his successors.
The content collected here, drawn by Isselt from the works of Luis de Granada and others, includes, for example, prayers on leaving home and before studying; against temptation and vice; for times of peril, plague, and drought; for a healthy body and a good reputation; and for pregnant women, widows, and orphans. Prayers to be said by the likes of magistrates, professors, adolescents, and soldiers also feature. The elegantly written manuscript additions to the endpapers include prayers to be recited at the elevation of the host, and for seeking the grace of the Holy Spirit, as well as salutations to the Virgin Mary.
Provenance: the Benedictine Abbey of Thierhaupten in Bavaria was founded in the eighth century and dissolved in 1803. This volume belonged to Benedikt Gaugenrieder, abbot 1553–97, and bears his initials to the front board. It later passed to Corbinianus Kerle, abbot 1658–70, who added his bookplate. After the abbey’s dissolution, it remained in the town of Thierhaupten, coming into the possession of the chaplain Ulrich Leyrer (fl. 1845).
No copies of this edition traced in the US, and only one in the UK (University of Leeds). USTC 682596; VD16 ZV 8616.