Henrici [Henry] Spelman — Concilia Decreta Leges Constitutiones

Londini [London], Typis R Badger, 1639. First edition. Cloth. The very scarce first edition of this ambitious historical record, written by a leading seventeenth century antiquary and pioneering medieval scholar. The first edition of the work. Very scarce. Signatures run: §2-§6, *-*3, ¶4, A8, a7, B4, C-FFF6, GGG-III4.  Lacking §1 (blank) and lacking *4. There are two known states of this work, with this being state A with the errata printed in *4, with *4 cancelled and thus often lacking, as is the case here.  Endpapers renewed and blanks discarded.  Complete in one volume as issued. A second volume was published posthumously in 1664 which extended coverage from the Norman Conquet to the English Reformation.  An important collection of early British church law and ecclesiastical history, compiled by Sir Henry Spelman, a widely influential figure in church history, particularly well regarded due to his use of primary sources at a time when scholarship widely relied on earlier secondary texts. The work is of particular note for its incorporation of Anglo-Saxon alongside the predominantly Latin text. In modern cloth. Externally smart with slight splitting to cloth at joints. The odd mark to the board. Ink stamps to endpapers and blanks. Hinges strained after the title page. Internally firmly bound. Pages generally bright and clean with scattered spotting, age toning and the occasional crease and chip to extremities of leaves, particularly the title page. Contemporary ink inscription to title page. Prior owner's ink annotation to front blank and library label to verso of front blank. Ink annotation to bottom edge. The occasional ink stamp to text. Worming to first leaf of index. Good . Ill.: None. Good .