Otto of Freising, *Rerum ab origine mundi… libri octo*; *De gestis Friderici*, Strasbourg 1515

Otto of Freising; Johannes Cuspinianus; Rahewinus (of Freising); Benedictus Chelidonius, Bishop of Freising, the most illustrious men, *Eight Books on the History of Events from the Origin of the World to His Own Time*; By the same author, Two Books on the Deeds of Frederick I Aenobarbus, Caesar and Augustus; Two Books by Radevicus, Canon of the Church of Freising, added to the preceding works, on the deeds of the same Emperor Frederick

Argentorati 1515, From the house of Matthias Schurer

31 cm, [14] pp., CV, [9], LXXXIII pp., [1] p.

A monumental early Renaissance edition containing the works of Otto of Freising, one of the most outstanding historians of the 12th century: *Chronica sive Historia de duabus civitatibus* and *Gesta Friderici I imperatoris*, supplemented by Rahewin’s continuation. The edition was prepared by humanists from the circle of Johannes Cuspinianus; it is one of the key sources for the history of the Empire and medieval ideology of power.

The book was published in Strasbourg in 1515 by Matthias Schürer, one of the most important humanist printing houses on the Upper Rhine. It exemplifies the high standards of early 16th-century editing and is a highly prized collector’s item among historical incunabula.

A copy bound in half-parchment. A bookplate on the reverse of the title page; minor underlining in the text and old marginal notes in pen; a water stain on the margin of the first five pages following the title page; small insect-bored holes running through the entire block. Condition appropriate for its age; text complete and legible.