An Essay on Colophons, with Specimens and TranslationsPollard, Alfred W. (Alfred William)
History
An Essay on Colophons, with Specimens and Translations
Pollard, Alfred W. (Alfred William)
Books -- History -- 1450-1600; Colophons; Incunabula -- Bibliography
As the examples quoted in our text will have abundantly shown, the days
of the month are expressed either according to our present use or by the
Roman notation, reckoning from the Calends, Nones, and Ides. The Calends
were always the first day of the month, the Nones fell on the 5th, and
the Ides on the 13th, except in March, May, July, and October, when they
were each two days later. Days were counted backwards from the Nones,
Ides, and Calends, both the day from which and the day to which the
reckoning was made being included in the calculation. Thus March 2d was
called the sixth day before the Nones (ante diem sextum Nonas Martis),
and March 25th the seventh before the Calends of April (ante diem
septimum Kalendas Aprilis, or a. d. vii. Kal. Apr.). July and August are
sometimes called by their old names Quintilis and Sextilis.
In Germany, more especially at Strassburg, and in Strassburg more
especially by an unidentified craftsman known as the “Printer of the
1483 Jordanus de Quedlinburg,” we often find books dated on such and
such a day of the week before or after a festival of the church or a
particular Sunday, the Sunday being indicated by quoting the first word
of the introit used at high mass. Thus in 1485 the anonymous printer of
the Jordanus finished a “De Proprietatibus Rerum” on S. Valentine’s day
(in die Valentini, February 14th), the “Historia Scholastica of Petrus
Comestor” after the feast of S. Matthias (post festum Matthie, February
24th), the “Postilla” of Guillermus on Thursday (March 9th) before
the feast of S. Gregory (quarta feria ante festum Gregorii), a “Casus
breues decretalium” on the day of SS. Vitus and Modestus (in die Viti et
Modesti, June 15th), and Cardinal Turrecremata’s “Gloss on the Psalter”
on S. Michael’s eve (in profesto Michaelis, September 28th). To another
edition of the “Postilla” of Guillermus he adds the imprint:
Impressa Argentine Anno Domini M.cccc.xciij. Finita altera die
post Reminiscere.
“Reminiscere” is the beginning of the introit for the second Sunday in
Lent, and as Easter in 1493 (see our table) fell on April 7th, this was
March 3d, and the “Postilla” were finished on Monday, March 4th.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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