Publisher: Lugduni (Lyon): Apud Haeredes Gulielmi Rouillii (Heirs of Guillaume Rouillé), 1606.

Illustration: Woodcut printer’s device of Rouillé (Venetian shield with eagle and serpents); decorative initials and tailpieces.

Edition: Editio Ultima.

Binding: Contemporary limp vellum, remains of early spine titling in manuscript. Heavy wear: vellum darkened and wrinkled, losses at spine ends, corners abraded, structural exposure at lower joint. Binding unrestored but original, with significant character.

Description: Quarto (24 cm). Four books of Lancellotti’s Institutiones iuris canonici, the standard systematization of canon law after Gratian. Text in double columns, Latin, with interpretive glosses, annotations, and later canonist additions. Title-page printed in red and black, featuring Rouillé’s distinctive eagle-and-serpents device and statement of royal privilege. Decorative initials and tailpieces throughout. Concludes with an extensive index of canon law terms.

Condition: Fair. Binding original but defective (vellum torn, wrinkled, exposed). Internally very good: complete, strong paper, some staining to title and prelims, otherwise clean and sharp.

Annotation: Lancellotti’s Institutiones — often dubbed the “Justinian for canon law” — provided the framework for centuries of Catholic ecclesiastical practice. This Lyon edition of 1606, issued by the heirs of the renowned printer Rouillé, is the definitive recension. Surviving examples in contemporary vellum are uncommon, and while the present copy shows binding wear, its internal soundness and authoritative text make it a desirable specimen.

Item #171

Price: $800.00